Comenity closed them down

[gdale6]

Guys and gals, app sprees are really relics of the past, today they are going to get you in trouble as the creditors are skittish and are on the lookout for what is called bust out, if you follow this pattern you are going to get shut down no question about it. Sorry to hear about the loss of your cards OP.

https://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/white-papers/bust-out-fraud-white-paper.pdf

https://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/product-sheets/bustout-score.pdf

[Anonymous]

Interesting read @gdale6. Thanks for sharing! 

[Anonymous]

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@simplynoirwrote:

I just don't think Chase compares to Barclays in terms of taking AA just for seeking a single credit card that's not them as Irish80 alluded to; Chase is nothing like that. People have reported huge CLD and even closures from Barclays just because the only thing that changed in their credit behavior was opening a new card. I don't know any other lender that does that.

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Yes, but.....!   While I might agree that it might happen more with Barclays, with the population here, I'm not sure it is all it is made out to be either.  As you can see, while Barclays is often referred to as a jealous lover, IMO at least some of this is group-think, people have heard it so it must be true.  In this thread we've had a few examples of Chase doing the same.   Won't take a lot more (despite the best efforts of you and Irish!) before they also gain a similar reputation.

As I have said with Barclays: it REALLY doesn't make sense for any  bank to close cards for no reason, or to be jealous.  In every case, there is a perception of increased risk.    Perhaps nothing on the credit report appeared to change (perhaps....) but some inputs to the Barclays algorithms obviously did.    And yes, MyFico-type profiles might trip Barclays more than others, but this can change over time and banks can become more or less sensitive.

[Anonymous]

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@gdale6wrote:

Guys and gals, app sprees are really relics of the past, today they are going to get you in trouble as the creditors are skittish and are on the lookout for what is called bust out, if you follow this pattern you are going to get shut down no question about it. Sorry to hear about the loss of your cards OP.

https://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/white-papers/bust-out-fraud-white-paper.pdf

https://www.experian.com/assets/decision-analytics/product-sheets/bustout-score.pdf

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REALLY informative. It crystallizes the misgivings I've had about the whole concept of app sprees (and I still see people talking about them in these forums). For my own part, the closest I've ever come to a spree is the period from late May to July 4 of last year when I got 4 cards in basically a 6-week period, and three of those were on preapproved or prequalified offers; aside from that, I've generally spaced my apps out at every two months on average. That being said, I do see where a more conservative lender might feel a twinge when looking at my history. At this point, I'm not planning to make any new apps for at least three months now unless I get a preapproval/prequalification for a card that really catches my interest (come on, Synchrony, dangle a Marvel MC in front of my nose!).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymouswrote:

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@simplynoirwrote:

I just don't think Chase compares to Barclays in terms of taking AA just for seeking a single credit card that's not them as Irish80 alluded to; Chase is nothing like that. People have reported huge CLD and even closures from Barclays just because the only thing that changed in their credit behavior was opening a new card. I don't know any other lender that does that.

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Yes, but.....!   While I might agree that it might happen more with Barclays, with the population here, I'm not sure it is all it is made out to be either.  As you can see, while Barclays is often referred to as a jealous lover, IMO at least some of this is group-think, people have heard it so it must be true.  In this thread we've had a few examples of Chase doing the same.   Won't take a lot more (despite the best efforts of you and Irish!) before they also gain a similar reputation.

As I have said with Barclays: it REALLY doesn't make sense for any  bank to close cards for no reason, or to be jealous.  In every case, there is a perception of increased risk.    Perhaps nothing on the credit report appeared to change (perhaps....) but some inputs to the Barclays algorithms obviously did.    And yes, MyFico-type profiles might trip Barclays more than others, but this can change over time and banks can become more or less sensitive.

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It does seem that one of the most frequent factors in Barclays AA's is the opening of at least a few new cards in a short time after one gets a new Barclays. That leads to the perhaps-obvious conclusion that if one wants a Barclays card, they should probably make that their only app for at least a few months previous and subsequent.

[CreditCuriosity]

This thread has morphed from Comenity closed down my account to Barclay's AA along with Chase, etc..  How we have lost focus.

