Barclays Aviator Approved - Jumped Through Hoops to Get it
Nov 2, 2017, 10:19 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 17
Barclays Aviator Approved - Jumped Through Hoops to Get it
I just received my Barclays Red Aviator AAdvantage card. Link is here. US$95 fee, 60K bonus miles, one purchase required.
I have a very high credit score so financial approval is not a problem.
What was amazing is what they required for approval.
Iteration #1 .
I received a letter mid-approval-process telling me to send a copy of my SS card, driver's license, utility bill and bank statement.
I had my SS card receipt where you tear the card off but this had my name, address, SSN and everything that the card had. Mistake #1 . It was not good enough even though it was an official government document. Incredible.
I copied my California drivers license. Did not think to copy the back. Mistake #2 . They wanted both sides. Oh well.
I copied a utility bill. Not good enough. They wanted all pages of the bill. Mistake #3 .
I sent them a bank statement with balance well into 6-figures. This was OK.
Iteration #2 .
I received a duplicate with a few changes of the first letter. I'm thinking ???. Did my first documents get lost in the mail and was this a reminder??? They did not clarify so I sent the same SS doc, both sides of my drivers license which was not specified, all pages of the utility bill, which was not specified and the bank statement, along with a copy of the form letter. But no clue as to the reasons for the letter. Just the slight changes in the required docs.
Iteration #2 .5.
Received a phone call from the Philippines asking me a lot of personal information. This was dicey. I asked her for more information to prove she was from Barclays. I asked her my application number. She gave it to me so I gave her my date of birth. This is very unnerving to give this information from a cold call from the Philippines. Anyway, she told me the SS doc was insufficient. I told her that is all I have. She said she needs a copy of my SS card. I told her I would get one but I need an extension. She said the extension would not be a problem. So, I go to the Federal Building and apply for a duplicate SS card. A few weeks later I have the card.
Iteration #3 .
Received another form letter with the same verbage except the deadline is moved up a month. Whew!!!& Still waiting for the SS card. After the SS card arrived a few days later I copy all documents and the form letter again. The envelope is slightly over an oz. so I need two stamps. This is starting to get expensive. Six stamps already expended! :-)
A few days later I receive another suspicious call and go through the same dance regarding ID. I ask her if she is in the Philippines and she said yes. I ask her what the purpose of the call is. She won't tell me until I authenticate who I am. I ask her how many letters they have sent. She answers 3 correctly. I ask her to describe my drivers license form. I intentionally turned the back 90-degrees off in anticipation of another call. She correctly said the drivers license back was turned 90-degrees clockwise. I asked her what she needed. Birthdate, so I gave it to her. She thanks me for authenticating myself.
I asked her the purpose of the call. She said to tell me I was approved. I told her what if I don't authenticate. She said then I would not be approved. Huh???? Incredible. She said they want to verify my address. I told her she has it on four different documents I sent. It is correct. She asks me to tell me my address. I told her it is there and recite it as fast as I can, like an auctioneer. She said thank you. I said thank you.
She said that this call is recorded and asked if I have any other comments. I then very politely told her that this process of security verification is highly unusual and I have never, ever done this much verification, even to take out a mortgage. She said this is from their security department and apologized for the bother.
I have a very high credit score so financial approval is not a problem.
What was amazing is what they required for approval.
Iteration #1 .
I received a letter mid-approval-process telling me to send a copy of my SS card, driver's license, utility bill and bank statement.
I had my SS card receipt where you tear the card off but this had my name, address, SSN and everything that the card had. Mistake #1 . It was not good enough even though it was an official government document. Incredible.
I copied my California drivers license. Did not think to copy the back. Mistake #2 . They wanted both sides. Oh well.
I copied a utility bill. Not good enough. They wanted all pages of the bill. Mistake #3 .
I sent them a bank statement with balance well into 6-figures. This was OK.
Iteration #2 .
