Advice on telling a creditor why you opened so many cards?

[ddemari]

This week is taking an emotional toll on me. I received my first AA with Barclays the other day. In 2003, when I was young (19) I filed for bankruptcy because I stupid, naïve and had about 100k in available credit right outside of high school. I could not pay the 16k I racked up and had to file. So for 10 years it was hard on me to get anything credit wise expect CapitalOne platinum MasterCard’s which grew with me and about 8 years after the bankruptcy I was able to secure a bank of AmericaCard secured visa which is now a 7k Visa Signature and my credit score is 750.

2014 was a very, very weird year for me. I went from having about 6 credit cards up until 2013 to having now 24 credit cards. I applied for Chase approved with limits of

10k, Barclays 4 cards last year starting off with Apple at 700 increased to 2500, Arrival + 6k, US Air 6k, SallieMae 4k. Then I opened up some store cards. I keep my utilization low around 15% and micromanage my cards.

To my horror I saw my SallieMae card slashed by over 70% of its limit. Barclays used to love me now they hate me and I know about the sensitivity with new accounts and lots of inquires but I thought they are not going to flag me. I have a great income, stable job for 10 years and I wanted to get in with the banks that never would touch me before.

Sorry for the long post but my question is this, what do you say when they ask you why you have opened so many accounts in the last year? I know you shouldn’t say; to get rewards, because they offered me a card, to help me get through a financial rough patch, applying to see if you are approved and so I can gain access to an item I can’t afford.

But in all reality, I opened up all my cards because I wanted to get in with certain banks, I did want rewards cards from having only so/so ones before and I did get a rush from all the approvals. I know none of that is good but when Barclays asks me why did I open so many cards, I can’t think of what to say lol. For anyone who reads my post thank you! I am waiting on a call from the Barclays EO office to reinstate my credit line but if it fails I am going to move on and PRAY to GOD it doesn’t happen again. Going the garden for a long time!  

[bradlin]

Wow. I would never say to get through a rough patch. I think your honest answer is pretty good and really saying rewards sounds at least rational and understandable. Far better than saying that you even think you need cards to get through a touch patch.

[bradlin]

Sorry I meant rough patch. Also I wonder if the mobile forums allow editing.

[Anonymous]

Wow! 24 cards in a year!

Well the inq and new account penalty will wear off pretty quick though you destroyed your average age of accounts. 

Honestly, just say... NOTHING. Stop applying for credit, let it ride. With no new apps over the next year this "issue" should fade away and become irrelevant. If anyone actually asks about it, just say, you kept changing your mind about what kind of card you wanted. It's a crazy answer, but then again, you went a little crazy! But again it's only a relatively short time before these inq's drop off your report and the new account penalty goes away, so just sweat it out.

You really don't need 24 different cards and that sounds like a nightmare to manage, checking them all every month to make sure you don't have a payment to make. You might actually consider closing down any newer ones that you don't really intend to use, just to simplify your life. 

Getting your limit slashed is a pain but if you're a good citizen after awhile you can get that back.

The most important thing for you though is DON'T CARRY A BALANCE. The red flag in applying for a lot of cards is that you are planning to run them all up and then go into bankrupcy again. That isn't much of a red flag if you actually pay your bill in full every month, but if you are running a balance, especially if that balance is growing, even if it's running on a 0% APR card, then I think creditors may start to worry. So pay down your balance in full and keep it paid down, at least until this  mass of apps ages off.

Edit -- I woudl especially target some of those store cards for closure. They ain't helping your score. Just close 'em. Keep the good cards, keep your oldest cards, and close out the junk.

[Callandra]

So you opened 18 cards in the span of a year? Most people won't even open half that amount of cards in their lifetime. I think it was longtimelurker who posted in another thread about how myfico is far from the norm when it comes to opening accounts. That is VERY true. My parents have bank cards from the '90s and only just a few months ago got an Amex (first new bank card in over 15 years and even before that, they only had two cards). So I don't blame Barclays for being a bit spooked...I would just tell them the truth and say you would like a chance to show you'll be responsible and you can emphasize your income/stable job and how you are responsible.

[sillykitty1]

Knock on wood ... I've never had an AA.  But when I talk to UWer to recon a CL, and they question the number of accounts I have opened recently, I explain I have a new position at my company that includes a large amount of reimbursable travel, so I need lots of available credit and a variety of cards with different travel benefits, no FTF, lounge access etc..  It's part of the reason for my credit seeking, I leave out the others!

Also do you have  a mortgage? If so emphasize that.  UWer's always seem overly impressed by my mortgages. When the reality is I was able to get a mortgage when the only cc that was sending me offers was Creditone

[tonyjones]

lol holy crap 18 cards in one year, that will definitely raise a red flag, they assume you will charge and run.

[Anonymous]

Isn't the "charge and run" a crime? I never filed BK but would think the judge would not allow some one who ran up several cards in a year or solely lived off of them to file...

[Anonymous]

Yeah, charge and run is a crime, if they can prove you did it on purpose -- a crime lenders don't like being a victim of. Hence it's a red flag. Then there's the case where someone is opening up credit card after credit card because they're feeling desperate, don't intend to rip anybody off, but they're headed for the rocks anyway.

Either way, that's what lenders worry about when they see a load of apps. 

If he closes out the junk (and there MUST be junk), keeps his oldest cards and his best cards, and lets the inq's age off, with no new apps, in a year he should be sitting pretty. The red flags will be gone and he'll have a huge credit limit making sub-10% utilization trivial for him on a regular basis. 

So, OP, it's bad, but it's not as bad as bankruptcy! This one fixes itself so long as you don't run up balances.

[Anonymous]

Ive opened up maybe 15 cards in less than one year, but maybe half or so are store cards and my most recent was a Barclays. I havent had any issues so far. I also have 20+ INQ's on each report. I would just tell them you opened them for promotions (0%, points, BT's, whatever).