Chase United Business Card Reconsideration

So I got my rejection letter from my Chase United Business card application from almost a month ago.  They turned me down for these reasons even though it showed a credit score of 818 from Equifax:

  • You already have the maximum amount of credit we can offer you
  • Too many credit or loan accounts have been opened recently
  • Insufficient business revenue

As soon as I got the letter, I called the number on the back for the Chase Business Card reconsideration line at 800-453-9719.  I told them I wanted them to reconsider my application because I didn’t need a $21K credit line on my Ink card and would be willing to move credit around.  She then proceeded to ask me questions that I basically answered already in the application. She asked about: nature of my business, how long I’ve been in business, gross revenue and profit/loss from 2013, 2014, and projection for 2015.  She then asked for my personal income as well.  She then put me on hold for 3-5 minutes and came back to ask me 1 question – “I see that in 2014, you opened 12 revolving lines of credit.  May I ask why?”  Of course I saw this coming a mile away.  My response, “Well each credit card was for a specific purpose.  I was flying Alaska a lot last year, and so I wanted to get the Alaska Visa card.  Then I started to fly American, and so I wanted an American credit card.”  She asked, “Oh, so for the bonus?”  I told her, “No, no.  It’s because I was flying Alaska, and so I wanted the Alaska Visa because it gives me something like 3X miles on Alaska flights.  And that’s why I want your United card.  It’s because I plan on flying United a lot this year, and so I want your card because it gives me something like 3X on spend.”  The reason I told her NO to the bonus was because you don’t want them to think you are only opening the card to get the sign-up bonus.  Anyway, she seemed to like that answer and put me on hold again to process the application.  Another 3-5 minutes later, she comes back on and asks if I would be willing to move $5K from my Ink card.  SURE LADY!  Then she put me on another 3-5 minute hold and comes back, “You know what, I think we’ll try to move $10K since you put $8K once on your Ink card and we want to make sure you have sufficient credit.”  SURE LADY, MOVE ANYTHING YOU WANT!  Then another 3-5 minute for her to come back on and say, “I have noted all of your information and have to send this to a senior service representative to review your application.  You can call back in 24-48 hours for the decision or wait 2 weeks in the mail.”  I think I’ll wait the 2 weeks to see how this plays out; pretty sure calling again won’t help my situation.

Conclusion

Man, it’s no longer easy to get Chase cards.  These calls 2 years ago would take 5 minutes if you said the magic word, “move credit from another card” and they would immediately approve it.  They definitely wouldn’t need to get a “senior” specialist involved.  The economy must be better now, and so they don’t want to give out as many bonuses or new cards like they used to.   I am also slightly worried that my cancellation of my IHG card means they’ll give me a hard time if I try to get it again in the future.  I was planning on cancelling my Hyatt card, but now I may just keep it and pay the annual fee.

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