Barclay Preapproval then Denial

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys, so I recently got a pre approval letter from Barclays card and decided to apply for it and unfortunately was rejected due to my bankcard balances being too high. A little bit about my credit history:

Got a Capital One Platinum card in March started out with $500 CL paid it on time every month got CLI up to $1500 then also now to $2000 and  with credit steps and it has a $1300 balance on it. Same thing for my Quicksilver card that I got in March started with $500 CL then went up to $1500 then $200 with Credit steps it has a $1300 balance on it. I also have a $500 credit one card that I got in March of this year. I have a credit builder loan from Bestbank for $1000 that still has a balance of $800 on it, and I have a Care credit card with a $2000 CLI and the balance is $1200. My bankruptcy was discharged October 2014. I'm wondering once I pay my credit one card down to $0, pay one of my capital one cards down to $0 should I reapply for barclays? They still send me the pre approval letter even though they just denied me. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

1. You definitely should pay down you balances as quickly as possible. I would suggest this regardless of the situation. 

2. I normally suggest recons with Barclays and denials, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in relating to high balances. I do you should try since you've already taken the hp. 

Good luck! Keep us posted. 

[Anonymous]

Those letters you are receiving are not preapprovals but marketing mailers and you should not rely on them in determining whether you should apply or not.

What is your TransUnion Fico 08 score?

[Anonymous]

Being post BK is not the issue in my opinion.. It is the balances compared to your limits that is throwing you off. In my experiences if you have to carry a balance on any card ( although while rebuilding it is best to PIF monthly) I have learned a wise lesson to keep your balances at or below 10% on each card and if you are trying to add to your collection it looks better to the underwriters when  applying for other products. In my case it has been a very important lesson learned and it will benifit your scores all around. Good Luck on your rebuild.

[Appleman]

Time to work on a budget for yourself to pay down current debt. I suggest YNAB both others have their favorites.

Having credit card debt is likely allowing you to live beyond your means (I did it for years).

As others suggest, pay down the utilization to less than 10%, let your file age and you should be in a good spot for additional approvals.

Good luck!

[Dalmus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Guys, so I recently got a pre approval letter from Barclays card and decided to apply for it and unfortunately was rejected due to my bankcard balances being too high. A little bit about my credit history:

Got a Capital One Platinum card in March started out with $500 CL paid it on time every month got CLI up to $1500 then also now to $2000 and  with credit steps and it has a $1300 balance on it. Same thing for my Quicksilver card that I got in March started with $500 CL then went up to $1500 then $200 with Credit steps it has a $1300 balance on it. I also have a $500 credit one card that I got in March of this year. I have a credit builder loan from Bestbank for $1000 that still has a balance of $800 on it, and I have a Care credit card with a $2000 CLI and the balance is $1200. My bankruptcy was discharged October 2014. I'm wondering once I pay my credit one card down to $0, pay one of my capital one cards down to $0 should I reapply for barclays? They still send me the pre approval letter even though they just denied me. Any thoughts?

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 I'll echo everybody else...  All of your accounts have 60-80% utilization.  To help your scores and chances of approval, you'd be better off taking that $1,800 and spreading it out amongs all those card to get the utilization down significantly.

 However...  Because you're carrying so many balances on so many cards, I would politely suggest that you do not need more credit at this time.  Pay down the cards you have and let them age to at least one year before you try to apply for more credit.  It'll make your life easier (few bills to keep track of) AND help out your FICO 08 score tremendously.

 You've already burned the hard pull with Barclay and you might be tempted to call the recon, but that MAY be a favor to you.  Opening up another card would trash your AAOA and make it harder for you to get approved for anything else later.  The ONE exception (to my own logic) would be if they opened an account and offered a 0% balance transfer period.  Then you could BT the balances off those other cards, and keep them reporting at $0.

 Oh, and dump the Credit One card before you reach one year...  You have a QS1 and a Platinum from Capital One.  You don't need to be paying the annual fees and monthly maintenance fees of that Credit One card.

[Anonymous]

I have never been rejected when I received a pre-qualify letter in the mail...it can take months to send out those letters after they soft pull your credit and a lot can change between the soft pull that prompted  them to market an offer to you....if nothing changed between the letter being sent and the time you applied you should get accepted every time.

[Anonymous]

I would hold off on getting more cards right now.

[Anonymous]

"Quit when you're ahead" is an especially good maxim when it comes to acquiring credit. I went on a mini-spree this past month (two cards and a car loan), got approved on 'em all, and even though I very much want to get a Visa and Amex to round out the portfolio, the wise thing to do now is to stand pat and let these accounts age and develop history for a while.

[Anonymous]

Bummer, they send these letters and preapprovals based on basic information off of soft pulls which focus on scores.  The fine print is pretty clear that preapprovals are conditional, often times it could be a month or even more from when they did the soft pull until you get the letter so many things can change.  When your utilization is over 50% your not going to get approved for any card really.  High utlization is a sign of distress so lenders will avoid you like the plague regardless of your scores, income or anything else. 

I would work to get your ulitization under 30% on each card and maintain that level, your scores will improve and you will find it much easier to get approvals.  You are at a really important phase in your rebuild you have recieved some CLI's with capone but now is the important part where you show them and the other lenders you can handle the credit.  Last thing they want to do is take on someone who will run up their cards and get themeselves in trouble.