Denied for the First Time

[Anonymous]

Hello! I just discovered this forum and have already learned soooo much. (Consumer Fiance Accounts?! Whoa. I had no idea!) Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone could offer some guidence, words of wisdom, whatever for a situation I've never encountered before in my 20 years of pitch-perfect credit usage.

My husband and I just bought our first condo. We both have stellar credit (him: low 800s; me: high 700s) and received a great interest rate on our mortage through Chase. We have scads of cashback credit cards from just about everyone out there (Citi Double Cash and Freedom, Barclays Uber, AmEx Preferred Cash, Discover It, etc.) that we always pay off every month.

After the loan closed, we wanted to add a few more to our wallets (specifically, AmEx Macy's, Citi Freedom Unlimited, Best Buy, and U.S. Bank Cash+) in order to buy a bunch of new appliances and furniture we now need while that earning sweet, sweet cash back. I easily scored a Macy's card with an $8,000 CL to buy a couple of new mattresses. Then, things took a dark turn. My husband was denied Freedom Unlimited and U.S. Bank Cash+. I was also denied U.S. Bank Cash+ and the Citi Best Buy card. Uh. Oh. 

This has never happened to us before, so we're both a little shook. Our income is over $150K. Other than the new mortage, we have a new-ish auto loan that's been paid off every month, but nothing else that should cause an issue. Did this happen just because we've had so recent many pulls? I'm not sure what to do at this juncture. I was thinking about applying for the Lowe's card or doing Samsung financing for the appliances, but I'm afraid I'm just spinning my wheels now. Help!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

How many pulls have you had in the last 12 months? How many new accounts have you opened in the last 24 months? What's your DTI now with the mortgage? I'm assuming $150k is combined income.

[Anonymous]

Have you received Adverse Action notices from any of the lenders that denied you credit?

[Anonymous]

I've had 9 pulls: 2 for auto, 3 for mortage, 4 for apps. There's only been 1 new account in 24 months. The husband's had 5 pulls: 2 for apps and 3 for mortage. Yes, combined income is $150K. DTI is 36%. We actually called Citi for a recon because we have the best relationship with them, and it turns out it's still under consideration, so maybe we just need humans to look at our apps?

[Anonymous]

Your DTI is approaching a point where it becomes a concern for lenders; there's a rule of thumb called the 36% rule with which you should probably familiarize yourself.

Are you carrying balances on your current credit cards?  Student loans?

[Anonymous]

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/67u9q0/guide_antichurning_rules/

This will help avoid speed bumps in the future w/ the rules.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Backdoor-Numbers/td-p/408066

This is where you find the humans.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello! I just discovered this forum and have already learned soooo much. (Consumer Fiance Accounts?! Whoa. I had no idea!) Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone could offer some guidence, words of wisdom, whatever for a situation I've never encountered before in my 20 years of pitch-perfect credit usage.

My husband and I just bought our first condo. We both have stellar credit (him: low 800s; me: high 700s) and received a great interest rate on our mortage through Chase. We have scads of cashback credit cards from just about everyone out there (Citi Double Cash and Freedom, Barclays Uber, AmEx Preferred Cash, Discover It, etc.) that we always pay off every month.

After the loan closed, we wanted to add a few more to our wallets (specifically, AmEx Macy's, Citi Freedom Unlimited, Best Buy, and U.S. Bank Cash+) in order to buy a bunch of new appliances and furniture we now need while that earning sweet, sweet cash back. I easily scored a Macy's card with an $8,000 CL to buy a couple of new mattresses. Then, things took a dark turn. My husband was denied Freedom Unlimited and U.S. Bank Cash+. I was also denied U.S. Bank Cash+ and the Citi Best Buy card. Uh. Oh. 

This has never happened to us before, so we're both a little shook. Our income is over $150K. Other than the new mortage, we have a new-ish auto loan that's been paid off every month, but nothing else that should cause an issue. Did this happen just because we've had so recent many pulls? I'm not sure what to do at this juncture. I was thinking about applying for the Lowe's card or doing Samsung financing for the appliances, but I'm afraid I'm just spinning my wheels now. Help!

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Hi and welcome to myFICO, and congrats on your new home.

