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Sorry, not sure where to post this. I have been rejected a couple of times recently for credit cards. First for the Barclaycard Rewards Credit Card about 7 months ago, then (just yesterday) for the British Airways Premium Plus American Express. Throughout the period I have held Amex Business Platinum and some other mundane cards (Halifax Clarity and Tesco). In October last year I was ACCEPTED for the Barclays Avios Plus card with the (soon to mature) 100k signup bonus.
After the first rejection I got a credit report from Equifax. The only thing flagged on there was taking lots of cash withdrawals from an existing credit card. I had indeed taken cash out several times on the Halifax Clarity card while on holidays abroad, but isn’t that what you’re supposed to use a card like that for ?!. I have a perfect record of paying off card balances in full, good income, no CCJs etc. But it seems Barclaycard rejected me for a card ONE OF THE MAIN SELLING POINTS OF WHICH IS MAKING EFFICIENT CASH WITHDRAWALS ABROAD because I’d been doing exactly that on a similar card.
I wonder if I have now been rejected for BAPP Amex for the same reason. Of course no explanation is given. Anyone else in the same boat ? Is there an intelligent human being at either Barclaycard or Amex one can talk to ?
A bit fed up as I have lost at least 140k Avios from the latest rejection (also applied for wife after I was unsuccessful, got message that an application had already been made, even though no application had previously been made in her name).
All enlightenment/links/personal abuse welcome.
Short answer is each institution’s criteria for acceptance is opaque and essentially a trade secret.
There is no way to know exactly why you were rejected. Cash withdrawals on Halifax Clarity (Barclays / Amex may not know what card it is, only see the cash withdrawal) haven’t affected my ability to be approved. It was reported that Barclays may have concluded that you aren’t going to contribute to their profits and thus rejected you.
Perhaps you are applying for too many cards too quickly, which may also be a reason, or your total credit limits are too high / too low relative to your declared income and it doesn’t suit their risk model.
I would be a bit more worried about Amex claiming an application has been submitted for your wife but you said it hasn’t I would be tempted to pull both of your credit files again to check nothing is amiss.
Unless I misunderstood you, I disagree the main selling point of Barclaycard is efficient cash withdrawal aboard. Don’t they charge quite a large fee for cash withdrawal and FX? It would only be efficient I suspect if you add curve to it.
Based on what you have shared, you have experience with credit, but you make no reference to your income, amount of existing credit lines and debt levels. These all contribute to decision making. The fact that you did get the Barclays premium card sounds like no issues several months back, comments from forum suggest Amex has been rejecting people either for low income or too high credit line with them.
@occasionalranter it is usually a combination of factors that each card provider sees that gives rise to concern or doesn’t fit their profile and they won’t tell you why. As suggested above, too many cards, too much overall credit, too many applications are some of the big ones.
Re Halifax Clarity, while you can withdraw cash from ATMs, no card is intended to be used in this fashion on a regular basis and the immediate application of interest is the clue. Obviously you can pay it off to avoid the interest, but the fact you need to is another indicator that it’s not the plan. Withdrawals from a credit card are seen as a sign of financial distress by many providers.
+1 to @jdb
Always carry a debit card for cash machines abroad. I carry and use Curve and Starling, and Chase in the US. Rob is promoting a similar card for use abroad if these products don’t suit you.
Well, give a bit more detail about your cash withdrawls.
How many is “several”, how much did you draw, was it close to the daily limit, did you draw cash multiple times in the same trip, were you in a country that doesn’t generally accept credit cards for payment when you drew the cash?
Be mindful that the banks now have far more sophisticated analysis software than in the olden days. Just think of the notifications that appear on your app. “Yay it’s Payday! You’ve been paid more this month than normal”. “DD Paid to EE of £12, it’s less than normal this month”. “Congratulations, you’ve received a £100 prize from Premium Bonds”.
A cash withdrawal in Germany (where Card acceptance is stil relatively low) could be weighted differently from a cash withdrawal in the USA (where I haven’t used cash on my last three trips).
Withdrawals from a credit card are seen as a sign of financial distress by many providers.
This! I can’t believe people think it’s no problem withdrawing cash from credit cards. Get Starling / Monzo / Revolut if you need to withdraw cash.
+1 to @jdb
Always carry a debit card for cash machines abroad. I carry and use Curve and Starling, and Chase in the US. Rob is promoting a similar card for use abroad if these products don’t suit you.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/withdrawing-cash-abroad-credit-record/
Moneysavingexpert has an entire article on this. I seem to recall many years ago they used to recommend withdrawing cash using the Halifax clarify card which is why I had one. Looks like the advice has moved over time.
The issue here is that a) you only find out if your cash withdrawals on a credit card have an effect on applications after the event [so why chance it] and b) MSE refers to a couple of withdrawals a year.
Here the OP referred to “lots of cash withdrawals” on a previous card and “several” on the Clarity card. That’s very likely to come back and bite you one way or another.
+1 to @jdb
Always carry a debit card for cash machines abroad. I carry and use Curve and Starling, and Chase in the US. Rob is promoting a similar card for use abroad if these products don’t suit you.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/withdrawing-cash-abroad-credit-record/
Moneysavingexpert has an entire article on this. I seem to recall many years ago they used to recommend withdrawing cash using the Halifax clarify card which is why I had one. Looks like the advice has moved over time.
Yeah, I’ve been proceeding on an out of date assumption, I think, have withdrawn cash about 15 to 20 times in the last year while abroad, at about £400 a time. In NZ for example cash can still make sense for a UK visitor as restaurants and shops tend to charge for use of cards.
Still, if the credit agencies’ software was actually sophisticated, it would see that all the withdrawals were abroad and not in £ and the balance was paid off in full each month.
Am looking at Chase now…
Thanks everyone for your input.
+1 to @jdb
Always carry a debit card for cash machines abroad. I carry and use Curve and Starling, and Chase in the US. Rob is promoting a similar card for use abroad if these products don’t suit you.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/withdrawing-cash-abroad-credit-record/
Moneysavingexpert has an entire article on this. I seem to recall many years ago they used to recommend withdrawing cash using the Halifax clarify card which is why I had one. Looks like the advice has moved over time.
Yeah, I’ve been proceeding on an out of date assumption, I think, have withdrawn cash about 15 to 20 times in the last year while abroad, at about £400 a time. In NZ for example cash can still make sense for a UK visitor as restaurants and shops tend to charge for use of cards.
Still, if the credit agencies’ software was actually sophisticated, it would see that all the withdrawals were abroad and not in £ and the balance was paid off in full each month.
Am looking at Chase now…
Thanks everyone for your input.
I was in NZ last month, charge was for using credit or wave (contactless in UK speak). Debit card was no charge. I saw that in lots of places not just restaurants.
@occassionalranter credit scoring? it’s not sophisticated at all! Just seeks to avoid certain risks on certain products. It’s also sufficiently unsophisticated that in six months this will all be ignored. Unlike a CCJ or missed payment.
OP: not 100% clear if you still have the Barclaycard Avios and/or had it within 6 months before your rejected Barclaycard application, but Barclaycard does not currently allow two card accounts (it did at various times in the past, but not the case at the moment) and you need to wait at least 6 months after cancelling a Barclaycard before applying for one. So based on this, your Barclaycard rejection may simply be due to the current T&C related to one card account per customer.
As others have said, Amex one may be worth a further look into it.
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