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AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

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WindBlazer3
Established Member

AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

I got an itchy finger and apped for the AMEX Blue Cash Everday, thinking that AMEX would give me my first decent limit card - Hell, I figured they'd give me at least a $5k limit.  I chose to apply now because I've run a lot of heavy purchases on my AMEX green card over the past 6 months, and I figured AMEX would be more generous with a limit on their blue card if I apped right after running a lot of money through my green card and PIF.  Plus, for the next 5 months, I'm going to be running every purchase through my AARP card for the 5% cash back.....so my 'average' monthly usage on my green card is about to drop off of a cliff.

 

Anyways - long story short: DENIED.  I gotta say, I'm a little bit pissed.  The CSR just listed off a handful of reasons and acted like it was ridiculous to even think I would be eligible for the card.  When I tried to start explaining that I have great history with AMEX, she rolled right over me and said "Well sir, there are actually a LOT of reasons that you were denied, not just your short credit history"...What the heck?  I thought running about 40-50k through my AMEX green card in about 10 months and PIF every month meant something....but apparently the pre-approved AMEX gold and platinum offers don't mean anything when you're apping for AMEX's CC's.


Reasons for denial:

    • Length of time accounts have been established
    • Insufficient number of satisfactory accounts
    • Lack of recent information on installment accounts?  I recently got a Tiffany Charge Card when I bought an engagement ring.  They don't report the balance or the limit to any of the CRA's.  I didn't think this was an issue...
    • The number of months that you have been on file with a consumer reporting agency is too short

 

My AAoA is 1.2 years and my oldest tradeline is 2.2 years (I'm 22).  I have no negatives or baddies of any kind anywhere.  My HHI is $117k, my income is $70k.  They pulled Experian, with whom I have about 7 inquiries.  I know that's a lot of inquiries...but I'm just getting started on my credit and they're all quite reasonable inquiries.  It's not like I'm applying for credit like crazy.  Two of them were credit checks for new apartments (moved twice in last 2 yrs), one of them was from AT&T when I switched from Verizon to AT&T, one of them was for my AMEX green card, one for my Chase Freedom Card, and one for my AARP card.  The last inquiry was for my Tiffany & Co. card.

 

I have four current accounts:

    • Chase AARP: 200/$1000
    • Chase Freedom: 73/$1500
    • AMEX Green: I've had this card for 13 months and PIF every month.  Until I got the AARP card 2 mos ago, I regularly put 3k/month on this card, and one month put ~12k on it.  When I 'checked my spending ability', I was 'pre-approved' online for up to $20k general transaction.
    • Cap1 Card: 200/$1000 - This is my oldest tradeline and is pretty much sniffing socks.

My new plan is to just run all of my normal expenses, wedding bands, and honeymoon through my AARP.  I was hoping to get the AMEX blue cash in order to have a card with a bigger limit that can readily handle these expenses.  Since Chase has steadily refused to give me a CLI on my Freedom card (five denials in two years), I'm not going to even bother requesting a CLI on my AARP card until the end of the 6 month 5% promotion, at which point I will request a CLI on my AARP card, wait a month and then try to roll that limit over on top of my Freedom card.  I'm not holding my breath, but I'm hoping that running $5k a month on a card with a $1k limit is a good enough reason for a CLI from Chase.

 

I suppose I'll wait until January to re-app for the Blue Cash and I'll go ahead and app for the USAA World MC at that time (my fiance is a full USAA member, so I'll have access to USAA in July).  Plus, 3 of my inquiries should drop off by then.

 

I just wanted to share my experience and vent, but if you guys have any ideas for a recon, please let me know....I really would like to get a card with a decent limit, and Chase seems to hate giving out CLIs.

Message 1 of 18
17 REPLIES 17
Indo
New Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

Next time you apply don't have any inquiries counting against you, and don't have any balances reported on all but 1 revolving account. Even though AMEX offers revolving accounts, they really don't want you to carry a balance.



Starting Score: 673 EQ(2014)
Current Score: 784 EQ(2022)
Goal Score: 750+

Current cards: AmEx Gold (NPSL), Discover It ($17,000), Barclaycard Rewards ($15,600), Amazon Prime Rewards ($25,200), Apple Card ($15,500), AmEx Blue Business Plus ($30,000), Rakuten Visa ($8,000), My Best Buy ($15,000)
Message 2 of 18
aftermath
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED


@WindBlazer3 wrote:

I got an itchy finger and apped for the AMEX Blue Cash Everday, thinking that AMEX would give me my first decent limit card - Hell, I figured they'd give me at least a $5k limit.  I chose to apply now because I've run a lot of heavy purchases on my AMEX green card over the past 6 months, and I figured AMEX would be more generous with a limit on their blue card if I apped right after running a lot of money through my green card and PIF.  Plus, for the next 5 months, I'm going to be running every purchase through my AARP card for the 5% cash back.....so my 'average' monthly usage on my green card is about to drop off of a cliff.

