Lol nope, not this time. It's fine - there's always later on to ask 
On yours, go for it. Maybe the increase I asked for was already earmarked for you!
@Wqadir1988 wrote:Hi, applied for membership thru my dad who is also a member with just checking and savings which he does not use as main bank, after membership in may i applied for platinum card in early july and got instant denial.
my TU score is 793, no lates clean report4 credit cards and 3 AU accounts
aaoa is 17 years.
utilization is 1%
The AU accounts with plenty of age didn't fool the Navy Fed computer algorithm. In other words, without the AU accounts, with 1 two-year-old primary tradeline, your FICO 8 score would be ~700 to ~730, depending upon whether or not your CC is a retail CC (or charge card or Chase CC PIF) or it reported $0 or the $151 balance.
Which CC do you have?
income 88kthe wording in denial letter is i dont understand what message nevy is giving me...
---Balance status of navy fed accounts ( i only have savings with $135 in it.)
I think this reason is due to your failing either of 2 criteria. Either you haven't yet proven you have the means to pay your Navy Fed CC bill, or you didn't have at least $200 available balance in your share savings account, so you couldn't be offered pre-approval for the secure nRewards CC when you were denied the Platinum CC.
---Insufficient variety of secured loan accounts
With only 1 primary CC, Navy Fed wants to evaluate your secured installment loan payment history, and it appears that you don't have any. I'd recommend the Navy Fed share secured loan to help you meet this criteria.
---Length of navy federal membership ( i have read ppl getting approved same day as membership so that rule must be for me )
Navy Fed ignores this criteria for members with a solid credit profile. Yours was too risky when you applied.
---Direct deposit status with navy federal ( i dint have DD with navy
Navy Fed ignores this criteria for members with a solid credit profile. Yours was too risky when you applied.
--- utilization of bankcard credit line in last 12 months. ( i always keep utilization between 1 and 10 percent )
Did the AU accounts report more than a few hundred dollars in any month in the last year?
So i am like confused with their denial reasoning and confused if i should wait a month or so and apply again.
thank you so much for insight.
@Wqadir1988: The Navy Fed computer algorithm has you pegged as high risk and probably will do the same thing again next month if you take no action in the meantime. If you get the another denial next month, you can go elsewhere and apply for other CCs and/or installment loans and establish a credit history with more than the 1 primary tradeline you have now. Then come back in 6 to 12 months and reapply for the Platinum CC.
Or you can take the easy route. I recommend transferring at least $70 to your Navy Fed share savings account, then logging into your Navy Fed account and sending a secure message to request reconsideration of your CC application. Cite your desire to build a relationship with Navy Federal CU, your perfect payment history, very low utilization, high income, and low debt-to-income ratio. If they approve your recon, then excellent! You got what you wanted.
If not, then I recommend opening a Navy Fed share secure loan, immediately paying it down to below 9.5%, letting that paydown update in Navy Fed's records for at least 2 days, then applying for a Navy Fed secure nRewards CC. (If the second application is within 30 days of the first application, Navy Fed may use the same HP.) If approved and you use the nRewards CC and your other credit accounts responsibly, you'll be eligible for a CLI after 3 months and graduation at 6 to 7 months to an unsecured cashRewards CC with a CL of $2,000. After 91 days AND 3 full billing statements after your secure nRewards CC approval, you're eligible to apply for a second Navy Fed CC. Go for the Platinum.
Good luck!
@Wqadir1988 wrote:Thank you , very informative input.
i will wait it out and make my profile thicker like adding 2 or 3 cards and chill for 6 months , meanwhile i will do direct deposit 100$ into navy savings every month and also use debit card for coffee and monster.
i will also go with secured loan routei dont think navy relies on score more no matter how high it is , these days their algorithm looks more deeper. I will have to work on it to get their soft side which is fine because i am sure they will open the door for me. We all know they are generous when they trust.
i also read banks like wells fargo and chase hoarding cash , so lending is very tight.
i really was sure Navy will give me approval with no problem but i got much needed reality check.
@Wqadir1988: If your two-year-old primary tradeline CC is a Tier 2 or better CC, then you'll probably find what you're looking for. But if your CC is a starter CC or retail CC, then you may find the same reality checks when you apply for those other 2 or 3 CCs to thicken your credit profile in the next 6 months. If that's the case, then you'll likely decide you should've grabbed the chance to get your foot in the door of Navy Fed's generous CCs when you had the chance 6 months before. You're thinking going elsewhere to pick up your next CCs is the easy route. But getting approved for the Navy Fed secure nRewards CC is actually the easy route. For those of us who start with the secure nRewards CC, the second Navy Fed CC is the whopper. It usually starts with the highest CLs and grows the fastest. The sooner you get started with Navy Fed, the faster you'll get there.
I get it. You have the AU accounts so you can bypass the starter and secured CCs. But the Navy Fed secured nRewards CC is the next best thing to the unsecured cashRewards CC. While the nRewards CC is still secured, it earns 1 point for every dollar spent. But when it graduates to the cashRewards CC, all the points not already redeemed will be converted to 1.5% cash back, as if it had been a cashRewards CC the entire time. And it usually graduates with a $2,000 CL, unless you start with a higher CL (up to $5,000) for your secured nRewards CC. If you've handled your credit accounts responsibly by paying on time every month and keeping a low utilization, you could be eligible for that Platinum CC after 3 months, not 6 months from now.
Remember, when you have a short credit history, the sooner you get started with Navy Fed, the faster you'll reach your credit goals.
