Success story with credit union. Negative story about Barclays.

[ReVeLaTeD]

So I recently got the Discover More card on its way.  Got it for the rewards mainly.  Went ahead and got the stones to apply for a card from my credit union (Cabrillo).  They actually approved me for a $3,000 limit and no AF, some 14% which is actually worse than Discover, but whatver, I won't be carrying a balance much anyway.  SO I consider those success stories.  ~700 credit score on TU.

But I want to share a negative story, which seems to be the exception around here.  Barclays/Apple.  They find ANY EXCUSE not to give you a card. 

First it's the BK, so I wait some more time. 

Then it's the utilization, so I pay them down. 

Then it's the # of inquiries, so I wait them out. 

Now, it's because I just applied with Discover and they "...want to see how I do with that card". 

Really?  This is after calling the recon number which other people claim should be smooth as butter, well it wasn't.  They just found another excuse not to approve me.  It's infuriating.  Can finance a $25k car but I can't get a $1,000 Apple card.  I don't even need the card, but I would like to establish credit with them since I do shop at Apple on occasion.

[trumpet-205]

Barclays is a very conservative and caution lender. Any new inquiry and/or new account is considered a potential red flag for them.

[ReVeLaTeD]

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

Barclays is a very conservative and caution lender. Any new inquiry and/or new account is considered a potential red flag for them.

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Which is silly - they're not a mortgage lender.  I can understand balking at the # of inquiries, but balking because I just took out another credit card?  Seems Apple's elitist attitude has rubbed off on Barclay's.

[LS2982]

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@ReVeLaTeD wrote:

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

Barclays is a very conservative and caution lender. Any new inquiry and/or new account is considered a potential red flag for them.

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Which is silly - they're not a mortgage lender.  I can understand balking at the # of inquiries, but balking because I just took out another credit card?  Seems Apple's elitist attitude has rubbed off on Barclay's.

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 +1

[trumpet-205]

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@ReVeLaTeD wrote:

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

Barclays is a very conservative and caution lender. Any new inquiry and/or new account is considered a potential red flag for them.

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Which is silly - they're not a mortgage lender.  I can understand balking at the # of inquiries, but balking because I just took out another credit card?  Seems Apple's elitist attitude has rubbed off on Barclay's.

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Well in lender's mind, a recent credit account could indicate you are desperate for credit. 

[ReVeLaTeD]

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

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@ReVeLaTeD wrote:

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

Barclays is a very conservative and caution lender. Any new inquiry and/or new account is considered a potential red flag for them.

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Which is silly - they're not a mortgage lender.  I can understand balking at the # of inquiries, but balking because I just took out another credit card?  Seems Apple's elitist attitude has rubbed off on Barclay's.

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Well in lender's mind, a recent credit account could indicate you are desperate for credit. 

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First off I don't have a recent CREDIT ACCOUNT; I have a recent INQUIRY.  That was their beef - I had ONE recent inquiry for the Discover card.  That's fickle.  Since, you know, Cabrillo had absolutely no issue giving me a credit card after the Discover inquiry.  Also, seeing another inquiry does not mean I got a new card.  It means I applied at ONE other company.  Doesn't mean I got the card.  They're making assumptions, and even though I got the approval, not only do they have no way of knowing I was approved, they need to be using the 2+ year payment history of my other 4 cards to tell them how good I pay my bills.  Or maybe they should look at the fact that I have NO late pays on any account over 4+ years.  Or maybe they should look at the 5 car loans I've paid off without missing a payment.   Again, I could see if I had like 3-5 inquiries in a short period - I only had ONE because I only applied to one other card.  TO deny over ONE inquiry is elitist and frankly, I'm glad not to do business with them.

They're making excuses.  Period.

[JayRizzo]

Consider yourself very lucky!  That was your warning sign which had nothing to do with Apple, but Barclays itself as they have a very low tolerance for even a single new inquiry for any of its products -- and your inquiry doesn't have to be a cc.  If you had the opportunity to become a new Barclays cardholder and applied for more credit just for the sake of applying for more, you'd be kicking yourself and fuming after discovering they've suddenly closed your account without notice -- happened many times with various products.

You've even answered your own question at the end when you stated that you really didn't need it -- keep that thought in mind for all credit.  If you don't really need it, don't apply for it.  That piece of advice to yourself will help in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Why not open a savings account or do your checking with Barclay?  If you have equity in their bank they might be more willing offer credit (Take credit unions.  Don't they require that you be a member before you can consider applying for credit?  How elitist is that!   And I know, that's the way CUs are set up according to law.  But maybe this is one reason CUs don't fail as often as banks?

[ReVeLaTeD]

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@JayRizzo wrote:

Consider yourself very lucky!  That was your warning sign which had nothing to do with Apple, but Barclays itself as they have a very low tolerance for even a single new inquiry for any of its products -- and your inquiry doesn't have to be a cc.  If you had the opportunity to become a new Barclays cardholder and applied for more credit just for the sake of applying for more, you'd be kicking yourself and fuming after discovering they've suddenly closed your account without notice -- happened many times with various products.

You've even answered your own question at the end when you stated that you really didn't need it -- keep that thought in mind for all credit.  If you don't really need it, don't apply for it.  That piece of advice to yourself will help in the long run.

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I don't need Barclay's, no.  Definitely not now that my credit union has surpassed even my Hooters card.  But my goal is to get my utilization down and start closing or sock drawering some BS cards (aka HSBC) with balance transfers.  So I wanted to get the three of them for different purposes.  The Discover card is for its benefits, period.  APR is nice but doesn't matter as I don't plan to carry a balance frequently.  Credit union is for balance transfers.  But I needed a smart solution for the Apple products that I purchase every year.  I want to have them put on their own dedicated card so I can ration spending more appropriately. It makes it easier than trying to parse through my checking statements every month.  Oh well.

For now I pay cash and that works, but I'm trying to stop using my cash for major purchases in anticipation of possibly buying a house or a townhome within the next two years.  I was worried about possibly being laid off from my job, but I've been there nearly 3 years and since the other guy left my value stock has gone up tremendously as I'm the only one who knows how to do what I do, and I have the distinct advantage of being extremely good at it.

[JMN]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Why not open a savings account or do your checking with Barclay?  If you have equity in their bank they might be more willing offer credit (Take credit unions.  Don't they require that you be a member before you can consider applying for credit?  How elitist is that!   And I know, that's the way CUs are set up according to law.  But maybe this is one reason CUs don't fail as often as banks?

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Barclays has not had a deposit subsidiary in the United States since 1988 (they sold off their Barclays Bank of California to Wells Fargo then) - simply their credit card operations. All of their deposit operations are in Europe, where they are headquartered.

So setting up a deposit relationship with them wouldn't be advisable nor likely possible.