topic Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts? in Credit Cards

Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:58:08 GMT

So first some background info.

I am 26 and have never had a late payment in my life. I have had a visa through wells fargo since 2005 and have paid the balance off at the end of the month all but maye twice since I got the card. The current limit is 10200 and I keep the balance between 1k and 3k. I recently paid off a boat loan for 25K and a motorcycle for 12k. I have also paid off my student loans completely and am currently 100% debt free with the exception of what is on the visa. This is the only account I have applied for since July 2011 which was the motorcycle loan which is already paid off. All of my other accounts I have are older than the Visa (pre 2005) and are all in good standing.

I thought this would be a good time to apply for a card from another lender with better offerings than wells fargo. Apparently I was wrong. I applied in early August and was denied, I called to have them look it over again and was again denied. I recieved the rejection letter that said my FICO score was 730 at the time of the application and the reasons given for the decline in the letter were: lack of recent revolving account information, amount owed on accounts too high, too few accounts currently paid as agreed, and something else about a revolving account.

I opened a savings account with amex following the decline hoping that it might make a difference for the next time I apply (wishful thinking). I am trying to leave wells fargo slowly so that I do not dramatically decrease the average account life now that I have been in the same spot for so long. Anyway, I would really appreciate some insight into why amex is being so stingy and how to make myself more appealing to them. I am not the most experienced in the area but I can not see what the issue is. Beyond that, the csr's at amex suck and are of zero help at all. Thanks

-ham

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

youngandcreditwrthy — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:01:34 GMT

That's so weird... There have been other threads with posters who have like mid to high 600's getting approved for this card. I'd double check your reports!

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:02:55 GMT

Looking for fraud?

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:22:22 GMT

The only issue that I really see is only having one credit card, honestly I'm pretty surprised you were denied. I've never really thought of the Amex Blue cards as being that hard to obtain. I guess you could apply for another card that interests you then apply for Amex again after it reports for a few months. I guess you can also make sure that you report a <10% balance on your previous card (0 on your second if you go that route) when you apply.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

LS2982 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:29:52 GMT

Did you have a balance at all reporting when you apped? Not sure if I missed that in your original post.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

DeadSpider — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:32:19 GMT

I think you need to have 2-3 credit card for better approval.

They don't see LOANS as revolving credit.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Jlu — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:33:58 GMT

BCP or BCE?

If BCP I'm marginally surprised at your denial and would recommend opening a second CC.

If BCE I'm extremely surprised at your denial and would recommend pulling your CRs.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:44:00 GMT

I applied for the Blue Cash Everyday, not the preferred. I did have a balance at the time of the application and it could have been anything from 800 to 2500 on the visa. I have pulled the credit report from experian since to see if there is anything funky on there, but I have not received it yet. Either way I am rather frusterated with the whole thing and do not really know what a good next step is.

-ham

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

LS2982 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:49:19 GMT

Balance may have been too high if 2500 was reporting.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:53:49 GMT

Op I would pull your credit report from experian (or whoever amex put on your denial letter) to see what's going on. The denial reasons cited seem odd given your description of your credit history.

Did you have a balance reporting on your wells Fargo card when you applied? If you had no balance reporting that could be a reason for the denial. for reference, a 1-9% balance reporting at the time of application would have been ideal.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:00:12 GMT

Is there anything else that I could/should do before applying again? I was going to wait a month or two and then see what happens, but am not sure what is necessary or ideal timing to try again. I will make sure that the balance on the card is reasonably low at that time and keep my fingers crossed. Other than that I am waiting for my credit report to come in to check for anything out of the ordinary.

Also I just wanted to say thanks to all for the input. It is much appreciated.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Jlu — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:07:30 GMT

If your balance is more than 30% of you're total limits then that is your probable cause for denial. Bringing these balances down will almost ensure you are successful in your next app. You can apply in 30 days.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

DeadSpider — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:15:06 GMT

I don't think it's a balance issue my wife was approved for 10K for BCP and had $6500 balance on CITI.

You lack revolving credit apply for 1 or 2 credit cards let them report and try again.

Look for a credit card you might use and apply.

Discover is good to have and Chase Freedom.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

swpopham — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:23:00 GMT

I would open a Chase sapphire prefered. Amex picks and chooses who they like or don't like. They love my wife and hate me. We confirmed that, her account was perfect forever and as soon as I was added as a joint owner, FRed over and over again. Until we closed our business and personal cards and moved 40k a month spending over to chase. No issues what so ever.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:33:53 GMT

I considered the Chase Sapphire but I think that my second choice after the Blue Cash would be the Barclaycard Rewards. How long does it take for a new card to begin reporting, and how long should I wait before reapplying?

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Cdnewmanpac — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 01:03:24 GMT

Easiest way to track what has posted is through credit karma, which is free. They use TU, which is generally the slowest to report. Once credit karma alerts you to a new account, it is a safe bet it is reporting on the other two. Be careful with Barclays. They are notorious for cancelling or reducing credit limits if you have a bunch of inquiries within 6 months AFTER approval. Chase freedom, discover more and citi forward all seem more inclined towards thin files lately. As to when to apply, you could try right after the new cards report, but with the denial reasons you got, 6 months is more likely. Edited to uncorrect autocorrect.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

espnjunkie — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:41:10 GMT

I would recommend trying to pay off any outstanding balances in full before applying for a credit card. It's easy to overlook utilization, but creditors may see your application as desparation for additional credit when you are already carrying balances. Not saying that's the only reason for denial, but is a possibility

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 21:12:53 GMT

I was denied when applying for my BCE, and I called the same day. When looking over my app they realized a zero was missing from my income. They fixed the app and I was approved instantly. Try calling and see if there is anything more they can do.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

LS2982 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 21:15:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I considered the Chase Sapphire but I think that my second choice after the Blue Cash would be the Barclaycard Rewards. How long does it take for a new card to begin reporting, and how long should I wait before reapplying?

This is a very good product with Barclays and they give nice CL's. I would recommend them.

Re: Shot down for Blue Cash, any thoughts?

webhopper — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 21:48:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Op I would pull your credit report from experian (or whoever amex put on your denial letter) to see what's going on. The denial reasons cited seem odd given your description of your credit history.

Did you have a balance reporting on your wells Fargo card when you applied? If you had no balance reporting that could be a reason for the denial. for reference, a 1-9% balance reporting at the time of application would have been ideal.

OP, don't be discouraged... Pay before your statement cuts on your BOA card, and apply again. You may want to look at a charge product or a co-branded Amex, such as Costco or Hilton one, as the criteria can be easier to meet..

dont be discouraged!