topic Re: Chase Pre-approvals. in Credit Cards

Chase Pre-approvals.

ThomasJNewton — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:20:05 GMT

My BF had a Slate and a Freedom that Chase closed in November of 2020. They were completely paid off a few months later and eventually he opened a checking account with them. A year or two ago, he started showing pre-approvals for various cards of theirs, but he never pulled the trigger on any of them. When they first showed up, he had no balances on any of his existing cards. Then for a while he had balances on all three of his cards, and now again should show no balances. What we want to know is are those pre-approvals are actually meaningful (in other words, were he to apply would he likely be granted a card)? He is interested in the 175,000 points on the Chase Saphire Reserve card (he needs to buy more than $5,000 in new gear by the 8th of January, so if he can get the card by then, it would be covered in the first few days).

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

FicoMike0 — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:44:30 GMT

We're the accounts late, closed due to default, etc?

Even so, if paid in full, they may not hold a grudge.

Id give it a try

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ptatohed — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:58:57 GMT

Check a few soft pull pre-approval cards just to get a flavor. What are his scores and other credit/income factors?

I don't think I have ever seen anyone go from a Slate to a $795 Sapphire Reserve but all the power to him.

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ElvisCaprice — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 22:06:36 GMT

If it wasn't for the pre approvals, I wouldn't have taken the last 5 CC's in 6 months. Give Chase pre approval another shot, CHASE

I already know I'm not, way over 5/24

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ThomasJNewton — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 17:28:50 GMT

@FicoMike0 wrote:
We're the accounts late, closed due to default, etc?

Both accounts were opened in 2017 along with a third one from Capital One. When he opened them, he had a Bank of America account that was almost two years old. He had periods in which they were paid in full and periods during which he ran a balance. In 2020, two things happened: in one month (I do not remember the order of the two things, as it has been over 5 years), he missed the payment by a few minutes (made just after midnight eastern time, in another month, he neglected to make a transfer between two of his accounts and so bounced a payment. He got the notice before they did, called them and replaced the payment before it was even late. He was running a balance at the time. After whichever happened second, they closed both accounts. He opened a checking account/savings account with them as it was the only way to ever get any indication of pre-approval. He took a bit over a year to pay off the accounts (during COVID-19, he decided that it was more important to having cash available rather than completely paying off a closed account quickly), but was never late and always paid off more than the minimum.

About 6 months after he paid off the two accounts he started getting Chase Pre-approvals in the “For you” section of the app. His two oldest cards are his Bank of America Custom Cash Rewards just about 10 years old with a credit limit of $7,500 and his 8 year 9 month old Capital One Quicksilver card with a credit limit of $10,500. Both have zero balances and should report in the next few days. Since he had those cards, he also added an Apple Card 3 years and 6 months old, with a credit limit of 12,500 and a reported balance of $120.

Even so, if paid in full, they may not hold a grudge.

Given that they never lost any money on him, it would be strange for them to hold a grudge. His profile is quite different from when he had those cards. At the time he had 4 cards in total (two of them the Chase ones that were closed), with the oldest being about 4 years old. Now he has 3 cards, with the oldest almost 10 years, the second oldest at about 8 years, and the most recent being over 3 years. He has also had a car lease that was paid off in 2021 and a car loan that was paid off a month ago.

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ThomasJNewton — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 17:48:20 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
Check a few soft pull pre-approval cards just to get a flavor.

That is a good idea, had not thought of that.

What are his scores and other credit/income factors?

I will check his scores when I get home. His income is $185,000 and currently has $190 in debt, with $30,310 in available credit.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone go from a Slate to a $795 Sapphire Reserve but all the power to him.

He has not had any card from them for over 5 years (when they closed his Slate and Freedom cards), and those cards were issued almost 8.5 years ago, so it is not like his is going from one to the other particularly quickly.

To be clear, are you saying you do not think they will approve the Saphire Reserve because of the jump, or that it is strange for him to be considering such a large jump?

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ptatohed — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 18:04:37 GMT

@ThomasJNewton wrote:
@ptatohed wrote:
Check a few soft pull pre-approval cards just to get a flavor.
That is a good idea, had not thought of that.

What are his scores and other credit/income factors?
I will check his scores when I get home. His income is $185,000 and currently has $190 in debt, with $30,310 in available credit.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone go from a Slate to a $795 Sapphire Reserve but all the power to him.
He has not had any card from them for over 5 years (when they closed his Slate and Freedom cards), and those cards were issued almost 8.5 years ago, so it is not like his is going from one to the other particularly quickly.

To be clear, are you saying you do not think they will approve the Saphire Reserve because of the jump, or that it is strange for him to be considering such a large jump?

TJN,

I am not saying at all that he won't get approved for the Chase SR. If that's the card he wants and you guys think he'll get approved, go for it. It just sounds like he's been out of the credit card game for some time and, to me, it seems a little odd to jump in to a $795 Annual Fee card for a first card back. Heck, I consider myself an experienced credit card'ist and, even I wouldn't dare take on a $795 card. But, I'm sure you guys have done all the math with the large Welcome Offer, anticipated spend, use of available credits, etc. So, go forth and enjoy! GL.

Re: Chase Pre-approvals.

ThomasJNewton — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 07:06:22 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
I am not saying at all that he won't get approved for the Chase SR. If that's the card he wants and you guys think he'll get approved, go for it.

We were not sure, but he was pre-approved, so that was why we were asking how solid their pre-approvals were. As a follow up, he applied and was approved with a starting line of $25,000.

It just sounds like he's been out of the credit card game for some time and, to me, it seems a little odd to jump in to a $795 Annual Fee card for a first card back. Heck, I consider myself an experienced credit card'ist and, even I wouldn't dare take on a $795 card. But, I'm sure you guys have done all the math with the large Welcome Offer, anticipated spend, use of available credits, etc. So, go forth and enjoy! GL.

He has already cleared his 175,000 point signup bonus and is almost through his $300 travel credit, so it seems like his first year will be fine. After that we will reevaluate! Thanks to everyone for their feedback.