Here's Why Your Credit Card Application Can Be Denied Even With an 800 Credit Score

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Picture this: You've recently checked your credit score, and it's an 800 or higher. You're firmly in the highest score range. That should be good enough to qualify for just about any of the top credit cards on the market.

But when you apply for the card you want, the card issuer denies your application. While this isn't common, it can happen, for a simple reason.

Your credit score isn't the only thing that matters

Your credit score is important when you apply for a credit card. It's a rating of how likely you are to repay money you borrow, so credit card issuers weigh it heavily during the application process. As a general rule, a higher credit score helps with qualifying for credit cards, and especially the cards with the best features.

That being said, card issuers consider your entire financial profile. In addition to your credit score, they're also going to dig into many other details, including your:

• Income
• Number of credit cards
• Number of recent credit applications
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio
• Length of credit history
• Payment and bankruptcy history

If you have an 800 credit score, but the card issuer doesn't think your income is high enough, it could deny your application for that reason. Or if you've built a high credit score in a short period, your credit history may not be long enough to get your application approved.

Your credit score alone doesn't guarantee you'll be approved for a credit card. Even if your score is above the recommendation for the card you want, it's still possible to get denied.

Opening lots of credit cards often leads to denied applications

I mentioned above that there are many factors that go into a credit card application. There's one, in particular, that's often the culprit when someone with a high score gets denied: opening too many credit cards.

Card issuers want clients who will use their cards regularly and keep them for a long time. They've gotten more cautious over the years about approving churners who are trying to game the system. These are the people who get a credit card, earn the sign-up bonus, and stop using it. They may also downgrade the card or cancel it, if it has an annual fee.

Churners normally aren't profitable cardholders. To deal with them, many card issuers deny applicants with a large number of credit cards already. They may even have their own internal rules in place.

For example, while it's not an official public policy, Chase is known for denying applicants who have opened five or more credit cards in the previous 24 months. This is informally known as Chase's 5/24 rule.

Most people don't need to worry about this, because they don't open a ton of credit cards. Over half of Americans have one or two, according to research last year by The Motley Fool Ascent. But if you have a wallet full of travel rewards cards or cash back cards, that could make it harder to get approved for more.

What to do if your credit card application is denied

If you were denied on a credit card application, start by checking the denial reason. By law, the card issuer is required to send you a letter in the mail with the reasons for its decision. You may also be able to access this information online, or you could call the card issuer to ask.

Once you know the reason for the denial, you have a few options. You could call and ask for a reconsideration. Card issuers are sometimes willing to take another look at your application. It's possible to get approved this way, so if you really want the card, it's worth a shot.

You could also apply for a different card. It's best to pick a card from a different card issuer. If you have an 800 credit score, and a card issuer doesn't approve you for one of its cards, it probably won't approve you for any of them.

Finally, you could hold off on any more credit applications for the time being. This is a good idea if you were denied because of how many credit cards you've opened. When you already have lots of cards, you don't need more. After waiting six months to a year, you may be more likely to qualify for the card you want.

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