Reconsideration (Credit Cards)

During my recent research and education into (even more) miles and points, one of the biggest lessons I learned about was "Reconsideration" by credit cards.  All too often, and I was previously guilty of this, we apply for a credit card, don't get instant approval and are told further processing it needed (or get immediate denial), wait for further processing, only to find out we are denied.  Once we get the denial, we just walk away with an "oh well!"  Oh how wrong we are to just walk away.  How wrong we are.  Keep these fine words in mind "It never hurts to ask".

A couple of days ago I completed my first credit card "churn".  I will get into more detail about my success and the process of the churn in a later post, but in short, a churn it is applying for several credit cards on the same day (so the banks don't see all the different requests) with the main premise being to reap the sign-on bonuses and/or rewards miles/points for spending on the cards, which are then used to fund major travel travel expenses (airfare and lodging).  

Churning is ideal for people with very good to excellent credit.  In my case, I was on the lower end of very good.  I still had some lingering issues on my credit reports from my divorce 3+ years ago.  Again, in short, I was not in the "ideal" position, but I had cleaned up my credit report to the best point I could.  So I pulled the trigger last Thursday to try my luck.

As expected, I received a few "we can not approve you at this time as more review is needed of your application".  I was fully educated that this probably meant that the negative item on the credit report was most likely going to cause my application to be denied (no one knows for sure though).  So being proactive, I called the "reconsideration numbers" for the banks that didn't instantly approve me.  

Of course the first call is nerve wracking.  You have no idea what is going to happen.  Turns out it is a piece of cake (at least for most banks).  By having a human discussion with an analyst, you can explain any unique situation that would not have been understood by the computer-approval process.  With proper preparation (solid reasons, positive attitude) you CAN GET APPROVED.  In the end, I was able to get approved for all the "pending" credit cards (except for Citibank which is known to be the Great Wall and needs actually a written letter to be successful).  

Do NOT be afraid to call the lines.  Even if denied since the banks may not be aware of your situation. Given my limited experience, I recommend calling immediately (or a day later) in order to see if you can assist in pushing the application to success.  If the application gets hung up, it usually means they need to look at something, but they may not understand the true nature of that "something" and deny you.  Just talk to someone to make everything clear and you will probably get an approval.

The following phone numbers are provided by a key resource in my research and education lately, Frugal Travel Guy.

American Express

American Express Application Status

877-399-3083 – New Accounts (rings direct to a human)
866-379-3643 – New Accounts (rings to a series of prompts)
800-230-1284 – Account Services (initial prompt for account #)
800-253-1709 – Account Services (initial prompt for account #)
800-962-7227 – Reconsideration

Bank Of America

Bank of America Application Status

866-458-8805 – Appeals (rings direct to a credit analyst)
877-721-9405 – Application Status (Press 3 to speak to a human)
888-877-6262 – Application Status

Barclays

888-232-0780 – Customer Care
866-408-4064 – Credit Analyst
866-369-1283 – Appeals (rings direct to a credit analyst)

Capital One

Note: Capital One doesn’t take customer initiated calls regarding application status until you have received an answer via mail. They also do not take customer initiated calls for credit line increases.

800-951-6951 – Customer Relations
800-548-4593 – Application Status (automated)
800-625-7866 – Account Specialist

Chase

800-436-7927 – Application Status (automated)
888–609–7805 – Application Status (human)
888-245-0625 – Reconsideration (direct to a Credit Analyst for PERSONAL cards)
800-453-9719 – Reconsideration (direct to a Credit Analyst for BUSINESS cards)

Citibank

Online Check (replace XXXXX with your application ID): https://www.accountonline.com/cards/acq/CardApplicationStatus.do?applicationID=XXXXXXXXXXXXXX&screenID=3187

888-201-4523 – Application Status
866-606-2787 – Application Status
800-763-9795 – Reconsideration
800-765-9795 – Credit Analyst

And to write in: CitiBank Executive Review Department, P.O. Box 6000, Sioux Falls, SD 57117

Discover

Discover Application Status

888-676-3695 – Reconsideration
866-219-0214 – Retention Department

HSBC

HSBC Application Status

866-574-4421 – Application Status
866-551-0258 – Credit Analyst
866-280-0118 – Executive Resolution Unit

US Bank

800-947-1444 - Application Status (Press Option 1)

Stay tuned for a recap of my success with my first credit card churn.