Remember the old days when you had to apply for your credit in person at the store register? Aren’t we all glad that changed! What did not change was the annoyance of figuring out why you were not excepted for the credit line you just applied for. Its still the basics of general initial information such as not enough length in established accounts or something vague. Along with that is usually a message telling you your rights to your credit report they pulled with a note that says they will contact you by mail with more details about your nonapproved application. Chances are when you receive the letter, the information inside will not be much more detailed than the initial response you got when applying.
Typically these are the reasons companies deny credit:
Low Income
Gaps in Employment history
If you recently just opened a line of credit
High debit
Old credit history not enough established new credit
If your report if Frozen and you forgot to unfreeze it
Too many recent delinquencies
Too many inquiries
A recent Collection
A recent Public judgement/record
High card balances
Too many open accounts
Charge offs
Limited Credit History
Employment length
Instead of gambling with your credit we have found that doing your research and finding prequalifying cards is the best way to go. Here’s the truth, every time you run you credit for a new request, it causes a hit to your score as well as as inquiry to your record. Which over time can look bad if you have several and can appear like you are searching for too much credit.
First off you should find out what your BankCard(credit card) FICO scores are. These are not the scores you see when you log into Experian or Credit Karma. You need to know your true BankCard FICO scores. You can get your FICO scores free once from credit.com with their Extra Credit program (Extra Credit is a trial offer). The only other way to find those out is to buy them from MYFICO. Their prices range depending on if you buy one bureau or all 3. Once you have found out your scores, take note of how many there are. Most companies choose which score module they will use. Notice your highest scores as these will be your best bet for approval.
Now it’s time to research what companies are looking at. We like to reference to a forum site called Credit Boards, under their Credit Pulls page. The Credit Pulls section allows you to take advantage of the information others have added their comments on to the forum. Find their search section; enter the state your apply in, the bureau that is going to be most attractive to apply from(aka the bureau that gave you the highest scores), then search away. Use the information you gather from their forum to determine which company you qualify for statistically. Then you can determine which company will approve you, and also the forum gives great customer insight on personal experiences with the lending companies.
Happy Hunting