Turned down from Lowes? What?

[Anonymous]

I recently applied for a Lowes card to finance some materials for a renovation project.  I'm in real estate and do home renovations.  I'm not sure if i was turned down because I used my company EIN tax ID isntead of my social, but I was turned down over the phone.  My company is only 18 months old and we have 1 credit card and 1 piece of equipment we lease but not much other activity.

I asked the lady to switch to my personal social but said it made no differnece.  I have a 685 score with 0 derogatory marks and no late payments, with my biggest weakness being a 40% utilization across 3 cards.  I also have only had credit accounts for 3 years since I didn't want them until i graduated college so that's a weak point as well.  I have some cash in the bank and make 175K a year.  I recently applied for an AMEX Delta Skymiles card 3 months ago and was quicly approved for 12K which was part of the reason for my surprise when Lowes turned me down.  Is it too early to ask for a CLI on that card?  My utilization on it is about 15% which I could pay off in full beforehand if that helped.

Question is where do I go from here?  I don't just want to start shotgunning CC applications all over.  Woud I be better off applying for an AMEX business card since they have already approved me or does that not make a difference.  I also have an auto loan through Chase that is 3 years old with 0 late payments - not sure if that relationship would help me out.  I could still max out my other cards and get the job done, but i don't like the feeling of that.  My reason for the Lowes card was 0 interest for 6 months and I only need to put a balance on the card for maybe 6 weeks and then will pay off the balance in full after i complete and sell the project.

I guess I don't have the knowledge of when to use my business EIN since i'm a newer LLC with no history.  I can always use my personal SSN and be reimbursed by the company.  

Sorry for the long question and any help is much appreciated.  Thanks!

[garagebandking]

I can't really help with the EIN v SSN when applying thing.

So Amex is 90 days old? At 91 days(or is it 61) I believe you can apply for a CLI...you should search out the Amex CLI thread on this forum...it is very comprehensive

How old are each of the other 2 accounts? What are their credit limits?

Cutting your utilization down to 10% or so might help immensely.

When you say you were turned down over the phone...you applied on the phone? Did the rep mention you'd be receiving notice in the mail addressing why they denied your application?

Your score should be high enough to qualify for a Lowe's card if you apply as an individual...but the limit might not be impressive or beneficial...depending on what you wanted to put through it at any one time before PIF.

Lowe's has a business credit card yes? Is that what you applied for with the EIN?

There's a chance you were denied simply because you applied for the wrong product I suppose.

Good luck!

Beyond the Lowe's card...I'd hold off on apping for anything until your accounts have aged a bit...you improve the odds of getting better terms and SLs if you can get up over 700.

Congrats on completing college and for having what sounds like a successful and promising business!

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the response!  I actually saw the great post on Amex CLI and called them.  Got increased from11,200 to 22,200 which solves my issue big time.  I'd still rather get what I need from the Lowes card but unless the limit is over 10K it won't help me that much.

I applied for the Lowes card onilne, They said to finish the application to call the number and that's where they denied me and said I'd get a letter in 7-10 days.  Mabye I can get them to reconsider.

Thanks

[garagebandking]

That's weird...I wonder if there's a data mis-match or something...I had a fraud alert on my TU and up until my NFCU app today...have had to call and have them verify some of my information before they would complete the application process...maybe the newness of the EIN caused a problem?

Wait to see what the letter says...make your case if you can...and then call for a recon and see what happens...

Good luck!

[AverageJoesCredit]

Always Home Depot. Where one door closes, another opens.... literally

[Aduke1122]

I would call to recon or put in another app in your personal name , this seems so.weird that she would tell you that . Also like AJC said Home Depot is open to try