Rejected for a credit card--what can I do?

I attempted to get a credit card from the Co-operative Bank before I'd lived here three years consecutively and they wouldn't let me apply for that reason.  Went in to my local Natwest the following week and got one with no problem.  This was two years ago, but I don't think the three-year rule will have changed.

If you are going to apply through a bank, it's worth sitting down with a member of staff to find out if you're likely to be approved or not, to save the hassle of a failed application and marks on your credit report.  If you already have a current or savings account with a particular bank, that might make the process easier, but don't quote me on that.

My British husband got turned down for an Abbey credit card recently, despite having excellent credit history.  They knew they wouldn't make as much money off him because he pays the balance in full each month.  Same thing happened to a judge with a six-figure salary and it's on the front page of the Sunday Times Finance section.

Also - to anyone, like Juliloew who's had their card limits raised and raised - ring them back up and chop it down again. Lenders now don't like to see 'alot' of available credit - even if they're all low or zero balances. They think one day you might just go a little spendy happy and rack up alot of debt. I did the reducing limits thing about 8 months ago and noticed an increase in my score the following month.

If there are ANY accounts you don't need - close them - currently, lenders are really liking the word 'Settled' on a persons credit report. I closed about 5 accounts about 4 months ago and my score bumped up signifcantly.

Unless UK credit agencies rate very differently from US ones, this advice is outdated and doing as Dennis said will actually tank your score.

What plays a huge part in your score is your credit utilization percentage (how much of your available credit you're actually using,) and the credit age, so if you start closing accunts willy-nilly, your utilization percentage will rise, and if you accidentally close a really old account, that'll screw with your score as well.

Similar to what Mort said, I would be cautious to close US credit accounts if you are trying to build your credit history in the US.  We were clearly told by our US bank that one of the factors in our credit score is how long you have had your account.  You might not charge anything on that old Sears card but showing that you have had it for 15 years and have never defaulted on it is very meaningful.   So they recommended keeping open the cards we had from college because they show the length of our solid credit history.

Hi there,

In the current climate, and according to alot of chat I had with the credit agencies for me fixing my rating, and looking in financial advice websites, it's currently true. just to point out, I did mention 'any accounts that are NOT needed'. To add to this, look through your report and look for any old or non used accounts you've held - these may be such things as credit and store cards, but also covers things such as old internet service providers, old mobile phone number accounts with one of the companies, old loans you've paid back. The bit of information you are looking for is the status - you currently want as many accounts listed on your report as 'Settled'

As I'd built up an excellent rating over the last 15 years or so, I was 'thrown' credit cards through the post with automatic clearance and 5 figure credit limits and I took about 4 extra that I hardly ever used over the years. When I did have my rating lowered due to a reason I know about, I talked to the people at Experian at good length. My plan was to use say £30-50 per month on the card and ensure I paid it in full back each month without fail. However, in order to 'build up' my ratings, I was told that having those cards with high availablity of credit was probably detrimental, as the lenders are now thinking about people using up their credit and not being able to pay it back and thus adding to the crazy debt/borrowing mess the country is in. By implicitly calling up your credit card providers and reducing say a £7500 credit limit to say £4000, 'currently' the credit agencies and potential lenders are viewing this as a 'responsible' individual for lending purposes. Hence, the credit reference agencies are increasing credit scores.

Now the USA credit agencies might not be working in the same way, and may still be increasing ratings based on having an old account - I think it's best calling a USA credit rating agency and asking them directly to see their response and/or visiting USA centric debt and finance management websites and resources to read the US ways of currently doing things.

Of course, if you have a really old account that is indeed still in use and has never been defaulted on etc, then of course keep it ! I haven't got my current credit report in front of me right now, but I seem to recall that the rating system used goes back as far as one, two or 3 late payments as a initial history. It does show when the account was opened as well, so that'll show right away a length of 'credit history'. So, theoretically, you may have had an account for 10 years and never ever defaulted for 9.5 of those years. If you then (for whatever reason) miss, 1 or 2, or 3 payments, you're credit score will be diminished and the lenders will not really look back over the last 10 years or so, they'll see the recent history as it'll give them a good idea of your potential to actually pay them back.

Lastly, the basic credit rating booster things you can do are very well known and doscumented in credit reference agency websites, and on websites such as MoneySavingExpert etc etc. It always makes sense to get your 'own' particular credit rating report and make changes that are relevant to you.

Hope this helps
Cheers! Dennis! West London & Slough UK!

I recently applied and was approved for a card through HSBC.  Not a great rate, though I don't plan on putting anything on it that I can't pay off in full each month, so I am not going to fret too much.  I just want to establish a credit history here, really!