Ugh...Barclays!!!!! [Problem Solving and/or Ranting Thread]
 

Venting here. Just was denied for Barclays Arrival and Choice Privileges Cards. Both went to reconsideration. I spoke with their arrogant CSR and a supervisor. They decline based on fact I have applied for 12 cards in the past year. 2 of them are Barclays. I have a Barclay Virgin America and NFL card. In this same churn I was just approved for Chase Southwest Business...companion pass here I come...and SPG AMEX Biz. My other 2 apps were these Barclay cards. These are actually my first 2 denials ever. The supervisor states I have 150K in credit outstanding and they are worried I would max out. I told her to look at my utillization history. I don't come close to more than 5% in my monthly utilization spending. Plus I told her then approve me for a low limit if that is their worry. Actually they did that on my last Barclay card, I think it was $1500 limit. ha. I have a Chase card with $25k limit! I have a 740 plus credit score, own my home, I am 43, never been late on paying a card, pay in full every month, been in same job for 13 years and I make $90K plus per year. My wife was declined by these clowns last year as they wouldn't include our household income in their decision making process. It seems with them unless its an instant approval its a declination. I told the rep my credit history is identical to where it was when I was approved for my last Barclay card so I have no clue how they make their decisions? I'm done with them for at least 1 year.

Ugh...Friggin Barclays!!!!!
 

Probably it's good that you are done with them. They can see you are churning, have low utilisation, and high credit limits. What is the business rationale for them approving your application?

Same rationale as Chase and AMEX who approved my apps. To earn my business!!

Were you going to give them any business after minimum spend was done though?

Ugh...Friggin Barclays!!!!!
 

Point is that Barclay doesn't want your business. You haven't proven yourself to be profitable to them.

Didn't realize this was the forum of bank executives....

I have a Virgin America Barclay card that I do use very frequently. It is probably my 2nd most used card and I definitely had plans of using the Arrival card frequently. Barclay is very inconsistent, which is my major issue with them.

OP's history demonstrates to Barclay's that he's a money loser for them. Maybe some other issuer wants him, but not Barclay's.

Why complain? They fired you. Move on.

+1

No we are not bank execs. We are just trying to bring you back to the real world. You yourself said that the CSR can approve your card with less limits. There itself goes your intentions as to why you want the card.

What business?

With 90k over a 150k of credit line and 12 cards, there's just no business at all...

I Have To Ask This Question...
 

You seriously don't know WHY they declined or are you simply venting???

I think he was just venting...I liked the title, it pretty much says it all....and anyone who has dealt with [...] barclaycard can appreciate it.

On the other hand you can see how you earn little pity with your plight...it happens to all app-o-rama styly churners soon than later...denied for too many app or too much credit outstanding. I even had to reduce my credit across the board with chase to get Ink bold last month...I already had 4 personal cards and 2 business and they felt I had too much credit with them. In order to get approved I had to agree to lower all personal cards to 5000 and business to 7500.....I could have got all huffy about it but I can see their point so I accepted the deal...it also allows me to know what chase is comfortable giving me and I can cancel cards before I apply for more and keep my credit level with them stable...like most here, I don't actaully need credit. I think banks only give it to people who don't need it.

I do agree with your title on Barclaycard, they are picky, their rules and procedures make no sense, their CSRs are bipolar, and their approval process must involve the old magic 8-ball...but I had the choice card (they canceled it for not charging something every 6 months), the NFL $400, and just recently the USAir card....I don't expect much from them and their cards are 3rd rate, but it beats having fewer banks to choose from....I keep them happy by only getting 1 or 2 cards a year with them and it seems to work.

You're an extremely unprofitable customer who already has two accounts with them. Why would they want your business?

First, if you don't get instant approval, it doesn't mean you don't have a shot. I applied for the arrival card and didn't get instant approval. I didn't bother to call them and they approval it after a few days.

