BOA Credit Card underwriting

[Anonymous]

I was aware of the BOA 2/3/4 rule.

• 2 BOA cards in a rolling 2-month period
• 3 BOA cards in a rolling 12-month period
• 4 BOA cards in a rolling 24-month period

But I was not aware that they put limits on other recent card openings too, along the lines of what Chase does.  Recently got rejected with excellent credit.  Reason:  "too many cards opened recently."

Will try again in branch once I become a preferred rewards member.  

Anyone else have this experience?

[Anonymous]

Nah, my excuse the last couple of times is I have too much credit available with them @ 65K on a single card.  

[coldfusion]

Having opened too many accounts recently is a justification all issuers use for denials, not just BoA/Chase, and the threshold applied is based upon each individual applicant's credit profile. 

How many new accounts have you opened in the last 6/12 months?

What do you mean when you say you have "excellent" credit?

BTW the BoA 2/3/4 rule only applies to BoA cards, unlike the Chase 5/24 rule which also applies to cards issued elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

---

@coldfusion wrote:

How many new accounts have you opened in the last 6/12 months?

What do you mean when you say you have "excellent" credit?

---

When I applied, it was 4 accounts in six months, 9 in twelve months.

Currently, it is 2 accounts in six months,  9 in twelve months.

In late July, it will be 2 in six and 6 in twelve.

In early October, it will be 0 in six and 4 in twelve.

Credit score 790-800 depending on the agency.

[coldfusion]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@coldfusion wrote:

How many new accounts have you opened in the last 6/12 months?

What do you mean when you say you have "excellent" credit?

---

When I applied, it was 4 accounts in six months, 9 in twelve months.

Currently, it is 2 accounts in six months,  9 in twelve months.

In late July, it will be 2 in six and 6 in twelve.

In early October, it will be 0 in six and 4 in twelve.

Credit score 790-800 depending on the agency.

---

OK, so almost certainly no derogs.   BoA does factor in the overall bank relationship when evaluating applications so your idea of moving assets into BoA IMO would be a sound strategy.  BoA checking/savings/CD and Merrill accounts including IRA accounts count toward getting and keepping Preferred Rewards status.  That status starts at $20K of assets, they don't actually confer it until you have an average of $20K+ over 3 full consecutive calendar months, on IIRC the 1st Tuesday of the 4th calendar month.

Preferred Rewards status is calculated using an average based upon total deposits over the last 3 full months.  If you opened and funded an account in June I think your chances in early August would be improved, by early October pretty significantly so since you would have formal status and no cards < 6 months old.

[kdm31091]

The 2/3/4 rule only counts BOA cards, not all bank cards, and there is no way around it beyond waiting out the timeframes listed. Being a Preferred client doesn't seem to matter in those situations.

Too many new accounts is a common denial with many issuers, and it's likely you just need to take a breather for a few months.