What Credit Score Is Needed For Chase Cards? (2024)

A credit score provides lenders a general overview of a person’s credit history. It shows how risky it may be to loan money to an applicant. We generally recommend consumers pay regular attention to credit scores and make sure it remains at an acceptable level.

Checking your credit score can be accomplished in several ways—most of which are free. Credit reporting and monitoring websites, agencies and even card lenders all offer ways to keep track of your credit.

Though your credit score is not on your credit reports, free reporting and monitoring websites provide credit scores and monitoring for most anyone who signs up.

Credit reporting agencies also typically allow consumers to sign up to receive scores. Usually, no fees are charged for this, but some offer additional services for a price.

Major credit card lenders offer credit monitoring and regularly updated credit scores as well. Some institutions may even provide a short history of your score and factors affecting it, such as the recent number of late payments or hard pulls on your credit history.

If you’re concerned about your credit score or want to improve it, a credit counselor can also help cardholders monitor credit scores and provide financial advice like setting up a budget or lowering credit card debt.

The information found on your credit report affects your credit score. Understanding which factors carry the most weight is vital to maintaining a good score.
Payment history and amounts owed are the two most important factors, but there are other variables. Here’s a breakdown of categories impacting credit scores and roughly how much each factor contributes to the overall scoring:

• Payment history: 35%
• Amounts owed: 30%
• Length of credit history: 15%
• New credit: 10%
• Credit mix: 10%

Payment history shows whether cardholders pay bills on time—every cardholder should make it a priority to make on-time payments each month. A recent late payment—or multiple late payments in a short time—can drastically reduce a credit score and repeated late payments may be a turn-off to lenders (especially if a payment has ever been overdue past 30 days). Making the minimum payment every month is acceptable but this comes with several other major financial disadvantages.

Balances owed make up the next largest factor affecting a credit score and are measured using a credit utilization rate. We recommend cardholders use less than 30% of available credit across accounts. Paying off a card balance every month (or most of it) will ensure a low credit utilization rate. The fewer debts cardholders owe, the better credit scores will be.

Chase’s credit cards are typically sought after for lucrative rewards and welcome bonuses. Card lenders like Chase use credit scores to form a general picture of a card applicant’s credit history and financial responsibility. We suggest aiming for a good to excellent credit score before applying for Chase’s best, highest-yield rewards cards.

Here’s a list of Chase’s personal cards and suggested credit scores for approval:

Credit scores are divided into ranges including Good, Poor, Fair and Excellent. There are two primary credit score calculation models, called VantageScore and FICO Score, and each has its own set of ranges. Chase doesn’t specify which model it references when reviewing a credit card application, but there is an ideal range card applicants can strive for when applying for a Chase card.

What Is a Good Credit Score for Chase?

Of course, the better your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved for some of Chase’s best cards. However, there isn’t a magic credit score number that can guarantee approval.

VantageScore:

• Good: 661 to 780

FICO Score:

• Very Good: 740 to 799
• Good: 670 to 739

Anyone applying to a sought-after Chase card like Chase Freedom Unlimited will likely have a better chance of approval with a score of at least 670, but higher is always better.

Just as a score of 670 or above doesn’t guarantee approval, having a score lower than 670 doesn’t guarantee a rejection.

What Is an Excellent Credit Score for Chase?

Applicants with an excellent credit score have a better chance of approval for a Chase credit card than those applicants without an excellent score.

Let’s look at the breakdown between Excellent and Exceptional credit scores for VantageScore and FICO Score:

VantageScore:

• Excellent: 781 to 850

FICO Score:

• Exceptional: Over 800

Scores over 800 do not equate to a guaranteed approval for a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase offers a Card Finder tool to help consumers figure out which card is a best fit. The bank does not currently offer a preapproval tool but it has in the past.

Credit card preapproval can be a great way to review your chances of getting approved for a credit card without a hard credit inquiry. Some card lenders offer preapproval or pre-qualification applications to tell potential applicants which credit cards they’re most likely to qualify for. Keep in mind that pre-approvals are not final—a potential cardholder will still have to submit a completed application to receive a final decision.

When applying for a Chase credit card, you’ll also need personal and financial information to help fill out an application.

Have your name, address and Social Security number ready. Financial questions may require your primary source of income, gross annual income, type of residence and total monthly bill payments. Take a look at your credit score to see if it’s in an acceptable range.

We recommend you also research other card offers before applying for a Chase card. Every submitted application will result in a hard credit check, which can reduce your credit score by a few points. Ensure you’re applying for your top-choice card when you start applying to reduce the number of hard inquiries you make.

The Chase 5/24 rule suggests if applicants have been approved for five or more credit cards from any lender in the last 24 months, they’ll automatically be declined for any new Chase card.

The 5/24 rule prevents “churning and burning” credit cards by applying for multiple credit cards in short periods of time to earn the welcome bonus and rewards, then immediately canceling the cards before the annual fees are due. Churning presents a problem for large credit lenders like Chase that profit from annual charges and other fees with card usage, like late fees, interest on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers but spend money by incentivizing new accounts with welcome bonuses.

Most credit cards issued by Chase are governed by the 5/24 rule. Finding out if you’re affected by the rule is easy: View your credit report and count the number of new accounts opened in the last 24 months. If it’s more than five, you’ll automatically be denied a new Chase card.

New credit accounts include accounts on which you are either primary cardholder or an authorized user, plus any business or retail credit cards listed on your personal credit report.

Getting rejected for a credit card from Chase or any other bank can be discouraging but it isn’t the end of the line.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires lenders to send statements detailing reasons a card application was denied. Reasons may include high credit card balances or too many late payments. Look into the reasons provided and improve the indicated part of your credit. Try applying for a Chase card again three to six months later—just make sure you’re under 5/24.

If you feel Chase’s decision was unwarranted, you can try contacting Chase’s reconsideration line to speak to a representative. Come prepared with a specific argument why your application should have been accepted. Review your credit report if there is something unusual Chase picked up, like potential fraud or an incorrect credit listing. Be polite and willing to negotiate.

If you’ve gone through these steps and find yourself still without approval for a Chase card, you’ll probably be looking for methods to be a better applicant. Improving your credit score is a great way to improve the odds of approval for a Chase credit card.

Several routes toward better credit are available:

• Pay every bill on time. Payment history makes up 35% of a credit score rating, so it should be a primary focus. Set up automatic payments and try to pay off the balance every month.
• Get a secured credit card. Secured cards are usually designed for applicants with poor credit who want to improve a credit score. Secured cards require a deposit that becomes the credit line. Use the credit to make small payments, then pay off the balance on time every month to help improve your credit.
• Become an authorized user. Ask a friend or family member to add you as an authorized user to a credit account in good standing. Most cards allowing authorized users will report authorized user activity to credit bureaus, allowing you to improve your credit using your own card on someone else’s account.
• Pay off existing debt. Paying down debt will help decrease your credit utilization, which makes up 30% of your credit score. Try paying the smallest balances off first or pay down the debts with the highest interest rates.
• Get a credit builder loan. Credit builder loans are designed to help people with no or poor credit history build history. The borrower pays the lender a minimum amount every month, and the lender reports the payment activity to credit bureaus. A healthy payment history can go a long way to improving a credit score.