About a month ago, I applied for the Marriott Rewards credit card due to some new targeted offers that came out. I went through phone reconsideration, then I sent a reconsideration message through Chase secure messaging, and was approved. I’ll describe the process I went through. This is not a guaranteed method to get approved for cards from Chase, but I believe it does give you a better chance.

I already had $60,000 in credit spread across 9 credit cards (6 personal, 3 business) with Chase, and it had only been 3 months since I got both the Southwest Premier and Business Premier cards. However, since I am losing my Marriott Gold next year due to losing United Gold, and since the increased offer of 77,500 Marriott points was only available to Marriott Gold members and above, I figured I should apply now. Plus, I did want those points, and I have been staying in a number of Marriotts recently.

Unfortunately, when I applied, I received a message saying my application was pending. I hadn’t been denied any Chase cards yet, though I have gone through reconsideration phone calls a couple of times, so I prepared myself for another reconsideration phone call.

When I called in, I didn’t mention why I wanted the card, but just asked if Chase needed any more information to process the application. The representative asked to verify my income again, as well as asked how long I had been at my job. I also proactively offered to shift credit lines around or close old cards, as I knew I was probably already at the limit for Chase. Unfortunately, the representative was unwilling to budge, and stated that since I had applied for 15 credit cards this past year, Chase would not extend any more credit to me this year.

I was disheartened for a few days, but was willing to try to call again even though I hate reconsideration calls. Then I read a blog article that mentioned success with secure messaging Chase for reconsideration. The key takeaways were:

  • Ask to escalate the request as the person who reads secure messages first usually do not have the power to approve you. In my case, I asked for the request to be escalated since I “unfortunately was not approved over the phone.”
  • Same as any reconsideration phone call, lay out your case. I mentioned that I am Marriott Gold and have been staying in Marriotts recently, and I would really appreciate the benefits of the card.
  • Offer to reallocate lines of credit or close older lines of credit.
  • And as always be polite.

I sent off my message on a Saturday, and received a response shortly that my request had been forwarded to the appropriate department. Nothing happened for another 5 days, then I noticed this in my email:

marriott-email

Woohoo! And indeed, when I logged into my Chase account, listed was a new Marriott credit card, with a $5,000 credit line. Unfortunately, they took that $5,000 by taking up my offer to close an existing old card INSTEAD of reallocating from a card that had plenty of credit to take from.

But the secure message did work even though I’m pretty much already at the limits for Chase. Of course, this is not a guaranteed method but should increase your odds if your credit profile isn’t such that it would be outright rejected. I’ll enjoy spending my new Marriott points!