Amazon Prime Rewards Approval Odds

[Anonymous]

Hello All,

I'm halfway toward getting all the cards I want in the short term. The next one on my list is the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card. I've heard Chase is very picky with who they extend credit to, especially applicants with thin files so I'd like to know what you all think of my odds of approval at the moment. Here's my profile:

Scores:

EX: 744, 1 inq

TU: 735, 0 inqs

AAOA: 1yr 4months (excluding TR card)

Util: 12% (excluding TR card)

Current cards:

BOA Cash Rewards: 4 months old, $3900 CL

BOA Travel Rewards: 2 days old (lol), $12000 CL

Chase Southwest Premier Plus (AU): 2 years old, $8500 CL

Any chance of an approval if I apply in about a month or so? Would love to hear all of your thoughts and experiences with applying for this card!

[K-in-Boston]

There are no guarantees in the credit world, but with those scores you should be approved.  If you're going to do it, I would probably do it now before the Travel Rewards card reports to the credit bureaus as it will reset your age of youngest account to 1 month and bring your average age under a year, likely bringing your score down a bit and also showing very new credit.

[Anonymous]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

There are no guarantees in the credit world, but with those scores you should be approved.  If you're going to do it, I would probably do it now before the Travel Rewards card reports to the credit bureaus as it will reset your age of youngest account to 1 month and bring your average age under a year, likely bringing your score down a bit and also showing very new credit.

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That's an interesting suggestion. I've heard that Chase ignores AU accounts so I figured they might disregard my reported AAOA considering that it's that long only because of my AU account. I was thinking that having this new Travel Rewards card report would be a good thing because it shows that another lender trusts me with a 12k CL.

[K-in-Boston]

It's kind of a mixed bag.  We're not sure of Chase's internal underwriting, but once the new card hits your FICO scores will almost certainly go down temporarily.  On the other hand, yes showing a $12,000 credit line certainly can't hurt.  There can be arguments made both ways.  Rather than doing it a month or so from now, though, if it were me I would personally either do it right now or wait 6 months.  That's just a best guess; none of us know the magic formulas to be able to tell you exactly what will ultimately work out best for you.

[RonM21]

K makes a good argument for doing it right now, and I would agree that based off your scores, you stand a decent chance at approval. Do you think you are going to do it now, rather than wait?

[Anonymous]

I think I'll wait some months before applying. My credit history is very new and I really don't want to waste any hard pulls. The cards I have now should service my needs well while I wait I reckon. 

I've read that to build an optimal credit profile i'll need 3 revolving credit card accounts. Do AU accounts count toward that number?

Thanks to both of you for your advice.

[HeavenOhio]

@Anonymous, waiting until your oldest primary user card is a year old will improve your chances considerably. Chase doesn't seem to be that fussy about a thin file or AAoA. But the age of your youngest primary user card is big. Recently opened cards is another big factor, but one new account shouldn't get in the way.

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

@Anonymous, waiting until your oldest primary user card is a year old will improve your chances considerably. Chase doesn't seem to be that fussy about a thin file or AAoA. But the age of your youngest primary user card is big. Recently opened cards is another big factor, but one new account shouldn't get in the way.

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My oldest primary card doesn't become a year old until August 2019. Was really hoping I wouldn't have to wait that long. I spend a decent amount at both Amazon and Whole Foods, that would be another 9 months of missing out on 5% back. Sucks but I guess it is what it is. Does Chase value relationships as much as BOA? Maybe I'll open a checking account with them if it will improve my chances. 

[FinStar]

As @K-in-Boston mentioned above, lots of variables at play that may yield either outcome. Holding off hurts nothing regardless of the foreseeable 5% in earnings. Key thing here is strategy. Potentially, if you applied today and were declined you'd still need to wait things out.

What I'd suggest, if you decide to wait, save the Amazon slot for a future application since it is likely that Chase will (if not already) include this product as part of the 5/24 restriction. As far as opening a checking/savings account with Chase to improve your approval odds, it really won't make much difference. While Chase values relationships to an extent, it's not really as relevant unless you are really heavily invested with them, such as CPC (even still no guarantees).

[HeavenOhio]

Chase will occasionally approve when one's oldest card is less than a year old. The problem is that it happens so seldom that we don't have the data points to know what caused them to make the exception. So in this case, we have to make recommendations using information based on the general population.

Another thing about Chase (that doesn't really apply here) is that they don't often like to jump in and issue one's highest limit. But in contrast to the oldest card thing, we can make a reasonable guess when we think someone might be an exception.