Credit card application status: How to check on your credit card application

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	Interest Rate p.a.	Balance transfer Rate p.a.
ANZ Low Rate	13.14% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer	20.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 8 months
HSBC Credit Card	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 6 months

Have you submitted a credit card application and your bank is giving you the silent treatment? You need to be proactive and bug your bank – Here’s how to check on your credit card application and whether or not it was approved or declined.

‘I applied a month ago and have had no correspondence. I earn 80k a year and have good credit. Can you explain this??’

We get a number of comments like this from our readers asking for confirmation whether or not their application has been received and processed. It’s a fair enough comment. The least a potential applicant can expect is an answer in the positive or negative – but sometimes they don’t even get that.

It should only take somewhere between a week and two weeks for an applicant to receive their credit card. We can only speculate why there are instances where people are getting the silent treatment from lenders. We contacted a number of institutions to get their say on the matter; however, all of them refused to provide comment.

You will get one of these four responses when you apply for a card

Instant approval

If you apply online, most if not all institutions will be able to tell you at the conclusion of your application whether or not you were successful. Approval depends on the lender’s assessment criteria, which differs between institutions, and is a combination of your credit history check and point score. If you have provided enough information for the lender to make an assessment about your financial situation, expect an immediate answer.

Conditional approval

There are instances where conditional approval will be given. This means that your approval depends upon you providing verification of your details – usually payslips or personal identification – and full approval is granted once you have provided this information to a bank staff member and you have signed the contract agreement.

Referral

If you have completed an application and have been given a referral, this means that your application requires further assessment before your lending institution can provide you with an outcome.

Application not approved

The information you provided during your application and/or your credit history did not meet the bank’s selection criteria and you have been denied credit.

Why are they taking so long to get back to me?

There are many reasons why your credit card application is still sitting in limbo. These can include:

• There are marks on your credit file which require further analysis or correspondence from you.
• Your application has some information on it which the provider thinks is incorrect or requires amendment.
• The bank is working through a huge amount of applications and yours is on the bottom of the pile, or your application has slipped through the cracks.

Many of these matters can be solved with a quick call from your potential card provider, so ensure you check your emails and missed calls regularly after submitting a credit card application, or as the information below suggests, call them yourself.

What can you do about it?

It’s best to be proactive when following up your credit card application. Don’t be passive and wait for the banks to get back to you – if our readers comments are anything to go by, it could be a long wait. If you are genuinely worried about the status of your application, contact the lender in question over the phone. Although email is instantaneous, nothing beats speaking to a person and getting the answers you need on the spot. Here’s a list of institutions and the numbers to follow up if you want to check on the status of an application or you simply haven’t had a response from your lender.

In order to get the best results from the lender’s representatives, you will need to provide your application reference number you got when you applied. If you don’t have your reference number they can identify you a series of questions.

Getting in touch with your lender

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0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers & no annual fee	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & platinum benefits	0% p.a. for 8 months on balances transfers & reward points	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & low rate

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Credit Cards Comparison

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			Interest rate (p.a.)	Balance transfer rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash advance rate (p.a.)
	ANZ Low Rate	A low rate on purchases, balance transfer and a low annual fee.	13.14% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$58 p.a.	21.49% p.a.
	HSBC Credit Card	No annual fee for the life of the credit card. Plus a low balance transfer offer.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 6 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard	Exclusive Offer to Credit Card Finder. No annual fee credit card with platinum benefits.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Commonwealth Bank Low Rate Credit Card	A low interest rate offer on purchases and balance transfers.	0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 12.99% p.a.)	5.99% p.a. for 5 months	$78 p.a. ($48 for qualifying customers)	21.24% p.a.
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	No annual fee for the first year and a balance transfer offer.	19.39% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($87 p.a. thereafter)	20.99% p.a.

* The credit card offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of credit cards CreditCardFinder.com.au has access to track details from and is not representative of all the products available in the market. Products are displayed in no particular order or ranking. The use of terms 'Best' and 'Top' are not product ratings and are subject to our disclaimer. You should consider seeking independent financial advice and consider your own personal financial circumstances when comparing cards.