topic Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given in Credit Cards

Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:36:23 GMT

A couple of months ago, I applied for the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card because I really liked the cash back offer. I've never had trouble getting credit before, but I got an e-mail back that I was denied. There was a link to a page that was supposed to give a reason, but I've checked back a few times and it just keeps saying it's not available. I checked my credit reports, and there were no negative items. I took out a 36 month auto loan about a year ago, which I've been paying regularly. I have a few credit cards with a lot of unused credit. The Chase Freedom card does have pretty high utilization – it's still at 0% interest, after all. I need to pay it down soon, though. It's the only one I've been carrying a balance on.

Is this card really that hard to get? Should I try again after I pay down that balance, or just forget about it?

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

pizzadude — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:47:06 GMT

They should have given you a reason and also provided your score as well. If you can take another inquiry, I would apply again and if you are declined, work on correcting the issues which are on the denial letter.

AMEX offers you the option to view your application results on~line; make sure that you have this set up correctly....

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:51:48 GMT

It is pretty strange. I can still go to the card application status online, and it shows up as declined. But when I click "view the full decision detail," it always says:

Sorry, your application cannot be accessed.
Please try again later.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

jason86423 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:08:09 GMT

I have had that error come up unless I am using Internet Explorer for my browser. You could always call customer service also.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Uncle_Money — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:11:06 GMT

I just converted my BCE to BCP.

Typically, Amex revolvers are more difficult to obtain than their charge cards. The ability to carry a balance probably poses more risk than having to pay it off each month.

Did you try calling them?

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:31:02 GMT

Thanks for the Internet Explorer advice--never occured to me that Firefox wouldn't work. Here are the details:

We evaluated your application using a credit scoring system that considers various pieces of information, including your credit report. The following key factors contributed to our evaluation:

Amount of credit available on accounts (Experian)

Lack of bank account or lack of bank account information.

Too many credit card accounts on which, in our estimation, you have not paid a majority of the balance in recent months. (Experian)

Your FICO? score (See below)

Information About Your FICO? Score

We obtained your FICO score from Experian and used it in making our credit decision. Your FICO score is a number that reflects the information in your credit report. Your FICO score can change, depending on how the information in your credit report changes. On October 13, 2011, your FICO score was 758. The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. The following are the key factors that contributed to your FICO score:

Length of time accounts have been established.

Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high.

Proportion of revolving balances to revolving credit limits is too high.

Time since most recent account opening is too short.

Too many inquiries in the last 12 months

So, that tells me something. I got the Chase Freedom card in February, and it's the only one I haven't paid in full each month. I don't see the credit union where I have my checking account on my credit reports. Should it be there?

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:36:12 GMT

Hmmm, Experian has the credit limit on my Bank Of America card listed as NA. It should be $10,000. I never even use that card anymore.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:00:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the Internet Explorer advice--never occured to me that Firefox wouldn't work. Here are the details:

We evaluated your application using a credit scoring system that considers various pieces of information, including your credit report. The following key factors contributed to our evaluation:

Amount of credit available on accounts (Experian)
Lack of bank account or lack of bank account information.
Too many credit card accounts on which, in our estimation, you have not paid a majority of the balance in recent months. (Experian)
Your FICO? score (See below)

Information About Your FICO? Score
We obtained your FICO score from Experian and used it in making our credit decision. Your FICO score is a number that reflects the information in your credit report. Your FICO score can change, depending on how the information in your credit report changes. On October 13, 2011, your FICO score was 758. The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. The following are the key factors that contributed to your FICO score:

Length of time accounts have been established.
Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high.
Proportion of revolving balances to revolving credit limits is too high.
Time since most recent account opening is too short.
Too many inquiries in the last 12 months

So, that tells me something. I got the Chase Freedom card in February, and it's the only one I haven't paid in full each month. I don't see the credit union where I have my checking account on my credit reports. Should it be there?