[AverageJoesCredit]

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@Anonymouswrote:
I assumed that you're either approved or not approved. I didn't realize there was a chance anyone would just boot me later. :-(

At the time TU= 721 EQ= 664 EX= 684

I've had Chase Amazon Prime for about 6 mos. SL was $3k and they gave me auto CLI of $1k. I saw they showed offers for me so I picked freedom unlimited, $4.5k SL. I also just got a promotional offer on the Amazon card for 0% Apr for 6 mos.

The rest of these happened within a month, not sure which order:

Discover it= $7.5k
Barclays priceline=$5k
BMO Harris= $9k
Menards= $1k
Nordstrom=$1.5k
Kohls=$800
Ulta=$1k
Bergners=$750
Overstock=$250 (wth)

I had to call and verify info for Ulta. They offered account assure on the phone and I took it. But when I activated the card, I cancelled the account assure. Couple days later they closed Ulta, Bergners and Overstock.

Lesson learned. I'll update if anything else happens.

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9 cards in 30 days. If Comenity sp'd your report, all they would need to see are the inquiries and  assume you were desparate for credit  and decide to shut you down  before they take perceived losses. 

[UpperNwGuy]

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@CreditCuriositywrote:

This thread has morphed from Comenity closed down my account to Barclay's AA along with Chase, etc..  How we have lost focus.

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I disagree.  No loss in focus in this thread.  Those who mentioned Barclays and Chase were attempting to show that Comenity's actions are not unusual when compared to several other banks.  The lengthy tangents relate to members trying to defend Barclays and Chase.

[Anonymous]

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@AverageJoesCreditwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:
I assumed that you're either approved or not approved. I didn't realize there was a chance anyone would just boot me later. :-(

At the time TU= 721 EQ= 664 EX= 684

I've had Chase Amazon Prime for about 6 mos. SL was $3k and they gave me auto CLI of $1k. I saw they showed offers for me so I picked freedom unlimited, $4.5k SL. I also just got a promotional offer on the Amazon card for 0% Apr for 6 mos.

The rest of these happened within a month, not sure which order:

Discover it= $7.5k
Barclays priceline=$5k
BMO Harris= $9k
Menards= $1k
Nordstrom=$1.5k
Kohls=$800
Ulta=$1k
Bergners=$750
Overstock=$250 (wth)

I had to call and verify info for Ulta. They offered account assure on the phone and I took it. But when I activated the card, I cancelled the account assure. Couple days later they closed Ulta, Bergners and Overstock.

Lesson learned. I'll update if anything else happens.

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9 cards in 30 days. If Comenity sp'd your report, all they would need to see are the inquiries and  assume you were desparate for credit  and decide to shut you down  before they take perceived losses. 

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@+1. That definitely counts as an app spree, and I think any issuer, not just Comenity, would be alarmed if they saw that on someone's report, per @Gdale's post above about "bust out" fraud. In retrospect, I was probably pushing my luck in May-July 2017 even if I wasn't applying for cards at an average of one every 3.33 days. Overstock was the first card I applied for during that period, so if I'd applied for it later during that time, I might well not have gotten the good SL I did. As it is, I've only applied for 3 cards since in the entire 7/1/2017 - 3/29/2018 period.

[MakingProgress]

Very interesting read here specificly the info on Bust Out.   I had two cards with Cap One, a platnium MC 1 yr 3 months old, a QS1 6 months old. In Feb 18 I apped and was approved for Chase Amazon Visa, Discover It, Amex BCE, and Citi DC.   The Chase Amazon was the first app in this mini spree.   All gave me SL higher than I expected and the Chase Amazon was bumped by 1.5K between approval and me recieving my card. After recieving these cards I closed the Cap One Platimum secured card. 

Reading the info on Bust Out, I would think that at this point all my creditors would watching for any Red Flags in my behavior.  I don't plan on any apps until at least Oct and probably longer.    The cards I have now are more than adequate in terms of CL and Rewards for my use now.  That being said I do plan on hitting up Amex at day 61 but most likely won't ask for the full 3X.