I received a duplicate with a few changes of the first letter. I'm thinking ???. Did my first documents get lost in the mail and was this a reminder??? They did not clarify so I sent the same SS doc, both sides of my drivers license which was not specified, all pages of the utility bill, which was not specified and the bank statement, along with a copy of the form letter. But no clue as to the reasons for the letter. Just the slight changes in the required docs.
Iteration #2 .5.
Received a phone call from the Philippines asking me a lot of personal information. This was dicey. I asked her for more information to prove she was from Barclays. I asked her my application number. She gave it to me so I gave her my date of birth. This is very unnerving to give this information from a cold call from the Philippines. Anyway, she told me the SS doc was insufficient. I told her that is all I have. She said she needs a copy of my SS card. I told her I would get one but I need an extension. She said the extension would not be a problem. So, I go to the Federal Building and apply for a duplicate SS card. A few weeks later I have the card.
Iteration #3 .
Received another form letter with the same verbage except the deadline is moved up a month. Whew!!!& Still waiting for the SS card. After the SS card arrived a few days later I copy all documents and the form letter again. The envelope is slightly over an oz. so I need two stamps. This is starting to get expensive. Six stamps already expended! :-)
A few days later I receive another suspicious call and go through the same dance regarding ID. I ask her if she is in the Philippines and she said yes. I ask her what the purpose of the call is. She won't tell me until I authenticate who I am. I ask her how many letters they have sent. She answers 3 correctly. I ask her to describe my drivers license form. I intentionally turned the back 90-degrees off in anticipation of another call. She correctly said the drivers license back was turned 90-degrees clockwise. I asked her what she needed. Birthdate, so I gave it to her. She thanks me for authenticating myself.
I asked her the purpose of the call. She said to tell me I was approved. I told her what if I don't authenticate. She said then I would not be approved. Huh???? Incredible. She said they want to verify my address. I told her she has it on four different documents I sent. It is correct. She asks me to tell me my address. I told her it is there and recite it as fast as I can, like an auctioneer. She said thank you. I said thank you.
She said that this call is recorded and asked if I have any other comments. I then very politely told her that this process of security verification is highly unusual and I have never, ever done this much verification, even to take out a mortgage. She said this is from their security department and apologized for the bother.
Nov 2, 2017, 10:25 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2001
Programs: AA EP
Posts: 2,203
Yes. This happens sometimes.
No biggie.
No biggie.
I just received my Barclays Red Aviator AAdvantage card. Link is here. US$95 fee, 60K bonus miles, one purchase required.
I have a very high credit score so financial approval is not a problem.
What was amazing is what they required for approval.
Iteration #1 .
I received a letter mid-approval-process telling me to send a copy of my SS card, driver's license, utility bill and bank statement.
I had my SS card receipt where you tear the card off but this had my name, address, SSN and everything that the card had. Mistake #1 . It was not good enough even though it was an official government document. Incredible.
I copied my California drivers license. Did not think to copy the back. Mistake #2 . They wanted both sides. Oh well.
I copied a utility bill. Not good enough. They wanted all pages of the bill. Mistake #3 .
I sent them a bank statement with balance well into 6-figures. This was OK.
Iteration #2 .
I received a duplicate with a few changes of the first letter. I'm thinking ???. Did my first documents get lost in the mail and was this a reminder??? They did not clarify so I sent the same SS doc, both sides of my drivers license which was not specified, all pages of the utility bill, which was not specified and the bank statement, along with a copy of the form letter. But no clue as to the reasons for the letter. Just the slight changes in the required docs.
Iteration #2 .5.
Received a phone call from the Philippines asking me a lot of personal information. This was dicey. I asked her for more information to prove she was from Barclays. I asked her my application number. She gave it to me so I gave her my date of birth. This is very unnerving to give this information from a cold call from the Philippines. Anyway, she told me the SS doc was insufficient. I told her that is all I have. She said she needs a copy of my SS card. I told her I would get one but I need an extension. She said the extension would not be a problem. So, I go to the Federal Building and apply for a duplicate SS card. A few weeks later I have the card.
