Rejected Application

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azurenights

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Good morning all,

Yesterday I received a rejection letter from Amex for my application of a Golds Rewards Maximiser card. The letter said that the decision is based on a "overall assessment" of the information provided.

This morning I rang up Amex hoping to get an explanation as to what factors were part of the "overall assessment" for them to decline my application. The girl could not say anything more than what the letter stated. Personally I don't see any reason why they would reject me. I'm over 18, have an income of more than $40000, am an Australian citizen, is working full time (for about a year now) and have a good credit rating.

Right now I have five personal credit cards (including a citibank gold) and one corporate card which is an amex. I also have a supplementary amex platinum card also but this is not yet activated.

So could anyone shed some light about why I was rejected?

Thanks.
 
Right now I have five personal credit cards (including a citibank gold) and one corporate card which is an amex. I also have a supplementary amex platinum card also but this is not yet activated.

So could anyone shed some light about why I was rejected?

Surely you are taking the piss?
 
azurenights said:
Right now I do have five personal credit cards (including a citibank gold) and one corporate card which is also a amex card. I do have a supplementary amex platinum card also but this is not yet activated.

So could anyone shed some light about why I was rejected?

Too many credit cards for your income? (although... we know that banks love to target low income earners as they tend to actually pay their ridiculous interest rates whereas higher income earners tend to avoid them 8))

But seriously why do you think you need a 6th personal credit card?
 
The reason why I have several credit cards is because of the free points I get for the initial sign up, and no annual fee for the first year. I only use one of them for my expenses, and the rest are lying dormant until the annual fee is due, and that is when I will cancel them.
 
In my application I only mentioned two (or was it three?) credit cards.

Would they be able to check how many credit cards I have in my name while they were processing the application?

Do remember that the decision was based on a "overall assessment" and was not attributed to one factor. So if you guys think that the number of credit cards I have is an issue, what other factors can you guys think of?

Thanks for all your help!
 
Amex use a very deep database for credit checks that go way beyond what baycorp has onfile, and if you had a problem 10 years ago with an amex account that will be flagged and will prevent further applications. Strangely for corporate amex's this checking seems not to occur!
 
Mahtoh said:
Right now I have five personal credit cards (including a citibank gold) and one corporate card which is an amex. I also have a supplementary amex platinum card also but this is not yet activated.

So could anyone shed some light about why I was rejected?

Surely you are taking the piss?
Mahtoh welcome to AFF. A brief first post at the crux of the matter - good to see :D .
 
I am only in my early twenties so I didn't even have a credit card ten years ago.

I didn't say that I was a Amex member in my application because I forgot about my corporate card (I haven't used it yet) at the time I was applying.

Is it true that I can't apply for any Amex credit card for the next three months? or is it only applicable to the gold rewards maximiser card? If not I wouldn't mind going for the qantas card but I don't if I will be rejected for that. FYI this is the first time I have ever been rejected for a credit card :oops:
 
azurenights said:
I am only in my early twenties so I didn't even have a credit card ten years ago.

I didn't say that I was a Amex member in my application because I forgot about my corporate card (I haven't used it yet) at the time I was applying.

Is it true that I can't apply for any Amex credit card for the next three months? or is it only applicable to the gold rewards maximiser card? If not I wouldn't mind going for the qantas card but I don't if I will be rejected for that. FYI this is the first time I have ever been rejected for a credit card :oops:

Someone seen as:
1. Early twenties, (young)
2. Having a wallet full of cards, (concern)
3. Earning $40000 per annum, (not a lot these days)
4. Employed full time for one year. (wet behind the ears)

Surely this looks like a recipe for disaster. You may have it ALL under control however it certainly doesn't look to be so from the outside.

Good luck. :D :D :D
 
Right now I have five personal credit cards (including a citibank gold) and one corporate card which is an amex. I also have a supplementary amex platinum card also but this is not yet activated.

It may have to do with the fact you already have two Amex cards, a corporate and platinum, regardless whether their active or not.

I would have thought there would be a limit on the number of Amex cards you could have at any one time.

I think your request for a third Amex heavily contributed to your rejected application.

Sheriff
 
azurenights said:
The reason why I have several credit cards is because of the free points I get for the initial sign up, and no annual fee for the first year. I only use one of them for my expenses, and the rest are lying dormant until the annual fee is due, and that is when I will cancel them.

