How income vs checking account balance affects CC application

[jamesdwi]

The probably ran a query that flagged (with pre-approvals) all owners of checking accounts with balances larger than X dollars, no check of income was linked to the query, because income usually isn't linked with checking and saving account info thus making such a query more complex. You may or may not get approved based on internal scoring that chase has.  But if you want to waste an INQ and $75 you can apply if you like.

[scenery_guy]

The OP stated "today my banker told me..." so I can assume they were in a branch speaking with a banker. In that case YES they can see your deposit accounts. I bet they can also see that they are linked. That may or may not matter but I bet YMMV.  I say give it a try. Or at least chat up your banker!

Yes, it does matter to Chase how your account balances look. That's a no brainier as they can't really see your income, just what's on hand in the account. If it's fat I would bet you are good. Chase started showing me love when I financed a car with them then moved almost all of my banking (personal and business) to a local branch. My banker was looking at my accounts one day while I was in and he mentioned all of my AMEX payments for the month. He suggested some card options. I was pretty sure I would not qualify but he chuckled and assured me I was fine. I skipped applying with him due to time constraints but later went on line and got the card. Now I go see him and ask him what I need next. Four Chase cards total in about 6 months and I will be adding another in a few months. I'm no high roller but I keep about $100,000 across a few accounts with Chase and move about $500,000 or more a year thru my business account. 

[bluesnowman]

Really, I didnt know other banks could see your bank balance. Currently, I'm with BOFA (but I plan to switch in the summer to a Credit Union near my house) and I've always paid them on time as well as all my crediots but I was not aware that they could view your balance in your checking account. Then again, I have about 950 and some change in there (just paid my discover last Friday and cleared Monday.) so it's okay for me. But I didnt know other banks can view that, or is it just Chase?

[john398]

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@bluesnowman wrote:

Really, I didnt know other banks could see your bank balance. Currently, I'm with BOFA (but I plan to switch in the summer to a Credit Union near my house) and I've always paid them on time as well as all my crediots but I was not aware that they could view your balance in your checking account. Then again, I have about 950 and some change in there (just paid my discover last Friday and cleared Monday.) so it's okay for me. But I didnt know other banks can view that, or is it just Chase?

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I was not really talking about ther banks, I was talking about Chase Checking and Chase  Freedom and Saphire

[SnackTrader]

Something that hasn't been mentioned in this thread but that I want to point out is the difference in how pre-approvals work. To be pre-approved for a card, a lender is identifying your characteristics as coveted characteristics in a borrower. This can be done from soft pulls on credit reports (usually in large batches and referred to as pre-screening), or from searches on internal systems. Many banks see a customer relationship (like the relationship you have with Chase) as less risky than a non-relationship borrower.

On top of that, many branch bankers (tellers, CSRs, branch managers, etc) get bonuses or other incentives for attracting new business into the bank. They are at times given discretion at how to attract new business, which is usually why I was encouraged to apply when I was a poor college student at a branch of a to-remain-unnamed bank. There was no probably no pre-approval for me, they just want as many people to apply as possible to try to get incentives.

So these are some of the reasons you may have been preapproved. As stated earlier, your approval chances are a separate factor. I don't know the specifics of your experience, but just want to point out that a combination of these techniques are used at many banks and would explain why you received a preapproval. In the end, it may have nothing to do with your income or deposit balances.