Post-discharge: Why can't I get approved for the same cards everyone else?

[jmcmillan]

I did a lot of research waiting for this moment, and I'm getting denied for everything.

Discover denied me due to my bankruptcy.

Capital One denied me due to delinquent past credit obligations (I thought Capital One was forgiving?)

US bank denied me. (still waiting for the letter)

I guess I'm applying for OpenSky while everyone else gets to enjoy their prime CCs

[Jnbmom]

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@jmcmillan wrote:

I did a lot of research waiting for this moment, and I'm getting denied for everything.

Discover denied me due to my bankruptcy.

Capital One denied me due to delinquent past credit obligations (I thought Capital One was forgiving?)

US bank denied me. (still waiting for the letter)

I guess I'm applying for OpenSky while everyone else gets to enjoy their prime CCs

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When was your BK discharged?

[Anonymous]

I too got denied for most of the credit cards that were advetised as "easy." What cards did you apply for specifically?

Discover IT (secured) denied me (but I burned them pretty hard) along with many of the others. If you're not getting approved for cards don't keep applying for them (hard inquiries don't help). Do a lot of research before applying for any card when possible. 

I ended up with 2 OpenSky credit cards for about a year post bankrupcy. Fees suck so don't keep them forever. Fingerhut was my other line that got approved right away. I bought a few cheap things off the site and haven't touched it since but I'm leaving it until they inevidibly close it due to inactivity. I can't see anyone NOT getting approved for these guys so I'd start there.

After about 6 months post bankrupcy I got approved for the Capital One platinum (wanted to avoid fees). Use the preapproval thing before applying always. I am currently sitting with that and the Tomo Credit card (love it but the waitlist sucked). Still won't qualify for major cards though so need to be patient (and I'm about 1.5 years post ch7). 

The options aren't "great" but I'd still avoid some of the scam options (like Credit One). Best of luck. Time heals all wounds. 

[jmcmillan]

My bankruptcy was dishachrged on Dec 24. My reports shows discharge and they are only showing my auto loan with one late payment, and a private student loan.

The cards I applied for are mentioned in my original post.  I did a lot of research, so I didn't just apply out of ignorance.

[Jnbmom]

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@jmcmillan wrote:

My bankruptcy was dishachrged on Dec 24. My reports shows discharge and they are only showing my auto loan with one late payment, and a private student loan.

The cards I applied for are mentioned in my original post.  I did a lot of research, so I didn't just apply out of ignorance.

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Your discharge isn't even a month old. It takes times you have to be patient, not everyone has the same experiences rebuilding. Cap One is forgiving, but again your discharge is fresh. You may have to go the secured card route. I suggest you spend sometime reading in the rebulding forum.

[Bankrupt2019]

You say that you're not "applying out of ignorance" I hate to be that guy, but you shouldn't be applying. You should be trying the soft pull pre-qualifications before wasting a hard pull. That being said, there are credit unions that will give secured cards the day after discharge. 

Don't get discouraged. Get motivated. Stop applying, start researching. A few clicks and phones calls can save a lot of disappointment. 

As an example I got a Discover card a couple months after BK. But they won't touch my wife because she burned them. 
She got an Ollo offer, I didn't.

Calital one let her in the day discharge reported but it took me a month.   

everything is YMMV.

[angelofmusic86]

Who did you burn during your BK?  Cap 1 likes to wait a year post delinquency whether it was a chargeoff or BK filing.   Always, always do a pre-qual.  Personally, Discover probably won't let me in for a few years because I burned them pretty hard.

I will say that Credit One isn't a scam card unlike the other person posted.  It's an equally terrible subprime card for those of us that are rebuilding.  I didn't want to apply, but I did the pre-qual for their reward card with 1.5% cashback and was pre-qualled at $500 which I took because paying $95 a year for a visa was a cost of rebuild to me.  I will be cancelling before the next $95 fee because while it was good to start, I don't think it's worth it long term.  The think with them is that they charge fees for stupid stuff like authorized users - but that can be all managed with proactive management.   

Anyway, rebuild is a long marathon.  I get we all want to jump back into things, but it takes time and discipline to do that.

[jmcmillan]

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@angelofmusic86 wrote:

Who did you burn during your BK?  Cap 1 likes to wait a year post delinquency whether it was a chargeoff or BK filing.   Always, always do a pre-qual.  Personally, Discover probably won't let me in for a few years because I burned them pretty hard.

I burned Amex, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Citi, and Navy Federal.

I did end up applying for Capital One, and they denied me without even pulling my credit.

I had a chat with US Bank, and the underwriter told me the only reason they couldn't approve me is because of my student loan balances... which I'm currently working on. He said bankruptcy was not a factor, so I should be good for approval once the student loans are resolved.

Since I posted this, I became a SDFCU member and got approved for their secured card, and I also applied for OpenSky. The latter is not ideal, but I really just wanted two open CCs while I'm dealing with the student loans, so I'm feeling better. Hopefully I can get approved for something else in a year so I can close OpenSky before the next annual fee.

[angelofmusic86]

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@jmcmillan wrote:

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@angelofmusic86 wrote:

Who did you burn during your BK?  Cap 1 likes to wait a year post delinquency whether it was a chargeoff or BK filing.   Always, always do a pre-qual.  Personally, Discover probably won't let me in for a few years because I burned them pretty hard.

I burned Amex, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Citi, and Navy Federal.

I did end up applying for Capital One, and they denied me without even pulling my credit.

I had a chat with US Bank, and the underwriter told me the only reason they couldn't approve me is because of my student loan balances... which I'm currently working on. He said bankruptcy was not a factor, so I should be good for approval once the student loans are resolved.

Since I posted this, I became a SDFCU member and got approved for their secured card, and I also applied for OpenSky. The latter is not ideal, but I really just wanted two open CCs while I'm dealing with the student loans, so I'm feeling better. Hopefully I can get approved for something else in a year so I can close OpenSky before the next annual fee.

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Congrats on your approvals.  Where you delinquent on CapitalOne before filing?  If not, you'll have to wait until a year from filing before they let you back in - just check their pre-qual site a few times around that time.

However, with all those hard inquires I'd try to hold off as long as possible before applying for anything else.

[jmcmillan]

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@angelofmusic86 wrote:

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Congrats on your approvals.  Where you delinquent on CapitalOne before filing?  If not, you'll have to wait until a year from filing before they let you back in - just check their pre-qual site a few times around that time.

However, with all those hard inquires I'd try to hold off as long as possible before applying for anything else.

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I was not ever delinquent on my Capital One account. I actually made my minimum payment a couple days before I filed (I burned them for about $250, as advised by my lawyer).

I'm not worried about a few inquiries (I have 3 on EX and 1 on TU) because I'm making educated decisons when applying, and I will be gardening until I get my student loan mess cleaned up.