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How Strange

My wife has had a Capital One Classic card for 4 years and has recently started looking for a card at a lower rate now her credit report looks healthier.

In Jan she applied for an Asda card (Ge Capital) online. There were no credit checks for years prior to this application. There was no instant decision but she was later accepted at 22.9% with £500 limit. She took the card as it was lower than cap One.

In March she applied for a Monsoon Store card (GE Capital) Accepted at 18.9% £750 limit.

Yesterday she applied for PayPal CC (Ge Capital) and was accepted instantly online 18.9% with £2000 limit.

The Asda card and Cap One now binned, and monsoon used for the points.

This seems to go against conventional wisdom as when she applied for the PayPal CC there were two previous and recent credit searches and she had access to more available credit.

It really does seem to be a dark art this credit scoring.

The plan is to sit tight with the PayPal for a while and then try someone else for an even lower rate. At least the rates are going down!

Comments

  • clio
    clio Posts: 3,345 Forumite
    Jimbo
    I think you hit nail on head by stating "There were no credit checks for years prior to this application"
    Now after a couple of months they can at least see how you are managing your account hence they
    are willing to risk futher credit with you..You should of kept the asda credit card as you get 2p of a litre of petrol.
    all adds up doesnt it...
  • jimbo26
    jimbo26 Posts: 954 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    clio wrote: »
    Jimbo
    I think you hit nail on head by stating "There were no credit checks for years prior to this application"
    Now after a couple of months they can at least see how you are managing your account hence they
    are willing to risk futher credit with you..You should of kept the asda credit card as you get 2p of a litre of petrol.
    all adds up doesnt it...

    Although she hasn't applied for any credit in the last four years or so, her credit file is quite active with mortgage, contract phone, capital one CC, catalogue etc.

    Our local Asda doesn't sell fuel, but they are planning on a new site with pumps, so may keep it in a cupboard and wait for that to be built.
  • clio
    clio Posts: 3,345 Forumite
    Jimbo
    I see what your saying, perhaps the gap of any new credit in 4 years is the reason then.
  • jimbo26
    jimbo26 Posts: 954 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Maybe because Ge Capital have seen her using one of their CC's for three months responsibly? Who knows
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