topic Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation? in Credit Cards

Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:30:35 GMT

Hi All,

New user hoping to turn around his credit health..

I've been recently been receiving these Slate card offers. I've been browsing the forums a bit and thought that this card could help me start turning things around. But I was denied.

Current Credit Score - 649

Reasons:

- Too many CC accounts with high balances compared to limits (3 cards.. totaling 6k at 90% overall)

- Total available credit is too low

- Credit card balances grew too fast compared to CC time on file

- Credit bureau report shows delinquincy

CC 1 - $2300 balance / $2500 limit

CC 2 - $2700 balance / $3000 limit

CC 3 - $700 balance / $750 limit

Okay.. I know it doesn't look good. But things should be looking up real soon. Unfortunately I was out of a job for some time shortly out of college and had to rely on credit which explains the top 3 reasons. The 1 delinquincy 1-2 years ago that was a department store late payment. I had thought I had paid the entire balance off.. but a small amount was left over that caused this delinquincy.. it was under $20.

I recently got a well paying job in the last year and am finally ready to knock these balances out after paying off other debts (parent's owed a loan shark $10k). I had moved back home with my parents to save more money. I'm currently making 3.8k after taxes. My student loan and bills run me about 800/month. So I have $3k to work with - living expenses starting this month.

I was told to request a credit line increase or to apply for a new credit card for a balance transfer. Slate seemed like a good decision.. had I been approved. Now should I attempt a recon? Or is there just too much working against me right now. Should I still request a limit increase on my larger accounts? I've been with the bank for over 5 years now. (I'm 27). Or should I just pay down my current balances before anything else? I know multiple inquiries will just hurt my score..

If you could help me with any information/tips or pointers that would be great!

Thank you in advance!

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:41:53 GMT

The Chase Slate is primarily a balance transfer card, right? I think so. Yeah, give them a call and explain to them that you wanted to transfer your balance to a lower interest card or something.

If I'm totally wrong about this card, then a recon is a free 2nd chance. You've got nothing to lose.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:02:03 GMT

you are already a customer with chase for 5 years, right? if so, you stand a good chance. like wells fargo, they value banking relationship a lot.

call recon. the worst outcome is you're going to get another denial which you already got, so you basically got nothing to lose.

explain your entire situation, like you have, to the recon analyst.

also, you might want to pay more than just minimum payment, and if you're able to do that, emphasize that as well. banks are really terrified of dead beats who owe a lot and pay minimum payment for extended periods of time, because the risk of this group of people defaulting is a lot higher than the norm.

how long is your AAoA and age of oldest account? that matters too. you have a 650 credit score with almost maxed out balances, kinda similar to my situation about 1-2 years ago. I was reporting >90% balances because i didn't care about due dates and kept swiping even though I PIF. My score jumped by over 120 points once all my balances were reporting at 0. My AAoA was 6 years, oldest account 8 years, with a 30-day late in 2006 for $2 (got to love Macy's).

So even if your recon doesn't work out, your scores should still see quite a jump if you can pay down part of your debt, if your AAoA and other stuff aren't lacking. Lastly, the other alternative is for you to take up a personal loan. There's going to be interest fees, but at least it isn't anywhere as ridiculous as the interest rates credit cards are charging you.

best of luck with your recon. Call a few times if you have to.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Cdnewmanpac — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:10:00 GMT

So first, and this should be a popup on the site instead of the discover it thing, you should ALWAYS recon. It costs you nothing and it works an awful lot.

That being said, you've discovered the great catch 22 of credit: if you ask for it when you need it, nobody will give it to you. So of course the time for you to do a balance transfer is when you have several balances on high interest cards approaching max. But from a bank standpoint, the people who do that (run up balances on all their cards, then apply for another) are historically more likely to default.

If you have any cash on hand, I recommend the following: if you are still within a few weeks of your application, take any money you have and apply it towards your balances. Try to get them all below 80%. Then call the recon line, explain your situation and let them know that you have already begun paying down these balances. Dont say you want the card to save money (they don't care). State that you have a relationship with chase, that these balances were due to a period after college when you didn't have a job and you want to consolidate them down to one card to make it easier to pay them off quickly. Mention explicitly your long-term relationship with chase and that with your new job, you hope to expand that relationship. Chase is relationship oriented.

Good luck.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:15:31 GMT

Ask for SOFT PULL clis: this will artificially low utilization
AND RECON ONCE, RECON TWICE...
Recon 3x!!!!!
I got a $5k Freedom with a 637 FICO, although I had only like 15% util.

However, if the Analysts continue to deny you. Ask them if maybe a Chase Freedom would be approval worthy...
You'd have to pay a 3% bt fee, BUT it's a GREAT cash back card and you get 15 mos 0% on bts and purchases!!

