Which Banks Are Sensitive To Inquiries?

Question:

Just about to drop a round of apps out. In general, which banks are most sensitive to inquiries? That is to say, which banks should I apply to earliest in the day, and which ones could come after that?

This question comes from reddit user ericphilbin.

Answer:

Below is a small list of banks which are known for being inquiry sensitive. These are in no particular order because it will really depend on what your individual credit profile is like. Remember that if you are denied for a card, to call the reconsideration line and state your case. When doing so it’s important to have a solid reason as to why you want the card (e.g the card offers no annual fee, or no foreign transaction fee is a good reason. Having a massive sign up bonus is a bad reason).  If you are applying for multiple cards from this list in your app-o-rama, we suggest applying for them in order of importance.

  • US Bank
  • Barclays
  • Citi
  • Chase
  • American Express
  • Bank of America

And some smaller banks/credit unions you may not have heard of:

  • Comenity Bank
  • Penfed
  • FNBO
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12 Comments
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Dylan
Dylan (@guest_1183274)
April 27, 2021 01:42

May want to update this given it’s been Seven years.

And before anyone says this chart is meaningless now as HPs (Hard Pulls) are instant, pseudo App-o-Ramas are still possible. You just apply for 3 credit cards and have each one HP a different Bureau. Ex: I apply for a Citi card to pull Experian, I apply for Barclays to pull Transunion, and I apply for a Wells Fargo card to pull Equifax. If I do all of these in a 24-hour period, the new Credit card account will not show up on any of the Credit Bureau’s yet and you are More likely to be approved. This Strategy can also bypass Chases 5/24.

I did this in September of 2020 when I had a Tuition Payment and put the whole thing on Credit Cards. I applied for Seven Credit cards all in one Day and was Approved for Five by spreading the HPs.

Fred
Fred (@guest_688224)
December 10, 2018 00:27

It would be great if we have a list of banks sensitive to new accounts. From my experience, it should be:
first tire: capitalone, barclay, usbank
second tire: citi, chase
third tire: BOA AMEX

not sure about fnbo, td, penfed, wellsfargo, etc

Frugal Nellie, aka Lela
Frugal Nellie, aka Lela (@guest_893158)
January 30, 2020 03:27

Thank you for this even minor update!

Jay
Jay (@guest_557109)
February 2, 2018 23:54

Is this due for an update?

Brian
Brian (@guest_437657)
July 11, 2017 13:45

Capital One also denied me a reservation code with too many inquiries in the last 6 mo.

Brian
Brian (@guest_437658)
July 11, 2017 13:46

Sorry, denied me a card even after being mailed a reservation code for a Quicksilver $150 cash back vs. the standard $100.

Brian
Brian (@guest_437656)
July 11, 2017 13:44

Elements Financial denied my wife a card. She has “young” credit and not enough positive posts on her credit report even though there are no negative entries. Also too many inquiries in the last 6 mo.

Albrecht
Albrecht (@guest_5361)
February 21, 2014 17:11

Oh, yeah. After my app-o-rama in 2007, Chase canceled all my acounts, forfeited earned bonuses and blacklisted forever. This bank has a really black heart, so to speak.

Bob
Bob (@guest_394828)
April 24, 2017 10:48

Ok this is an old comment but I need to say this for posterity. Chase does not shut down for no reason. You were not shut down for your app-o-rama. There is always more to stories like this. Late payments, other derogatory items on credit report, cycling credit limit, too much MS, etc. etc.

James
James (@guest_412491)
May 31, 2017 03:53

Yes Bod, Chase does that, I had perfect history with them, P E R F E C T, and opened 3 accounts and the closed them all.

Shawn
Shawn (@guest_584568)
April 20, 2018 14:27

A friend of mine added me as an authorized user to his 3 cards with 12k,15,17k limits within 2 weeks all of his accounts with chase got closed including checking accounts.
My guess is it happened because I have a bad credit like really f*d up credit.