Barclaycard (Upgrades & pre-applications)

UncleSimit

Just thought I'd make a quick thread on my experience with Barclaycard for reference for anyone like me, who's a bit of a ‘behind the scenes and search’ kind of guy (or girl).

So..

I initially started off with a Barclaycard Initial trying to build up my credit history with a three year old default against me. Over time my limited was upped and upped (max 6.5k) and interest rate reduced a few times (lowest 14.5%) plus my card was now just a ‘stock’ Visa as they called it, even though it was physically the same card. However I was never able to upgrade to a Gold or Platinum card even though my current card was effectively better than both.

Having read through a few threads on here about people who had had similar experiences I decided to cancelled my card and look into maybe reapplying in six months.

Two, or less, months down the line and my one and only default had fallen off my credit report, though I still had about fourteen searches against my name but I still thought I’d give the pre-application a try. Not surprisingly it said I wasn’t eligible for any card they offered but I thought ‘f**k it’ and applied anyway – and guess what, I was accepted for a Platinum Simplicity card.

Now what that says about the impact of searches on your credit report, Barclaycard’s pre-application checker and the fact you supposedly have to wait six months or more before replying, I don’t know but hey, how it all works I guess only they know…