I know that one of the criteria that AMEX use is how many credit applications have occured during the past year. If you have more than three or four applications in the past twelve months then rejection is likely. These don;t even have to be for credit cards, getting a mobile phone can get you an entry on your file.

One thing you may like to do is get a copy of your credit file from Baycorp and see what is on it.
 
Sheriff said:
I think your request for a third Amex heavily contributed to your rejected application.
I agree this is likely the key point. Amex do not like people having more than one change and one credit card. Even if the Charge card is a corp card, it sounds like you would end up with 2 Amex credit cards.

Also, how many of these other credit cards have been applied for recently? Amex will check the Baycorp database and if it shows that you have have a lot of applications for credit in recent times you will be flagged as potentially having debt problems. Remember that the Baycorp (and similar) databases only show applications for credit and not cancellation of cards. So even cancelling some cards will not help fix what is reflected by Baycorp.

If, for example, you have applied for 5 credit cards in the last 12 months, with an average credit limit of $10,000 each, Amex will see that as a potential debt of $50,000 and may be questioning your ability to service such a debt. Anyone who shows a history of many credit card applications is either having debt problems or scamming the system for free points and has no intention of being a loyal customer.

I am not surprised they rejected the application.
 
You’re over 18 and in your early twenties, have a very short credit history, just started full time work 12 months ago, and have a history which shows you have five personal credit cards, an Amex corporate card and a supplementary Amex Platinum. You use one of your personal credit cards to pay expenses while the others lay in some draw dormant for twelve months then cancelled.

Is that what you call a good credit rating? What sort of credit history is that?

Certainly not one you should be proud of, and going by Amex's response to your application, they too agree!



Sheriff
 
I agree with NM. You total credit is going to be added up and whether or not you hit those limits or not they will add them all up, compare it to your income and then a big red light will flash above the computer terminal, a shredder willl pop out of the wall and your application will be dropped into it.

Corporate cards seem to be the ones immune to this.

Also, even if you cancel those excess cards, it will still take a period of time for this to be recognised by BayCorp.

Regards
Daniel
 
If we have cancelled a card, but Baycorp is still showing it, can we call them up to amend their records?

Thanks.
 
Johan said:
If we have cancelled a card, but Baycorp is still showing it, can we call them up to amend their records?

Thanks.
Baycorp shows "Applications for credit". Since you applied for the credit, they will show it. They don't claim to show what cards you currently have active.

It is still in the interest of the new credit provider to know and understand your history of applying for credit. If you have a history of many applications to different credit providers, there is a fair chance you are not going to be a loyal customer.

You can only apply to have information removed from your credit reference file if you can show that the information is incorrect. So you would have to show that you did not make the credit application in the first place. Cancelling a credit card does not invalidate the original request for credit.
 
Johan said:
If we have cancelled a card, but Baycorp is still showing it, can we call them up to amend their records?

Thanks.

Baycorp only record that you applied for Credit. They do not record whether the application was succesful, they do not record if you actually used the credit, they do not record when you cancel a card. So, their records are accurate, and calling up to amend the records will not achieve anything.
 
If, for example, you have applied for 5 credit cards in the last 12 months, with an average credit limit of $10,000 each, Amex will see that as a potential debt of $50,000 and may be questioning your ability to service such a debt. Anyone who shows a history of many credit card applications is either having debt problems or scamming the system for free points and has no intention of being a loyal customer.

Credit card providers assess an application for credit based on the merit of the application and on past credit history. Yes I agree providers are interested to know your credit application history, total credit limit and your single highest credit limit. But a credit history (on its own) showing many applications for credit doesn’t mean an applicant is having debt problems or that an application for credit will be rejected or that an applicant won’t be a loyal customer. In addition, an application for credit showing many credit cards from different providers and a high total credit limit also doesn’t mean an applicant is having debt problems or will be rejected. Applicants for credit come unstuck when applications for credit show a low income, no savings and/or no assets and many credit cards with outstanding balances. These sorts of applications raise serious concerns about an applicant’s ability to service debt and therefore will usually be rejected. Providers are particularly interested to know outstanding credit card liabilities, so the moral of the story is, pay those outstanding credit card balances in full before applying for a new credit card as it significantly raises the chances the credit application will be approved.


Regards
Sheriff
 
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