App spree, Comenity (West Elm and GrandinRoad), and other ramblings

[Anonymous]

Hey All!  Long time lurker here with a question. First some background: I went on an app spree recently and had a decent outcome: 

Chase Saphinre ($9000)

Discover IT ($1500)  

CareCredit ($2000)

Citi AA (denied)

I currently have:

Capital One platnium: - $2200

Cap One Quicksilver One -$2650

Bank of America Cash Rewards - $2000

Barclays Apple rewards - $2000

Amex Every Day -$1000

Credit One platinum -$1400

Grandin Road (comenity) - $3000

West Elm (comenity) $650

I've been rebuilding my credit for the last year or so and have made pretty good progress.  Part of my strategy is to get as many soft pull CLIs as I can.  I hit the luv button on the Grandin Road site a few weeks ago and was denied.  When I got the letter they were using a credit score from November 2016 (at the time I had a really high utilization so my score was at 598.  As of recent my utilization is at 32% and  after my app spre my score is 692).  The letter also had a few other things that seem ridiculous (e.g., time since account opened is too recent....eventhough I have the card for 1.5 years).   I thought this was a fluke so I decided to try and get a CLI increase on my West Elm card.  Instead of hiting the luv button I called the robo lady and was denied again!  I wonder if they are using the same outdated credit info as Grandin Road. I would call and speak to a rep about this but I'm worried they might do a HP. Any advice?

[K-in-Boston]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

The letter also had a few other things that seem ridiculous (e.g., time since account opened is too recent....eventhough I have the card for 1.5 years).

---

You sure they weren't talking about the time since your most recent account(s) opening?  That's a very standard reason and for many thin profiles reason enough to spook a lender.

[Anonymous]

The letter says "here are the reasons we declined your request:"  

High outstanding balances in relation to credit limit

Limited credit expereince

Then at the bottom it list my score as 568 and the "actors" impacting my score:

time since oldest account opened is too recent

Too many bank cards with high utilization

Average time since accounts open is to recent

Open revolving account balance/credit amount ration is too high

None of that seems accurate.  I've had the Gradnin Rd card for 1.5 years and the West Elm Card for 1 year.  Right now my income is $145K, and my scores are in the 690s. I have a decent amount of student loan debt so that could be part of the problem.  The declines aren't the end of the world, but I was tempted to call and see what's going on. But it's not worth the HP so I guess I'll just have to wait and try to get CLIs on some of my other cards. 

[Anonymous]

I would honestly let things settle for a second or two (considering the new apps and accounts).

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

The letter says "here are the reasons we declined your request:"  

High outstanding balances in relation to credit limit

Limited credit expereince

Then at the bottom it list my score as 568 and the "actors" impacting my score:

time since oldest account opened is too recent

Too many bank cards with high utilization

Average time since accounts open is to recent

Open revolving account balance/credit amount ration is too high

None of that seems accurate.  I've had the Gradnin Rd card for 1.5 years and the West Elm Card for 1 year.  Right now my income is $145K, and my scores are in the 690s. I have a decent amount of student loan debt so that could be part of the problem.  The declines aren't the end of the world, but I was tempted to call and see what's going on. But it's not worth the HP so I guess I'll just have to wait and try to get CLIs on some of my other cards. 

---

---

Congrats on the new approvals.  As others have suggested, I would not apply for anything new for maybe 6 months to a year.  Barclays and Comenity Bank are skittish lenders and could easily CLD or even in the case of Comenity Bank shut down the accounts for too many INQs and new accounts.  You've have some good approvals in your profile.  Let the accounts age and they would grow for you.

Have a great weekend.

[Chris679]

Amount of time since accounts opened refers to all of your accounts. A new account can significantly drop score for up to 6 months and minimally drop score for up to 12.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  I guess I just wanted to go all out since I know I won't be applying for any new cards for at least 6 months.  Question: When you all refer to "gardening" does that mean no new lines of credit as well as no CLI requests from places that do SPs? Or is it just limited to applying for any new lines of credit?

Another question: My brother is in the Army and a member of NFCU.  I've read great things about them on this board an was thinking about applying for membership.  Should I wait to join NFCU as well being that they will also do a HP?  If I did join now would anyone suggest joining and applying for a CC at the same time?  I was thinking of doing it now so all of the HPs I got from my app spree fall off at the same time.  But since I opened up a few new accounts and I'm sure my score has dropped I'm concered that I'll be denied and get another HP for nothing.  Any advice? 

Thanks again for all your help.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the feedback guys.  I guess I just wanted to go all out since I know I won't be applying for any new cards for at least 6 months.  Question: When you all refer to "gardening" does that mean no new lines of credit as well as no CLI requests from places that do SPs? Or is it just limited to applying for any new lines of credit?

Another question: My brother is in the Army and a member of NFCU.  I've read great things about them on this board an was thinking about applying for membership.  Should I wait to join NFCU as well being that they will also do a HP?  If I did join now would anyone suggest joining and applying for a CC at the same time?  I was thinking of doing it now so all of the HPs I got from my app spree fall off at the same time.  But since I opened up a few new accounts and I'm sure my score has dropped I'm concered that I'll be denied and get another HP for nothing.  Any advice? 

Thanks again for all your help.

---

While gardening, you can get Closer as long as it does not require a HP like requesting one from West Elm that is a SP.  NFCU does HP's for each product you apply for and also HP for membership.  If you do join then you might as well apply for everything, especially if you plan on gardening.  Remember, no matter how good the profile, there's always a chance of a denial.

[Chris679]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the feedback guys.  I guess I just wanted to go all out since I know I won't be applying for any new cards for at least 6 months.  Question: When you all refer to "gardening" does that mean no new lines of credit as well as no CLI requests from places that do SPs? Or is it just limited to applying for any new lines of credit?

Another question: My brother is in the Army and a member of NFCU.  I've read great things about them on this board an was thinking about applying for membership.  Should I wait to join NFCU as well being that they will also do a HP?  If I did join now would anyone suggest joining and applying for a CC at the same time?  I was thinking of doing it now so all of the HPs I got from my app spree fall off at the same time.  But since I opened up a few new accounts and I'm sure my score has dropped I'm concered that I'll be denied and get another HP for nothing.  Any advice? 

Thanks again for all your help.

---

HP CLI is fine by me if I actually need the increase or if I don't have many inquiries and think it will be worth it.  As far as gardening, yes you are trying to grow the CL on your cards and let them age.