When Covid hit we got daily requests from people wanting to know if credit cards are still approving. People also wanted to know which cards were worth applying for. We got so many requests that we decided to invest a few thousand dollars and built a credit card database where users can submit results on which credit cards they got approved or declined for, which credit limits they got approved for, which credit bureau was pulled, and more. The idea is to help all users to be able to filter through and research which credit cards they will be approved for in their situation and which credit card they can project to get the highest credit limits.

The new credit card forum was very well received, and thanks to all our wonderful readers and followers we were able to collect hundreds of credit card results within just a few weeks.

Let’s explore the results and what we can learn from them (if you want to check out the database you can do so here).

Chase

Users submitted results for 104 Chase applications applied within the last 30 days. A stunning number of 82 credit cards were approved and only 22 of them declined (Most applications that were declined were for Chase Business credit card applications that were very tough to get approved for, but now we are seeing many more approvals).

Approved credit limits range from $34,000 all the way down to $800. The highest credit limits are being approved on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and United Club Infinite. The average approved credit limit is approximately $10,000.

The lowest credit score approved for a Chase credit card last month is 650 (the Chase Freedom Card).

My take away:

I believe Chase is fully back to business approving credit cards as usual. Both personal and business cards are now getting approved nicely for applicants who have good or decent credit scores. The fact that Chase recently released new offers on many of their credit cards, including an all-time high 80,000 offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred shows that Chase is looking to retain new customers and approvals are showing the same results.

Amex

Users submitted results for 71 Amex credit cards within the last 30 days. 54 of these cards got approved and 17 got declined (just like by Chase, a big percentage of the cards that got declined were business credit cards, and not personal cards).

The credit limits that we find Amex approved, range between $35,000 on a Blue Cash Business card to $1,000 on many credit cards. The average credit limit is approx $5,000. Credit scores for an approval start at 713.

My take away:

Amex is mostly giving pretty healthy approvals on most of their cards. Business cards might still be a bit tougher to get approved for, but we are definitely seeing a lot of approvals for applicants with good and excellent credit scores.

Citi

Users submitted 44 results for Citi credit cards. 36 of them were approved, and only 8 were declined.

Credit limits range from $22,000 on the Citi Double Cash to $500 on the Citi Simplicity. The average credit limit is about $6,000. The lowest credit score for an applicant who got approved and submitted their results on our credit card forum is 705.

My take away:

We never really saw any issues with Citi approvals. Citi was one of the only banks that were going strong throughout the entire pandemic. But approvals can highly vary on which card you apply for. Make sure to research our credit card forum, card by card, so you’re able to determine which card is more likely to approve you within your situation.

Capital One

Users submitted 24 results for Capital One credit cards. Approvals are very limited, only 14 credit cards were approved and 10 were declined.

Credit limits for approved applications range from $300 to $25,000. The average credit limit is about $1,000. The lowest credit score approved is zero on the Capital One Journey.

My take away:

Capital One is probably not an essential business as they basically shut down completely during the pandemic. We are seeing more recently, a bit of a better rate of approvals, but there is still room for improvement. Recently, Capital One released a new exciting 100,000 offer on the Venture credit card, plus they returned to the affiliate market with most of their credit cards. Hopefully, this means that approvals will increase significantly.

Discover

Users submitted 14 results for Discover applications, 11 approved and 3 declined.

Credit limits range from $18,000 to $200. The average credit limit is approx $1,000. The lowest credit score that got approved is 650.

My take away:

Discover, previously, was declining most applicants. Now, they are at least approving credit cards, but the credit limits are still low and stingy. We still need improvement from Discover.

Barclays

Users within the last 30 days submitted 8 results from Barclays bank. 7 were approved and 1 was declined

Credit limits range from $28,000 on the JetBlue card to $1,000 on the Avatier card. The average credit limit is about $2,000. The lowest credit score for an approved application is 720.

My take away:

I think Barclays is business as usual. They are approving nicely for users with super credit scores and high limits on existing credit cards. If you’re new to Barclays, though, (or don’t use their card often) or you don’t have high credit limits with other credit card issuers, then Barclays is showing a cold shoulder (as usual).

All Others 

We don’t have enough data points from other credit card issuers to comment on approvals. We try very hard to collect as many data points as possible. We thank our users for taking the time to help out other users and submitting their data points to keep the forum comprehensive and accurate.

If you ever apply for a credit card, please submit your results by clicking on the resource tab on the top menu.