topic Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed. in Credit Card Applications

Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Baphometsangel — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 01:44:10 GMT

So did the whole pre-approval thing for BofA and was "pre-approved" for a couple different cards. Of course, i went for the travel rewards preferred, figured since I have the Amex gold and the Sapphire preferred, why not? Get the points, etc.

So got rejected, called the reconsideration line and was told I have 4 collection items on my report (this part is accurate - however they are old medical bills about 5-6 years old) and this was the reason they could not proceed.

I *immediately* got online and applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited and was approved for $6400 on the spot. What gives BofA? Every other lender is hooking it up and you and Citibank are nervous about giving me a better CLI. Geez.

Can someone explain this nonsense to me? What madness is this algorithm they have that declines because of old medical debts?

Just to paint a picture:

Score = 650-680 ish

Annual Income = 100k+

Current card utilization 23% (9k out of about 36k)

Cards:

Discover, Amex Gold, CSP, Capital One Quicksilver, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, BofA Travel Rewards, Mercury Card, Target Card, Citibank Diamond

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Baphometsangel — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 01:46:25 GMT

Oh forgot to add - I then asked if we could use the same hard pull for just a credit line increase, lady said they don't do hard pulls for CLIs, just soft pulls. FYI.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

FinStar — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 01:49:16 GMT

One item to keep in mind with BoA OP, the offers that were presented for you were simply "recommendations", not prequalified or pre-approved offers. They rarely have pre-approved ones, usually by mail or if you're an exisiting Merrill or BoA customer.

Differrent algorithms and risk tolerance for each bank. So it sounds like those collection items (plus other internal factors) are the hold up. At least the Chase FU application was a success.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 02:03:22 GMT

OP, I understand the frustration. Do you bank with B of A or Chase? If you bank with Chase, your approval with them would make sense.

Ultimately, with where your scores are and the extra baddies, B of A has to make a judgement call about whether the risk is worth it to them - regardless of what kind of income you have. Best thing to do is wait 6-12 months and try again if you really like it.

I have the Travel Rewards and I can say with full confidence that you're better off with the CSP/CSR route than BoA.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

FinStar — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 02:12:48 GMT

@Baphometsangel wrote:
So did the whole pre-approval thing for BofA and was "pre-approved" for a couple different cards. Of course, i went for the travel rewards preferred, figured since I have the Amex gold and the Sapphire preferred, why not? Get the points, etc.

So got rejected, called the reconsideration line and was told I have 4 collection items on my report (this part is accurate - however they are old medical bills about 5-6 years old) and this was the reason they could not proceed.

I *immediately* got online and applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited and was approved for $6400 on the spot. What gives BofA? Every other lender is hooking it up and you and Citibank are nervous about giving me a better CLI. Geez.

Can someone explain this nonsense to me? What madness is this algorithm they have that declines because of old medical debts?

Just to paint a picture:

Score = 650-680 ish
Annual Income = 100k+
Current card utilization 23% (9k out of about 36k)

Cards:
Discover, Amex Gold, CSP, Capital One Quicksilver, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, BofA Travel Rewards, Mercury Card, Target Card, Citibank Diamond

On your first paragraph, did you mean the Premium Rewards CC? It appears your signature already displays the Travel Rewards. If so, your FICO scores will need to be a lot higher including a more optimized overall profile for that one. What is your plan for the collection items?

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Baphometsangel — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 02:34:14 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Baphometsangel wrote:
So did the whole pre-approval thing for BofA and was "pre-approved" for a couple different cards. Of course, i went for the travel rewards preferred, figured since I have the Amex gold and the Sapphire preferred, why not? Get the points, etc.

So got rejected, called the reconsideration line and was told I have 4 collection items on my report (this part is accurate - however they are old medical bills about 5-6 years old) and this was the reason they could not proceed.

I *immediately* got online and applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited and was approved for $6400 on the spot. What gives BofA? Every other lender is hooking it up and you and Citibank are nervous about giving me a better CLI. Geez.

