@FinStar wrote:As long as you keep in mind that nominal or trivial deposits aren't a sure way or guarantees for a CC product.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't hurt having said deposit (DDA/TDA) accounts if you eventually wish to expand the relationship, but it isn't going to work with AmEx or Capital One, for example.
Welcome to My Fico Forums, @Anonymous. 
Great advice from @FinStar.
Some on the forums believe that deposit relationships make no difference at all, unless you're talking huge six or seven figures balances. Personally, I believe they can matter with a few caveats. I think it depends on your credit profile, how you go about the process, and your expectations.
Don't bother with a token deposit and letting it sit. It will probably work better with most lenders if they see your direct deposits and regular account activity. Also, if any loan products or investment products they offer are competitive, by all means consider them as a part of demonstrating a banking commitment. Finally, if you're not a wealth management client with those huge balances, don't expect them to work wonders. They probably won't counterbalance lots of derogatories, low FICO scores, or questionable Debt-to-Income scenarios. Account relationships may work better as a tie-breaking factor if your profile is on the edge for approval, to help you squeak out a little higher credit limit, or sometimes to help bypass anti-churning rules like at Bank of America where account holders are allowed 7/12 new accounts versus 3/12 for non-account holders.
Sometimes, having an account relationship may put you on the bank's marketing radar to target for pre-screened offers of credit. That may be helpful in getting an approval.
If you already have a solid profile, a banking relationship might be unnecessary. But, the way I look at it is that they can also never hurt if you want to do everything possible to increase your approval odds.
@Credit12Fico wrote:To be clear, because I know it seems to be a trigger topic in these parts, one does not need a bank account to get an account with any of the major lenders and I agree with @Aim_High on this his/her points.
Yes, definitely one of those hotly debated topics for which there isn't ever going to be a firm and definitive answer. We just don't know all the data each lender considers or how they weight it. YMMV.
I think it's agreed that having deposits accounts is not a prerequisite to get approved for most of the mainstream major bank cards. However, in some cases, it may help.
Probably my best example is the Bank of America Premium Rewards card, of which there is a history here of denied applications without at least a checking account. That even applied for members who had exemplary credit profiles. I was advised by quite a few members that it would be a good idea to have a checking, savings, and maybe even deposits with Merrill Lynch to help an approval. I did all that and was approved.
Of course, the flip side to every approval or denial is the absense of a counterbalancing data point showing the outcome without any of those accounts, or only a checking account but the same profile. But, in my opinion, I wanted the card and it didn't hurt. I was even able to get not only the SUB on the Premium Rewards card, but also SUBs on the deposit accounts and Merrill Lynch account.
Another prime example is the US Bank Altitude Reserve card, which is restricted to current US Bank customers but they include other credit card customers without deposit accounts in their definition for that one. SUB is "... 50K points worth up to $750 in travel."
BBVA has their Premium Select card which isn't open to online applications. You apparently must be logged into online banking or go through a customer service representative to apply. I'm pretty sure this one is targeted to banking customers, and it shows up as their card for their Private Banking Credit Solutions customers. Like the BofA Premium Rewards card, it has a SUB worth $500, so I imagine the reason all three banks appear to screen for relationships on their highest level cards is to mitigate SUB churning.
I'm not even counting all the other wealth management or private banking targeted cards, some of which you may not even be able to find easily online and for which you must be invited to apply. Obviously, these require large deposit accounts. While the Chase/JP Morgan Reserve is the best known version, many other smaller banks have wealth management cards.
For most everyday cards, it's probably more of a tie-breaker or an opportunity to open the door to those targeted marketing offers.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
... if any loan products or investment products they offer are competitive, by all means consider them as a part of demonstrating a banking commitment.While I am in "it doesn't matter except for huge amounts" camp, as @Aim_High says, if the banking product is competitive in some way, then it MIGHT be worth a try ... if the account ISN'T competitive, which is certainly the case with many big lenders, you are in effect paying with no means of knowing if and how much your chances are improved.
Very true and why I included "competitive."
One way around this for the short term is to look for SUB opportunities that might help defray the lost opportunity cost versus other banking alternatives. In my Bank of America example above, between the SUBs on deposit accounts, credit card, and investment accounts, I netted $1,175 in bonuses. A lot of banks are offering these if you keep your eyes open.
I would definitely echo that in most cases, that subjective term "relationship" makes zero difference on whether an account will be approved. Bank of America Premium Rewards and JPM Reserve are two examples often cited, but moving $100,000+ or $10,000,000+ respectively would more objectively qualify as a "relationship" than "Hey, Chase, I put $50 in my savings account. We're in a relationship. Now you have 2 trillion, 687 billion, and fifty dollars in assets!!!"
