KLM/Air France World Elite MC - B of A non customer - existing Flying Blue member

[4sallypat]

Having been an AF customer for years, first time I got a mailer from Bank of America for the KLM/AF/Flying Blue Mastercard.

Currently no accounts with BofA, but in the past burnt them in 2005 (court ordered collections) and CO in 2006.

Recently, I was denied by B of A for a car loan back in 2010.

How are the odds of approval with B of A  - do they keep an internal list of baddies way past the CRA reporting?

I am resuming travel internationally and was looking at Europe when restrictions lift.

In the past I would use my Amex MR points and transfer to AF....

$89 AF and 50K SUB good for one R/T international flight worth a HP ?

[coldfusion]

BoA has a long memory so the real question is related to how long do they hold a grudge after they've been burned. 

Given that it has been 11 years since you last tried to apply for anything with them and the card itself would serve you a useful purpose IMO it's worth risking a (probable Experian) HP.    Just be aware that BoA mailers are more in line with being invitations to apply than preapprovals. 

[FinStar]

Yes, BoA keeps internal records for a very long time, much like any other lender.

How does the rest of your profile look like, inquiries and/or new accounts-wise in the past 12 months?  Any other negatives on CRs?  Utilization, FICO scores?

[4sallypat]

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@FinStar wrote:

Yes, BoA keeps internal records for a very long time, much like any other lender.

How does the rest of your profile look like, inquiries and/or new accounts-wise in the past 12 months?  Any other negatives on CRs?  Utilization, FICO scores?

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I was afraid of that...

Rest of my profile looks very good: 9% UT, 730-750 FICO, no negatives, 7/12 INQ.

Don't want to risk a HP for a denial since my pulls are high....

Thanks for the input!

[brk1971]

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@4sallypat wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

Yes, BoA keeps internal records for a very long time, much like any other lender.

And not just negative records...  I recently app'd with them and just received my card two days ago. After establishing my NEW online account and activating the new card, I went into the profile section where I found an email address and a phone number that I haven't used in 15+ years... (it was a hotmail.com address, if that time-frames anything). 

Unless they bought _really_really_ old LexisNexis data, I briefly had a checking account with them a long time ago when they bought MBNA, and well... the info was in there.

[4sallypat]

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@brk1971 wrote:

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@4sallypat wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

Yes, BoA keeps internal records for a very long time, much like any other lender.

And not just negative records...  I recently app'd with them and just received my card two days ago. After establishing my NEW online account and activating the new card, I went into the profile section where I found an email address and a phone number that I haven't used in 15+ years... (it was a hotmail.com address, if that time-frames anything). 

Unless they bought _really_really_ old LexisNexis data, I briefly had a checking account with them a long time ago when they bought MBNA, and well... the info was in there.

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Wow, that is a long data keeping practice!

Thanks to everyone for your input.

I will be back to using my AMEX MR points and transferring to AF when I book my flights (hoping for EU to allow US entry without quarantines).

[JLRDC909]

Just keep in mind that BofA has a few cards that is tougher to get. Amtrak Mastercard, premium rewards visa, Alaska, and the AF/KLM Mastercard. Don't know why these cards seem to be harder to get but they are. 

It seems they pull EX mostly for approvals and they are inquiry and new account sensitive and prefer clients have a deposit account with them, but not written in stone. 

not sure if they keep long internal records or not, wish I could help you out more with that