Banks have become reluctant to issue new credit cards.
With a double-digit unemployment rate, you may have noticed fewer junk mail applications arriving in your mailbox letting you know you’ve been pre-approved. Ted Rossman, an industry analyst with CreditCards.com, and says if you want a line of credit, you’re going to have to work for it. “It’s possible to get a new card these days, but it’s definitely harder. I would say that for the best odds of success you probably need a credit score in the 700’s or 800’s,” he tells KTRH News. Rossman says since March, the most recent date for which data is available, applications are down 40%, and some banks have removed marketing that advertises credit cards from their websites. “With unemployment spiking, issuers are nervous that card holders may not be able to pay them back, and that’s true for both new and existing customers.” Rossman says where before a credit application involved little more than paperwork, it might take phone calls and extra effort these days.
Rossman says he doesn’t think this pattern will last as long as the cut-back in credit approval we say with the 2008 recession.