Retiree declined Barclaycard Rewards card

cabbie37

I've had a recent experience when applying for a Barclaycard Rewards card, I had my application declined. I must admit, I was a little dropped on. I looked at the Credit assessment that the system generated - perfect. I then signed up to Experian and found that I have a perfect credit score from them. I am 68 with a reasonable annual pension income. When following this up with Barclaycard (who have been almost imposible to engage with over this, though I am prepared to cut them some slack in these strange times) I have been told that they will only offer a card to someone in employment. This sounds a little draconian, to me. Anyone have any similar experiences or suggestions as how I get round this problem. I have other cards but particularly wanted the Rewards card as it has its attractions for use abroad, which suits my purposes.  I realise other cards are available, but I am a bit pi%%ed off about this and am a bit like a terrier with an old slipper now..  I did finally get an address to write to this morning, so that will be my next step. Thanks in advance for any advice

bradders1983

The 3 digit score is meaningless as no lender ever sees it. Get over that, check your credit file for mistakes/ommissions, and bear in mind lending at the moment is getting tighter and so their comment about only lending to those in employment seems fair and certainly along the lines of being a responsible lender.

Grumpy_chap

Barclaycard are aggressively tightening criteria for everyone right now and cutting limits for existing account holders.  I think it is just the wrong time to want any credit for most people.  Can you let this drop until things stabilise a bit?

I assume you won't be doing much travel abroad for a little bit while, but Halifax also offer a good card for foreign currency.

jbrassy

I imagine the situation is quite frustrating for you, but I would suggest applying for the Halifax Clarity card instead. I have the Barclaycard Rewards card and it only has a £3500 credit limit which is ok, but not fantastic. Furthermore, the 0.25% cashback and no fees on overseas purchases only lasts until the 31st August 2023. 

On the other hand, I feel like the Halifax Clarity is a tried and trusted card for overseas spending and when I did an eligibility check on it back in Feb, I was offered a £12k credit limit. 

As has also previously been mentioned, lenders are becoming a lot stricter about who they lend to at the moment. Therefore, it's wise to use eligibility checkers before applying. 

Zellah

Pretty sure the Barclaycard Rewards card no longer has an expiry date on the 0% fees for overseas usage, and with no interest/fee charged on overseas (and soon  uk) cash withdrawals - as long as statement balance is paid off in full, it easily beats the Halifax Clarity card. The OP might wish to apply for the 118118 card, as that is similar to the Rewards card and ironically the OP *might* get accepted for it if he’s unemployed- it’s a sub prime card. 

Silvertabby

bradders1983 said:

The 3 digit score is meaningless as no lender ever sees it. Get over that, check your credit file for mistakes/ommissions, and bear in mind lending at the moment is getting tighter and so their comment about only lending to those in employment seems fair and certainly along the lines of being a responsible lender.

So you are saying that someone on minimum wage in a job that could be axed at any time is a better bet than a pensioner with a guaranteed income of much more than minimum wage?

I don't think so.  We are both retired and took out a personal loan for car purchase just a couple of weeks ago.  £12K at 2.8% and the money was in our account the next day.  I accept that as this was from our bank (TSB) they could see our incomings and outgoings, but clearly being retired wasn't an issue. 

dr_adidas01

jbrassy said:

I imagine the situation is quite frustrating for you, but I would suggest applying for the Halifax Clarity card instead. I have the Barclaycard Rewards card and it only has a £3500 credit limit which is ok, but not fantastic. Furthermore, the 0.25% cashback and no fees on overseas purchases only lasts until the 31st August 2023. 

On the other hand, I feel like the Halifax Clarity is a tried and trusted card for overseas spending and when I did an eligibility check on it back in Feb, I was offered a £12k credit limit. 

As has also previously been mentioned, lenders are becoming a lot stricter about who they lend to at the moment. Therefore, it's wise to use eligibility checkers before applying. 

The rewards card 0.25% cash back  or the 0% fee on spending abroad offer no longer expires on the 31st of October 2023, though of course they could decide to end it at anytime should they wish too. 

vacheron

cabbie37 said:

"I have been told that they will only offer a card to someone in employment." 

This seems reasonable. It is their card and their risk, so they are perfectly entitled to apply any eligibility criteria they see fit, "draconian" or otherwise.


 

bradders1983

Silvertabby said:

bradders1983 said:

The 3 digit score is meaningless as no lender ever sees it. Get over that, check your credit file for mistakes/ommissions, and bear in mind lending at the moment is getting tighter and so their comment about only lending to those in employment seems fair and certainly along the lines of being a responsible lender.

So you are saying that someone on minimum wage in a job that could be axed at any time is a better bet than a pensioner with a guaranteed income of much more than minimum wage?

I don't think so.  We are both retired and took out a personal loan for car purchase just a couple of weeks ago.  £12K at 2.8% and the money was in our account the next day.  I accept that as this was from our bank (TSB) they could see our incomings and outgoings, but clearly being retired wasn't an issue. 

For you it wasnt an issue, no. I dont blame the stance lenders are taking though.

cabbie37

Thank you all for your comments so far. There are a couple of points that I should add, based on comments provided. 

First, I did do an eligibility pre-check and had no suggestion that I would be declined

Second, when going through the application process, my employment status was asked for. Retired was an option but, at no point, did they say Ah, sorry, you're retired so no go.. As part of the process I had to declare my annual income and, as one of the earlier replies had suggested, my annual income is greater than minimum wage.

Third, checking Experian was done out of interest, after I had been declined. I guess I wasn't surprised to find it at 999. However, as part of the application process, the system itself produces a pdf report that reflects its credit analysis. This also seemed perfect, with green lights everywhere showing a perfect financial record. In fact, I was quite surprised to see entries on it that I didn't think would be part of the process...

It isn't a critical application and, indeed, I can wait and will also consider a Halifax Clarity card. It's just (frankly) that I am offended that I got declined and want someone in authority to feel awkward in explaining the reasons...

jbrassy

Just to follow-up on my previous post, I haven't heard anything about Barclaycard changing the T&Cs about cashback and overseas spending. I received an email not long after I got the card saying there was an expiry date to the offer and I've not received one after saying they've reversed this decision. Nevertheless, I guess I'll find out in a few years time if the offer expires or not and go from there. 

Another person made the point about using the Barclaycard to make cash withdrawals. I personally avoid doing this because it can impact your credit score. I know some people are going to say it doesn't matter that much if you pay off in full etc, but I'm quite cautious when it comes to these things. I'm currently in the process of trying to move house and I would kick myself if I was denied a mortgage on the basis of a cash withdrawal on holiday.

With that in mind, I was also going to suggest Starling Bank. It's a debit not a credit card, but they don't charge fees for overseas spending and withdrawals. You could get a Starling Bank card with no overdraft quite easily. I personally use the Barclaycard for spending abroad then use Starling when I need to withdraw cash. Another minor point: the Starling Bank app is really good compared to Barclaycard's.