f0xx

Sure.
Then be prepared to be asked by the analyst "Why doesn't your employer give you a company card and you put the charges on that?"

animesh42001

I can answer that in my company, there is a policy to give corporate credit card only to people above certain role..
Thanks, I will try and see if this goes through..

skibum7732

I wouldn't go that way, but report back what they tell you

Stgermainparis

Question: initial application was in late May, went to pending. Had the ID verification call yesterday and now approved. Forgot to ask about bonus. When applied, the bonus was the 60k, now the current bonus is 50k. I assume I'd get the bonus offered at time of app, but can anyone confirm? I took a screenshot of offer but not the pending screen (don't think that one even had the point bonus listed).

Also: does clock on "first 3 months spend of $5000" start at approve date or delivery date (or, god forbid, app date)?

tomcanada22

Have always been the app. Date ., so it will be 3 months from that day.

Stgermainparis

So by the time I get the card, I will have about 60 days. That just doesn't seem right. But I'll call to confirm. Geez.

Update: I found the terms, which suggests 90 days from account OPENING. So until they approve the card and open my account, I'm not on the clock. "To qualify and receive your bonus, you must make Purchases totaling $5,000 or more during the first 3 months from account opening."

NachosLibres

Chase is great about honoring point bonuses. There are many people (including me) who applied for the Freedom card when it was only a 10k UR bonus but then asked for the additional 10k UR bonus when they offered the 20k UR bonus for new applicants and Chase immediately matched the offer.

Happy

Once you get the card, send Chase an SM to explain your situation and ask them to verify exactly what date is the ending date of your 90 days period.

In the past there were reports of people getting an extension on the dates due to similar situations.

This way you have something in writing for the records in case things dont work out the way due to the system automatically counts from the app date which in my experience, is always the date when the clock starts clicking, though usually does not matter as most people would meet their requirements by the 2nd statement.

Stgermainparis

Good idea. Thanks. My concern primarily stems from the fact that a) there's a $3500 limit and b) I'm traveling all of July w/ limited internet access (if you can believe that). So I'm trying to get everything sorted and squared before I leave. That full 90 days will help b/c of these reasons. I'll SM them to confirm.

jigri2003

Some friends recently applied due to the Small Business Week increased offer, and none received instant approval. All had 800+ credit scores, applied as sole proprietors, and quoted business revenues in the tens of thousands, and had prior Ink cards. Here are some things Chase seemed to have issues with:

Maxed out credit lines:
There seemed to be a pattern of denials if the pre-existing total personal and business credit lines for sole proprietors exceeded 50K, even with high personal income north of 150-200K.

Recent Chase card openings or closings:
If the most recent Ink card was opened within a year prior to the current app,they quoted that as a reason for denial. If the SAME type of card regardless of Visa or MC version was recently closed in the last couple of months, they had some issues understanding why the same card was being reapplied for and could be a reason for denial. Some obvious answers regarding benefits of Visa or MC were relevant or not depending upon the rep.

Insufficient usage of current line and enough credit for size of business:
It seems less than 20% usage of your credit line at the highest point is a marker for sufficient credit for your needs. Also, something along the lines of 40-50% of revenues is a practical limit for credit extended when they start considering your second or third card after a year or two history with them. Guessing that the initial card or two when you kick off with them is more open ended for credit limits as they don't know what our business may need to grow early on.

sechs

Was there a question that you were trying to get answered, or just stating some valid reasons why Chase would deny?

jigri2003

Just providing some recent experiences that might assist others in deciding how and when to close and open Ink cards.

For example, it seems wise to have a decent time span (3 months?) between closing a card and then applying for the same product but with Visa instead of prior MC.

Also, the oft repeated advice of not closing cards before an app or AOR may not be the best with Chase if you have largish credit lines open (50K? will vary of course), as that may just be creating a basis to deny and necessitate recon calls, whereas they may have been approved if there was enough room at the time of the app.

