Does A Credit Card Denial Hurt Your Credit Score?

Does a denial impact Chase's 5/24 rule?

@ Mike -- Nope, as that's calculated based on newly opened accounts.

I tend to apply for 2 new cards, every 2 years or so. I only have 7-9 cards myself, so I haven't been doing this for too long. Unfortunately, it temporarily brings down my average age pretty significantly. With credit, I think TIME is the most important factor. If your age even dips below 4 years, kinda dings the score even more.

@Ben, I know you feel you don’t get special treatment, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to assume your experience getting approved for cards is applicable to anyone else. You’ve routinely talked about getting approved for cards that others with similar credit profiles have had tremendous difficulty getting. CapitalOne in general and some Citi cards typically restrict people with many open credit cards from being approved. You may not ask for or be told that you are getting preferential treatment, but the fact that your experience doesn’t match those of us with similar profiles otherwise doesn’t add up. I just find it hard to believe that your unblemished record of getting new cards has nothing to do with being a successful blogger who refers people to banks.

@Ben - I have above 800 credit score and was just denied for Citi Premier. The reasons they stated are I have too much unused credit compared to available credit lines and too many accounts. What's your advice in contacting them for reconsideration? Thanks.

Same problem as Al above. Great credit score (at or above 800) never been rejected by Chase or BofA cards and I've now been denied 2x for Citi Premier this summer. Have called reconsideration line each time and they only give vague responses about credit usage v. available credit, cards not open long enough. I've got about 6-7 credit cards open, some from 2005, 2012, 2016, and then the rest since 2020.

In their denial letter, Citi provides a score between 1-9999 value using some sort of proprietary process and I'm over 8000 but still getting denied.

Any CitiBank advice out there? Ben? Thanks in advance.

Hi Ben,
It would be a great idea if you made it really clear that your strategy on credit cards is only applicable in the USA (and any other countries that you’ve researched).
This would be disastrous advice for someone who lives in Australia.
For example, in Australia, every time you apply for credit it is recorded on your credit file, regardless of approval or not, and remains there for 5 years. Multiple applications for the same type of credit (e.g. credit cards or personal loans) is an indication of someone in financial difficulty. No one has 20 credit cards- having 6 will decimate your credit score. Our credit score is calculated based on completely different criteria. Total credit limits are crucial but I never see you mention limits- so that must also be different in the US.
We don’t all live in America, and it would be great if some content like this was tailored and relevant to other countries where your subscribers are.
Happy to share more about how credit works in Australia if you’re interested.
Please don’t see this as criticism, I’m a long time subscriber and enjoy your content.
Thanks,

Ben. When you check your credit score are you looking at the Vantage score or the FICO 8 score?

An interesting recap for credit cards.
I'm not familiar with all aspects of being approved for a card in the US, but I know in Australia it is a very different experience.
Here there is a minimum annual income/salary (starting around $30,000 p.a.) you need to show evidence of before you will even be considered for approval. Should you be retired, with an almost 7 figure bank account balance available for your day-to-day use, you can expect to be auto-refused!
You could arrange possibly to speak to a human at the point of application, but they are often not much more helpful than a machine. You get to the 'why bother' point.
As for already holding a dozen or more other cards, you can forget about applying for more. Code Red bells would be deafening at that bank! Definately the biggest of minuses!

I think you’re looking for a different site. Maybe One Mile at a Time Down Under.

You can’t possibly expect Ben to become an expert on credit processes / credit cards in every country.

Would some houskeeping on your cards help?
Cancel those cards you underutilise or provide no benefits. The primary reason for opening an account is for the miles to do so, right?

LOL. So you think all the banks and credit lenders have Lucky on some "auto approve" system? He does the same applications that we do, nothing special.

Set up your own company and pay yourself an income.