Second, during the call the CSR and the supervisor gave you tons of information why they wouldn't approve you. Instead of feeling deflated, take a hard look at what they told you and position yourself to be the ideal client they are looking for. If you follow what the CSR told you, I am pretty sure you will be approved the next time you apply for another card from them. (hopefully, at least 3-6 months later) :p

I've gotten 11 Barclays CC's in the past 2.5 years, including 5 of them the USAIR card. Most recently applied and was instantly approved this week (Lufthansa 50k) .. How?

1. During an interim period, I bumped off all my TU inquires using Credit Smart (see this thread for more details). This alone has helped me get instant approvals for all but two applications. Well worth the $100 investment I'd say ;)

2. I had to call in twice for recon. The first time they pulled EQ and EX (without asking), they approved me but I was pissed. Lesson learned .. I always keep EQ and EX frozen when doing a Barclays app. When I called reconsideration for the 2nd non-instant approved app, they were unable to pull EQ/EX .. I said I'm disputing some items on EQ/EX, please make a decision based on TU .. they did, I was approved.

I love Barclays !! If you are having trouble with this bank think about what YOU are doing wrong.

I'm no expert here and definitive not a bank exec but it just doesn't make a business sense to take you in. With 12 cards and a utilization of less than 5%, you clearly don't spend enough to need another card.

btw I had a utilization of 30% - 40% (mostly business expenses) and was approved for a number of cards including Amex Plat even through I did not have any credit history. I assume it was likely the combination of high utilization and low credits that showed that I'll likely be going to use the card.

+1

1 card every 6 months and having only 1 other Barclay card open when applying for a new one seem to work for me as well.

Card issuers look down on people with a lot of credit card applications. It isn't how many Cards you have total which count with all issuers. If you have a short timeframe and a lot of applications they will deny you. Also some issuers only allow a certain amount of open credit lines with them as well. It varies by firm.

If I applied for Barclays I would have no doubt I would be approved. But I don't want any additional credit lines right now. I have all I could ever use or want.

If I were running a credit card department, here are the rules I would set up

1) If you apply for a card, get approved, get a bonus, then cancel the card, you cannot receive a rewards card from my bank for at least two years
2) If you apply for a card, get approved, but then don't spend on the card (but leave it open), it is a negative factor in any new card applications, likely leading to rejection
3) As long as you spend money on a card, then "churning" is fine. If an applicant gets a 50,000 mile card offer, keeps the card open, pays the annual fee and spends above and beyond the required spend, he or she can cancel at any time and immediately reapply for a new card with a new bonus. Or put another way, I would routinely offer "spend challenges" to existing cardholders ("Move $5,000 of regular spend to this card and get another 50K points")
4) A limit of 6 cards outstanding per bank (depending on how many products I offer)
5) "Cash equivalent" spending doesn't qualify for any bonus points. Gift cards, VR, etc. All spend must be real spend.

lots of haters out there now in the FT world. i do see your points. but understand this...the reason and sole reason i was given by Barclays for not approving me was they were worried I could run up 150K in credit card debt and not fulfill my obligation. i told the csr to look at my history and they can easily tell that this has never occurred. so i told her that they should base their decision on facts and not what ifs, etc.

i was never told i had too many apps or wasn't using my Virgin America card enough. actually they thanked me for using it so much.

if they told me i had too many apps, which 12 in past year, not year to date, back to July of 2012, is not that many...i can understand.

You describe a situation which you feel is unreasonable, don't like the responses, and that makes us haters :( :td:

Here in the UK there was a case of a guy who had a profile a bit like you - low utilisation, lots of cards. He lost his job, maxed out on the cards and then killed himself. It turned out many of the cards were issued by subsidiaries of the same bank. Guess who got the bad press..... (and I'll give you a clue, it wasn't the poor guy who killed himself). That is yet another reason why what you want doesn't make business sense.

Barclays is such a crap bank...
 

I had it with Barclays. Those .......s are just a bunch of idiots .....es/.......s, that's impossible to do any business with them.

I have been denied twice in a row, even skipped them in my last AoR. Not enough activity on your card, too many credit cards recently opened. Maybe you should wait for 12mths(!?!) and not open any cards and reapply... up yours dude!!! They even record down your calls, so that the next person you spoke to knows what you talked about previously! Hanging up and calling back doesn't seem to work.