Can someone explain this nonsense to me? What madness is this algorithm they have that declines because of old medical debts?

Just to paint a picture:

Score = 650-680 ish
Annual Income = 100k+
Current card utilization 23% (9k out of about 36k)

Cards:
Discover, Amex Gold, CSP, Capital One Quicksilver, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, BofA Travel Rewards, Mercury Card, Target Card, Citibank Diamond
On your first paragraph, did you mean the Premium Rewards CC? It appears your signature already displays the Travel Rewards. If so, your FICO scores will need to be a lot higher including a more optimized overall profile for that one. What is your plan for the collection items?

Hey Finstar - Well believe it or not I was able to get approved for CSP and Amex Gold with that same exact credit profile. Nothing's changed since then, those old medical debts have been there the whole time.

I do bank with both Chase & BofA. Yes, I meant to say travel rewards premium - i already have the regular one.

I've never had a late payment on my credit report in over 12 years, hard pulls are at 2 total and average age of credit lines I want to say is 7 years or so. Lastly, I am letting those debts fall off honestly. Not honoring a debt is something I don't like doing but here we are.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

forestgreenrover — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 04:11:19 GMT

Sorry to read about the rejection. I recently had a somewhat similar setback when applying with them in January, UW referenced an old CO of mine. As others have mentioned, their whole "pre-approval" processes (both the mailers and the portal) are not to be trusted and I really wish they would just shut them down to be honest.

Also, as @FinStar had alluded to, the UW standards for the Premium Rewards are higher and there are several DPs and discussions here to that end. These definitely would have saved you the trouble but I wonder if maybe you didn't find them before apping since I noticed you've referred to the card as Travel Rewards Preferred and Travel Rewards Premium?

In any case, best of luck building out the rest of your portfolio.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 04:41:00 GMT

Sorry about the denial OP.

If you have the CSP and you enjoy their transfer partners, you are better off getting the Freedom Unlimited anyway.

The BofA people who like to waste 100k in a deposit account will argue about the 75% bonus, but your redemptions are limited and it’s just a glorified cash back card for travel. Even if you have 100k in Merrill, you would be better off in a brokerage account with much lower fees.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

patoot10 — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 05:13:18 GMT

Sorry for rejection but you are sorta blowing this out of proportion. You failed to make payments on 4 or 5 obligations which reflects on your history and their rejection may sound harsh but I won't call it ridiculous, when I read your topic subject I was expecting a rejection for not having a deposit account with them or couldn't verify identity, not collections.

With that being said Bank of America is in my personal blacklisted banks along with BBVA Compass, Wells Fargo, Comenity, Barclays and Fidelity.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

flyingmd — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 08:11:59 GMT

Mid 600’s scores and 4 collection accounts I am surprised Chase approved with those stats. It most certainly isnt a ridiculous rejection from B of A. You could raise your scores and your chances by taking care of those collection accounts.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

AverageJoesCredit — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 11:58:32 GMT

Biggest mistske/ misconception is believing a Boa prequal is a preapproval. Their prequal page is a joke and shouldnt be tsken seriously. If you were looking for a travel card id be willing to bet they recommended their travel card lol.

As for why Chase would approve you and Boa would not, no 2 creditors will look at your profile the same. Regardless of why those baddies are on your report , they are there, thus holding down your scores and affecting your profile.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

odd_dog — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 14:06:42 GMT

Sorry to hear OP, but totally sympathize with you....I am a Merrill and BOA Platinum rewards member, have been for years, and they will not approve me for ANY new cards, not even a CLI on my existing....True I am LOL/24 but scores in top 700 or low 800 no lates, nothing and no matter what card I try for, Freedom (eagle card) or Premium rewards it is always a no go....SO much for "if your a Merrill client" they approve you easier! LOL Luckily there are other banks out there!