Iteration #3 .
Received another form letter with the same verbage except the deadline is moved up a month. Whew!!!& Still waiting for the SS card. After the SS card arrived a few days later I copy all documents and the form letter again. The envelope is slightly over an oz. so I need two stamps. This is starting to get expensive. Six stamps already expended! :-)
A few days later I receive another suspicious call and go through the same dance regarding ID. I ask her if she is in the Philippines and she said yes. I ask her what the purpose of the call is. She won't tell me until I authenticate who I am. I ask her how many letters they have sent. She answers 3 correctly. I ask her to describe my drivers license form. I intentionally turned the back 90-degrees off in anticipation of another call. She correctly said the drivers license back was turned 90-degrees clockwise. I asked her what she needed. Birthdate, so I gave it to her. She thanks me for authenticating myself.
I asked her the purpose of the call. She said to tell me I was approved. I told her what if I don't authenticate. She said then I would not be approved. Huh???? Incredible. She said they want to verify my address. I told her she has it on four different documents I sent. It is correct. She asks me to tell me my address. I told her it is there and recite it as fast as I can, like an auctioneer. She said thank you. I said thank you.
She said that this call is recorded and asked if I have any other comments. I then very politely told her that this process of security verification is highly unusual and I have never, ever done this much verification, even to take out a mortgage. She said this is from their security department and apologized for the bother.
I have a very high credit score so financial approval is not a problem.
What was amazing is what they required for approval.
Iteration #1 .
I received a letter mid-approval-process telling me to send a copy of my SS card, driver's license, utility bill and bank statement.
I had my SS card receipt where you tear the card off but this had my name, address, SSN and everything that the card had. Mistake #1 . It was not good enough even though it was an official government document. Incredible.
I copied my California drivers license. Did not think to copy the back. Mistake #2 . They wanted both sides. Oh well.
I copied a utility bill. Not good enough. They wanted all pages of the bill. Mistake #3 .
I sent them a bank statement with balance well into 6-figures. This was OK.
Iteration #2 .
I received a duplicate with a few changes of the first letter. I'm thinking ???. Did my first documents get lost in the mail and was this a reminder??? They did not clarify so I sent the same SS doc, both sides of my drivers license which was not specified, all pages of the utility bill, which was not specified and the bank statement, along with a copy of the form letter. But no clue as to the reasons for the letter. Just the slight changes in the required docs.
Iteration #2 .5.
Received a phone call from the Philippines asking me a lot of personal information. This was dicey. I asked her for more information to prove she was from Barclays. I asked her my application number. She gave it to me so I gave her my date of birth. This is very unnerving to give this information from a cold call from the Philippines. Anyway, she told me the SS doc was insufficient. I told her that is all I have. She said she needs a copy of my SS card. I told her I would get one but I need an extension. She said the extension would not be a problem. So, I go to the Federal Building and apply for a duplicate SS card. A few weeks later I have the card.
Iteration #3 .
Received another form letter with the same verbage except the deadline is moved up a month. Whew!!!& Still waiting for the SS card. After the SS card arrived a few days later I copy all documents and the form letter again. The envelope is slightly over an oz. so I need two stamps. This is starting to get expensive. Six stamps already expended! :-)
A few days later I receive another suspicious call and go through the same dance regarding ID. I ask her if she is in the Philippines and she said yes. I ask her what the purpose of the call is. She won't tell me until I authenticate who I am. I ask her how many letters they have sent. She answers 3 correctly. I ask her to describe my drivers license form. I intentionally turned the back 90-degrees off in anticipation of another call. She correctly said the drivers license back was turned 90-degrees clockwise. I asked her what she needed. Birthdate, so I gave it to her. She thanks me for authenticating myself.
