To apply or not to apply... that is the question

[Anonymous]

So I have been working on rebuilding my credit for the last 3-4 years (with some bumps in the road along the way) .  The last two years of my journey have been really good... and the last few months have been AMAZING.  See timeline:

Sept 2015 - applied for Walmart Sychrony approved for SCL $800, auto CLI Jan 2016 to $1.5k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $6k

Jan 2016 - applied for Care Credit account  approved for SCL $4k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $11k

Feb 2016 - applied for Discover IT card approved for SCL $1.6k did not qualify for 0% APR for 12 months (application was previously denied when I applied in July 2015)

Feb 2016 - applied for Capital One QS1 approved for $3k SCL - card was upgraded to QS in March 2016

March 2016 - applied fo Capital One Venture and approved for SCL of $15k

April 2016 - applied for Amex Hilton approved for $1.4k SCL

In the process I was denied for BoA travel rewards card and Citi Hilton in Jan 2016 and the Barclays Jet Blue card in March 2016. 

So I have been checking to see if I am pre-qualified for any cards with Chase but always received a message stating that they do not have any offers availble for me at this time... until today.  It now shows that I have been pre-qualified for a Chase Freedom and the Chase Slate card.  So I have heard about the Chase 5/24 rule and I def have more than 5 inquiries in the last 24 months. So should I apply or should I just leave it alone.  What do you guys think my chances are of being approved?? 

Scores:

EQ: 639

EX: 679

TU: 717

[Anonymous]

How many inquiries exactly? Chase is known to turn down people with a lot of inquiries but your utilization matters a lot more. I haven't seen many people get denied after being pre-qualified by Chase, but YMMV.

[jacetx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I have been working on rebuilding my credit for the last 3-4 years (with some bumps in the road along the way) .  The last two years of my journey have been really good... and the last few months have been AMAZING.  See timeline:

Sept 2015 - applied for Walmart Sychrony approved for SCL $800, auto CLI Jan 2016 to $1.5k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $6k

Jan 2016 - applied for Care Credit account  approved for SCL $4k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $11k

Feb 2016 - applied for Discover IT card approved for SCL $1.6k did not qualify for 0% APR for 12 months (application was previously denied when I applied in July 2015)

Feb 2016 - applied for Capital One QS1 approved for $3k SCL - card was upgraded to QS in March 2016

March 2016 - applied fo Capital One Venture and approved for SCL of $15k

April 2016 - applied for Amex Hilton approved for $1.4k SCL

In the process I was denied for BoA travel rewards card and Citi Hilton in Jan 2016 and the Barclays Jet Blue card in March 2016. 

So I have been checking to see if I am pre-qualified for any cards with Chase but always received a message stating that they do not have any offers availble for me at this time... until today.  It now shows that I have been pre-qualified for a Chase Freedom and the Chase Slate card.  So I have heard about the Chase 5/24 rule and I def have more than 5 inquiries in the last 24 months. So should I apply or should I just leave it alone.  What do you guys think my chances are of being approved?? 

Scores:

EQ: 639

EX: 679

TU: 717

---

If those are your only cards opened in the last 2 years and the latest approvals have not reported yet and your utilizations is low, you might have a chance. That being said, you need to slow down on the applications. 5 new accounts in less than 4 months already destroyed your AAoA. You need to let the new accounts age and get some history on those. I understand that you are in the rebuilding process but credit is not a race, it is a marathon. 

[SecretAzure]

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@jace8602 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I have been working on rebuilding my credit for the last 3-4 years (with some bumps in the road along the way) .  The last two years of my journey have been really good... and the last few months have been AMAZING.  See timeline:

Sept 2015 - applied for Walmart Sychrony approved for SCL $800, auto CLI Jan 2016 to $1.5k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $6k

Jan 2016 - applied for Care Credit account  approved for SCL $4k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $11k

Feb 2016 - applied for Discover IT card approved for SCL $1.6k did not qualify for 0% APR for 12 months (application was previously denied when I applied in July 2015)

Feb 2016 - applied for Capital One QS1 approved for $3k SCL - card was upgraded to QS in March 2016

March 2016 - applied fo Capital One Venture and approved for SCL of $15k

April 2016 - applied for Amex Hilton approved for $1.4k SCL

In the process I was denied for BoA travel rewards card and Citi Hilton in Jan 2016 and the Barclays Jet Blue card in March 2016. 

So I have been checking to see if I am pre-qualified for any cards with Chase but always received a message stating that they do not have any offers availble for me at this time... until today.  It now shows that I have been pre-qualified for a Chase Freedom and the Chase Slate card.  So I have heard about the Chase 5/24 rule and I def have more than 5 inquiries in the last 24 months. So should I apply or should I just leave it alone.  What do you guys think my chances are of being approved?? 