What has happened is you applied for way too many credit cards in a short span of time (right after closing on your home). Since it's obvious you have the scores, you and DH should be applying for one CC every 6 months. And also, denials begat denials, so once you get one, it is a good sign to sit back, wait for the denial letter to come in, and find out the reasons. Nine times out of 10, it's going to be too many inquiries/new accounts. 

So, while you wait for things to calm down, don't apply for any new credit until IMHO, February 2020. I suggest requesting SP CLIs on your Discover and AmX (3x). Also, give Discover a call and ask if you have an offer for a 0%, 12-month promo. They're good at giving out these once the old one has expired. Also, even though you just got Macy's, call and see if you can get a CLI on a SP. I did this in store when I got mine and they gave it to me.

So, just treat this as a lesson-learned. The economy has slowed down some and lenders are being more cautious. So all is not doom and gloom. It's just taking a pause and rethinking your strategy.

GL2U

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello! I just discovered this forum and have already learned soooo much. (Consumer Fiance Accounts?! Whoa. I had no idea!) Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone could offer some guidence, words of wisdom, whatever for a situation I've never encountered before in my 20 years of pitch-perfect credit usage.

My husband and I just bought our first condo. We both have stellar credit (him: low 800s; me: high 700s) and received a great interest rate on our mortage through Chase. We have scads of cashback credit cards from just about everyone out there (Citi Double Cash and Freedom, Barclays Uber, AmEx Preferred Cash, Discover It, etc.) that we always pay off every month.

After the loan closed, we wanted to add a few more to our wallets (specifically, AmEx Macy's, Citi Freedom Unlimited, Best Buy, and U.S. Bank Cash+) in order to buy a bunch of new appliances and furniture we now need while that earning sweet, sweet cash back. I easily scored a Macy's card with an $8,000 CL to buy a couple of new mattresses. Then, things took a dark turn. My husband was denied Freedom Unlimited and U.S. Bank Cash+. I was also denied U.S. Bank Cash+ and the Citi Best Buy card. Uh. Oh. 

This has never happened to us before, so we're both a little shook. Our income is over $150K. Other than the new mortage, we have a new-ish auto loan that's been paid off every month, but nothing else that should cause an issue. Did this happen just because we've had so recent many pulls? I'm not sure what to do at this juncture. I was thinking about applying for the Lowe's card or doing Samsung financing for the appliances, but I'm afraid I'm just spinning my wheels now. Help!

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I'm sure it's because you've added so much recent credit. You need to stop applying for credit.

Especially since you don't need it.

If you have all those cards, and you can pay them off every month, and the cash rewards are so sweet, I can't understand why you are applying for more.

[Remedios]

As @Anonymous asked, do you have AA letter yet explaining why you were denied? 

Normally, all of us will jump on "new accounts" first as that tends to be the common reason for at least two lenders you mentioned, US Bank and Chase. You'd want at least 6 months of clean living before applying for either.

Your scores might be great but it's just a numerical representation on what's on your CR. If you've read enough, you know how easily score can be manipulated. High utilization on individual cards can be masked somewhat by aggregate utilization, inability to pay off cards can be countered with BTs, age can be inflated by AU accounts, so dont put your eggs in a score basket. 

If you need financing for appliances, Lowes is your best option, but even Synch has been little twitchy about new accounts/inquiries lately, or if you can wait, that would probably yield a better result, though, I do think you would get approved for that card. 

Also, you might be able to recon at least with Chase depending on a denial reason (and if you're under 5/24), if it's truly a denial and not verification or additional review. 

Wait for the letters and go from there. You can try recon with US Bank too, but if you're denied for "excessive credit seeking" it might be a little harder. 

[CreditCuriosity]

Denials are part of credit no matter how good your profile and income etc is..  It is just business for the banks and if you been playing around with credit long enough denials are part of the game, we all have some.   Chase might of been due to 5/24 and Us Bank certainly could of been to recent credit seeking/pulls etc.  Shake it off as those two lenders each have their quarks and move on.  If you need to furnish your new house and have spend and want some bonuses many other cards are still out there that can accomplish that with cash back or point and good signup bonuses.