One of the most popular questions I get asked by users is, which credit cards will approve me? 

At HelpMeBuildcredit.com we built a credit card database where we track real time results coming from users reporting which credit cards they were approved for, what credit limits they were approved for ,which credit bureau was pulled, and more.

In this post we will crunch the numbers we put together from applications submitted recently, going through bank by bank to see what we can learn in regards to future applications.

Keep in mind that limits can vary a lot between applicants. You can only learn about trends by studying our database. For example, you may see a trend that most applicants are getting approved for Citi cards for limits $5,000- $10,000 so you know when you apply for a Citi card what to expect. To learn how to get approved for high credit limits read this post

Amex

Amex recently approved applicants with very nice limits, both on personal cards and on business cards. The trend seems to lean a drop more towards business cards, getting nicer limits overall, more than for personal cards, although we do see two applicants who got close to $20k credit limits on two personal cards. The Hilton card is the one we did see most limits coming in for, at the low $1,000 range.  

Amex is pulling Experian credit reports but mostly not pulling any credit report for existing cardholders

Capital One

Capital One really surprised us this month with the insane credit limits being approved on the Capital One Spark Cash Cards. We see one after the next, applicants getting credit limits of $20k -$50k!! In order to get a nice limit on the Capital One Spark Cash card, I recommend entering a nice amount for “monthly spend”. Credit limits often go based on the number you put in. So if you put in $30k for monthly spend then that’s the credit limit you will get (often).

The Capital One Journey card is still a great choice for users that are new to credit and don’t have any previous credit cards. We saw a nice number of applicants getting approved for the Journey even with no credit history.

Capital One is pulling credit reports from all three credit bureaus

Chase

The Chase credit card approvals and credit limits are moving up nicely. Users reported getting approved for credit limits starting at $3,000 on the Chase Ink Unlimited all the way up to $19,400 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Someone also reported that he was targeted and got approved for the Chase Slate card. The Chase Slate card is not available to the public for the last few months. The user found the offer when he logged in to Chase and checked “the just for you” offers. The user reported that the card currently offers 0% APR on balance transfers and has a 3% balance transfer fee (used to be no fee for balance transfers)

Chase is mostly pulling the Experian credit report

Citi

With Citi, we see a lot of approvals coming in for the Citi Premier card which is a great alternative for those that are not eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Overall, Citi approvals are mostly in the $5k-$10k range which is very normal for Citi (no major change there). Historically, we see that applicants that have a long relationship with Citibank get the best credit limits, sometimes as high as $25k or more.

Citi is pulling either Experian or Equifax credit reports (or both).

Barclays

Barclays is currently approving applications a bit slowly, and are asking many applicants for extra verification documents. But once approved, most credit limits within the last while came in above $10K

Barclays is pulling the TransUnion credit report.

Discover

We don’t have many data points on Discover cards but approvals seem to be pretty healthy and slowly climbing on an uptrend with approvals ranging from $3,000- $9,000

Discover is mostly pulling the Experian credit report, unless you freeze Experian. You can then request Discover to pull from one of the other credit bureaus.

What you need to know

For those of you who don’t have the time or energy to read though all the data points, here is a great recap of what you need to know.

Are you looking for a high credit limit?

The highest credit limits are currently coming in from the Capital One Spark Cash Business card. Chase and Amex cards are currently also good options.

Are you looking for your first credit card?

The best results for applicants with no credit history are coming in with the Capital One Journey or the Chase Freedom Student card (only for applicants who have a Chase bank account for a minimum of six months).

Do you have a low credit score?

The cards that approved applicants with a low credit score was either the US Bank Harley Davidson card or Capital One Platinum card (you can also try a secured card).

I hope you enjoyed today’s monthly recap:) Check back next month for more.