DSW Visa Card - Denied

[Anonymous]

I gotta say, this is one tough nut to crack.  Ive applied for this card at least 3-times since it came out. Denied with a different reason each time.

In the past, it seemed like Comenity cards were pretty easy to obtain.  That seems to have changed in the past 2-3 years, from what ive seen. I really think they have tightened their credit standards, especially on co-branded cards (Visa/MC). When i submitted my most recent application, they did a hard pull on Equifax. Upon receipt of the denial letter, it said nothing about Equifax and referred to data from Experian. I dont know what kind of credit score they use, but they said my score was 864, and the best possible score is 999. Makes no sense, they are saying im 135 points away from their best credit score, yet im still denied. Moving forward, im done with trying for this card and or Comenity in general. I really like the DSW store and will continue to shop there. But as for their Visa card, I think its just too difficult to obtain. The few extra card perks would be nice, but they are not outstanding. There are better credit cards out there.  I was just approved for the new Apple card, and currently have AMEX and Discover. For DSW being a discount type store, this card/requirements does not fit the stores profile in my opinion. i.e. its not Saks or Bloomingdales with very expensive merchandise.

$108,000 annual income

671 Tran, 19% 

683, Eq 24% 

659 Ex 22%

Hope this is helpful to anyone considering applying for the DSW Visa card. Im guessing, if your not at 700 or higher fico score, dont bother applying. Id save that hard inquiry for a better rewards card.

[CreditInspired]

That’s good you’ve decided to move on. IMHO, applying 3 times for any card to keep getting denied and wasting HPs is not worth it, and especially for a store card. 

Congrats on your Apple card. What was your SL and APR?

[JR_TX]

Shopping at a certain store doesn’t make it a necessity to obtain a credit card that store offers. You can continually shop at that place using another card and still make better rewards.
Comenity is a lender I would stay clear from so that in itself is a non-starter for me.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input on this topic,

My new Apple Card came back at a starting limit of only $250.00, APR is 23.99, no hard pulls, must have been a soft pull.  A bit sad about the low credit limit, but thats ok, much better than a flat out denial.

Discover just approved me for the (Gas and Restaurant) It card, $1000.00 starting limit, with a balance XFR intro offer.

Ebay Mastercard, just came back at $500.00 starting limit, (even Synchrony Bank) will approve me for one of their co-branded cards. Its very disappointing that Comenity will not approve me for the DSW Visa, but oh well, moving on for sure.

[Remedios]

If you want an approval, you really need to stop applying for a while.
Comenity is sensitive to credit seeking, and you seem to have done quite a bit recently
Even if you were approved, I think you'd be running a very high risk of AA because of it.

If you cant garden for decent amount of time, you'll be stuck in perpetual cycle of toy limits store cards.
I know you said you're moving on, but I hope you dont mean moving on to the next app. Your low approvals and denial are a very clear message. It's up to you how you want to read it.
Stay app free for 6 months to a year and you should have no problems getting this card, if that's your goal.

[CreditCuriosity]

Your BK will cause a denial for all comenity majors.   You are just wasting pulls to try to get this card again.  Store cards are fine with them, not majors being Visa/MC.  Just for future reference.

[JaseT]

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

Your BK will cause a denial for all comenity majors.   You are just wasting pulls to try to get this card again.  Store cards are fine with them, not majors being Visa/MC.  Just for future reference.

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Has that changed recently? I was approved for the Comenity Williams Sonoma Visa last year and my BK is 6 months more recent than the OP's.

[FinStar]

IIRC, those are more the exception than the norm since there's been a few folks who have been approved for Comenity V/MC/D with the presence of a BK.

Triggering the SCT won't work since their algorithms can detect the BK. Also, in a variety of cases where EE comes into play, some have been able to be approved that way.

But, even with a BK (and if approved), some of the majors will have lower SLs and won't grow as rapid until the BK is no longer present on CRs.

[JaseT]

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@FinStar wrote:
IIRC, those are more the exception than the norm since there's been a few folks who have been approved for Comenity V/MC/D with the presence of a BK.

Triggering the SCT won't work since their algorithms can detect the BK. Also, in a variety of cases where EE comes into play, some have been able to be approved that way.

But, even with a BK (and if approved), some of the majors will have lower SLs and won't grow as rapid until the BK is no longer present on CRs.

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My approval must have been fairly unusual since I had the BK and I obtained it via the SCT. I don’t usually hit the odds like that! 😆 

[FinStar]

You should've played the lottery! 😁

For one, that's fairly unusual for Comenity. Plus, not to mention, your account is still intact/active. Others haven't been as lucky with the Comenity majors.