So my mother decided to let me file paperwork on her behalf with Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Now I was aware they were hard to work with in some cases but the pure execution was something I have never felt before. It was a complete massacre to the old lady. So the card was the PenFed Pathfinder AmEx since there was an idea of going and getting Global Entry as well as making use of the $100 credit for stuff unknown. I entered the forms exactly as she answered them and after a day or two they said to take a hike.
Report Agency: Equifax
Score: 796
Income: $20,800
Status: Denied
Would have been the first AmEx in the family but oh well. Now I have to consider what options for travel are going to happen. I might apply for myself at least soon.
Thanks for the DPs but sorry for that denial!
I wonder if the income was too low for them?
Or Debt-to-Income might be too high?
With lower income, that would be easy to exceed their limits if she was carrying any debts, whether credit cards, mortgage, or car loans.
What else can you share about her total lines of credit, though?
Also, you can have a 796 score with a relatively thin file. Some older people never cultivated their credit histories so they can still be thin at older ages. If she had not been using her other credit cards, that might count against her if she showed 0% utilization for a long time prior to the app.
As for other entry-level general-purpose "travel" cards, a few that come to mind would be the
* Navy Federal CU Flagship ($49 AF but $500 SUB and 3x point on travel; 2x points everything else; $100 TSA credit)
* Wells Fargo Propel (no AF, $300 SUB; 3x points on dining/air/hotel/gas/car rental/streaming/rideshare/transit.)
* BB&T Spectrum Travel Rewards. I hear BB&T has been doing SPs lately for new accounts. Their Travel Rewards has no AF year one and a $200 SUB, then $89 AF but a $50 airline fee credit annually and $85 TSA credit plus 2x points on air/hotel/car rentals .
@Anonymous wrote:... when did you apply for the card? They closed the card to new applications earlier in the week...
That's a good point. I heard they were making changes to the Pathfinder but didn't know they were actually not accepting new applications. Maybe the app just missed the cutoff.
@Aim_High I assure you that she has had a Citi Dividend WMC ever since I was a little kid. Occasionally I would offer her ideas on how to save money for things like the new fridge from Lowes onto their CC that she was planning to use her existing cards to pay. I have also seen her report and it is more rounded than mine. They definitely stated income was the deciding factor.
@dashoops PenFed does not require a military connection for membership. It is open to all via $5 share. Application was last week on Wednesday. I never report in real time.
I wanted to app for it and now cannot. Blast!
@Anonymous wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:* BB&T Spectrum Travel Rewards. I hear BB&T has been doing SPs lately for new accounts. Their Travel Rewards has no AF year one and a $200 SUB, then $89 AF but a $50 airline fee credit annually and $85 TSA credit plus 2x points on air/hotel/car rentals .
Interesting card, how strict is their Airline fee credit redemption? Also, are they geo-fenced? Quick search resulted no Branches in my State.
I don't have their cards so I don't know the answers personally.
I don't believe their credit card products are geo-fenced, but an app will quickly tell you.
I'm pretty sure members are reporting only soft pulls for new apps.
BB&T is now the 16th largest US bank with $227 Billion in assets. They seem to be aggressively growing their credit card business. They are HQ'd in Winston-Salem, NC and have been in business since 1872! They currently operate in 15 states and D.C. (NC, SC, VA, MD, WV, KY, TN, GA, FL, AL, CA, IN, TX, NJ, OH, PA, and D.C.)
According to the disclosure, it looks like the airline credit is pretty typical. Here is the verbage per links on their website:
Annual Airline Incidental Statement Credit: You are eligible for a statement credit of up to $50.00 each calendar year on qualifying airline incidental transactions. To qualify, you must use the Credit Card to pay for the airline incidental transactions. Allow 7 days from qualifying transaction for the statement credit to post to your Credit Card account. You are responsible for payment of all charges until the statement credit posts to your account. Your account must be open and not in default at the time of statement credit fulfillment. Qualifying transactions are those purchases made on domestic-originated flights on certain U.S.-domestic airline carriers that include: preferred seating upgrades, ticket change/cancellation fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, and airport lounge fees affiliated with eligible airline carriers. Airline ticket purchases, mileage point purchases, mileage point transfer fees, gift cards, duty-free purchases, award tickets and fees incurred with airline alliance partners do not qualify. Airline incidental fee transactions must be separate from airline ticket charges.
BB&T is geo-fenced but they do it by restricting the states on the application in the drop down menu. If you are not listed then you are not allowed to apply. It is the nice kind of geo-fencing.
@zerofire wrote:BB&T is geo-fenced but they do it by restricting the states on the application in the drop down menu. If you are not listed then you are not allowed to apply. It is the nice kind of geo-fencing.
Aha. Thanks for that. It looks like they do require you to live in one of the states I previously mentioned or also Delaware. Mostly states east of the Mississippi River plus Texas.