Chase Credit Card Strategy Help

[Anonymous]

My next goal is to get in with a Chase credit card. I’ve gotten 4 new cards in the last 24 months with 1 aging out in February 2020. I’ve been a Chase banking customer since they were Washington Mutual, around 20 years. About a month ago I checked me prequalifies and it said they had nothing for me. But they also said it was possible I had opted out of prequalified offers. That sounds like something I would do so I logged into my banking account and applied. My last two approvals were Discover with a $10,000 limit and Amex Gold so I was hopeful. I went for the Freedom because I was hoping it would be the easiest to get. No dice. Denied. Hard pull. Ouch.

On 10/31 they sent me an email for the CSP. The end of the email said, “Thank you for being a valued Chase customer. We invite you to apply for our Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. Apply by December 3, 2019.” I thought it was strange to receive this email after being denied about a month before. So I went back to the prequal site. Nothing again.

Does Chase just send marketing emails with no clue if the customer will qualify? Should I try again? I don’t want another hard pull rejection. I am basically gardening to work on improving my Discover credit limit and try to get in with Chase.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a marketing email more than a prequal. If you do want to be overly cautious, I would recommend going in branch and checking your offers there.

[VanderSnoot]

Agreed. Disregard the mailer. Since you bank with them, go in to a branch, sit down with a CSR, tell them your story (or don't - it may not make any difference to the rep), and ask if you have any offers. If they have an offer for you, take it. If not, wait until February and ask again.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Would the offer I might receive at a branch be different than checking the prequals online?

[Remedios]

What were the reasons for your denials?

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks. Would the offer I might receive at a branch be different than checking the prequals online?

---

Go to a Chase branch and speak with a personal banker.  Ask them specifically if you have any in-branch pre-approvals for credit cards; they will check their system and let you know.  And yes, the branch will sometimes have offers that are different from those online.  Personally I've only gotten Chase's pre-qualification website to show me a potential approval once for a Chase Freedom card; the other Chase cards I acquired were through going to a branch location and asking a personal banker.

[Anonymous]

Ok. I will go to the branch and ask. I was thinking about changing my debit card to the Disney branded card anyways.

[Remedios]

No banker will be able to help you unless the reasons for two previous denials have resolved.

For such a long term customer,  there has to be a reason why you got denied twice. 

In branch preapprovals are really only good for those who are over 5/24

They dont bypass previous unsatisfactory relationship, utilization issues, and/or negatives on CR, where you'd be denied otherwise 

Good luck

[Anonymous]

I was only denied once but I checked prequals twice online and had nothing. The denial was for negatives on report. I have never burned Chase. My ex actually did but I was not associated with her card at all. We had a joint checking once so maybe they are associating me with her? I did recently get 2 collections accounts removed because they illegally de-aged the accounts and I told them I would report them and sue. My other negatives are just about 7 years old except for 1 auto loan 30 days late in 2017.

[Anonymous]

If you click through the e-mail and login to apply does it display a CL / APR? 

If not does it display a single APR or range of APR's?

Did the negative items get removed after the denial or before?  What were the reasons given on the letter?