Lesson learnt - US Bank Cash +

[FICOlearner123]

Recently I got unable to approve for US Bank Cash + and thought of sharing the lesson learnt from my experience. I had just 2 credit cards as of early Dec, 19.  BoA Visa cash reward (since Feb 2011) and Target Credit Card (since Mar 2014). I took a mortgage in Apr 2019.

In Dec 2019 I stumbled upon $200 bonus promo from BoA Cash rewards Master card and also though it would be good to have an additional category for 3% cash back and applied for it in and got approved, encouraged I further applied for BoA Cash rewards WWF Visa card in Jan 2020 and got that approved as well, the WWF also had a $200 promo, both promos are linked with spending $1000 in 90 days.

I learnt about 5% category cash back cards in Feb and found my credit score to be above 780 and thought of applying for US Bank Cash + card.

Lesson learnt: Avoid too many credit applications in a short span no matter how good your score is.

[AllZero]

That's unfortunate about the denial. Thank you for sharing the data points.

Congratulations on your BoA approvals!

[blindambition]

US Bank is a hard nut to crack. Inquiry sensitive though. Did you try recon?

[Anonymous]

Sorry about your denial! Thanks for the DP's.

 Congratulations on your approvals!

[FICOlearner123]

Yes, I called and learnt the denial was due to too many accounts in a short span.

[vic6string]

I just recently had the exact same experience. Denial was due to "too many tradelines opened in the last 12 months". I opened 3 new cards from around July 2019 to Dec 2019 and the US Bank application was in Feb 2020. So now I want to grab a WF Cashwise or BB&T Spectrum because I can't use any of my cards at Costco (only take Visa), but I really want the US Bank Cash+ so I know I should wait until Dec. which will put me at no new cards in last 12 months. I hate all these damned stipulations!

[Medic981]

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@vic6string wrote:

I hate all these damned stipulations!

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Unfortunately, it is their money so they make the rules.

[FICOlearner123]

Medic981, true its their money but they also tend ot make money from consumers

[FinStar]

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@FICOlearner123 wrote:

Medic981, true its their money but they also tend ot make money from consumers

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And, by the same token they also have to mitigate risks so that pricing and product flexibility is sustainable under any current environment.

The average consumer doesn't really apply for that many CCs in such a short timeframe. 

[vic6string]

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@Medic981 wrote:

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@vic6string wrote:

I hate all these damned stipulations!

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Unfortunately, it is their money so they make the rules.

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I agree, but I hate that they all have their own set of rules and all we can do is guess. Like now, for instance, I am considering not getting another card for the rest of the year because the Cash+ really is the perfect fit for my wallet. That, of course, assumes that the only reason I didn't get the card was that I opened "too many" cards in the prior 12 months when I applied. So what is "too many"? was it really just the last 12 months? Was my score borderline enough that if it drops 2 points I will get a decline anyway? 

If you aren't going to post your selection criteria (and I can see why you wouldn't want to) then at least have a pre-qual site to give us a good idea of our chances. Banks all hate you having too many inquires, but then they make it so you have to get an inquiry blindly every time. You could be the pickiest lender in the world and I'd be okay with it so long as you give me a good idea of what your are looking for. If you are going to use an automated algorithm to approve/deny me without any human intervention, then give me some of he highlights of the criteria. It could be as basic as "Don't bother if you have any BKs in last 5 years, 3 or more new cards in the last year, or a score below 700" That still leaves them a bunch of factors to look at without our knowledge, but let's us know the most common stopping points.