 

Anyways - long story short: DENIED.  I gotta say, I'm a little bit pissed.  The CSR just listed off a handful of reasons and acted like it was ridiculous to even think I would be eligible for the card.  When I tried to start explaining that I have great history with AMEX, she rolled right over me and said "Well sir, there are actually a LOT of reasons that you were denied, not just your short credit history"...What the heck? (1) I thought running about 40-50k through my AMEX green card in about 10 months and PIF every month meant something....(2) but apparently the pre-approved AMEX gold and platinum offers don't mean anything when you're apping for AMEX's CC's.


Reasons for denial:

    • Length of time accounts have been established
    • Insufficient number of satisfactory accounts
    • Lack of recent information on installment accounts?  (3) I recently got a Tiffany Charge Card when I bought an engagement ring.  They don't report the balance or the limit to any of the CRA's.  I didn't think this was an issue...
    • The number of months that you have been on file with a consumer reporting agency is too short

 

(4) My AAoA is 1.2 years and my oldest tradeline is 2.2 years (I'm 22).  I have no negatives or baddies of any kind anywhere.  My HHI is $117k, my income is $70k.  They pulled Experian, with whom I have about 7 inquiries.  I know that's a lot of inquiries...but I'm just getting started on my credit and they're all quite reasonable inquiries.  It's not like I'm applying for credit like crazy.  Two of them were credit checks for new apartments (moved twice in last 2 yrs), one of them was from AT&T when I switched from Verizon to AT&T, one of them was for my AMEX green card, one for my Chase Freedom Card, and one for my AARP card.  The last inquiry was for my Tiffany & Co. card.

 

I have four current accounts:

    • Chase AARP: 200/$1000
    • Chase Freedom: 73/$1500
    • AMEX Green: I've had this card for 13 months and PIF every month.  Until I got the AARP card 2 mos ago, I regularly put 3k/month on this card, and one month put ~12k on it.  When I 'checked my spending ability', I was 'pre-approved' online for up to $20k general transaction.
    • Cap1 Card: 200/$1000 - This is my oldest tradeline and is pretty much sniffing socks.

My new plan is to just run all of my normal expenses, wedding bands, and honeymoon through my AARP.  I was hoping to get the AMEX blue cash in order to have a card with a bigger limit that can readily handle these expenses.  Since Chase has steadily refused to give me a CLI on my Freedom card (five denials in two years), I'm not going to even bother requesting a CLI on my AARP card until the end of the 6 month 5% promotion, at which point I will request a CLI on my AARP card, wait a month and then try to roll that limit over on top of my Freedom card.  I'm not holding my breath, but I'm hoping that running $5k a month on a card with a $1k limit is a good enough reason for a CLI from Chase.

 

I suppose I'll wait until January to re-app for the Blue Cash and I'll go ahead and app for the USAA World MC at that time (my fiance is a full USAA member, so I'll have access to USAA in July).  Plus, 3 of my inquiries should drop off by then.

 

I just wanted to share my experience and vent, but if you guys have any ideas for a recon, please let me know....I really would like to get a card with a decent limit, and Chase seems to hate giving out CLIs.


(1) Established relationship with Amex is only ONE factor they take into consideration when deciding to extend you credit.  Just like any other credit card company, they base their decision more heavily on your credit report.

 

(2) Bingo.  They are more lenient in issuing people charge cards.  Their credit cards are a whole different animal.  That is why you've only received charge card pre-approvals and not credit card pre-approvals.  They want you to apply for their charge cards, not their credit cards.

 

(3) This has nothing to do with your Tiffany charge card.  They are basically telling you that you lack installment accounts on your credit reports.  Do you have any car loans, personal loans, mortgages or student loans reporting on your credit reports?  Credit card companies like to see a variety of credit types and want to know that you can handle them.  Many people believe CREDIT = CREDIT CARDS, but in fact CREDIT = REVOLVING CREDIT, INSTALLMENT LOANS, MORTGAGES, PAYMENT HISTORY, LENGTH, etc.

