Hi, all. So, I applied for a Chase Freedom card in March (also applied for Amex at same time), and I was 'urged' to reapply in 60 days, since the newest account would be 'aged' a bit more. Thus, I waited until today and applied for a Chase card.
Some background info: ~750 TU FICO
~700 EQ FICO
Unsure of EX FICO, but the credit report is accurate.
I have a car loan, student loan debt (but all deferred for two years due to being in the Peace Corps), and I have multiple credit cards. My debt to income ratio is super low. I have one card with a relatively high balance, but that's where I BT'd my balances from unsavory cards w/ high APRs, but due to the card's pretty high credit limit, the utilization of that specific card is ~30%. My overall utilization is around 10%, maybe a bit less. However, I do have a stable employment history, I have relatively good income, around 65k. On the other hand, in June, I shopped for a new car loan. I settled on my local credit union, SECU, but multiple lenders hit my credit report when I apped through a dealer. >:[ So, I have quite a few inquiries on TU and EQ, my EX is pretty much clean of inquiries. Aside from the car loan inquiries, I have one inquiry on EQ from a opening a cellphone (really? lol) and on TU, I have a Target RedCard inquiry, because I was pressured into applying for their discount since I am a frequent shopper, lol (I was approved). Anyway, I have no late payments, no baddies, AAoA is almost at 5 years now, surprisingly. I thought it would go down with the new car loan and Target card, but it hasn't. In the past 6 months, across all credit bureaus, my inquiries for actual credit (not auto loan) is two (Verizon with EQ and Target on TU). Chase and Amex are the last two prime cards I want. I figured that since my inquiries were low, my balances were low (in my opinion, I guess), and everything else looked great, I would have no issue with Chase, I worried about American Express the most.
I was completely wrong. My scores have went up across the board, some old inq. dropped off, I have a paid auto loan, I have low utilization, etc. I was approved with American Express for a Blue Cash Everyday, but I was denied for a Chase Slate (I like balance transfer cards, and they have a really good offer going on, plus I read that it was the 'easiest' Chase card to qualify for). I got the pending message, even on the automated line. I called in today to ask about my app, said I was denied. The rep was nice and she asked me about the card with the with the high balance (~30% util.) and I told her that I took advantage of that card to transfer balances from cards that had unsavory APRs that I had received whilst rebuilding my credit, but that my reports show I make large payments on the balance each month (3x the minimum). She put me on hold, and yet, said I was still declined due to the high balance on that card. 
I am really confused, and I asked her if I qualified for a lower credit limit, etc., as I just want to get my foot in the door w/ Chase. She stated that the reconsideration was complete and that she couldn't override the decision.
Does a $3200 balance on a $9k limit card really affect it that much? I have a small balance on a few other cards for rewards purposes, on three cards I have a balance of $25-$75 dollars, which are paid in full each month. Thus, I have maybe $3500 in credit card debt, but a lot of 'free' credit, which I thought could be a decent reason for denial (I've seen "enough credit available" reason before). Hence, I made sure to inquire about that, too, and she said no, that they do not decline on the basis that a customer has 'enough' credit. I can try to recon again, but last time I did that, per the board's advice, it actually worked against me. I tried 3 times, as most others had advised, and every time I was spoke to horribly. Lol. So, I hated to even call to recon once. Oh, and they pulled BOTH EQ and EX! >:[ So I got two HPs for a denial.
My other question is this, my SECU auto loan (and a credit card I have with them, but one that I do not use lol), only shows up on EQ. They said they only report to EQ. Is there a way to ask the other bureaus to pull from EQ in order to illustrate my car loan and CC? Can I ask the credit union to report to the other two bureaus? Also, for whatever reason, even though I've been a customer with BoFA, I have only received one CLI in the past two years. I started with $1000, and got an increase of $500 (SP) about 6 months ago. I asked them to SP over the weekend and see if I was eligible for another increase. Nope, denied. Hit the 'luv button' on my BarclaysCard Rewards, which is currently my lowest limit card at $750, denied. Hit the same 'luv' buttons I usually do with my GE/Synchrony bank cards (Amazon, WalMart), denied. Capital One CLI denied, etc. I ask for CLI on those cards every 3-6 months, since they SP. I always get a CLI, with the exception of Capital One (only one increase with them lol). Haven't asked for increases in more than 3 months, most of them 6 months. All denied. Like I said, credit reports are clean...I am beyond confused.
Lastly, I asked for a CLI with NCFU. I currently have their cashRewards Signature w/ a 15k CL and a line of credit for 10k. The request was declined, but they didn't even pull my credit. I got the 3-5 day message (this was after I apped with Chase and Amex), and I called today and they told me it had been declined. They said I would receive a letter stating why. However, I pulled my reports immediately, because I was completely stunned that I was declined with both Chase and NCFU...and they did not even soft pulled my reports? Any idea? I sent a secure msg asking for a reconsideration/explanation. I have no balance on the checking line of credit, and a $50 balance on the credit card. Perhaps they just don't favor that I have that much credit and do not use it often enough? I apologize for the long post. I just have so many unanswered questions, questions that no one will answer. :'( Capital One, GE, etc. all tell me I have to wait for the letter for an explanation. Again, apologies for the long post.