I asked her the purpose of the call. She said to tell me I was approved. I told her what if I don't authenticate. She said then I would not be approved. Huh???? Incredible. She said they want to verify my address. I told her she has it on four different documents I sent. It is correct. She asks me to tell me my address. I told her it is there and recite it as fast as I can, like an auctioneer. She said thank you. I said thank you.
She said that this call is recorded and asked if I have any other comments. I then very politely told her that this process of security verification is highly unusual and I have never, ever done this much verification, even to take out a mortgage. She said this is from their security department and apologized for the bother.
Nov 2, 2017, 11:08 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: PHL
Programs: AA(PPro), UA, AGR, BW(Plat), HH, WoH, MB(S)
Posts: 778
I wonder if some of that is due to the Equifax hack. With stolen SS and driver's license numbers floating around, asking for actual copies would be one way to lower the risk of a hacker trying to open an account with stolen info.
Nov 2, 2017, 11:11 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: SJC
Programs: AA 2MM PLT, HH Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 612
Not AA related, but I just got a Chase Sapphire Reserve in anticipation of Hilton's change from Visa to AmEx (I already have an AmEx). The approval process wasn't quite as extensive as yours, but still involved a number of steps of identity verification, etc. It was far more involved than the last time a got a card a few years back, where the application was approved in real time.
A pain, but probably a good thing in an era of identity theft.
A pain, but probably a good thing in an era of identity theft.
Nov 2, 2017, 11:21 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
Not AA related, but I just got a Chase Sapphire Reserve in anticipation of Hilton's change from Visa to AmEx (I already have an AmEx). The approval process wasn't quite as extensive as yours, but still involved a number of steps of identity verification, etc. It was far more involved than the last time a got a card a few years back, where the application was approved in real time.
A pain, but probably a good thing in an era of identity theft.
A pain, but probably a good thing in an era of identity theft.
However, I don't believe this post is AA controlled. More on Barclay side and there's a separate forum on that.
Nov 2, 2017, 11:34 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: SMF
Programs: AA EXP 4MM
Posts: 811
Have to wait for an invitation to Silver
I recently got a Red card. And I also had to go through a multistep identification process which involved sending documents by mail. It took so long that the signing bonus went up from 50k to 60k in the time I waited. They agreed to give me the extra 10k. It's not the end of the first billing cycle yet so the bonus hasn't posted yet.
I called and asked for an upgrade to Silver. I was told that the offer was not on my account. The rep said that accounts are reviewed periodically for the upgrade. The implication was that such an offer might be available after a certain period of time and spending.
I called and asked for an upgrade to Silver. I was told that the offer was not on my account. The rep said that accounts are reviewed periodically for the upgrade. The implication was that such an offer might be available after a certain period of time and spending.
Nov 2, 2017, 3:35 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 205
Nov 2, 2017, 6:24 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: IHG Spire, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Titanium, Mileage Plus Gold
Posts: 1,736
I have one Barclay Card and lets just say, they do things differently than the American Banks that issue CC's. While the American banks such as Capital One and Chase etc will make credit decisions based on your history with them or from the last CR review they did, Barclay will ALWAYS do a hard inquiry on you if it involves anything to do with your credit line. I have not had to jump through the hoops as some of you above but I fell that day will come for me as well. For some reason Barclay just does not seem satisfied with the FICO alone.
Nov 2, 2017, 6:37 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: QDF
Programs: AA EXP (2MM), Marriott Tit
Posts: 1,036
Barclay's is tough. It took them almost 24 hours to send my approval email. (Literally the first time in a decade or so that I wasn't approved instantly.)
As to the Silver card, I really can't come up with an explanation for the mystery. I actually called to cancel my red card out of sheer frustration, only to be told that I would be eligible for the silver card in 2 days. Why they couldn't have just said so earlier is beyond me.
As to the Silver card, I really can't come up with an explanation for the mystery. I actually called to cancel my red card out of sheer frustration, only to be told that I would be eligible for the silver card in 2 days. Why they couldn't have just said so earlier is beyond me.