 

(4) Regardless of a spotless credit report, you do in fact have a very short credit history.  You can't expect to get approved for prime cards with high limits with only 2 years of credit history.  Even though you've been approved by Amex and Chase in the past, which are prime lenders, they did issue you sub-prime credit lines and this is due to your short credit history.  You need to build trust with credit card companies and demonstrate that you can handle credit responsibly.  Your credit card companies gave you a low limit for a reason.  They want to see if you can handle the low limits first, and if you can demonstrate responsible usage, they will reward you with higher limits later down the line.   This is also the reason why they wont approve you for a CLI.  It's like a 16 year old who just got his driver's license, asking dad for the keys to his Ferrari.  First demonstrate to the father that you can drive the 1992 Toyota Camry well without speeding and getting into accidents, and then maybe on Prom Night he will let you take the Ferrari out.  Be patient and let your credit profile age a bit.  The more credit you apply for, the younger your AAoA will become which will make it even more difficult for you to be approved for cards later on.  Building great credit takes time and isn't something that can happen overnight, which in credit lingo is 2 years.

American Express Blue Cash Everyday $6600
Barclays US Airways Premier World Mastercard $14500
Chase Sapphire Preferred $5000
Chase Freedom Visa $1000
Chase United Explorer $8500
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa Signature $7500
Citi ThankYou Premier World Mastercard $7500
Message 3 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

I agree with aftermath 100%, he brings up some VERY good points.

 

Great reply aftermath!!!

Message 4 of 18
aftermath
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

 


@Anonymous wrote:

I agree with aftermath 100%, he brings up some VERY good points.

 

Great reply aftermath!!!


 Smiley Very Happy

American Express Blue Cash Everyday $6600
Barclays US Airways Premier World Mastercard $14500
Chase Sapphire Preferred $5000
Chase Freedom Visa $1000
Chase United Explorer $8500
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa Signature $7500
Citi ThankYou Premier World Mastercard $7500
Message 5 of 18
TangMeister
Frequent Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED


@Anonymous wrote:

I agree with aftermath 100%, he brings up some VERY good points.

 

Great reply aftermath!!!


+1.  Their credit cards are a WHOLE different animal vs. their charge cards.  Hang in there, OP, you'll be golden with them in another couple years or so of charge card usage.

Message 6 of 18
Amnesia87
Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

I'd say you probably need at least another year on your credit report to have a good chance, though honestly, I think part of the big problem is that you applied so soon after getting another card WHILE having such a short history.

 

The fact that your just got the AARP card 2 months prior does not look good in Amex's eyes, that combined with the inquiries (The Tiffany's CL could also be a problem if it's new.) This is what caused Reasons 1 and 4.

 

When applying for Amex, I would recommend having at least a 6 month gap between the last time you apped or a new card reported.

 

You also have too many cards with balances on them, which also doesn't look good, you would greatly increase your chances on ANY app, by shifting all of those balances to one card (or paying them of course.) This is what caused Reason 2.

 

If you really want to consider a recon, the first thing I would do is go to: http://www.experian.com/reportaccess/ and pull your report (for free, you just need to know the date of the inquiry, and who made it) so you can see exactly what they are seeing.

 

Then just call and provide as much information as you can, definately worth a shot.

 

 


Starting Score: EX FICO: Unknown EQ FICO: 717 TU (CreditKarma): 713
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Message 7 of 18
Awesomely
Regular Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

Yeah I don't understand that, I applied for a Gold and Clear card on the same day in April and both got approved. I also applied for a Chase Slate card in January and also got approved as well. My history was 2 years and 8 months old and average age of accounts was 1 year and 3 months. I had 1 inquiry and one card with a balance on Experian and a clean history. I really don't know what credit card companies want.

Message 8 of 18
aftermath
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED

 


@Awesomely wrote:

Yeah I don't understand that, I applied for a Gold and Clear card on the same day in April and both got approved. I also applied for a Chase Slate card in January and also got approved as well. My history was 2 years and 8 months old and average age of accounts was 1 year and 3 months. I had 1 inquiry and one card with a balance on Experian and a clean history. I really don't know what credit card companies want.


Your first born. Smiley Mad

American Express Blue Cash Everyday $6600
Barclays US Airways Premier World Mastercard $14500
Chase Sapphire Preferred $5000
Chase Freedom Visa $1000
Chase United Explorer $8500
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa Signature $7500
Citi ThankYou Premier World Mastercard $7500
Message 9 of 18
Enmie
Member

Re: AMEX Blue Cash Everyday - DENIED


@WindBlazer3 wrote:

My AAoA is 1.2 years and my oldest tradeline is 2.2 years (I'm 22).

I have four current accounts:

    • Chase AARP: 200/$1000

Hi, did I read that right? You are 22 years of age? How did you get a Chase AARP card? Am I missing something here?

Message 10 of 18
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