@hallas wrote:Hi, all. So, I applied for a Chase Freedom card in March (also applied for Amex at same time), and I was 'urged' to reapply in 60 days, since the newest account would be 'aged' a bit more. Thus, I waited until today and applied for a Chase card.
Some background info: ~750 TU FICO
~700 EQ FICO
Unsure of EX FICO, but the credit report is accurate.
I have a car loan, student loan debt (but all deferred for two years due to being in the Peace Corps), and I have multiple credit cards. My debt to income ratio is super low. I have one card with a relatively high balance, but that's where I BT'd my balances from unsavory cards w/ high APRs, but due to the card's pretty high credit limit, the utilization of that specific card is ~30%. My overall utilization is around 10%, maybe a bit less. However, I do have a stable employment history, I have relatively good income, around 65k. On the other hand, in June, I shopped for a new car loan. I settled on my local credit union, SECU, but multiple lenders hit my credit report when I apped through a dealer. >:[ So, I have quite a few inquiries on TU and EQ, my EX is pretty much clean of inquiries. Aside from the car loan inquiries, I have one inquiry on EQ from a opening a cellphone (really? lol) and on TU, I have a Target RedCard inquiry, because I was pressured into applying for their discount since I am a frequent shopper, lol (I was approved). Anyway, I have no late payments, no baddies, AAoA is almost at 5 years now, surprisingly. I thought it would go down with the new car loan and Target card, but it hasn't. In the past 6 months, across all credit bureaus, my inquiries for actual credit (not auto loan) is two (Verizon with EQ and Target on TU). Chase and Amex are the last two prime cards I want. I figured that since my inquiries were low, my balances were low (in my opinion, I guess), and everything else looked great, I would have no issue with Chase, I worried about American Express the most.
I was completely wrong. My scores have went up across the board, some old inq. dropped off, I have a paid auto loan, I have low utilization, etc. I was approved with American Express for a Blue Cash Everyday, but I was denied for a Chase Slate (I like balance transfer cards, and they have a really good offer going on, plus I read that it was the 'easiest' Chase card to qualify for). I got the pending message, even on the automated line. I called in today to ask about my app, said I was denied. The rep was nice and she asked me about the card with the with the high balance (~30% util.) and I told her that I took advantage of that card to transfer balances from cards that had unsavory APRs that I had received whilst rebuilding my credit, but that my reports show I make large payments on the balance each month (3x the minimum). She put me on hold, and yet, said I was still declined due to the high balance on that card.
Does a $3200 balance on a $9k limit card really affect it that much? I have a small balance on a few other cards for rewards purposes, on three cards I have a balance of $25-$75 dollars, which are paid in full each month. Thus, I have maybe $3500 in credit card debt, but a lot of 'free' credit, which I thought could be a decent reason for denial (I've seen "enough credit available" reason before). Hence, I made sure to inquire about that, too, and she said no, that they do not decline on the basis that a customer has 'enough' credit. I can try to recon again, but last time I did that, per the board's advice, it actually worked against me. I tried 3 times, as most others had advised, and every time I was spoke to horribly. Lol. So, I hated to even call to recon once. Oh, and they pulled BOTH EQ and EX! >:[ So I got two HPs for a denial.
My other question is this, my SECU auto loan (and a credit card I have with them, but one that I do not use lol), only shows up on EQ. They said they only report to EQ. Is there a way to ask the other bureaus to pull from EQ in order to illustrate my car loan and CC? Can I ask the credit union to report to the other two bureaus? Also, for whatever reason, even though I've been a customer with BoFA, I have only received one CLI in the past two years. I started with $1000, and got an increase of $500 (SP) about 6 months ago. I asked them to SP over the weekend and see if I was eligible for another increase. Nope, denied. Hit the 'luv button' on my BarclaysCard Rewards, which is currently my lowest limit card at $750, denied. Hit the same 'luv' buttons I usually do with my GE/Synchrony bank cards (Amazon, WalMart), denied. Capital One CLI denied, etc. I ask for CLI on those cards every 3-6 months, since they SP. I always get a CLI, with the exception of Capital One (only one increase with them lol). Haven't asked for increases in more than 3 months, most of them 6 months. All denied. Like I said, credit reports are clean...I am beyond confused.
Lastly, I asked for a CLI with NCFU. I currently have their cashRewards Signature w/ a 15k CL and a line of credit for 10k. The request was declined, but they didn't even pull my credit. I got the 3-5 day message (this was after I apped with Chase and Amex), and I called today and they told me it had been declined. They said I would receive a letter stating why. However, I pulled my reports immediately, because I was completely stunned that I was declined with both Chase and NCFU...and they did not even soft pulled my reports? Any idea? I sent a secure msg asking for a reconsideration/explanation. I have no balance on the checking line of credit, and a $50 balance on the credit card. Perhaps they just don't favor that I have that much credit and do not use it often enough? I apologize for the long post. I just have so many unanswered questions, questions that no one will answer. :'( Capital One, GE, etc. all tell me I have to wait for the letter for an explanation. Again, apologies for the long post.
It should not matter that much as long as your other card show a zero balance which is a big difference from having a zero balance. When i mean show does your bill come in the mail as zero or do you just pay it off? What is your rent or mortgage payment that could have a big effect on your DTI.
