Credit record rejection? Ideas?

[truthbetold]

So a friend of mine is asking…

Previously, but several years ago, he had a great job on high pay, and hence a £30k credit limit at Amex. He also churned cards for a few years, but has been blocked from family referrals now.

It’s been 2 years since he had a BAPP, but kept an ARCC with the £30k limit to retain MR. Funnily enough he has been blocked from applying, says because of the credit record, but CreditKarma still at 659 out of 710 despite a recent change of jobs and now being self employed (still above the £35k income requirement so should still pass the credit checks)

Should he, in order to take advantage of the 50k Avios available to new BAPP applications:

a) go online and reduce his £30k credit limit to say £1k, and apply again?
b) transfer out his 99k MR points and cancel ARCC, apply again?
c) get his employed wife to try either of the above?
d) any other ideas?

Thanks

[JDB]

Whatever the CreditKarma ‘score’ says is irrelevant. Amex will score your friend for themselves and only use the credit reference agencies for an initial scan/information check. A £30k limit that isn’t used is pointless and will definitely hamper other Amex applications, so they should reduce it online to a more sensible number commensurate with actual needs/spending pattern. It takes a little time thereafter for Amex potentially to change its view and it may require a wait of up to three months to reapply if there has been a formal application rejection.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

I agree reduce the credit limit on the current card.

But £1k would be silly. What id he applied again and they rejected him – it would be hard to get them to reraise the limit on the ARCC to somethign useable

Make it close to his current average monthly spend plus a little headroom

I wouldn’t do option b

[Lady London]

Now self-employed? ahem

[Alex G]

“churned cards for a few years, but has been blocked from family referrals now.”

My idea is that Amex have realised that they were losing money by naively giving sign up and referral bonuses to people who were constantly churning and taking advantage of Amex’s generosity, and are now being much more selective about who they give cards to.

Don’t cancel the Amex card that you still have if you want to maintain a relationship with them.

I was a serial churner and my OH and I would refer each other for cards every six months or so. Last time I applied for the Gold card, I was rejected. I have a near perfect credit score.

I am hanging on to my BAPP which I value highly.

[truthbetold]

Thanks all. Useful advice. Do you think it’s worth a call to the Amex service desk?

[truthbetold]

Lady London wrote:

Now self-employed? ahem

It’s the future for over 50s. Better than claiming dole and brings in new income at least for him.

[Alex G]

truthbetold wrote:

Lady London wrote:

Now self-employed? ahem

It’s the future for over 50s. Better than claiming dole and brings in new income at least for him.

Its also a cheap way of paying NICs to protect/enhance state pension entitlement.

[Lady London]

My point is that since covid we’re getting a number of reports indicating that self-employed are being refused cards no matter how solid their history or even if excellent provable earnings – the moment self employed is declared that seems to outweigh other good things.

Bit of a blunt instrument cardco’s and banks seem to be applying, especially in light of work trends and other economic ‘new sense’. Amex in particular has been mentioned here as doing this in number of cases reported here over the period.

Similar with reports that apparently Amex doesn’t want to accept pension income, not even, it seems, in the form of annuities or state pension income, even though that type of income would seem to be more reliable than many sources of income from employment that Amex seems to be accepting.

[Reney]

Other people reported getting rejected maybe linked to having a buy now pay later and stoozing.

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Lady London wrote:

Now self-employed? ahem

The term has lost all respect in this age of Onlyfans sadly

[truthbetold]

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

Lady London wrote:

Now self-employed? ahem

The term has lost all respect in this age of Onlyfans sadly

If I didn’t already know that Lady London is one of the experts on HfP matters, one might think a name like that was found on OnlyFans

[Julia]

Alex G wrote:

“churned cards for a few years, but has been blocked from family referrals now.”

My idea is that Amex have realised that they were losing money by naively giving sign up and referral bonuses to people who were constantly churning and taking advantage of Amex’s generosity, and are now being much more selective about who they give cards to.

Oh no no no, Amex takes the lion share on that score. There was a time you couldn’t even ask Amex customer services the time before they were teaching you how to churn so you’d end up with a fee paying card and up to the top of your Louboutin’s in high interest debt. They aren’t victims and new exactly what was going on. I bet there staff were churning as well.

[Lady London]

truthbetold wrote:

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

Lady London wrote:

Now self-employed? ahem

The term has lost all respect in this age of Onlyfans sadly

If I didn’t already know that Lady London is one of the experts on HfP matters, one might think a name like that was found on OnlyFans

Eek just googled Onlyfans (I lead a sheltered life.)

What can I say? I agree about the excellence of my Lady London moniker for such things.

In my defence, I note that Onlyfans was founded in 2016, and I’ve been Lady London since well before 2013.