topic Re: Store card denials??? in Credit Cards

Store card denials???

icyhot — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:20:25 GMT

One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low but most of my balances WAS from my Kohls and Macy's card. Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR? This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:26:15 GMT

You need to keep a good mix if cards and keep balances below 30 percent. That would take care of that but I would recon

Re: Store card denials???

TheGardner — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:38:07 GMT

There has been a post here and on another forum with analysts who both said having more store than majors does hurt.

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:39:29 GMT

I am I correct in assuming that the 2 you did not close are the ones with balances (Macy's and Kohl's)? If they say "too much owed" I would think closing cards with no balance would not make a difference...they didn't say "too many retail accounts".

just my thoughts...

Re: Store card denials???

icyhot — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:40:48 GMT

Yeah but I didn't wanna run the risk of having too many and running up the balances for whatever reason, so I just closed the ones I didn't really want

Re: Store card denials???

TheGardner — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:53:52 GMT

Having a few would be fine. If they out weight your majors you will be considered more risky. I don't know why and don't recall anyone asking if they did I don't remember the answer, maybe profiles historically default more often with more store cards. Or perhaps a sign of previous credit trouble.

Good rule if the store you shop at often AND it has Better rewards than what another card would give then get it. Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart or target are places you may shop regularly and often times gives 0% interest for your larger purchases. All tires bad or mechanical issues and there's a card with 0% available not a bad idea..

Kohls or Victoria Secret where you shop 2x a year but nothing special outside the 1x discount probably not too worth it.

Of course everyone will have to decide on their own what makes sense to them. I wouldn't RUN from all store cards but definitely wouldn't apply for easy approvals. CCC also know how easy they are so they aren't impressed by 143 store cards and 2 capital ones and a credit one card

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 21:40:12 GMT

i just have one store card amex Macy's and maybe Lowe's soon!

Re: Store card denials???

chalupaman — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 21:41:45 GMT

Any store cards I have can actually grow or are at high limits already, though I did close two of those recently.

Re: Store card denials???

ddemari — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:34:20 GMT

I think store cards are fine if you shop at the places, pif and can manage lots of cards.

my impression of store cards has changed over the past few years. A lot of store cards offer some really good benefits, can grow SUPER high and a lot are cobranded mc/visas. I am an authorized user on an old navy visa opened up with my mom in 2003, it was just a store card then but a few years back received a visa. that card has a 25,000 credit line.

all of my store cards have nice credit lines except target. never any love, will be stuck at 300 for ever.

Re: Store card denials???

kdm31091 — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 01:06:38 GMT

Store cards are okay in moderation as long as they are not making up the majority of your file. Sure you'll see success stories on here from people with 20, 30, or even more store cards, but IMO, it's not the right way to go. Your profile should consist of mainly "regular use" cards, not store cards.

Now if you shop somewhere constantly and the store card would offer you a great benefit, it makes sense. Kohl's is a decent store card that gives out pretty good discounts to those who shop there frequently, for example. But if you only shop somewhere once in awhile, it's probably not worth it, and many stores offer free loyalty card programs that give you discounts without a credit card (Kohl's for example again, I have their free loyalty card and get plenty of emailed coupons).

So in short, if something really appeals to you, go for it. In moderation. As a general rule though, don't expect huge growth (though there are exceptions). Don't let it overrun your profile, and you'll be fine.

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 13:51:12 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low but most of my balances WAS from my Kohls and Macy's card. Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR? This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.

You didn't get denied for an AMEX because you had store cards

You got denied for an AMEX because:

1) Your credit sucks

2) You owe too much in relation to your limits. What was your limit on Kohl's and Macy's. How much did you owe on EACH one respectively?

I had approximately 40 store cards when I applied for an AMEX with a 700 score and was accepted for both PRG and BCP (which I 3X CLI to 25K)

What were your other reasons for denial? That's where you'll find the REAL reason you were denied.

