CSP Chances?

[Anonymous]

I’m new here although I’ve browsed the forums on and off for years. I’ve recently decided I want to get a new credit card, specifically one that offers travel rewards. In doing pretty extensive research I’ve decided I want the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I like the flexibility of the UR points. I’m not sure I would get approved though. Here are my stats: 

Credit score: TU 712, only one I have access to through Barclaycard 

AAoA: 3 yrs 6 mo

Utilization: ~ 1%

3 inquiries on TU, two will drop in July. None on EQ. 

100% payment history 

Income: $32000

Cards:

Barclaycard VISA - $8800 (6 yrs) 

CFNA - $2200 (4 yrs) 

Target Mastercard - $1500 (3 yrs) 

Synchrony (I know, I know) - $6000 (3 yrs)

Local Credit Union Mastercard - $8800 (1 yr) 

Other debt: $25k on student loans and $6k on car loan

And the big bad: an unpaid apartment collection that won’t drop for two more years. I don’t believe I owed this money, but I’ve disputed and they won’t budge. 

I have an old Chase checking acct from college but no cards with them. Mostly I’m concerned with my relatively low income and of course the collection. Prequal on their site turns up nothing. I don’t want to waste a hard pull and wind up not getting it. I know nothing is certain but I’m trying to get a feel for my chances. I’m considering trying for the SW cobranded card first instead of trying to get CSP right off the bat. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I’m new here although I’ve browsed the forums on and off for years. I’ve recently decided I want to get a new credit card, specifically one that offers travel rewards. In doing pretty extensive research I’ve decided I want the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I like the flexibility of the UR points. I’m not sure I would get approved though. Here are my stats: 

Credit score: TU 712, only one I have access to through Barclaycard 

AAoA: 3 yrs 6 mo

Utilization: ~ 1%

3 inquiries on TU, two will drop in July. None on EQ. 

100% payment history 

Income: $32000

Cards:

Barclaycard VISA - $8800 (6 yrs) 

CFNA - $2200 (4 yrs) 

Target Mastercard - $1500 (3 yrs) 

Synchrony (I know, I know) - $6000 (3 yrs)

Local Credit Union Mastercard - $8800 (1 yr) 

Other debt: $25k on student loans and $6k on car loan

And the big bad: an unpaid apartment collection that won’t drop for two more years. I don’t believe I owed this money, but I’ve disputed and they won’t budge. 

I have an old Chase checking acct from college but no cards with them. Mostly I’m concerned with my relatively low income and of course the collection. Prequal on their site turns up nothing. I don’t want to waste a hard pull and wind up not getting it. I know nothing is certain but I’m trying to get a feel for my chances. I’m considering trying for the SW cobranded card first instead of trying to get CSP right off the bat. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

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An alternative is to apply for a Freedom card, then 6 months or so down the line apply for the CSP.  You can start accumulating Ultimate Rewards points that can then be transferred to the CSP.  You appear to check all the boxes but I think your DTI would be a concern.  If your checking account is still active I suggest going in to a branch and asking a personal banker if you have any in-branch pre-approvals.

[Anonymous]

Oh I forgot about the Freedom. That’s not a bad idea. I’ll have to see if that account is still open and if so I will go in person. I agree on the DTI, it doesn’t help things. 

[Anonymous]

Also, the spend to get the SUB will consume a significant portion of your stated income; and given that Sapphire cards don't offer 0% APR on purchases, and the interest rates, you really don't want to be carrying balances for a long time.

[Anonymous]

That’s true, and I would make sure to never carry a balance. My plan for the SUB was to pay rent with the card for a few months. My husband and I share the cost so it wouldn’t put me out of my comfort zone of spending. Carrying a balance completely negates all the rewards, IMO. Come to think of it my husband has stellar credit and significantly more income. Maybe we should apply together. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

That’s true, and I would make sure to never carry a balance. My plan for the SUB was to pay rent with the card for a few months. My husband and I share the cost so it wouldn’t put me out of my comfort zone of spending. Carrying a balance completely negates all the rewards, IMO. Come to think of it my husband has stellar credit and significantly more income. Maybe we should apply together. 

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You are allowed to use combined household income when applying for Chase; so there's no need to make a joint application if you don't need to.  Regulation Z issued by the CFPB states that spouses/partners can combine incomes for which they have "a reasonable expectation of access."  Given what you've stated about your credit profile I don't see why you wouldn't be approved if you combined incomes.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow, I had no idea you could do that! Thank you so much. That’s incredibly helpful. Combined we have close to $100k in income so obviously that changes things. I may just give it a shot then! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh wow, I had no idea you could do that! Thank you so much. That’s incredibly helpful. Combined we have close to $100k in income so obviously that changes things. I may just give it a shot then! 

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That portion of Regulation Z was put in place to enable stay-at-home moms and others who don't work outside the home to open credit in their own names by using their spouse's/partner's income.  So as long as you're over 21, share the same household, and can demonstrate a "reasonable expectation of access" you can used combined incomes on credit applications (the exception would be credit unions that require only the applicant's/member's income).

Good luck...let us know how it turns out.

[sarge12]

Tammy Two,

I do not know your chances, but this past week I received notice from Chase that they were closing my freedom unlimited card next month due to inactivity...I also have the Chase Amazon Prime card also. I called them, and they asked me if I wished to have them reconsider it. Since I had not used it in 2 years, I asked them if they could just move the limit to my Amazon Prime card, and she said she could. Now when I went on the account website I was a bit shocked, because my inbox had 2 messages from the same day. Message 1 was notifying me of the planned closure. Message 2 was a pre-approval for the CSP card with 60,000 bonus points. That is 600 dollars, but I am in the garden so I did not accept the pre-approval. It really confuses me why they would close the freedom unlimited for no activity, and still try to bribe me to open a new card that would see the same fate after I took their money on the SUB. It would have required 4000 in 3 months in charges. I just can not figure out why CC issuers keep bribing me when it just results in sock drawering the card after meeting the SUB, especially when I have not paid a dime in credit card interest in over 10 years. I try to be nice, and not take their free money SUB's, and still they double down. I of course would have to close that card since it has an AF of 95 dollars, but I would still be 500 dollars to the good. I really do search for the logic in this, but really can't find any.

[sarge12]

I hope someone reading this can answer this question. I just opened my Chase card site again to read the prior commented on secure message. When I opened the page, there was a banner saying Important information about your upcoming mortgage service transfer. My issue with this is that I have no mortgage with Chase. Is this just a generic message that is at the top of everybodies accounts page, or should I be concerned? Usually the info at the top concerns only my accounts, and in the linked FAQ it does not answer that question. I hope someone else with only chase credit cards can tell me if it is at the top on their accounts page as well.