Good luck!
And please use the recon effort as many times as necessary... Some guy reconned 9x the other day to get a $10k Citi card! Lol

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:17:29 GMT

I would also NOT mention the previous unemployment situation. Banks hate that. In lieu of that, mention a "personal" emergency. But obviously, you have the means to pay, as well as a new, higher paying job.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

a3quit4s — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:18:25 GMT

That 90% is killer but I fully agree with Cdnewmanpac; use that to your advantage, say you've been trying to pay the balances down but the APR is killer and you want to balance transfer some of it.

ALWAYS RECON

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

LisaJ — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:32:16 GMT

I have had to recon every Chase app I have ever done because the computer is triggered to deny based on items that can be explained. I am 3 for 3 with Chase on recon, and I have heard of others reconning (is that a word?) a few times before getting an answer that was favorable.

Here is the other thing I have learned about Chase: their CSRs are kind, attentive, and very, very helpful. I tried to get a reduction in interest or a product change because my Freeedom is at 28%. The CSR I got triedto run it (internal account review, no pull) and seemed genuinely concerned as to why I did not get a reduction. We briefly discussed a product change, but unlike Amex, the account would not back date with a new card, even though Freedom is my oldest account. He suggested that I target the card to pay off and talked to me about how to use the card to work for me-- ie; rewards categories. We chatted for awhile, and I mentioned that I had been a WAMU client....apparently once you have the penalty interest rate from WAMU, it sticks. It is very, very rare to get a reduction in interest if you were a WAMU client. He felt so bad for me, looking at my relationship and spending habits, and good record, that he told me that while I could not get a reduction, he would reverse the last threee months of interest, and advised me to call back every 6 months with the same request. He revealed that he, himself was in that situation , and I really felt understood. He did say that it would depend on the CSR and to not be afraid to call back a few times to get this accomplished.

I have to say I find Chase CS to be above the norm, every single time I have dealt with them. My advice--adding to what others have stated above--call them, be open, be honest, and don't be afraid to ask questions. At the very least they might be able to tell you what they need to see to grant that credit line.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:32:03 GMT

Excellent advice from Amex's newest member, LisaJ!!!!
:-)

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

LisaJ — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:57:37 GMT

Awwww, shucks. Thanks, Young!

Trust me, my credit profile was SO much worse, and my util was always crazy-high...took me a LONG time to realize that credit should work for you, not the other way around.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

navigatethis12 — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:11:55 GMT

The worst time to apply for credit is when you need it. Maybe back in 2004 or something they didn't care much about high utilisation, but I seriously doubt any lender is going to approve you with all of your cards maxed out. I don't believe a relationship with their deposit account side is going to help sway this in any way. I don't mean to sound too negative, but I am surprised everyone is saying to keep asking for reconsideration. Also if asking for a reconsideration with them, make sure to say you would like them to use the same credit report. Chase likes to pull a new inquiry right away.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Open123 — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:03:43 GMT

@navigatethis12 wrote:
The worst time to apply for credit is when you need it.

One of the most irrational adages I've heard brandied about over the years has been, "don't apply for credit unless you need it." Nothing can be futher from reality.

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Epcot — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:34:16 GMT

Definitely worth a recon. Unfortunately Chase is difficult to get with high util. I applied for a Slate a while back with high util and they gave me a toy limit.

Alot of good advice here, and welcome to the forum!

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:25:59 GMT

OP here. Thank you for all the great advice! It has really given me the framework I needed to rebuild my score.

I just wanted to clarify, my banking institution is BofA, my 2 large CC's are with them as well.Not particularly satisisfied with them, but it's convenient. So using the Chase relationship angle isn't an option unless I switch over?

Just wondering, there was advice to put available cash to lower my utilization and then attempt a recon. I have roughly $1,500 in discretionary funds that I can put onto my balances right now. That would lower my 91% ($5700/$6250) utilization to 67.2% ($4200/$6250) immediately. I'm sure this would help the recon, but how long must I wait before it takes affect for the credit analyst to see it? And lastly, how long do I have to recon from my application ldate (3/27).

Thanks again everyone!

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:40:46 GMT

Yw:-)!

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:58:43 GMT

You have 30 days. You would likely have to take a hard pull and wait for that lowered util to report to the CRAs. If you recon, you can say that but idk how much it would help

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 03:51:45 GMT

what credit bureau did they pull your score from???

Re: Chase Slate Denial - Even worth a recon with my current situation?

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 03:54:34 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
what credit bureau did they pull your score from???

This post is a year old. Chase can and will pull EX, EQ and TU. In some cases, they will double pull.