@PandiferBear wrote:Okay. That was odd.
So I called their backdoor number and spoke with a super helpful and friendly man. He said that my report had not been pulled and asked if I wanted him to pull it. I said yes. He reviewed everything and asked some questions. He was very complimentary about my payment history and that it looks like I am doing great. He said the income was also no issue. He did ask about the reason for there being several years with no credit card activity and about the new credit card activity and accounts more recently, and I explained it to him. I let him know I was not wanting to have any other applications in the near future and that I was hoping to get Barclay because I hear they are a wonderful company to grow with and I am looking at growing my new lines of credit now. He said that since some of the cards are pretty new - four and five months old - they just want to see a little more history on those cards. He said to keep doing what I am doing because it looks good. I asked how long I should wait before trying again, and he said 4 to 6 months. I thanked him for all his help and let him know that I would be getting back with them then.
Bummer.
But - wait - what is that? The phone is ringing and it is an unknown number? Hello? Oh, it's Barclays. They called back just a few minutes later and said they actually could get me approved for a low limit. Then instead of working on getting approved, I would be working on getting the limit increased. WHAT? Woo! So now I have a teeny tiny $250.00 limit, but I am in the door and more than happy to start growing my new line of credit.
I am so excited despite my little limit. They really have phenomenal customer service. And this is great incentive to keep myself locked tightly in the garden. Thanks everyone for all the help and encouragement. I never would have thought to try calling before coming to these boards!
While I know thats probably not what you were looking for (or what I expected at all) its an approval, and Barclays grows fast, I've had 3x CLI's on my card after 1 year (2x after 6 months) Use it and pay it off and you will have a great rewards card in a couple months! Congrats!
Congrats on the card. I started with a $1200 limit and after 6 months I got an auto increase to $2200.
Here's a piece of advice though... Be wary of app sprees. They have soft pulled my credit every single month. If you run up a lot of debt or have a lot of inquiries it will set off red flags...
Yeah... Don't worry about it till it happens. Go on multiple app sprees and run up a bunch of debt... If Barclay closes your account at least you'll know why.
Seen it multiple times. They don't SP every month for nothing.
Seen it multiple times. They don't SP every month for nothing.
I was planning on gardening for about 6 months and then trying for Chase (they show a preapproval for me on their site - BUT we have seen my luck with that!). I would like to get their Freedom card and a Discover It. Do you think that I will have any issues if I app for these two cards in December? I would not be looking for anything else for quite a while after that - I plan on trying for Amex late next year. Patience is hard, so having Big Brother Barclay watching will help me stay in the garden. 
Congrats on the approval. I know 250 wasnt want you wanted but at least you didnt waste a HP. I feel you should have applied for Discover or Chase first as they would have been more generous with the credit line than Barclays. But now that you have Barclays, just garden and wait
Congrats! Most important that you are in and Barclays is not like Chase that lets you stuck with the approval conditions.. Barclays will grow with you
congrats on your approval
@PandiferBear wrote:Okay. That was odd.
So I called their backdoor number and spoke with a super helpful and friendly man. He said that my report had not been pulled and asked if I wanted him to pull it. I said yes. He reviewed everything and asked some questions. He was very complimentary about my payment history and that it looks like I am doing great. He said the income was also no issue. He did ask about the reason for there being several years with no credit card activity and about the new credit card activity and accounts more recently, and I explained it to him. I let him know I was not wanting to have any other applications in the near future and that I was hoping to get Barclay because I hear they are a wonderful company to grow with and I am looking at growing my new lines of credit now. He said that since some of the cards are pretty new - four and five months old - they just want to see a little more history on those cards. He said to keep doing what I am doing because it looks good. I asked how long I should wait before trying again, and he said 4 to 6 months. I thanked him for all his help and let him know that I would be getting back with them then.
Bummer.
But - wait - what is that? The phone is ringing and it is an unknown number? Hello? Oh, it's Barclays. They called back just a few minutes later and said they actually could get me approved for a low limit. Then instead of working on getting approved, I would be working on getting the limit increased. WHAT? Woo! So now I have a teeny tiny $250.00 limit, but I am in the door and more than happy to start growing my new line of credit.
I am so excited despite my little limit. They really have phenomenal customer service. And this is great incentive to keep myself locked tightly in the garden. Thanks everyone for all the help and encouragement. I never would have thought to try calling before coming to these boards!
