In my recent posts I’ve advocated applying for a number of business cards before filling up your Chase 5/24 “slots.” My reasoning was simple: we know that the vast majority of issuers (including Chase) don’t report business cards to credit bureaus, so Chase can’t see how many business cards you’ve actually gotten in the last 24 months. Considering that some business cards offer spectacular welcome bonuses and benefits, you can squeeze a lot of them in before filling up your five slots. Or even after – as long as you get Chase business cards first, it doesn’t really matter.
The latest firm denial from Bank of America got me puzzled
Over the years I have applied for tons of personal and business cards from BoA including multiple Alaska cards. It was never an issue. And I didn’t expect it to become an issue this time, since all banks issuing small business cards always pull your personal credit. That’s been the case for – I don’t know – decades, probably.
So being 3/24 for the last 24 months, I really didn’t expect any resistance when I applied for the BoA Alaska business card. Of course, I had been approved for four business cards in the last several months, but the issuer isn’t supposed to see those, right? Which is why I was a bit surprised to see this at the end of my application process (here is my previous post, again).
Bank of America Business Credit Cards – Denial for the Alaska card
I mean, I almost always get the “we’ll let you know” language, but the denial? Why? What did I do? 🙂
It looks like there are new rules for Bank of America business credit cards
In my bewilderment I went to the best place to find answers to many life problems: churning.reddit.com. And sure enough, I’ve quickly discovered I’m not the only one.
Family_Shoe_Business 3d edited 23h
I was same boat as you and have been denied twice. In both cases, after a lot of recon, I got the same answer: too many business cards open. They read off the long list of biz cards I have, which means they pulled my business credit report, unlike most banks. If you have lots of biz cards that might be why.
Here is my exchange with FSB.
So there you have it. It doesn’t matter how much you think you know. Things are fluid in this hobby, and you need to know when the rules change, preferably before you make your move. I have no idea if this situation could’ve been avoided if I’d had any banking relationship with BoA. Until we know more, I recommend you apply for your business cards in the following order: BoA –> Chase –> Others.
To recap
It appears that BoA has started pulling business credit reports when you apply for the issuer’s business cards. That means you might want to apply for Bank of America business credit cards first to increase your chances. They still don’t report your business cards to normal credit bureaus, so your 5/24 status with Chase is safe. At least for now.
