Credit card deals

martinbainbridge1975

Morning all

Wonder if anyone can shed some light for me, nearing the end of a credit card promotional deal, offers appear to be crap when looking for a new card

Credit score is excellent, not up to eyes in debt, no missed payments or issues, disposable income left over,  I am puzzled as it does not add up

Are companies tightening their criteria for acceptance

I am 940 on Experian and Equifax, 633 on Transunion

[Deleted User]

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

martinbainbridge1975

Deleted_User said:

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

not carrying any big balances, utilisation rate is usually 10-20% max, can't see anything on files there is nothing in the way of defaults, missed payments or adverse factors

[Deleted User]

In which case, apply for the best deal you have most chance of getting - use a check on the lender's own site, not a third party one. Even if you got 12 months and a lower balance, you could still use that to clear some balance and get the interest bearing debt down faster

cymruchris

martinbainbridge1975 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

not carrying any big balances, utilisation rate is usually 10-20% max, can't see anything on files there is nothing in the way of defaults, missed payments or adverse factors

Have you been using comparison websites or lenders direct websites? If the former, try the eligibility checkers on the latter. 

Nobody will really know exactly the reason why you're not coming up with deals though - as it's all done by algorithms, and there won't be a human at the end of the phone who can really give an answer. 

As long as you've checked all THREE of your credit reference reports - and there's nothing adverse on any of them - try a few eligibility checkers direct on card providers websites and see what response you get.

On the comparison sites for example - they said I'd be 0 percent approved for a Tesco credit card - on the Tesco website I was 'highly likely' to be approved (and was subsequently approved.) On Amex - the comparison sites say '95 percent likely' - but Amex on their own site give me a 5/10 score - so I haven't progressed that one. And Zopa credit card on the comparison sites said I'd get an APR of 33.9% but in the Zopa app it told me that I was pre-approved for 14.9 percent (not that it matters as I don't carry a balance - but it's nice to have a low APR card for emergencies)

Comparison sites use general credit account data to 'guess' your acceptance - whereas credit card providers via their direct websites and apps all use their own internal scoring system which will give a far better indication of your likelihood of success. Let us know how you get on.

martinbainbridge1975

cymruchris said:

martinbainbridge1975 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

not carrying any big balances, utilisation rate is usually 10-20% max, can't see anything on files there is nothing in the way of defaults, missed payments or adverse factors

Have you been using comparison websites or lenders direct websites? If the former, try the eligibility checkers on the latter. 

Nobody will really know exactly the reason why you're not coming up with deals though - as it's all done by algorithms, and there won't be a human at the end of the phone who can really give an answer. 

As long as you've checked all THREE of your credit reference reports - and there's nothing adverse on any of them - try a few eligibility checkers direct on card providers websites and see what response you get.

On the comparison sites for example - they said I'd be 0 percent approved for a Tesco credit card - on the Tesco website I was 'highly likely' to be approved (and was subsequently approved.) On Amex - the comparison sites say '95 percent likely' - but Amex on their own site give me a 5/10 score - so I haven't progressed that one. And Zopa credit card on the comparison sites said I'd get an APR of 33.9% but in the Zopa app it told me that I was pre-approved for 14.9 percent (not that it matters as I don't carry a balance - but it's nice to have a low APR card for emergencies)

Comparison sites use general credit account data to 'guess' your acceptance - whereas credit card providers via their direct websites and apps all use their own internal scoring system which will give a far better indication of your likelihood of success. Let us know how you get on.

Found an error on credit file which wasn't visible, car finance company made an error and decided not to contact me for 5 weeks, they have been paid every month.  When I dug deeper into it, they had decided they would put a slow payment marker on my credit file for them making a direct debit error, now disputed, corrected and cleared up and proven to be 100% their fault.

Went to both Halifax and MBNA pre approved for 5 different offers,  when I was showing 0 per cent eligible on clearscore / experian checkers. I am tending to look for purchase offers as got a couple of expensive months coming up.

Ebe_Scrooge

martinbainbridge1975 said:

cymruchris said:

martinbainbridge1975 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

not carrying any big balances, utilisation rate is usually 10-20% max, can't see anything on files there is nothing in the way of defaults, missed payments or adverse factors

Have you been using comparison websites or lenders direct websites? If the former, try the eligibility checkers on the latter. 