Scores:

EQ: 639

EX: 679

TU: 717

---

If those are your only cards opened in the last 2 years and the latest approvals have not reported yet and your utilizations is low, you might have a chance. That being said, you need to slow down on the applications. 5 new accounts in less than 4 months already destroyed your AAoA. I understand that you are in the rebuilding process but credit is not a race, it is a marathon. 

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I agree with Jace. It's a marathon and AAOA does weigh on your overall scores quite heavily. If you want big limits with Chase your scores have to support them and having all these fresh accounts...if you were lucky enough to get approved, you'd get approved for 1-2K at best where as if you wait a year from now, that might be 5K+.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I have been working on rebuilding my credit for the last 3-4 years (with some bumps in the road along the way) .  The last two years of my journey have been really good... and the last few months have been AMAZING.  See timeline:

Sept 2015 - applied for Walmart Sychrony approved for SCL $800, auto CLI Jan 2016 to $1.5k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $6k

Jan 2016 - applied for Care Credit account  approved for SCL $4k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $11k

Feb 2016 - applied for Discover IT card approved for SCL $1.6k did not qualify for 0% APR for 12 months (application was previously denied when I applied in July 2015)

Feb 2016 - applied for Capital One QS1 approved for $3k SCL - card was upgraded to QS in March 2016

March 2016 - applied fo Capital One Venture and approved for SCL of $15k

April 2016 - applied for Amex Hilton approved for $1.4k SCL

In the process I was denied for BoA travel rewards card and Citi Hilton in Jan 2016 and the Barclays Jet Blue card in March 2016. 

So I have been checking to see if I am pre-qualified for any cards with Chase but always received a message stating that they do not have any offers availble for me at this time... until today.  It now shows that I have been pre-qualified for a Chase Freedom and the Chase Slate card.  So I have heard about the Chase 5/24 rule and I def have more than 5 inquiries in the last 24 months. So should I apply or should I just leave it alone.  What do you guys think my chances are of being approved?? 

Scores:

EQ: 639

EX: 679

TU: 717

---

The 5/24 rule isn't about inquiries,it's about new accounts.

You might run afoul of the 5/24 rule, but there are rumors that the rule is enforced less stringently for the Slate card.

In general you should probably stop putting in new applications, but if you're feeling an overpowering itch, apply for the Freedom or Slate, and whether you get approved or whether you get denied..... head to the garden and let your accounts age.

[_NERD]

Did you apply?

[KSK1912]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

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@jace8602 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I have been working on rebuilding my credit for the last 3-4 years (with some bumps in the road along the way) .  The last two years of my journey have been really good... and the last few months have been AMAZING.  See timeline:

Sept 2015 - applied for Walmart Sychrony approved for SCL $800, auto CLI Jan 2016 to $1.5k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $6k

Jan 2016 - applied for Care Credit account  approved for SCL $4k, applied for CLI two days ago CL is now $11k

Feb 2016 - applied for Discover IT card approved for SCL $1.6k did not qualify for 0% APR for 12 months (application was previously denied when I applied in July 2015)

Feb 2016 - applied for Capital One QS1 approved for $3k SCL - card was upgraded to QS in March 2016

March 2016 - applied fo Capital One Venture and approved for SCL of $15k

April 2016 - applied for Amex Hilton approved for $1.4k SCL

In the process I was denied for BoA travel rewards card and Citi Hilton in Jan 2016 and the Barclays Jet Blue card in March 2016. 

So I have been checking to see if I am pre-qualified for any cards with Chase but always received a message stating that they do not have any offers availble for me at this time... until today.  It now shows that I have been pre-qualified for a Chase Freedom and the Chase Slate card.  So I have heard about the Chase 5/24 rule and I def have more than 5 inquiries in the last 24 months. So should I apply or should I just leave it alone.  What do you guys think my chances are of being approved?? 

Scores:

EQ: 639

EX: 679

TU: 717

---

If those are your only cards opened in the last 2 years and the latest approvals have not reported yet and your utilizations is low, you might have a chance. That being said, you need to slow down on the applications. 5 new accounts in less than 4 months already destroyed your AAoA. I understand that you are in the rebuilding process but credit is not a race, it is a marathon. 

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I agree with Jace. It's a marathon and AAOA does weigh on your overall scores quite heavily. If you want big limits with Chase your scores have to support them and having all these fresh accounts...if you were lucky enough to get approved, you'd get approved for 1-2K at best where as if you wait a year from now, that might be 5K+.

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So the dilemma always comes down to the same thing, at least for me:

Should you wait for a year and apply to get a better SL, or should you apply now, and get less SL, but have a 1 year history with the card...! So after you establish some AAoA, a year later you will apply for another card, if you get approved, you will never stop with that one card, add couple more to it, and lower your AAoA again, or you can apply now, and have it age together with all the other accounts.