Updated on October 18, 2016

Getting rejected then approved – Chase Sapphire Reserve

Below is the experience of a friend who got approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve 100k offer after first being rejected. This may give some hope to many of you who have more than 5 cards in the last 24 months.

I'm excited that several of my friends have now been able to get approved despite being way over 5/24. At the same time, I am bummed that this has not worked for me.  I applied through a Chase banker who told me not to worry because he had the ability put in a special request in case I was rejected. Hoping to support my case, I even opened a business checking account a few weeks ago just in case. As expected, I was rejected. Two days later, my rep told me that I was denied because I had too many accounts but more importantly, the special request form was no longer available starting this week. It was clearly killed together with this new offer. I was not pre-approved but I took a chance because he told me not to worry.

HOW I WAS APPROVED FOR CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE AFTER GETTING REJECTED

THE REJECTION: Yesterday (8/23/16)

Yesterday, a colleague of mine was instantly approved online for the 100K Chase Sapphire Reserve, despite breaking the 5/24 rule.  So I felt lucky and applied online as well, only to get rejected after calling up the Chase reconsideration line.  Knowing that Chase consolidated same-day applications into 1 hard pull, I didn't want to waste the hard inquiry so I applied for the Chase Fairmont card and was approved for $30k and spent the rest of my day looking at which Fairmont properties were great value.

This morning, Doctor of Credit noted the following:

I already applied online and got denied. Can I go into a branch and get a pre-approval?

Yes, many have done this with success.  Tip: go the same day to get the inquires combined.

I knew I screwed up and should have walked over to my local Chase branch yesterday just to check if I was preapproved.  Instead, I gave it up for the Fairmont card, which I could have gotten any time since it doesn't follow the 5/24 rule.

 

THE APPROVAL: Today (8/24/16)

Today, I catch wind of the JPM Reserve card, which is very similar to the Sapphire Reserve in terms of bonus and perks.  I decided to submit the fax application despite not being a Chase Private Banking client. On top of that, the form asks whether I had any existing Chase savings or checking account, which I didn't.  I ticked “Yes” anyway and faxed in the application.  My source is telling me that JPM is receiving over 1,000 JPM Reserve card applications per hour.  So I knew I had time to open a Chase savings or checking account before my application was reviewed.

Recalling that there was an ongoing $500 Chase business checking account bonus, I walked over to my local Chase branch and started a new account. After account setup (30 minutes), I decided to ask the banker whether I was pre-approved for the Sapphire Reserve. He turned the screen towards me with all my pre-approved cards. There it was: the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I was very surprised!

A few clicks and 30 seconds later, I was approved (for another $30K)!  Both the Fairmont and Reserve cards now show up in my list of online accounts.

 

THE LESSONS LEARNED

There you have it. The almighty in-branch pre-approval trumps the 5/24 rule, at least in my case.  In fact, it seems to trump much more.  Chase approved me for 2 credit cards in 2 consecutive days with a total credit line of $60K!  Best part was that the Chase banker tells me that I was also pre-approved for the Chase Ink Plus for another 70K, despite currently having an open Ink Plus card already.  I didn't want to push my luck!

If you are under 5/24 and have good credit, you should have nothing to worry about and just apply online.

 

to be continued…

Now I am just waiting on the JPM Reserve application status.  I also plan to sign up for the pre-approved 70K Ink Plus offer in a few weeks to see how it goes.  Will report back on both once I have an update.