Is it Bad to Be Rejected for a Chase Credit Card, and How to Turn a Rejection into an Acceptance

Years ago it used to be possible to get cards from Chase every couple of months, the very same cards even, and get the signup bonus each time. After years of this they finally put a stop to most folks getting the same bonuses for the same cards over and over. And then the financial crisis hit in late 2008 and they clamped down on credit more generally — they started reducing credit lines, especially unused credit lines, from existing customers and they became tighter in their approvals, being willing to just give out new cards with additional credit less frequently than in the past.

Chase agents started telling folks, erroneously, that they would only approve a new card every 6 months. I say erroneously because I’ve certainly continued to get cards more frequently than that. But there certainly is additional scrutiny placed on frequent applications. Applying for more cards is a sign that you might need the credit, it’s a risk signal to the bank, and so not surprising they would look carefully at it.

But just because Chase declines you doesn’t mean you have to stay declined. In fact, in my experience, if you are an existing Chase customer with a good credit history there’s virtually no such thing as being declined for a card. As long as you aren’t insisting on Chase extending more credit to you in total than you already have, you can get them to approve you for another card.

With that in mind, I replied to reader Ryan‘s email. Ryan asked:

I’ve recently been in the market for a new credit card or two. I own my own home, and I have an excellent credit score.

Last month I applied for the Southwest Airlines card offered by Chase, and I was approved instantly. About a week later, I received the card with a large credit limit ($20,000). At that time I decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as well. It would be useful to have a second card to segregate work expenses, and of course the signup bonus was also a big draw.

Well, my application for the Sapphire Preferred card was rejected. The official reason is “Too many requests for credit or opened accounts with us.” This isn’t a huge concern, since I do have one new card and plenty of credit. But in the application I was asked whether I’ve ever been denied credit from Chase. Now that I have to say yes, will that hurt my chances of getting cards in the future? Do I have any legitimate ground to appeal this, or at least to get it “stricken from my record”?

Thanks again for all you do for frequent travelers. Happy holidays!

There’s a couple of questions embedded here.

First, let’s take the issue of past rejections being part of your ‘permanent record’ and causing problems with future approvals. It’s not an issue for anyone but Chase. American Express, Citibank, Barclay’s, etc. aren’t going to know that Chase turned you down for credit. It isn’t memorialized on your credit report.

More importantly, it isn’t even a stopper for Chase. They approve applications from folks they had rejected in the past. It’s just a flag for them that they may want to understand why they rejected you in the past, and to evaluate whether circumstances have changed. A past denial isn’t something I’d lose sleep over.

It’s also not something that Chase even asks on all credit applications. There are several different versions of the question. Sometimes they ask whether Chase has declined you in the past X period of times. Or they ask:

Is your credit history clear from bankruptcies and/or seriously delinquent accounts?

I found that question on a Chase Sapphire Preferred application, no reference to past denials from Chase.

Here’s another version, off of a United Explorer application:

In your credit history, do you have any prior bankruptcies, current delinquent accounts or previous credit denials from Chase?

That’s a very broad question, not limited with respect to time, but a yes is also not a disqualifier.

Still, and all of that said, just because you got a rejection letter doesn’t mean you’re being denied for the card. It just means you need to call up Chase in order to get approved.

In Confessions of a Once and Future Credit Card Churner, I explained that about three months ago I applied for Chase Sapphire Preferred and was initially rejected, then I had to call the reconsideration line at 888-245-0625. I had them shift around some credit from an existing Chase credit card in order for them to approve my new one. Chase didn’t give me more credit, they took credit off of one card and put it onto my new Sapphire Preferred, and approved me on the spot.

I didn’t wait six months to apply for another credit card, in fact I didn’t even wait three, in last week’s post Results of My Recent Credit Card Churn I shared that I applied for an Ink Bold small business card and had to call the business lending line at 1-800-453-9719. They asked me as few questions and then didn’t even make me take credit off of an existing card in order to get the approval. (Business cards are a bit different from personal cards, they’re great because even if you’ve maxed out your personal approvals with new credit they may extend new credit on a small business card.)

The traditional notion is that Chase is really tight with approvals, and that’s true to some extend, they won’t automatically approve additional cards for existing cardholders frequently with lots of new credit so it’s not unwise to conserve Chase applications.

But when you want an outstanding card like Chase Sapphire Preferred, or want an outstanding bonus like the 40,000 point signup bonuses for Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold, it’s worth applying. Just go in with the expectation that Chase may not approve you right away, that if that happens you’ll need to call in. And then it’s a simple matter of horse trading.

Have a reason you want the new card. And no, “it’s a great signup bonus and I’m going to cancel right away” is not a good reason. Something like “The card just offers some great benefits, like no foreign currency transaction fees, and I’d love to put plenty of my spending on that card.” You might even explain why you like it better than one of your existing cards, which really opens up the conversation to moving credit. “The benefits are just so good, I’m not really looking for more credit just to be able to put some spending on this great card you’re offering.” If they don’t catch the hint, although they probably will and I would wait to let them suggest it, you can say, “I would love it if we could even just move $5000 in credit from my X card to this new card, if you could approve me?” If you aren’t dubbed an especially high risk customer the answer will probably be yes.

Incidentally, Chase is really all about the horse trading, they’ll let you move around your credit lines even when you aren’t applying for a new card. And it’s a great strategy to use when closing an account as well. Some folks want to cancel Chase cards in order to have ‘more room’ to get future approvals. I don’t. I like preserving my available credit so that I can trade that credit for a new approval later. You don’t know that if you cancel a card with $10,000 in credit that Chase will give you $10,000 in credit later. That’s why I want to conserve. If you have the credit, they’ll probably let you have a new card on which you move that credit.

What has your experience been getting Chase to approve you for a card after an initial rejection?

(Note: If you apply for Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold using my links, you do get the best currently available offers for both cards and I also receive a referral credit, so using my links while certainly not required is also much appreciated.)