Thread: Just got denied for Chase Freedom

Just a little about me... I'm 21 with almost 3 years of credit history (2 credit cards and 1 car note). Not sure what my FICO score is but my Transrisk score is 761 and I've never had any derogatory marks. I work full time at $18.67 an hr.

In the denial letter the reason they shot me down was because my gross income isn't high enough. Anyone have any type of idea of what type of money one should make to get approved for this card?

Originally Posted by stacks

In the denial letter the reason they shot me down was because my gross income isn't high enough. Anyone have any type of idea of what type of money one should make to get approved for this card?

Because of CARD Act, banks and credit unions have to ask for your income to determine your ability to repay. So lets say you make $38K a year, they will look at your other obligations such as rent, car payment, loan payments as well as the balances on other accounts. This information is entered into a formula to determine what credit limit, if any, they can grant you. They may have felt that you were over extended.

Chase uses Experian in making their decisions. Before you apply for anything else, be sure that your balances are paid down.

Appreciate your response. That definitely makes sense because I remember filling out a questionnaire on my expenses during the application process. I just didn't think that would be a problem because all of the expenses that I listed combined only make up around half of my salary. I've also never actually gone above a 2% credit utilization rate. I just wanted to know whether or not I should call the number to find whether or not there was a chance of being reconsidered for the card. Guess I should just apply for another. I know that this counts as a "hard credit inquiry" so how long do you think I should wait before applying for a different card?

I would say at least 25,000 a year, although it may have gone up to 30,000 now that items have gone up. so what 2 credit cards do you have?

at 18+/hr I'm pretty sure my wage converts to more than that on an annual scale. I have a student bank of america card($5,000 limit) that I've had since I was 18 and only use for a netflix subscription and a Navy Federal Credit Union Cash rewards card($10,000) that I use for most everything else. Had that one for a little over 6 months. I make sure to never pay interest and just rack up bonus cash but I'd like to get a better rewards card. The $200 bonus that they advertise on the chase freedom card was pretty appealing to me as well.

I got my Freedom card last month, and my income is substantially less than yours. I do have a longer credit history of 7 years though.

Originally Posted by stacks

I have a student bank of america card($5,000 limit)

Call them up and ask to convert to a Cash Rewards card which has 3% off gas, 2% off groceries and 1% off everything else. With the $5k limit you would likely also qualify for Visa Signature if you'd like that (Visa signature may nick your credit score a little since the bank may not report your credit line with it.)

Originally Posted by stacks

Appreciate your response. That definitely makes sense because I remember filling out a questionnaire on my expenses during the application process. I just didn't think that would be a problem because all of the expenses that I listed combined only make up around half of my salary. I've also never actually gone above a 2% credit utilization rate. I just wanted to know whether or not I should call the number to find whether or not there was a chance of being reconsidered for the card. Guess I should just apply for another. I know that this counts as a "hard credit inquiry" so how long do you think I should wait before applying for a different card?

I would absolutely try to recon with Chase. Since your Experian has already been dinged with the inquiry, it wouldn't hurt to try.

Otherwise, you say that you have BofA at $5K and a Navy FCU at $10K, so it sounds like you are pretty much set. My only recommendation would be an Amex Zync. The reason I recommend it is because it will get your foot in the door with Amex at a young age. Even if you close it after a year, in 5 years or so when you are ready for another Amex, it will be backdated to 2011 (Amex backdates subsequent accounts to your original Member Since year provided that they can find record of it).

So yes, I would call their backdoor number and see if there is any way to get the Freedom approved at a low limit. The worst they can say is no, but it is worth a shot. Other than that, my advice is an Amex charge card product for future backdating purposes.

i think it is less about a finite number and a host of other things that speak to your debt ratio....my ex had an amex (Green) fairly early on in his credit history. when he applied his salary was 21K a year and by the time he applied for gold 3 years ago his salary was 29.2K a year.

I think part of your problem is you only have a student Bank of america and a Navy federal credit union credit cards. these are lower level cards, It's very good that you started out with low level cards. I'm not saying you should go out and apply for a Nordstroms visa or Brooks brothers mastercard, but you might want to think about a high level credit card something like a hsbc or pnc visa or mastercard maybe
a clear American express. like if you were to have a pentagon federal credit union along with a TD bank credit card, you wouldn't go out and apply for a Green American express or gold delta American express, you would try a middle of the road card like Hsbc. am I correct?

if your wage does convert to more than 25,000 , I don't think this is a problem. it probably is the type of credit cards you carry especially the student bank of america. you'll have to excuse chase for being stupid they are not always the smartest people in the world. you're doing the correct way of establishing credit it's just chase is stupid.