Nobody will really know exactly the reason why you're not coming up with deals though - as it's all done by algorithms, and there won't be a human at the end of the phone who can really give an answer. 

As long as you've checked all THREE of your credit reference reports - and there's nothing adverse on any of them - try a few eligibility checkers direct on card providers websites and see what response you get.

On the comparison sites for example - they said I'd be 0 percent approved for a Tesco credit card - on the Tesco website I was 'highly likely' to be approved (and was subsequently approved.) On Amex - the comparison sites say '95 percent likely' - but Amex on their own site give me a 5/10 score - so I haven't progressed that one. And Zopa credit card on the comparison sites said I'd get an APR of 33.9% but in the Zopa app it told me that I was pre-approved for 14.9 percent (not that it matters as I don't carry a balance - but it's nice to have a low APR card for emergencies)

Comparison sites use general credit account data to 'guess' your acceptance - whereas credit card providers via their direct websites and apps all use their own internal scoring system which will give a far better indication of your likelihood of success. Let us know how you get on.

 I am tending to look for purchase offers as got a couple of expensive months coming up.

At the risk of sounding condescending (which is not my intention), spending on a credit card when you can't really afford it can often lead to a downward spiral of debt.  Obviously I know nothing about your personal circumstances, but it would be prudent to re-evaluate the upcoming expenses and see if there is any way to defer them - or even remove the need for them altogether.

Even if you do secure a 0% purchase card, the debt still has to be paid.

martinbainbridge1975

Ebe_Scrooge said:

martinbainbridge1975 said:

cymruchris said:

martinbainbridge1975 said:

Deleted_User said:

Your credit score isn't a factor in credit decisions. Lenders will be looking at your credit history - the obvious issue will be indebtedness, if you're carrying a card balance.

Lending critiera have tightened, but you also need to check your three files to see what issues appear on each.

not carrying any big balances, utilisation rate is usually 10-20% max, can't see anything on files there is nothing in the way of defaults, missed payments or adverse factors

Have you been using comparison websites or lenders direct websites? If the former, try the eligibility checkers on the latter. 

Nobody will really know exactly the reason why you're not coming up with deals though - as it's all done by algorithms, and there won't be a human at the end of the phone who can really give an answer. 

As long as you've checked all THREE of your credit reference reports - and there's nothing adverse on any of them - try a few eligibility checkers direct on card providers websites and see what response you get.

On the comparison sites for example - they said I'd be 0 percent approved for a Tesco credit card - on the Tesco website I was 'highly likely' to be approved (and was subsequently approved.) On Amex - the comparison sites say '95 percent likely' - but Amex on their own site give me a 5/10 score - so I haven't progressed that one. And Zopa credit card on the comparison sites said I'd get an APR of 33.9% but in the Zopa app it told me that I was pre-approved for 14.9 percent (not that it matters as I don't carry a balance - but it's nice to have a low APR card for emergencies)

Comparison sites use general credit account data to 'guess' your acceptance - whereas credit card providers via their direct websites and apps all use their own internal scoring system which will give a far better indication of your likelihood of success. Let us know how you get on.

 I am tending to look for purchase offers as got a couple of expensive months coming up.

At the risk of sounding condescending (which is not my intention), spending on a credit card when you can't really afford it can often lead to a downward spiral of debt.  Obviously I know nothing about your personal circumstances, but it would be prudent to re-evaluate the upcoming expenses and see if there is any way to defer them - or even remove the need for them altogether.

Even if you do secure a 0% purchase card, the debt still has to be paid.

@ebe-scrooger no offence taken of any sort,  I am being frugal and using a 0 per cent over a couple of months using my disposable salary to pay off rather than dip into my savings pot

I was in the credit card / overdraft trap a few years back got out of it with the help of a 0 per cent offer and learned from it hugely - the one thing I learned was not to bury your head in the sand as it does not go away if not addressed.

Brie

The problem may be that companies feel you can't afford more credit than you already have.  It doesn't necessarily matter if you aren't using it.  You could use it and that may be the issue.  To get a new card you may need to cancel one of the old ones and then wait a couple of months for all that to register wherever before applying again.