CFF app Denied. Recon successful. But... what does that mean?

[B_Slow1]

Probably a dumb question. Sorry. I never called to do a reconsideration before.

I applied for the CFF online, and was denied. I called Chase reconsideration the next day, spoke to a rep who asked me some questions about my credit history, employment, etc. And then she said that she was recommending me for reconsideration.

I understand that being denied on the Recon attempt is bad. But if they accept a Recon, does that mean I'll be approved? Or is it all still up in the air, and I could still be denied? I always thought that they could approve you through the recon process right there over the phone, but I guess that's not how it works.

[Anonymalous]

In November, I applied for the CFF and got denied. I called for a recon, she asked a few questions, and then said they'd get back to me. A Chase private banker followed up for me, and never got a straight answer despite calling almost half a dozen times. I eventually received a second denial letter in the mail. Whole process took more than 6 weeks.

[coldfusion]

A recommendation is just that.    Most likely your request along with the analyst's recommendation has been forwarded to a more senior analyst that has final decision-making authority who will either accept or reject the recommendation.  

I believe you already have 2-3 cards with Chase including at least 1 business card so this could be a senario where you are already near or at the total amount of credit they are willing gto extend to you.   Including Chase business cards exactly how many cards have you opened in the last 24 months?

[B_Slow1]

Thanks for the reply. All of the cards that I have are in my sig. So yes, I do already have 3 Chase cards (2 business, 1 personal). And I have opened 4 new credit cards in the last 24 months (2 Chase, 2 Amex). 

So, I think i’m clear of any 5/24 concerns. And having opened too many new accounts wasn’t the reason for rejection. The reason I received was high credit utilization. 

As for the reconsideration process itself, does it always work in this way? Or do these reps have the power to approve you over the phone? 

[Anonymalous]

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@B_Slow1 wrote:

As for the reconsideration process itself, does it always work in this way? Or do these reps have the power to approve you over the phone? 

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The private banker I talked to said he had some non-public numbers and some influence, but that my application had ended up somewhere else -- a different office or department or something like that -- where he had no number or connection. The general impression I got is that applications can be shuttled around based on complexity or approvals or different criteria -- again not sure exactly what -- and that the people in front really have no idea what's going on back there. So even if some reps have the power to approve cases that meet certain criteria over the phone, yours wasn't one of those cases. I suspect you'll just have to wait for the letter.

[GatorGuy]

@B_Slow1 I don't have any first hand experience since I've never had to do a recon but I've seen many people report that they were approved on the phone during their recon.

What was the explanation you gave for your high utilization?

[B_Slow1]

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@GatorGuy wrote:

@B_Slow1 I don't have any first hand experience since I've never had to do a recon but I've seen many people report that they were approved on the phone during their recon.

What was the explanation you gave for your high utilization?

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I'll preface this by saying that I don't know how utilization really registers with credit agencies. I know there is some magical way you're supposed to pay your statements to make the utilization lower, but I just pay in full when the statement is due (except for the cards mentioned below).

The rep was primarily concerned with my Capital One card, and my Ink Unlimited card. I just told the truth: With my Cap1 card, the limit is relatively low, but because I need to access that credit, I make multiple payments a month. While the card looks like it's always maxed out, I'm always paying off the full statement balance, just in an unorthodox way. For the Ink Unlimited, the card comes with a 0% APR offer for the first 12 months, and I told her when that offer comes to an end, I'll pay the balance in full like the others. She seemed to have no issue with that. But who knows? Maybe I was supposed to say something differrent, but I've never done this before. 

[LADave]

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@B_Slow1 wrote:

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@GatorGuy wrote:

@B_Slow1 I don't have any first hand experience since I've never had to do a recon but I've seen many people report that they were approved on the phone during their recon.

What was the explanation you gave for your high utilization?

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I'll preface this by saying that I don't know how utilization really registers with credit agencies. I know there is some magical way you're supposed to pay your statements to make the utilization lower, but I just pay in full when the statement is due (except for the cards mentioned below).

The rep was primarily concerned with my Capital One card, and my Ink Unlimited card. I just told the truth: With my Cap1 card, the limit is relatively low, but because I need to access that credit, I make multiple payments a month. While the card looks like it's always maxed out, I'm always paying off the full statement balance, just in an unorthodox way. For the Ink Unlimited, the card comes with a 0% APR offer for the first 12 months, and I told her when that offer comes to an end, I'll pay the balance in full like the others. She seemed to have no issue with that. But who knows? Maybe I was supposed to say something differrent, but I've never done this before. 

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Your credit report will show whatever your balance is on a particular card on the statement date. if you need to pay a card fully off, the day before the last day of the current statement date is a great day to do that, so you'll show very low utilization (if any).

[OmarGB9]

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@LADave wrote:

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@B_Slow1 wrote:

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@GatorGuy wrote:

@B_Slow1 I don't have any first hand experience since I've never had to do a recon but I've seen many people report that they were approved on the phone during their recon.

What was the explanation you gave for your high utilization?

---

I'll preface this by saying that I don't know how utilization really registers with credit agencies. I know there is some magical way you're supposed to pay your statements to make the utilization lower, but I just pay in full when the statement is due (except for the cards mentioned below).

The rep was primarily concerned with my Capital One card, and my Ink Unlimited card. I just told the truth: With my Cap1 card, the limit is relatively low, but because I need to access that credit, I make multiple payments a month. While the card looks like it's always maxed out, I'm always paying off the full statement balance, just in an unorthodox way. For the Ink Unlimited, the card comes with a 0% APR offer for the first 12 months, and I told her when that offer comes to an end, I'll pay the balance in full like the others. She seemed to have no issue with that. But who knows? Maybe I was supposed to say something differrent, but I've never done this before. 

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Your credit report will show whatever your balance is on a particular card on the statement date. if you need to pay a card fully off, the day before the last day of the current statement date is a great day to do that, so you'll show very low utilization (if any).

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Two to three days before statement cut would be even better.

Also, not all cards report the balance at the end of the billing cycle. US Bank is one major exception - they report the balance at the end of the month. Also, Chase will report the statement balance, but they also report any time you zero out your balance. 

[LADave]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

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@LADave wrote:

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Your credit report will show whatever your balance is on a particular card on the statement date. if you need to pay a card fully off, the day before the last day of the current statement date is a great day to do that, so you'll show very low utilization (if any).

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Two to three days before statement cut would be even better.

Also, not all cards report the balance at the end of the billing cycle. US Bank is one major exception - they report the balance at the end of the month. Also, Chase will report the statement balance, but they also report any time you zero out your balance. 

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These are all very good points. I had forgotten about Chase, and didn't realize your other points about not all cards reporting balance at the end of the billing cycle, particularly US Bank.

It's a really good idea to periodically check what time of the month your banks report your balances to the credit bureaus, and have then paid (ideally zeroed or AZEO'd) a few days earlier, and avoiding large charges on those particular cards between that payment and the statement date. And if a large charge clears in the meantime, to make another payment as soon as possible.