Can I repay Barclays after CH7 and get my AA card back?

[working_disaster]

So during COVID in 2020, I lost my job and unexpectedly had to file for Chapter 7. I only had a small (like $1200?) balance on my American Air card with Barclays, but my lawyer said I couldnt pay it off before closing due to Bankruptcy rules. 

I feel like I have seen folks mention that repaying banks after BK can sometimes get you your card back. Does anyone have experience with Barclays and this method?

For context, if its helpful:

My Ch 7 was discharged in Oct 2020, and I hate that all of my spending does NOT apply to any airline miles. 

Burned in the BK were (omg, this list) Chase United, Barclays AA, Discover, BECU, Alliant, Fidelity, Paypal, Target, Synchrony Care Credit, Macys, US Bank. 

Current score bounces between 680 and 705 - depending on balances, which I always pay off. I currently have two Capital One cards (Quicksilver, Platinum), two Credit One cards, and one each from Ollo, Self, and Navy Fed. I am also an account holder at BofA, and I tried late last year to get the Alaska card since I didnt burn them, but I got rejected. I called and they couldnt see why I would be denied, and suggested I try at a branch in person (?).

If anyone has suggestions or insights on these or any other Airline cards, I am all ears! 

[K-in-Boston]

Repaying banks can sometimes work to help you have another card issued by them, but reopening cards closed due to bankruptcy is extremely unlikely; lenders typically won't even do that for accounts recently closed in good standing.

Bank of America would have been denied due to the presence of a bankruptcy.  You may be able to get a secured card from them in a few years, but other cards are unlikely for quite some time.

[OmarGB9]

Unfortunately the "repaying banks to get back in" thing really only applies to Amex and Navy Federal. Even then, it's only so that you can get a *new* account with them, not reopen a closed one. Especially one that was included in BK. Barclays I'm afraid doesn't do that.

[FinStar]

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@working_disaster wrote:

For context, if its helpful:

My Ch 7 was discharged in Oct 2020, and I hate that all of my spending does NOT apply to any airline miles. 

Burned in the BK were (omg, this list) Chase United, Barclays AA, Discover, BECU, Alliant, Fidelity, Paypal, Target, Synchrony Care Credit, Macys, US Bank. 

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Adding to the above comments, Barclays is unlikely to be a success, unfortunately. It is very rare when some profiles can be re-established, especially if Barclays was IIB (even if paid).

Chase will be out until BK falls off reports. There have been some successful reconsideration DPs over the years, but it's profile dependent. I don't see American Express on your list, so potentially that can be an option with the Delta SkyMiles cards. The only caveat, your BK needs to age 61 months before AENB can consider a post-BK application. Citi has the American Airlines CCs, but again, that would need to wait at least ~5 years post-BK. Now, all of these 'soft' rules could change years from now, but in the interim, that's what they are.

BoA is another alternative, but do you recall the reason(s) for the denial the last time you applied? Alaska Airlines is a very finicky card to obtain (whether you apply online or via branch) -- a bit more stringent than their core cards, but not quite in the same league of difficulty as Premium Rewards or KLM/Air France.

[Avinion]

Unfortunately, Barclay's is extremely unforgiving. Getting your card back would be unlikely with any other bank, but even getting back in with Barclay's is a longshot. They blacklist harder than most and success stories of getting back in with them are few and far between.

I'm in a similar situation. I burned them for about $1200 back in 2017 on a UPromise card(when it was actually good). I've come to terms with knowing I'll never get back in with them, and tbh, there are much better lenders out there who will be happy to do business with you.

[bigseegar]

Yeah, probably just not going to happen with Barclay's. Their memory is as long or longer than AmEx's when you burn them and they're no where near as forgiving as AmEx if you pay then back.