What was your most surprising CC approval?

[sdsoccerdad]

I actually have a couple.  For me was the Citi cards.  I applied earlier this year for the costco one and was denied.  11 months later, I was approved for 2 @ 15K and 13.2K.  Been a long road back to good/decent credit.

[imaximous]

For me, Cap One Venture.

Before applying, I only had (in my name) a Barclays rewards card with $3.5k, BofA 3-2-1 with $2k, Cap One QS with $5k (I think) and SYNCB Amazon with maybe $1.4k or so. I did have a few AU cards with high limits, though.
I'd got approved for a new mortgage about 5 months earlier, and a car loan a couple of weeks before the Venture app. I hadn't applied for any credit cards in years because I'd get denied frequently due to a BK7, so my hopes were pretty low. However, my scores were actually decent. I was already in the mid 700's.
I submitted the app and got the usual "we need more time to process..." type of message. I figured another denial. No surprise.
I started browsing credit forums, learned about "recons" and who to call for an app status update. I called Cap One, and the rep said they needed to verify it was I who had applied for the card. She asked the usual security questions and said I was approved. I was about to hang up from the excitement, but I happened to ask if she knew my credit limit. She said, "$30,000." In complete awe, I asked if she was sure, and she confirmed. I tried to keep my composure, but I just went, "holy sh..." She laughed, I thanked her and hung up. I was in shock for a few minutes and then went about my business.
After that, I felt like I was on top of the world, so a few days later, I applied for a Chase Amazon. Denied in a second, then got approved after recon with a massive $500 SL. Chase killed my over inflated ego and sent me back to reality 😂

ETA: I don’t have the Venture anymore. It got up to $41k and then I PCed it to Savor.

[Sharingan]

Excellent thread! For me, definitely Diners Club Premier. I don’t recall if BMO Harris did instant approvals for the card, but I actually wrote off getting approved until they sent a welcome letter with the card’s PIN (for Chip & Pin use) a few weeks after applying. The card also came with one of my largest SLs at the time.

Close second, my Chase Freedom that I got in college several years ago with a $2k limit. I didn’t expect to get approved, and it wasn’t instant, but I undoubtedly wanted one at the time. Today, it’s still one of my favorite cards and has a 33k limit. Not a particularly necessary limit with rewards caps, but I’m quite happy with it.

[xaximus]

Excellent thread. It has been one of those years where I really started building up my credit portfolio. I've had credit for years now but I've barely scratched the surface. I didn't even bother with CLI's as I was one of those "debit all the way" type. It's only been in the last 2-3 years where I've really started using credit for my own benefit. I've been reading on these forums for many years now but in some ways, the forum was it's own deterrent as I saw how people became dependent on credit and situations happened. So because of that, I vowed that I would only use credit when absolutely necessary, otherwise, debit only.

Well, it did teach me good financial sense and whatnot, but I learned that instead of avoiding credit, it's best to use it to your benefit but being vigilant and smart about it. So my most shocking approval would most likely be either my Cap1 Venture at 30k or my Chase Freedom that I got something like 10+ years ago, I got a measly $300 credit limit. Or maybe the Discover IT from last year where I got 12.5k. Hmm...

[Anonymous]

Probably my Amex Gold. At the time I thought that was pretty cool.

[Stralem]

My Citi AAdvantage. I actually had to submit proof of income - paystubs *and* tax return - before they would approve my application. The whole process took two weeks, and having never been asked to submit POI before, I was sure it was going to be rejected.

Mind you, I’ve had the DC for a few years now... :/

[iced]

In 2014, my score was in the low 600s, I had several major derogs on my report, and I had two cards with a combined limit of about $8,000. I flew United a lot then, so I applied for the Chase MileagePlus card. No pre-approvals or screened offers, just went to the website and fired away.

Instantly approved for $13,000.

[wasCB14]

Sallie Mae, considering Barclaycard's reputation on here.

At the time (2014) I didn't realize just how many cards people were talking about when they said were declined for having too many new accounts.

[Anonymous]

First card ever in 2013 at the age of 18, Cap one Platinum for $300 or $500??

Amex BCE SL September 2016 $6,000.

Highest SL is Home Depot June 2017 $8,000.

Pretty cool to see the development of everyone from the beginning to present times as all the shows

[Anonymous]

Got approved for $15,000 for the chase united club card back in june. my credit was about a 650 and prior to that in december of 2017 cap 1 approved me for a $500 QS1 unsecured. I was only hoping i would get approved for the minimum 5k SL from chase just to be able to get a visa signature, but you can imagine my suprise when i found out they were giving me 15k!!! it was my first non-authorized user card from chase!