One of the challenges of applying for new rewards credit cards is dealing with the reconsideration process. Those who apply for many cards at a time — and do so on a regular basis throughout the year — will find that the high number of recent “pulls” on their credit report will cause banks to pause. They will not automatically approve the application and will instead will forward it for a more thorough review by a human.
Sometimes this isn’t a problem. I have only called a reconsideration line once, for a business card, and it was approved. Other than that, all of my “pending” applications have eventually been approved except one. I think that’s a good success rate for letting the process work on its own. But I know I am only moderately insane compared to some of the other points addicts out there. In addition to this post, I’ll be adding the information to my “Credit Cards” tab in the navigation bar above.
Tips for Handling Reconsideration Requests
I have two tips for handling a reconsideration request. First, be flexible. Chase often analyzes each customer’s profile and assigns a maximum credit limit. Until you reach this they will continue to add to it with each new card. And once you reach it, you can usually get a new card approved just by transferring credit from an existing card.
The second is to know the card you’re applying for. You need to give the representative some reason to believe this is a card you will use — meaning you’ll be paying the annual fee and incurring merchant processing fees. If they think you’re just going to get the bonus and cancel, there is no profit motive for the issuer. Here are some examples for popular Chase cards:
- Sapphire Preferred — You do a lot of travel and like the bonus categories and good transfer partners.
- Freedom — You like your Sapphire Preferred, but you need a card with no annual fee. Plus the bonus categories are different.
- Ink Bold — It’s a great card for business expenses like telecommunications and office supplies, plus it adds to the points you earn with your Sapphire Preferred.
- Ink Plus — You like your Ink Bold, but you also need an option to spread out your payments over time. This justification is one reason I recommend applying for the Ink Bold (a charge card) before the Ink Plus (a credit card).
- Hyatt — This is tricky because its rewards match or are inferior to some other Chase cards you might already have. Tell them you need the Chip + Signature technology for international travel. Or say you plan to spend $40,000 a year to help you get Diamond status.
- Southwest — Again, not a great one to explain away if you already have other, superior, Chase cards. I might argue that most of your travel is already with Southwest and that this card helps you obtain elite status.
- United — Use the airline-specific benefits like free checked baggage and priority boarding as your excuse. They probably cost Chase nothing.
Other cards linked to Marriott, IHG Rewards, Fairmont, etc. as well as cards issued by other banks tend to follow one of the models described above. Be confident and act like the sign-up bonus isn’t the reason you’re interested in the card.
Contact Information
The information below was current as of September 2013 but may have changed in the past. Furthermore, individual policies may have changed, making it more or less difficult to get approved after an initial rejection or pending application.
American Express
Application Status: (877) 399-3083
Application Reconsideration: (866) 314-0237
Credit Services: (800) 230-1284
Online Application Status
Bank Of America
Personal Application Status: (877) 721-9405 ext 3
Business Application Status: (800) 481-8277
Online Application Status
*This might also work for Bank of Hawaii, but it’s moot because I haven’t seen any current offers for Hawaiian Airlines credit cards.
Barclays
Credit Analyst: (866)-408-4064
Card Services: (888) 232-0780
Online Application Status
Capital One
Application Services: (800) 625-7866
Application and Card Services: (800) 548-4593
Citi
Personal Application Status and Reconsideration: (800) 695-5171
Personal Application Status: (800) 763-9795
Business Application Status and Reconsideration: (800) 288-4653 ext 3-1
Business Application Status and Reconsideration: (800) 645-7240 ext 3-1
General Account Questions: (866) 606-2787
Cardholder Retention: (800) 444-2568
Mailing Address (last resort):
CitiBank Executive Review Department
PO Box 6000
Sioux Falls, SD 57117
Chase
Personal Application Reconsideration: (888) 245-0625
Business Application Reconsideration: (800) 453-9719
US Bank
Application Status: (800) 947-1444