@Wqadir1988 wrote:Thank you for advice, i am sold on nRewards secured card. I will apply as soon as i have 200+ in savings.
how easy or hard it is to get approved for it,Before denial i thaught navy regular card will be piece of cake but after reality check i am now concerned getting approved for secured card. 😳
@Wqadir1988: Excellent! No guarantees, but from your description of your credit profile, I believe you have an excellent chance of being approved for the Navy Fed secure nRewards CC. You have a better profile than I had when I was approved for the secure nRewards CC nearly a year ago. I had an empty credit report (CR), no credit history showing (the few accounts I had with perfect payment histories had aged off), and no FICO scores. Many other members have a bankruptcy and/or a number of derogatory accounts on their CRs, and low FICO scores, and they've been approved for the secure nRewards CC, so don't sweat it.
However, in the meantime, I really think you should request reconsideration for the Platinum CC. To do so, log into your Navy Fed online account, select the "Messages" icon at the top of the web page, and then select "Send Us a Message" in the middle of the next page. On the next page, select "New/Recent Application" in the "My Message is About" drop-down box, and select "Credit Card" in the "Regarding" drop-down box. In "Subject," type: Reconsideration for Platinum credit card
In the "Question" section, type your message to Navy Fed. Tell them about your desire to build a relationship with Navy Federal Credit Union, your plan to apply for a shares secure loan to show you can handle monthly debt payments, your perfect payment history, very low utilization, high income, and low debt-to-income ratio.
Proofread your message and fix any typos, then press the "Continue" button to send a secure message to Navy Fed. They're a little behind in answering messages (up to 2 weeks, last I heard), but check your Navy Fed account's secure messages once or twice a day to see if they approve your Platinum CC application. You should receive a reply, even if it's a second denial. But at least you tried.
If the recon for the Platinum doesn't work out, apply for the secure nRewards CC after you have at least $200 available in your share savings account, then transfer some more money into your shares savings account and apply for your Navy Fed shares secure loan, so both accounts can age together and the shares secure loan can start boosting your FICO scores as soon as it reports to the CBs.
If you can swing it, apply for the longest loan length you have the money for, up just past the date you plan to get any other installment loan you have plans for, like an auto loan. (So you have some overlap, in case something goes wrong, like a loss of income just before you planned to buy a new car.) Once you get that loan, you can close the shares secure loan, because you won't need it any more. Now, if you plan to get an auto loan or other installment loan in the next 6 months, then you don't need a shares secure loan. The auto loan will give you FICO points for credit mix, boosting your FICO score.
A 60-month loan is very common, because it reduces the frequency of opening a new installment loan every time the last one expires, which can add a "new account penalty," reduces the AAoA and, potentially, FICO scores.
Navy Federal Credit Union's Shares Secured Loan limits:
Thanks to @spikeman768, here's a list of the loan amounts required for each loan term length @ 2.25% APR:
$250-$500 - max 6 month term
$501-$1000 - max 12 month term
$1001-$1500 - max 18 month term
$1501-$2000 - max 24 month term
$2001-$3000 - max 36 month term
$3001+ - max 60 month term
And thanks to @folks19, here are the loan amounts required for longer loan term lengths @ 3.25% APR:
$25,000 minimum loan amount for 61 to 84 months
$30,000 minimum loan amount for 85 to 180 months
Navy Fed's shares secure loan is very special in two ways.
First, they lock the dollar amount of the loan in your share savings account, then issue you the loan proceeds (either in another account, like your Navy Fed checking account, or they can send you a check). You take this money and immediately pay down the loan to less than 9.5% of the original loan amount. (Paying down an installment loan by that amount will boost your FICO 8 scores about 15 to 35 points. I got an average 30-point boost when I did it.) About 4 business days later, Navy Fed unlocks the dollar amount of the payment from your share savings account, and you can spend that money any way you want. Most other financial institutions hold your monthly payments until the very end of the loan, then you receive all your payments at once. Navy Fed doesn't make you wait lengthy periods to get access to your money, only about a week.
Second, and most importantly, with each payment, your next payment is pushed out into the future, so the low balance of the loan reports on your CRs for a long time. With other financial institutions, every payment just reduces the total amount you still owe, and you still have to make the next payment the following month. For example, I opened a $3,000, 60-month Navy Fed shares secure loan in March 2021 and paid it down to 8.9%. My next payment was set for 4.5 years later. I will have that 30-point FICO score boost for nearly 5 years, or until I open an auto loan or a mortgage, because the point boost comes from aggregate installment loan utilization. For example, when I open a mortgage loan (as I intend to do in about 4 years), my aggregate installment loan utilization will jump from about 2.5% up to about 99.8%. I can pay off my shares secure loan at that point, because that loan amount won't be large enough to boost my FICO scores when my new mortgage is at 100% utilization.
Once you're approved, make sure you use your Navy Fed secured nRewards card every month. Make sure you pay all your credit accounts on time every month, preferably in full. If you do carry a balance on any CC, try to keep it below 29.5%. Lower utilization is better. Don't open any Consumer Finance Accounts (CFAs). Navy Fed is monitoring your credit report (CR) monthly, not just your Navy Fed accounts. Use the AZEO method for best FICO scores.
Remember, you can always increase your CL on your Navy Fed secured nRewards CC in $50 increments if $200 isn't cutting it. Just send a secure message to Navy Fed as I described above requesting a CLI. No guarantees, but after 3 months, you will be eligible for an automatic CLI to $500 to $1,000, so watch for that. (I didn't get it, but I also didn't have a FICO score at that time. You do, and a high one at that!)
Good luck!
