Bank Of America, New Limits for Credit Card Applications
Bank of America used to be one of the most lenient credit card issuers. But recently they have followed other banks and have added restrictions to new credit card accounts and bonuses. We have known for a while about the 2/3/4 Rule and the fact that having an account made it easier to get approved.
But some new information points at more rules when it comes to credit cards.
New Bank of America Credit Card Rules
The new reports come from Doctor of Credit and reddit. They reveal two restrictions:
- If you have a deposit account with Bank of America – Your credit card application will be denied if you have 7 new cards in the past 12 months.
- If you do NOT have a deposit account with Bank of America – Your credit card application will be denied if you have 3 new cards in the past 12 months.
These new restrictions look at all new credit cards, not just those issued by Bank of America. This is similar to the Chase 5/24 rule, although still more lenient, especially for current banking customers.
Plus it does not seem to be a hard rule. It might be bypassed for some and even overridden manually if you call. Here’s an example.
It is not clear yet if the new rules apply to personal card only, or business cards as well.
Conclusion
I suspect that these rules have been in effect for a while and just now are coming to light. Many people have been declined for cards at Bank of America recently. And we knew that having an account made it easier to get approved. These rules validate that and also give a specific number, which makes it easier to time your applications at least.
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Any word yet if 7/12 rule applies to business cards as well? Meaning if you’ve opened 7 cards (some of which were biz cards) in the last 12 months, you would be ineligible? Thanks!
Background
Applied for my 3rd BA card (Amtrak) online yesterday . Immediately received a “decline”. Have a high four figure to low five figure avg deposit balance, 800+ FICO, virtually no statement balances on 50+ cards (habitually pay balances before stmnt generation), mid-six figures investment acct, last BA card was over three years ago, existing BA cards 18k &20k lims, solid and ample income,and a 50+ year history with BA, et al….Sooo.. what gives?
Phoned customer service and indicated (falsely so as to get to credit dept) I thought I might have entered my SSN incorrectly. Tx’d to Credit. No legit answers…worked my way through to Analyst with no resolution..insisted that I be allowed to talk to someone who could give me answers. Went through three levels before I found someone who could give me answers.
The “Why”
Was told new BA limits and rules effective Jan 1, ’20, composed of number of BA cards and total number of other cards and “other” factors. Supervisor admitted this was being done to thwart “sign-up bonus clippers” (when I open a new card I keep it and use it, but I love my signing bonuses). New acct was not approved but superv promised to”look into” .
Wondering if anyone else has run into this roadblock.
@jeffrey I asked the same question elsewhere, but I assume it must include checking accounts, otherwise I would have been denied for my recent BOA cards.
So what is a “deposit account”? I have a checking account with no direct deposits. What category do I fall into at BOA? Looking at all accounts one applies for is a bummer. Thanks for the info though. I have just cleaned my wife and myself up on the 5/24 rule and got her another Ink card……I have BOA Alaska business cards and nice balances in those accounts….down the road I was going to get another couple of BOA Alaska personal cards or maybe Virgin so I could use on delta. Just another headache to manage.