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

pinkandgrey — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 18:03:49 GMT

Sorry you were denied. FWIW, BofA will never let me in lol. I’ve been denied three times

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 22:27:03 GMT

Please allow me to jump in and add my two cents:

Back in september my score was 444. I hired a small company and they have cleaned up my mess, in the process, I've been sued one time by credit one bank. Called them up, paid the settlement amount and avoided goign to court which is april 26th this year. Anyway, I had 2 full years of late payments on my car, (it's finally now on time payments), i had so many companies in collections, maybe 9 or more?? i lost count! They are all either removed or paid in full. And it reflects this on my report. As of now, i have zero items in collctions. I have 2 AU accounts (my first ones to get my foot in the door), and (in order of applying) opensky cc (secured) , discover (secured), capital one (unsecured), credit one bank (unsecured, they sued me in the same week they also approved me for a credit card, weird)., nordstrom, and low and behold yesterday, (i bank with BofA, have checking, joint and savings account with a good balance) I decided eff this, i will just apply and see what bofA will say! I applied online, and was approved for $2000!!!! WHOA. all my other cards are $200, $300, $400, $450 and nordstrom $300! I couldn't believe it. Back in the summer of 2018, BofA wouldn't even let me 're-open' my account with them because i owed them money... I paid it off. walked into a branch and i said look, i'm a different person now! I will show you! and the manager said okay, pay this amount and u got it back! And in september is when i started doing damage control from years of being lost in the world... (after divorce, etc).

My credit scores today EX are 649 EQ 669 TU630.. all fico of course. I am so happy that i am on track and it feels so liberating.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:57:12 GMT

So sorry this happened. You are doing well with the cards you have. Time will take care of all of this if you keep on time payments. I have to wait until October of 2020 for an ancient late payment to fall off my Equifax report. I know it's hard, but if you stay patient good things will happen. Best of luck to you.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

mustangy1 — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 17:58:10 GMT

BOA look like keep records of 10 year blacklist blocking they keep sent me pre-approval when i have many good cards and limits in acc.
Just because tehy were my old ex bank with 500k annual rollover account,
I tried to get a card
BOOM denied
Call back reconsideration 9 years ago unpaid 1k (of total 40k debt 39k paid)
1k debt lol becuase boa was trying to charge excesive apr %20 finally i give up and didnt paid 1k
BOA . is aggresive nowadays keep sent offer and keep declined they enjoy hard pulling everyone i guess

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Aim_High — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 02:42:41 GMT

@Baphometsangel wrote: Hey @FinStar
- Well believe it or not I was able to get approved for CSP and Amex Gold with that same exact credit profile.

Sorry to hear of your wasted app and experience with BofA, OP but I can't say at all that I'm surprised or that I can agree it's a "ridiculous" rejection. If you had asked the community first, we would have told you that (1) BofA has become more conservative in recent lending overall and also (2) the Premium Rewards card has very very stringent underwriting on it.

Comparing Premium Rewards to the Chase Sapphire Preferred or AMEX Gold underwriting is almost laughable. Those are both much easier to get. Even though they would seem to be more selective cards, they are not even in the same league. Underwriting on AMEX cards, especially their charge cards, is not what it used to be. Do a search on the forums and you'll see multiple threads about the Premium Rewards card and how people with much stronger profiles than yours got denied.

But thanks for the Data Points and hope you have better luck with your next app.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

SoCalifornia — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:20:36 GMT

I feel you came out on top, given your profile at the time of apps. Somewhat surprised Chase shot you such a decent limit, but hell, Freedom Unlimited is hardly a terrible card and Ultimate Rewards are hardly a terrible program to be in. Congrats on the approval, the latter.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:26:26 GMT

Last reponse here was APRIL... old thread.

Re: Bank of America - Ridiculous Rejection...disappointed.

SoCalifornia — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:31:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Last reponse here was APRIL... old thread.

Snap. @AimHigh and I fell victim to a new member reviving the thread. I didn't even glance at the dates. Those are the breaks.