How old is your credit? (oldest account, open or closed, still on your reports) What's your AAoA? (average age of accounts)
How much do you owe on your installments, including mortgage, and how much are the totals of your installment loans, including mortgage?
How much are the total reported balances on your CC's? (amounts reported on statements, not how much you owe on the due dates)
How long ago did you open your last account?
How many inqs on EX during the last 12 months?

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:10:12 GMT

1. Oldest account opened 09/1999 (12 years, 3 months). Avearge account age 4 years, 7 months.

2. I don't have a mortgage--I rent. I owe $10,254 on my car, out of an original $14,039.

3. Reported credit card balances = $5,098.

4. I opened the Chase Freedom account 02/2011.

5. Experian only lists two "Inquiries Shared With Others" from the last 12 months. One is from this application to American Express, and the other is for the Chase card.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

steve23111 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:45:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
1. Oldest account opened 09/1999 (12 years, 3 months). Avearge account age 4 years, 7 months.
2. I don't have a mortgage--I rent. I owe $10,254 on my car, out of an original $14,039.
3. Reported credit card balances = $5,098.
4. I opened the Chase Freedom account 02/2011.
5. Experian only lists two "Inquiries Shared With Others" from the last 12 months. One is from this application to American Express, and the other is for the Chase card.

Probably the reported balances.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:16:09 GMT

Any idea what sort of balances they'd be looking for? The credit cards should be down to about $2000 soon (just for purchases in the grace period). There's not much I can do for the car loan other than paying it off over the next couple of years.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Revelate — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:47:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Any idea what sort of balances they'd be looking for? The credit cards should be down to about $2000 soon (just for purchases in the grace period). There's not much I can do for the car loan other than paying it off over the next couple of years.

Or pay more than the minimum on the car to drive the principal down faster. Also perhaps refiance it to lower your payment if needed and possible.

In my case as an example, instead of a credit card I'm trying to finagle a mortgage: I'm going to have to lay the smack down on my current auto loan for an eventual mortgage application 9-18 months out, so instead of the default 570ish payment on a 60 month note, I'm just going to pay 2k / month on it until I can refi it down to a rate which isn't utterly laughable for a car loan.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

LS2982 — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:52:53 GMT

How long ago did you app?? I'd be reconing that in a heartbeat!

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:00:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
1. Oldest account opened 09/1999 (12 years, 3 months). Avearge account age 4 years, 7 months.
2. I don't have a mortgage--I rent. I owe $10,254 on my car, out of an original $14,039.
3. Reported credit card balances = $5,098.
4. I opened the Chase Freedom account 02/2011.
5. Experian only lists two "Inquiries Shared With Others" from the last 12 months. One is from this application to American Express, and the other is for the Chase card.

What is the credit limit on your Chase card?

What is the sum of all your revolving accts?

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

CS800 — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:30:48 GMT

Did you call to recon?

And if you were not satisfied, call back

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:52:25 GMT

I'm not sure if it's too late to ask to reconsider. I applied in October, then put it on the backburner while I waited for them to fix their website. Turns out it just didn't work with Firefox--pretty unbelieveable given its market share, but oh well.

I've got about $3000 on the Chase Freedom card out of a $3500 limit (the lowest of any card, actually), but I was planning on paying it off soon anyway since the 0% interest ends in February. The sum of all the credit limits is $32,600. Some of the older accounts I never use anymore as I've moved on to cards with various rewards.

The car loan's just at 2.7%, so I doubt I could refinance for much better. I've been planning on just making the monthly payments until it's paid off Jan. 2014.

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

aussiesareforever — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:50:38 GMT

I think it was retarded you were denied. The best thing would have been to call them right after you got the email. My opinion would be to wait six months after the application and apply again (so say around April). That should give you enough time to pay off some of your credit card balances too. I really don't think the Auto loan plays a big role in their decision

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

luvsandyshores — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:33:08 GMT

Thanks for the browser info - I had the same problem, never thought it would be Firefox's fault!

Re: Denied for Blue Cash Preferred -- no reason given

learnin113 — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:38:45 GMT

When your denial letter seems wacky or not entirely accurate, you have a perfect opening for a recon. OP, I think you should be giving Amex Credit Dept a call asap.