Discover & AMEX denials

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I have been signed up for their scorecard monitoring for almost a year I think. I will wait till the new year and try again.

[Anonymous]

Just some small updates. I did receive the decline from Discover in the mail. On the front page it listed me not having enough revolving credit but on the back page it mentioned my student load debt and my inquiries. Confused so should I not bother applying with them in January? If they are going to use my loan debt against me. The Hard Inquiries part was weird because before I applied with them I only had one inquiry showing on Experian. Now I have 3 when you include them. I applied with them before I did AMEX. I have received a card offer from my bank. I am not sure if that would be worth applying for (TCF). My EX score has rebounded. It went from 757 to 747 after the two hard pulls and last week it went back up 3pts so currently at 750.

[joltdude]

Ok this is just my opinion...

Just sit tight untill your Cap One reports for 6 months... So isnt that roughly Jan...

Still feel like they are just throwing reasons... The thing with denial reasons is sometimes they are a bit arbitrary or not an exact fit to your situation.. most companies dont try hard.. But they are required to give you them... Do realize they are in weighted order so top reason is supposly more relavent than the next one, etc.... 

I *would* consider applying for the Student one at that time... (if your a student)... come back here with your scores in Jan.. and your profile and folks will give you a bit better direction.... 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'm not sure either. Both companies list my loan balance as a top concern. This worries me since I am still in school. The loan balance is only going to go up by the time I graduate. I also won't be making a dent in it anytime soon.

Information About Your FICO® Score

We obtained your FICO score from Experian and used it in making our credit decision. Your FICO score is a number that reflects the information in your credit report. Your FICO score can change, depending on how the information in your credit report changes. On October 27, 2018, your FICO score was 754. The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. The following are the key factors that contributed to your FICO score:

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The ratio of loan balances to the loan amounts is too high.

The length of time your revolving accounts have been established.

The time since your most recent account opening is too short.

There are no balances on recently reported revolving accounts.

*Experian has gone up to 766 since then.

[Anonymous]

I noticed that through out this discussion there's no mention of income.  While the Adverse Action letter might cite loan balances as the principal reason for denial, I think  income will be the major concern since by law, lenders are required to evaluate an applicant's "ability to pay" and that's done by looking at their income.

While I don't agree with the practice, most - if not all - of the students in these forums report scholarships, grants, etc. in addition to their regular income from a part-time job on their applications.

BTW, this thread is another example that credit scores are relatively inconsequential.  You can have high credit scores, as seen here, but if you don't have a solid credit history/profile you will still be denied access to credit.

[Anonymous]

That is probably a large factor. By January my income is going to increase. Hopefully by then the increase in income and scores will work in my favor. Should I still reapply to Disco & AMEX? Which cards from them should I try for? The last app I applied for the Discover IT card and the AMEX Cash Magnet. Any other card suggestions?
I would eventually like to apply for a CF card but I know I have to build history. Someone mentioned Amazon before and I am a Prime (student) member so I shop there from time to time. I am really not interested in store cards though and don't want to have too many inquiries.

[joltdude]

Theres a Chase Amazon Visa that folks may be referencing too...

[Anonymous]

OP - I'm not an expert or seasoned veteran but am someone who has read a decent amount here and tried my own research.

Since you are seeking cash back and realizing that your debit card spend should be netting you returns I recommend the Discover online banking products.  

For the past four years I've used CCs insteads of debit cards and one of the reasons is for getting returns on daily spending.  However currently my VZW, AT&T, and Vz FiOS bills all get a monthly statement credit for using an auto-pay method that is NOT a credit card.  All 3 companies allow checking account OR debit cards.  

I found some banks have either high interest checking or cash back debit.  There are websites that provide a decent list but I'll stick to what's worked for me. 

I have 2 Discover savings accounts which now sit at 2% APY, not bad compared to my Citi 0.03%, BoA 0.01%, and still beat NFCUs 0.25% by a wide margin.  And a Discover cashback debit checking account that gets 1% on most purchases.  

-one savings account purely for saving

-one savings account for holding funds for my checking account

-cashback checking set to receive funds day before all 3 of my autopay plans.  

This way I get cashback or rewards/miles on my regular purchases and still get cashback on 'no cc allowed' transactions.  My telecom bills are huge so I'm getting approx $8/month in cashback.  

Still trying to figure out a way to pay rent and tuition with a method that returns higher than I would pay in surcharges but you can't win everything.....

Anyway, even without the savings accounts the Discover checking account would get you something back while you age your credit profile.  And could still be useful for situations like I described.  And who knows, maybe the presence of positive banking history could help you get in the credit door down the road.  

[Anonymous]

Missy: It's not your loan balances. There are a lot of people on Income-driven repayment plans like me with high student loan balances. It has little impact on my score imo, and it hasn't stopped me from getting approvals. It's just a reason you're losing points.