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amexgoldcardMuch of the conventional wisdom around signing up for credit cards says that if you are denied when applying for a credit card, that you should call the “reconsideration” line to try and get an approval.  I’ve even written a post before listing out the Barclay reconsideration phone number and website.  Calling the reconsideration line has worked for me before, but there are a few reasons why you might NOT want to call the reconsideration line

It’s for your spouse’s card

Since I play this game in “2-player” mode, I am often signing up my wife for credit cards and other deals.  I have been blessed with a wife who trusts me and is fine with me doing this.

But, she hates Hates HATES calling companies about deals, mostly because she doesn’t like talking to credit card (or other) companies about things when she doesn’t really care to understand what she’s calling about.  She’s a good sport, and occasionally she will call, but she doesn’t like it.

a person holding a cell phone

I MAY have (totally hypothetically speaking) once before called a company on my wife’s account, and it did not go well :-).  But that’s a story for another day…

Still, like I said, she WILL call if she has to, but sometimes she doesn’t, because…

You often get better success just “waiting it out”

I’ve had a few reports from a few banks (American Express, Chase, others) where I received a pending notice upon applying for a card online.  Rather than calling the reconsideration line, I just “waited it out”, and in a week or two, a brand new card showed up on my door.  I have also READ reports (though I can’t remember exactly from whom) of people who were denied when they called in, versus others in similar situations who just waited it out and were approved.

Obviously the mechanics of who is approved for cards and who is not are quite complicated and to an extent, defy all logic and reason.  Another factor might be timing – if you need the card sooner rather than later for a particular reason, you may want to call in to try and get approved faster.

A recent personal example

hotel-status-match-hyatt-logoRecently my wife applied for the Chase Hyatt card.  This was mostly due to the fact that Hyatt is offering a 20% rebate on award redemptions over the next couple of months, as well as possibly using the free night certificates on our upcoming stay in Europe.

“She” applied, was given a pending message, and then I went on a trip (visiting every county in Utah, Four Corners, a Rodeway Inn, a red eye flight, and the Family Travel for Real Life conference).  Partially just because we had a lot going on, and partially wanting to test out the “waiting” strategy, I didn’t ask her to call in to Chase.  And sure enough, when I got back, a giant Chase Hyatt card welcome packet was waiting in the mail!

So at least anecdotally, the strategy seems to be working for us.  What about you?  Have you had any kind of success “waiting it out” rather than calling the reconsideration line?


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