@CreditFiend9000 wrote:Hey, what's up? I applied for 5 credit cards in the span of 20 days because I'm a dumbass with the delayed gratification capacity of a rodent. I got the first four. The last app was for a Chase Freedom Unlimited card which I was supposedly preapproved for. I applied and got the dreaded "we're reviewing your application" message. A week later I got a letter from Chase informing me that they had received and denied a fraudulent application. They gave me a number to call to talk to a fraud specialist. Unfortunately the only menu path available to me at that number just checks the status of my application. I have been calling this periodically for two and a half weeks, and every time it says that my application is pending and I'll receive notification of the results in the mail, which has obviously already happened. Yesterday I got a letter from TransUnion saying that they'd removed the hard pull on my account because Chase had reported it to them as fraudulent. The Chase card has to be my next one if I'm going to get it because of their 5/24 thing, so I feel like I may as well pick it up in this wave of apps if I can. There are a couple of other cards I'd like to apply for in 6 or 12 months and I'm also worried that having TU flag a pull on my account as fraudulent may cause problems there. Any suggestions on what to do here?
Not one you are going to like. Step away from the submit button. You need to sit in the garden for 12-24 months. Applying for that many cards in that short of time is a GIANT red flag to creditors and is a common sign of either fraud or financial desperation. If a CHASE card was the goal that should have been #1 on the list. THEN you robo-app a few more to avoid the 5/24 rule. While some will disagree I never recommend applying in "waves" for credit. Especially now with the economic climate in fluxuation daily.
I just spent almost 2 years in the garden after getting several cards in a few months. While there I took a hard look at what I had, what I wanted, credit goals and future plans. I made the decision to close one Cap1 QS card after moving the CL to the other QS card and product changing it to a Venture One: success on that plan. I applied and was approved for a NFCU Flagship card with a healthy 19.3k starting line. Finishing off the goal of maximizing my travel points earning as I move towards retirement I pulled the pin to see if I could get back in with AMEX after BKing them in 2018: success. AMEX Delta Gold $2k starting line. I am VERY happy with my credit card profile now. These cards really enhance my profile and greatly assist with travel plans and current spending. NFCU Flagship credits me for my Amazon Prime membership. The Venture credited my Global Entry fee. The perks with the cards I have that improve spending I would do anyway is a major benefit.
You don't way what your goal(s) are with the wave of application but if it is as many cards as quickly as possible: success. If you have other goals in mind that wave of applications plans may be the worst way to achieve that. What is the plan/goal here?
@CreditFiend9000 wrote:
@Cowboys4Life wrote:
@CreditFiend9000 wrote:Hey, what's up? I applied for 5 credit cards in the span of 20 days because I'm a dumbass with the delayed gratification capacity of a rodent. I got the first four. The last app was for a Chase Freedom Unlimited card which I was supposedly preapproved for. I applied and got the dreaded "we're reviewing your application" message. A week later I got a letter from Chase informing me that they had received and denied a fraudulent application. They gave me a number to call to talk to a fraud specialist. Unfortunately the only menu path available to me at that number just checks the status of my application. I have been calling this periodically for two and a half weeks, and every time it says that my application is pending and I'll receive notification of the results in the mail, which has obviously already happened. Yesterday I got a letter from TransUnion saying that they'd removed the hard pull on my account because Chase had reported it to them as fraudulent. The Chase card has to be my next one if I'm going to get it because of their 5/24 thing, so I feel like I may as well pick it up in this wave of apps if I can. There are a couple of other cards I'd like to apply for in 6 or 12 months and I'm also worried that having TU flag a pull on my account as fraudulent may cause problems there. Any suggestions on what to do here?
Not one you are going to like. Step away from the submit button. You need to sit in the garden for 12-24 months. Applying for that many cards in that short of time is a GIANT red flag to creditors and is a common sign of either fraud or financial desperation. If a CHASE card was the goal that should have been #1 on the list. THEN you robo-app a few more to avoid the 5/24 rule. While some will disagree I never recommend applying in "waves" for credit. Especially now with the economic climate in fluxuation daily.
I just spent almost 2 years in the garden after getting several cards in a few months. While there I took a hard look at what I had, what I wanted, credit goals and future plans. I made the decision to close one Cap1 QS card after moving the CL to the other QS card and product changing it to a Venture One: success on that plan. I applied and was approved for a NFCU Flagship card with a healthy 19.3k starting line. Finishing off the goal of maximizing my travel points earning as I move towards retirement I pulled the pin to see if I could get back in with AMEX after BKing them in 2018: success. AMEX Delta Gold $2k starting line. I am VERY happy with my credit card profile now. These cards really enhance my profile and greatly assist with travel plans and current spending. NFCU Flagship credits me for my Amazon Prime membership. The Venture credited my Global Entry fee. The perks with the cards I have that improve spending I would do anyway is a major benefit.
You don't way what your goal(s) are with the wave of application but if it is as many cards as quickly as possible: success. If you have other goals in mind that wave of applications plans may be the worst way to achieve that. What is the plan/goal here?
No particular plan, just bad, poorly-researched attempt to get some cashback cards. I have zero need for credit of any kind for the foreseeable future and now that I have a decent credit line my utilization should max out at ~5%.
Edit: Actually that's not entirely true. I felt like I needed ot apply for 2-3 lines of credit ASAP because all I had on my credit profile were closed student loans and a single CC. Once the loans age off, any additional credit lines would have tanked my average credit age. I'm trying to build a cushion for that while I don't need credit. Obviously I overdid it, but I think that at least makes some sense. My credit scores were also stuck at low Very Good with literally nothing I could do to improve them. Thus far my TU FICO score (which I'm getting through Discover) has pretty much stayed steady because my average age of credit went down but my credit diversity increased and my utilization decreased. I asssume once the new credit ages and the pulls and new lines drop off, it will be higher than it was before this.
Since you aren't cleaning up your credit and trying to improve on late payments, charge off(s), collections, or BK filing stop worrying about your FICO score. If you keep your reported credit usage under 10% you will be golden on the FICO scores. Manage your debt and your score is just fine. Given that you are building and not re-building you should have a credit "plan". Credit cards/accounts should be working for YOU. If travel isn't your thing right now maybe dining out is. The Capital One Savor card would be a good option to look at. Before assuming that cash back cards are the be all and end all you need to look at other perks that cards offer that might fit your lifestyle better than just cash back. I have one from US Bank that pays me 5% back on TV streaming and utilities. Guess what I charge monthly? Getting another 5% off my bills is fabulous. Even better USB allows me to pick my 5% categories quarterly so when a furniture purchase was coming up I waited and changed one of my 5% categories to furniture before the buy. Another look would be who has the best 0% introductory interest for the longest period including balance transfers. Just make sure you can stay disciplined and pay it all off on that card before that rate resets so you don't get hit with interest from day 1. Use cards to your advantage. Don't just open cards just to have them.
There is always a secondary menu path even if you do not see it. Usually you can press 0 to get an operator or agent. Because you failed fraud verification the last application never even got properly attempted. Regardless you are probably ahead because of it. You ended up with your first four applications cleared so that is good progress. This is the time to dig in and stop applications for at least a year but even better for two. You maxed out your luck.
