It’s no fun getting rejected, especially when your precious money is it stake.
If you’ve recently had a 0% APR balance transfer or any other balance transfer denied, don’t fret, as there are a number of reasons why a credit card issuer will reject such a request. And not all of them necessarily mean you did anything wrong.
Bad Credit
However, it’s pretty safe to say credit is a key factor in getting approved for a balance transfer, so chances are your credit isn’t up to snuff if you’ve been denied.
The good news is that credit card issuers must provide reasons for denial and a you can request a free copy of your credit report if one was used to make the decision.
Generally, you need good credit to execute a credit card balance transfer, as it often involves opening a new credit card account.
By good credit, I mean no late payments, low balances on existing accounts, and a decent number of years of credit history.
There isn’t a particular credit score necessary to get approved for a balance transfer, but obviously the higher the better.
[Check out some balance transfer options for bad credit.]
Too Many Balance Transfer Requests
Even if your credit score is where it should be, a credit card issuer may reject you for making too many new requests for credit.
If you’ve applied for numerous balance transfer offers in a short period of time, a card issuer will probably be more reluctant to take you on as a new customer.
Think of it from their perspective; if you’re running around town trying to get credit from everyone in town, it’s a red flag.
And it might mean you’re living beyond your means, with default imminent.
Ineligible Balance Transfers
Maybe your balance transfer rejection has nothing to do with credit at all. Perhaps you tried to move your Chase credit card balance to another Chase credit card (I’m just using Chase as an example).
That’s a big no-no. You can only move balances among different credit card issuers.
Of course, if you get a balance transfer check and deposit it into your own checking account, you do whatever you want with the proceeds.
There’s also the possibility that your balance transfer request exceeded your balance transfer limit.
Generally, credit card issuers will only allow you transfer a certain amount of your limit, not the full amount, to leave room for things like balance transfer fees.
If this is the case, the balance transfer should still be completed, just for a lesser amount. But a partial balance transfer isn’t always welcome news.
Tip: If you are rejected, it may be a sign that you need to work on your credit or slow down on new credit requests.