Finally, you need to show a good amount of usage of the current credit extended in order for them to consider extending further credit, without going too crazy I would guess, 30-50% of credit line? and a good explanation of the business items you are and would be buying.

jeanie

My recent first hand experience recently directly contradicts 2 of your statements. It is difficult to list things here as a rule. Just because it happened to a few people you know doesn't mean that is the same situation for everyone. There could be variables Chase is looking at that you have not been told about regarding your friend's applications. I personally don't know (or want to know) every detail about the credit histories of all of my friends.

I also believe that credit analysts at Chase use several criteria that we don't know about to make credit decisions.

Basically, I have closed multiple Chase cards recently, including business cards. I was approved for a 60k Ink Plus within a few hours of applying, and my credit line was increased significantly. I do not MS, and do not use the vast majority of my credit line each month. I applied as a sole proprietor, and I have a credit score over 800.

So there might have been other factors that you are not aware of that affected your friends apps.

jigri2003

I was providing data points regarding patterns in denials using Chase's stated reasons with background on applicants, and what those data points seemed to imply. I don't think I said these were 'rules', just that they might be useful. It's good to hear your data point as well, in combination with others, it improves our insight into the process.

Would you mind clarifying what gap there was between closing and applying again, and whether that was also a Plus that you closed recently before the app (i.e. the same named product)? Also, whether your usage ever got above say 30% of your line, since I referenced the highest usage, not average? And whether your total open lines at application were above 50K?

I asked those items in yes/no style to avoid privacy issues, but totally understand if you are not comfortable sharing further.

Happy

Your posts are very reasonable and a good way to try to analyze the scenarios so to find the optimal combo for high probability rate of success.

However a few things you would need to keep in mind - the applicant's credit history - thick or thin, the history with Chase, long or short, among other things.

FICO and income are important factors and often the first screens of the computer would go thru, but they are far from determinant factors, especially the FICO - its "obsession" is a misunderstanding deliberately created by the financial industry in my opinion. The system is biased with design flaw - in that if a person does not carry any debt, would actually be punished with a lower FICO than a person carries debts, including revolving debts but pay with partial payments on time, just to name one of the most blatant flaw.

Dont know what is the meaning of "gap" specifically being referred by the poster. Though common sense tells you that if you close the same product that would signal that said product no longer meets your need. Yet, you apply for the same product just a few months later - what signal you send then? If it is looked at by a human (you did not pass the computer screens to get an instant approval), then a more diligent rep may think, hmmm, the applicant is only after the sign up bonus... It is hard to justify that suddenly you realize you would need the same product in just a short few months time.
I can tell you I have never used 30% of my line with Chase. Probably less than 15% at the most, and often only between 5 to 10%, with the total line at the time of application still above 50K despite I canceled a CSP and released 10K line.

My Ink Plus was approved the next day on a weekend. I never call, nor check the status. Card popped up on Monday together with a personal Marriott card applied on the same day. Chase moved 5K from my Freedom to make the Ink Plus a 10K card. It could have just open the Ink Plus with $5K but instead, it took 5K from Freedom to make Ink Plus line 10K. I received a letter a few days later informing me the reallocation. While it was done without my knowledge, I was glad Chase took line from a very underused Freedom instead of other cards. I have an Ink Cash with Chase for over 2.5 years with a 20K line from an instant approval. Last Summer I moved 5K from it to open a BA card because Chase said I had maxed out with them. I had CSP, IHG, Freedom and UA Biz plus Ink Cash at that time. Except UA Biz which I deliberately only wanted 5K line, other cards had 10 to 20K lines. Hence when I canceled CSP 2 months ago I released $10K instead of hoarding it.

It is rather useless to have a yes/no because it is not a science. It has models as well as interpretation of models, plus the reps own judgment/authority. Your approach has a right direction but if your thought is trying to find some "patterns" or "rules", I am afraid you would fail in that pursuit.