How To Get Your Credit Card Application Approved
Posted July 14th, 2009 and last modified July 6th, 2011If you’ve had troubles in the past to a credit card application approved then fear no more as with our handy guide you should be successful in applying for any credit card from herein.
When credit card applicants get denied it is usually for the reasons outlined below. In short, they have:
- A bad credit file rating.
- They don’t earn enough income according to the card provider’s stipulation.
- They’ve had delinquent accounts.
- Their financial history is too short or unstable.
- Or they’ve had a lot of queries on their credit file which often indicates trouble.
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Receive your credit file with information on:
- Details of consumer credit enquiries
- Details of overdue consumer credit accounts
- Commercial credit enquiries
- Details of overdue commercial credit accounts
- Bankruptcy & Court Judgements
- Writs & Summons
- Information on your current relationship with a credit provider
Let us look closer at those reasons and how you can improve your chances of getting a credit card application approved.
Having a bad credit file rating: If your credit is bad, it means that lenders have had problems with you in the past. Those get recorded in a national database and any potential lender has access to your credit file. Therefore it is important to ALWAYS pay your bills on time!
Setting up direct debit certainly helps with this process. Alternatively you can develop a proven system that works to remind you to pay your bills on time. Failing to do so will damage your credit rating.
To find out where you stand with your credit file you can obtain a copy of it by visiting the MyCreditFile website and pay $29.95 incl. GST to be faxed, mailed or emailed a copy within 24 hours.
A lack of income: Some card providers will not approve you if your income level is below what they stipulate. The American Express Platinum credit card for example requires you to earn $100,000 p.a. minimum or else you will not be approved, even if you pay your bills on time.
This has a lot to do with their own financial security as they offer you additional insurance – at no extra cost, plus much more. Most credit card providers publish their income requirements for any given card in their terms and conditions. Make sure to check those before you apply.
Delinquent accounts: If you ever had a delinquent account to your name – meaning you were 60 days past due with your payments – then chances are your credit card application approval will not happen. This information usually becomes nullified after five years have passed.
Lenders want to be sure that you can handle repayments because if you don’t, they stand to lose their money.
A short or unstable financial history: Most lenders want to see stability to get your credit card application approved for you. If you are constantly changing jobs or your place of residence it will look bad on your credit file. This indicates that you are not reliable enough – you can’t hold a job or a residence – a big warning sign for lenders.
Before you apply for any credit card be sure to have a solid employment history with a minimum six month track record.
If you have existing bad debt on your record you can take pro-active action to show potential lenders that you are serious about fixing your past errors. Pay off all past debts before applying for a credit card (excluded in this tip would be a home loan).
Too many credit file queries: Whenever you apply for a line of credit, a loan and a credit card, potential lenders can view your credit file. Each time this happens, the activity will be recorded in your file for a total of five years. Naturally any lending institution can see how many refused applications you’ve had in the past according to the activity shown on your file.
Whether you do your credit card application online or offline, you need to understand what’s expected of you before you take that step to increase your chances of getting your credit card application approved.
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[...] expected, or better, or pretty much what you imagined. Once you are sure, you can decide whether an application for a bad credit rating credit card is likely to succeed. You should also scan your file for any entries that are not correct. Errors [...]