Chase pending application - recon now? How to get approval?

[ficojoe]

I just applied for a chase card, the IHG rewards card. I do not have any accounts with Chase currently. I believe I had a card or two with chase in the distant past that was charged off - perhaps 10+ years ago. In the past, when I have applied for Chase cards, I first get the denial based on previous derogitory relationship with Chase. Then upon recon, I have been still denied for various reasons on my credit report.

Well... all the previous reasons for denials are no longer on my credit report, so I thought i would try again. My Experian FICO is 707 as of yesterday. I expect Equifax is similar. My problem: tons of inquiries and short credit history. The good news is that my inquiries are all 6 months old, but there are a lot of them between July 2012 and December 2012 (perhaps 30 inquiries). I also have several new credit cards from that time frame. So, perhaps I have given chase new reasons to decline me.

My question here is: what is my best strategy to approval? Do I wait for a letter in the mail first? Do I try the recon line right away? Any other tips to turn this into an approval?

[enharu]

You should just call first and hear what the 1st analyst says, and then decide on what to do next.

[icantsurf]

I would call them. I applied for Chase Freedom a couple of weeks ago and received the pending message. I called back the next evening and was instantly approved. I have read of several other people doing the same thing recently after getting the pending/under review message.

[09Lexie]

How many new accts? How many inq's would have fallen off in July?

[ficojoe]

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@09Lexie wrote:
How many new accts? How many inq's would have fallen off in July?

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About 12 revolving accounts opened between July and December 2012, plus a car loan in December 2012. No inquiries will drop off any time soon, they are all from 2012. No inquiries for a couple years before July 2012.

[ficojoe]

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@icantsurf wrote:

I would call them. I applied for Chase Freedom a couple of weeks ago and received the pending message. I called back the next evening and was instantly approved. I have read of several other people doing the same thing recently after getting the pending/under review message.

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Did you speak with a person or did you use the automated system?

I checked the automated phone system and was told it is still pending.

[icantsurf]

Sorry, I meant call the backdoor number.

[ficojoe]

I called the recon number and the lady told me that I was declined due to too many inquiries. However, without me asking, she offered to review the application again herself. She put me on hold then asked me for my physical address (I used PO Box) and she asked if I was repaying my student loans, I told her they were in deferrment because of being in grad school. She put me on hold again, then came back and approved me for a $2,000 limit.

I have $5,000 limit Paypal MC (GE), $6,000 AmEx, and $7,500 DCU Visa.... so, I was hoping for higher than $2k, but I am very much happy to be approved and even happier about the 80,000 bonus points I will be getting and the status upgrade with IHG.

Will Chase grow with me? How are they with CLI? Hard or soft pull for a CLI? How soon can I ask? Can you get a CLI online or do you have to call?

[enharu]

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@ficojoe wrote:

I called the recon number and the lady told me that I was declined due to too many inquiries. However, without me asking, she offered to review the application again herself. She put me on hold then asked me for my physical address (I used PO Box) and she asked if I was repaying my student loans, I told her they were in deferrment because of being in grad school. She put me on hold again, then came back and approved me for a $2,000 limit.

I have $5,000 limit Paypal MC (GE), $6,000 AmEx, and $7,500 DCU Visa.... so, I was hoping for higher than $2k, but I am very much happy to be approved and even happier about the 80,000 bonus points I will be getting and the status upgrade with IHG.

Will Chase grow with me? How are they with CLI? Hard or soft pull for a CLI? How soon can I ask? Can you get a CLI online or do you have to call?

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Grats on the approval! 

Chase will grow with you. They can be very generous, or very stingy, with CLIs. It can go both ways. The best way to get larger CLI is to use the card extensively. Heavy usage seems to get things going in the right direction usually. 

It is going to be a HP for any customer initiated CLI. You can ask anytime you want, even right now, but it's best to wait 6-12 months just to improve your odds of getting a larger increase. No point wasting a HP for a couple hundred CLI.

Call the number behind the back of your card to ask for CLI.

[Thammer]

I recently posted a thread about a successful recon with Chase after I was initially declined. I have good credit currently but previous bad history with Chase from back in 2003. I had to speak to 2 different reps because the first one still declined me. The second rep asked me a lot of questions but after about 20 minutes on the phone I was approved for the Chase Freedem card. Good luck!