Re: Store card denials???

takeshi74 — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 13:10:22 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low

What's "very low"? Clearly your interpretation doesn't jive with AmEx's. What was your overall? What was it for each of your store cards?

@icyhot wrote:
Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR?

Don't rely on such oversimplifcations. It's not about X. It's about your overall credit profile and X. For your profile your store card balances were too high for AmEx. Creditors are not all identical so you can't assume that every creditor would have the exact same concerns as AmEx. Plenty of people with good credit have no problems with store cards in their profiles.

@icyhot wrote:
This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.

...and don't just jump and react like that. Carefully research and think things out before taking action. Closing those may have been a good decision for you but it wasn't necessarily the best reaction to the AmEx denial. As stated above, if your profile is heavily weighted towards store cards it might help.

Re: Store card denials???

icyhot — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 21:56:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@icyhot wrote:
One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low but most of my balances WAS from my Kohls and Macy's card. Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR? This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.
You didn't get denied for an AMEX because you had store cards

You got denied for an AMEX because:

1) Your credit sucks
2) You owe too much in relation to your limits. What was your limit on Kohl's and Macy's. How much did you owe on EACH one respectively?

I had approximately 40 store cards when I applied for an AMEX with a 700 score and was accepted for both PRG and BCP (which I 3X CLI to 25K)

What were your other reasons for denial? That's where you'll find the REAL reason you were denied.

I owed 300 on a 700 Kohls Limit and I think 600 on a 2500 Macy's limit. My other denial reasons were that I had too many recent accounts in relation to total account and inquires.

Re: Store card denials???

icyhot — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 21:57:53 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@icyhot wrote:
One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low
What's "very low"? Clearly your interpretation doesn't jive with AmEx's. What was your overall? What was it for each of your store cards?

@icyhot wrote:
Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR?
Don't rely on such oversimplifcations. It's not about X. It's about your overall credit profile and X. For your profile your store card balances were too high for AmEx. Creditors are not all identical so you can't assume that every creditor would have the exact same concerns as AmEx. Plenty of people with good credit have no problems with store cards in their profiles.

@icyhot wrote:
This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.
...and don't just jump and react like that. Carefully research and think things out before taking action. Closing those may have been a good decision for you but it wasn't necessarily the best reaction to the AmEx denial. As stated above, if your profile is heavily weighted towards store cards it might help.

At the time it was around 14%

Re: Store card denials???

SunriseEarth — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:39:27 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
One time I applied for an Amex and one of the denial reasons was

TOO MUCH OWED ON RETAIL ACCOUNTS

my utilization at the time was very low but most of my balances WAS from my Kohls and Macy's card. Do prime banks really not like to see store cards on a CR? This freaked me out so I closed all but 2 of the 7 I had.

Hmmm. What are your scores like? Have you ever had an AMEX before?

Re: Store card denials???

icyhot — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:40:55 GMT

When I applied they were in the low 700s (denial letter stated 714) and no I had not

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:45:59 GMT

I believe it does. Too many stores cards are frowned upon. I did read this last year. Major cards will boost your score even higher. I've had a few store cards for many years & when I got the big boys I seen much more of an increase in scores over time.

Re: Store card denials???

SunriseEarth — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:47:16 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
When I applied they were in the low 700s (denial letter stated 714) and no I had not

Hmm. Maybe they didn't like the UTIL specifically on the Kohl's. $300 of $700 is 43% UTIL. AMEX seems to like lower overall UTIL as well as low UTIL on each CC. That seems very stringent on their part.

You might want to see about getting a CLI on Kohl's. If they don't budge, you could always try going through the Cap One EO.

Re: Store card denials???

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:50:54 GMT

Chase does also. My daughter had a 10k limit with them & never really used the card. They dropped her down to 2k.

Re: Store card denials???

icyhot — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:50:55 GMT

I did finally get a CLI on my Kohl's and got the balance down to $150. Then I just had to finance a PS4 =O