What To Do If Your Credit Card Application Is Denied

Have you recently applied for a credit card and received the news that your application has been denied? It can be frustrating to learn that you are not approved for something you were hoping to obtain. However, it's important to know that this doesn't happen to just you; many people have been in your shoes before. More importantly, here's what you can do about it.

Firstly, don't panic. There are several reasons why your application may have been denied, such as having high loan balances or a low credit score. It's important to understand why this happened so that you can address the issue and prevent it from happening again in the future. Additionally, it's crucial to know that being denied for one credit card doesn't mean you will be denied for all of them. You may simply need to find a card that better suits your financial situation and credit history.

Your Loan Balances Are Too High. When applying for a credit card, high credit card issuers are looking at your existing debt and loan balances to determine if you are able to manage additional credit. If your loan balances are too high, it may suggest that you are already struggling with credit card paying or loan balances which could lead to a higher risk of defaulting on future payments. Therefore, it is important to pay down your existing debt before applying for new credit cards.

Age matters when applying for a credit card because you must be at least age 18, the legal age of majority, to apply and obtain a credit card in your name. If you are not yet 18 years old, you may have the option to become an authorized user on your parents' credit card account. However, being an authorized user does not give you the same level of responsibility and benefits as having your own credit card account. Understanding the importance of age when it comes to applying for a credit card can prevent denial of your application and help set you on the path to building good credit.

If your credit card application has been denied, don't panic. The first step is to find out why the credit card company denies your application. They are required by law to send you an adverse action letter explaining why they denied you and provide information on how to obtain a free copy of your credit reports.

Once you have received the adverse action letter, take some time to review it and understand the reason for your denial. You can typically expect to receive this letter within 10 business days of your application being denied. From there, you may want to work on improving your credit score before applying for another credit card or consider applying for a secured credit card instead.

Applying for a credit card can be a simple process, but there are various reasons why your application may get denied. The credit card company will evaluate your creditworthiness based on several factors including your credit utilization rate, debt-to-credit ratio, total amount of revolving debt, and recent credit applications. Credit card debt experts recommend keeping your credit utilization ratio below 30%, and having a long credit history showing that you've made loan and credit card payments responsibly.

Lenders have strict rules when it comes to extending credit to consumers. If you're young adults or recent immigrants who have avoided credit or those with a thin file, lenders may not approve your application as they have no information on how you handle credit. Negative account information such as missed bill payments, charge-offs, bankruptcies, and recent late payments can also severely damage your opportunity to be approved for top credit cards requiring good or excellent credit scores. Late payment information stays on your credit report for seven years and can significantly impact your ability to obtain future loans.

The 2009 Credit Card Act requires card issuers to consider an applicant's debt-to-income ratio (DTI) before approving their application. This means that young adults ages 18-21 and those with limited income may be limiting themselves in the amount of existing credit they can obtain. If you already have existing lines of credit open with the same card issuer or other lenders but carry balances close to the limit, this could also negatively impact your chances of getting approved for additional lines of credit from the same issuer. It's important to keep your payment history clean by paying bills on time and avoiding extending yourself too thin financially.

If you've recently had a credit card application denied, you may have noticed an influx of credit inquiries on your credit report. This is because when you apply for credit cards, lenders will check your credit history to determine your eligibility. Each time they do so, it creates a "hard inquiry" on your report. While having a few inquiries over a short period is normal, too many can signal to lenders that you're desperate for credit and increase the likelihood of future denials. To minimize the impact of these inquiries, try spacing out your applications and only applying for a set number of credit cards at once.

Have you recently struggled with late payments? If so, this could be the reason why your credit card application was denied. Credit card issuers take a close look at your credit report and recent payment history when deciding whether to approve or deny your application. If they see a negative entry like a 90-day late payment that happened just a few months ago, it could be enough to make them think twice about giving you additional credit.

It's important to remember that credit obligations from years ago can still impact your creditworthiness today. Even if you've been making on-time payments for the past year or two, a big mistake several years ago can still show up on your report and hurt your chances of getting approved for new credit. That's why it's important to stay on top of all your bills and debts, even if they seem small or insignificant at the time. By being proactive about managing your finances, you can help ensure that you'll be in good shape when it comes time to apply for credit in the future.