And those .......s won't even negotiate. I offered to cancel my existing card, but no they won't budge. Since my existing card has an AF, and I am not using it, I am canceling my one and only card with those SoB. Besides, I have another 20 tradelines in my report, so my AoA won't be affected.

Maybe us flyertalkers should just boycott them entirely! If you get a signup bonus, fine. But sock drawer it and don't use it for normal spending (if flyertalkers have normal spending at all).

So you're mad that they won't give you free stuff you don't deserve?

Lol. You mean they shouldn't do their job, assess the risk, and turn down the credit card churners?

You don't need not will you adequately use the card anyway. Move on.

Sounds like Barclays has made the right decision on this one! Why on earth would anybody else boycott them because they won't give someone they apparently assess as high risk the freebies he wants?

Is this flyertalk or have I posted in the wrong forum? Last I checked flyertalk = churning CCs.

The funny thing is everyone here is so excited about the Arrival card for the bonus points up front. The Priceline card also a 2% card is better once the free year is up. Barely anyone here know about that one. Also Barclays. Barclays is very strange about card approvals. For many people they will only get approved for one card. Overall their service is pretty poor also. Therefore I only use them for the good cards and promos.

But every bank has different rules for churning, and you have to learn them, not ignore them and then fume about how stupid they were, when it was you who didn't take the time to learn them.

There are degrees of churning. Some banks (including Barclays) are ok with "light" churning, some other banks (Citi) can also deny you in cases like "more than 6 inquiries in the past 6 months" (on whichever credit bureau they pulled), which can also backfire on "very heavy" churners.

So not all churning is the same!

Isn't that offer dead (for new applicants at least)?

Your tears are delicious. The tears of unfathomable sadness.

......... A! Those ....... .......! Where the ..... do ........ ..... like those ....... ....... get ......... .... Jack....... like ...... should ........ .... their ....... ........


;)

P.S. Did you mention that they recorded your calls?

Not if you value TripIt Pro and/or put a medium/high level of spending on the card.

I just got rejected for the Arrivals card as well. I was disappointed, but don't blame them at all. They are doing their job and trying to make money. Credit score isn't the only criteria they look at. Be happy for what you have already been able to get.

Mod hat on-
Let get rid of the "emotion" and stick to facts. Thanks.
Mod hat off-

Barclays is such a crap bank...
 

Deep breaths ;). Oh I've been rejected for their arrivals card twice. Slightly disappointed as I had good credit and all, but whatever. You win some; you lose some. More spend on other cards. I wouldn't dwell too much on the denials and I've learned from before to not even bother with reconsideration with Barclays. Lesson learned.

requesting advice about the no fee arrival card
 

I recently received the fee version, but realize that it will not be worth it to me
for additional years at 89.

I would at that point however want the no fee version and the choice will be whether to cancel the card and apply later (how much later??? this is the main question) and get 20000 points, worth 220 in travel to me, or to request a downgrade in the card and forego the additional points

I will have put perhaps 2500 dollars on the card in the first year. My track record with barclays is that of a churner, a couple of us airways cards, a recent
rejection on another us airways card.

The no fee arrival card will be a keeper for me -- I plan on getting out of the card and points obsession (but still want the last present). Unless barclays comes up with some new hotel or airline card I hope to be out .

Well said!

I find Barclays (UK) to be less trusting of me than anyone else. Annoying but c'est la vie.

[emphasis mine]

So...did you fix what they denied you for? Just wondering...

I got denied for the US Air card when I applied the first time, because I had previously applied for 4-5 other cards in the last two months. Got denied and no amount of calls would work. They told me what they told you. I worked at it.
Applied 6 months later. Still didn't get auto-approval.
Called recon and told the guy that I'd been denied before and I had worked on everything they'd told me work on, so what possible reason could they have for denying me again? It worked. Got approved.

The reasons you're criticizing them for are, in fact, the very reasons why they're good at that job. That's obviously bad for us, but that's very very good for them. Afterall, they're running a bank...not a free food stall. ;)