What is it with Bank of the West?

[Anonymous]

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@blindambition wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So just like @Anonymous reported here, I applied for a Bank of the West Cash Back card since I just got rid of my More Rewards and I have yet to get a HP. I put my app in about 5PM last night, my lift expired at midnight, I called in to the app status line and they said that it’s in review. 

Is BoTW just not doing HPs or what? I went ahead and put in another lift just in case but the guy said they have my credit report and it’s just queued for review?!

Unlike BigHair, I don’t have an existing relationship with BoTW that they could be using for approval. 

We don’t see a lot of people going for this card but it’s a 3/3/3 groceries/dining/gas world MasterCard that automatically redeems your cash back every quarter with a $.01 minimum so it’s perfect for people like myself that don’t have enough grocery spend to hit the $25-$50 targets of other cards in a reasonable period of time. 

I will keep everyone posted on the status. I think my score might be a bit low for this particular card right now but since I already added a new account that’s going to bring my AAoA under 2 years anyway, I figured I would take a shot at this one and if I get it just pull the UMB goal card. 

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GL! I’m interested in your outcome. I’m limited income like you. They have a big presence here in Vegas.

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Thanks! They do here in CO too. I thought about opening a checking with them for the $250 bonus but I don’t really like the idea of shuffling my SSDI deposit around for bank bonuses. If something goes wrong, I’m in big trouble so I just stick with 1stBank. 

I will let you know. Either my $2212 balance on my SavorOne is going to help me because it put me up to 3% credit usage with no more than 23% on any individual card or it’s going to hurt me because of my low income. In terms of DTI it’s a blip since my minimum payment is only $25 so I guess we will see. 

[blindambition]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@blindambition wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So just like @Anonymous reported here, I applied for a Bank of the West Cash Back card since I just got rid of my More Rewards and I have yet to get a HP. I put my app in about 5PM last night, my lift expired at midnight, I called in to the app status line and they said that it’s in review. 

Is BoTW just not doing HPs or what? I went ahead and put in another lift just in case but the guy said they have my credit report and it’s just queued for review?!

Unlike BigHair, I don’t have an existing relationship with BoTW that they could be using for approval. 

We don’t see a lot of people going for this card but it’s a 3/3/3 groceries/dining/gas world MasterCard that automatically redeems your cash back every quarter with a $.01 minimum so it’s perfect for people like myself that don’t have enough grocery spend to hit the $25-$50 targets of other cards in a reasonable period of time. 

I will keep everyone posted on the status. I think my score might be a bit low for this particular card right now but since I already added a new account that’s going to bring my AAoA under 2 years anyway, I figured I would take a shot at this one and if I get it just pull the UMB goal card. 

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GL! I’m interested in your outcome. I’m limited income like you. They have a big presence here in Vegas.

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Thanks! They do here in CO too. I thought about opening a checking with them for the $250 bonus but I don’t really like the idea of shuffling my SSDI deposit around for bank bonuses. If something goes wrong, I’m in big trouble so I just stick with 1stBank. 

I will let you know. Either my $2212 balance on my SavorOne is going to help me because it put me up to 3% credit usage with no more than 23% on any individual card or it’s going to hurt me because of my low income. In terms of DTI it’s a blip since my minimum payment is only $25 so I guess we will see. 

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I understand about the SSD deposit. Mine stays with Chase. While they aren’t preferential to low income. My DD and 25 yr relationship has always helped me. 

[Anonymous]

Yeah they definitely didn’t get all of the info they needed. 

They just sent me an email and this is an excerpt. 

I am not now and never will be willing to provide that much information for a credit card. 

This wasn’t an automated email, it’s actually a real human in UW and I actually believe it’s the guy who I spoke to on the phone about my application (same name) so maybe I can find out what went wrong, fix it, and get approved without all that hassle but if not, it’s a dead app. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Dang @Anonymous, that would be another wasted hp for me. Way to much for a cc. My luck is i would provide it and still get rejected

[Anonymous]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Dang @Anonymous, that would be another wasted hp for me. Way to much for a cc. My luck is i would provide it and still get rejected

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Fortunately I never got a hard pull. But I’m thinking that’s what the problem is. If the guy emails back that they were unable to pull my credit, I’ll probably just let this one go. 

If they couldn’t pull my credit and were considering me anyway, I guess I understand wanting all of that documentation. I still wouldn’t provide it but for those who really want the card, I guess it would be better to be given a chance than have a denial. 

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yeah they definitely didn’t get all of the info they needed. 

They just sent me an email and this is an excerpt. 

I am not now and never will be willing to provide that much information for a credit card. 

This wasn’t an automated email, it’s actually a real human in UW and I actually believe it’s the guy who I spoke to on the phone about my application (same name) so maybe I can find out what went wrong, fix it, and get approved without all that hassle but if not, it’s a dead app. 

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I would call UW (same name) and ask if they would like a copy of your Lexis Nexis report, Sagestream, Chexsystems, What you eat 3 times a day and a Copy of your cell phone records to??.

That is just Insane!  .. That would be a Hard Pass for Me!!!

[Anonymous]

Yikes!  Did they ask for a first born as well?  That's a bit much. 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I am not holding my breath for a response and if I get one, I don’t expect it to go anywhere. I didn’t get a HP so I am just going to let it go. 

I just really felt that it was important to share what they were asking. It’s crazy. I mean they don’t even have a sign up bonus for the card. It’s possible being a WMC, they’re sticking to a $5K minimum SL but even SSFCU, who put me through a rigorous chain of phone calls and emails, didn’t want all that stuff and they certainly didn’t try to force me to go into a branch (we have both SSFCU and BotW less than 30 minutes away). 

It is also important to point out that on my application, I put down that I get SSDI, yet they’re requesting pay stubs, so they aren’t even asking for the right documents. 

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness! That's a lot of info they're wanting. WOW.

I've banked with Bank of the West for a few years. Their checking/savings accounts are a little clunky and frustrating. They are not my primary bank now because of this. I've had my eye on their credit card with the 3% off gas and groceries but have held off because I've heard they're very cautious and my profile isn't "there" yet.

After seeing all the hoops they want to you to jump through, all I can think now is FORGET IT. Now I can get 3% off gas and groceries through Navy Fed's AMEX card instead.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh my goodness! That's a lot of info they're wanting. WOW.

I've banked with Bank of the West for a few years. Their checking/savings accounts are a little clunky and frustrating. They are not my primary bank now because of this. I've had my eye on their credit card with the 3% off gas and groceries but have held off because I've heard they're very cautious and my profile isn't "there" yet.

After seeing all the hoops they want to you to jump through, all I can think now is FORGET IT. Now I can get 3% off gas and groceries through Navy Fed's AMEX card instead.

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Honestly this card was an attempt to replace my NFCU Amex with a card that didn’t have the stupid $50 minimum redemption. NFCU really needs to get rid of that pesky requirement. I will probably end up adding the card back as my third card if I don’t get approved for the UMB Simply Rewards next year. For now, I’ll take the 1% less from my SavorOne I guess. 

This definitely left a bad taste in my mouth about BotW period though.