US Bank - easier to be approved with existing relationship?

[practical1]

@Bk2006 

In my experience, it all depends on how hard your branch manager is willing to work on your behalf.  In my case, I was fortunate to have an exceptional gentleman, who pushed hard for my approval for the AR card and subsequently, for other credit products and CLIs with their underwriters.   Without a good advocate "in your court" at USB and some kind of relationship, it seems like AR approval is a bt of a crap shoot.

I have enjoyed the card, though.  Especially for mobile payments at COSTCO, where the bonus points really do add-up.

Best of luck, if you still decide to go for it.  All in all, with the travel credit and VISA Infinite benefits, such as they are, it is still a good net value for the annual fee outlay, especially in Year 1.

[Gollum]

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@Bk2006 wrote:

I am interested in the US Bank Altitude Reserve card. It has a hefty AF ($400) but I could make good use of the 5x on hotels and car rentals + the $325 annual statement credits for travel & dining. Plus, I don't currently have a Visa Infinite so it would be nice to add to my collection.

However, I know that US Bank is very conservative with approvals for those of us who have recently opened credit cards elsewhere. I am at 5/24, 4/12, 4/6 as I've improved my FICO score and gone with more "premium" cards in the past year. Good news (potentially?) is that I have a mortgage through US Bank so I have an existing relationship. I've never had a US Bank credit card.

What are the odds of being approved for any US Bank card (or more specifically the Altitude Reserve) with an existing relationship but 4 new credit cards in the last 6 months?

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I recently paid off a US Bank HELOC (Home Equity Line Of Credit). I had hoped to roll my existing HELOC into a new HELOC, but US Bank was not interested.

Given my recent experience and recent Fed increases to the federal funds rate (prime rate is federal funds rate plus 3%): I think odds are not good that you would be approved for a US Bank card with "4 new credit cards in the last 6 months"

[Gollum]

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@Absolution16 wrote:

@Bk2006 

I would think exisiting relationship "may" help, but it is not always a guarantee.  My recent personal experience within the last month and a half made me even more skeptical.  An existing auto loan with BoA, which a lot of people call as "relationship bank" got me nowhere on my application for one of their cards: verifying me and approving me over the phone, only to flip flop and cancel the approval within less than an hour without telling me and then asking for intrusive docs like tax returns.

I personally don't have anything "nice" to say about USBank either, as they took their sweet time and it was a PITA requiring a lot of patience, effort, and time just to get them to tell me that they too wanted my tax returns.

They both are now on my personal blacklist.

But that is just exclusively me.  Others have good experiences with USBank.  But it seems as though they tend to be really stingy and shy away from applicants with even 1 or more new accounts recently.  I have read too many denial DPs here to lead me to believe that not even 1/12 could be considered safe.

I am a little skeptical in your situation because you have quite a few recently opened new accounts.  Just based on my personal experience, I wouldn't put too much weight into having a "relationship" in any kind of approval decision.  As @coldfusion suggested, I also think visiting the local branch would be the best way to go, if you really want to gamble and take your chances.  I personally would wait.  The only time I would really be desperate to open a new credit card would be ina situation where I know I need to open up a 0% BT card, as timing is essential lot of times especially if you anticipate your reported balances and overall UTI to go up.  Any other rewards cards I consider them purely "optional"; they can always wait.

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An auto/car loan is a secured loan: the loan is secured by the car, and the car can be repossessed.

A credit card is an unsecured loan: the loan is not directly secured by a physical asset (house or car, for example).

An unsecured loan is more risky than a secured loan.