Rejected for credit cards - why?

[Roma]

Well I applied for the Citibank and Qantas Amex cards and was rejected for both. Income $50-60K (work and business), no house but share portfolio. Renting. Perfect credit history. Single woman. Can anyone suggest why I was rejected? They don't give reasons. Should I write back to them?

RR

 

[Evan]

First step is i would get a copy of your credit history from baycorp, this may show a reason, maybe somebody has incorrectly attributed some debt or a default to your file that is not your, not happened to me but you do hear of it.
Discover your credit history - My Credit File - Australia

Then maybe its worth being back in contact with the company you applied with, did you ask for a large credit limit or just a small one like $2k to start with ?

I have been in the same situation in the past as you and was young but with a good income of about 65-70k i think at the time and got rejected for an Amex, with a good credit file i could not understand, i wrote them a letter and requested the look at the application again, came to nothing. (I still had my band issued credit card anyway so didn't worry me). No explanation was ever given and a few years later i was accepted when i thought i would apply again and was told i would get a 11 or 12 k card so who knows.

Evan

 

[oz_mark]

There is another thread here (http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/community/american-express-rewards/rejected-application-6508.html), that discusses a rejection by Amex, that may yield some insight.

But given that both companies have resulted in a rejected application, there must be something that is triggering alarm bells for them. You could try asking them, but not sure how much detail they will give you.

 

[mabunji]

Were your applications to AMEX and Citibank lodged at the same time ?. Each company will check your credit rating and be aware that you are seeking credit from 2 sources at the same time and question why - pretty much an automatic rejection.

Same deal if you are rejected by one card issuer, and straightaway apply to a second card issuer. Smacks of desperation. If you get rejected for credit you need to allow a period of time (6 months minimum, 12 months is more realistic) before making a second attempt. Each application (and rejection) is recorded on your credit history - when a pattern starts to build nobody looks at the underlying reason for the initial rejection.

Its a bit of a black art. If you hold a credit card with one company and a good record of payments, other card issuers recognise your history and will compete for your business ...... all you've got to do is get that first acceptance.

 

[one9]

Were your applications to AMEX and Citibank lodged at the same time ?. Each company will check your credit rating and be aware that you are seeking credit from 2 sources at the same time and question why - pretty much an automatic rejection.

Same deal if you are rejected by one card issuer, and straightaway apply to a second card issuer. Smacks of desperation. If you get rejected for credit you need to allow a period of time (6 months minimum, 12 months is more realistic) before making a second attempt. Each application (and rejection) is recorded on your credit history - when a pattern starts to build nobody looks at the underlying reason for the initial rejection.

Its a bit of a black art. If you hold a credit card with one company and a good record of payments, other card issuers recognise your history and will compete for your business ...... all you've got to do is get that first acceptance.

Just to clarify - it does not show up on your credit report whether your application was approved or declined. But it shows up that you applied.

Here is my guessing based on experience and some work in a credit related organisation:
Many banks have a automatic decline function if you have applied for another credit card in the previous X period of time. This may be as little as 7/14 days or a little longer. But if you have applied in less than Y period of time (guess 3/6 months), it will score negatively.

Some credit providers (especially Amex) put more weight into how long you have lived at your current address and how long you have been at your employment. Once you get your first Amex card, this becomes much less relevant in the future.

If you can, I would suggest waiting 6 months before applying again for a credit card. Get a copy of your Baycorp file, so that you can see what the banks see when they check your credit file. Then in 6 months when you apply again, think about the questions you answer in terms of what the bank would be looking for and what they know about you.

And you have not said if you have any other credit cards. If not, and you are applying for the first time, I would suggest considering one of the four major banks as I believe they have the most mainstream approval criteria. Citibank is very exactly to their rules focussed, and Amex is different than most banks.

 

[Roma]

Thanks for the help. I did apply for both cards within about a week of each other and yes I have two other credit cards which I have used for years. I will try again in 6 months. What a crazy system.

RR