Have you made a credit card application and was rejected? This is frustrating and raises many questions. Why don’t I get a credit card? This question concerns many people who are faced with a rejection.
The reasons why the application for a credit card was rejected can be diverse and range from insufficient creditworthiness to incorrect information to strict award criteria of the respective bank. In this detailed guide, we explain to you which factors play a role in the credit card allocation and how you can increase your chances of successful application.
Credit card application rejected – what are the reasons for this?
Table of Contents
- Credit card application rejected – what are the reasons for this?
- What are the requirements for a credit card?
- What are the differences between credit cards providers?
- Apply for a credit card: How to increase the opportunities
- What to do if you don’t get a credit card? The best alternatives
- Which credit cards without Schufa examination are there?
- Our conclusion
If your application has been rejected, this is usually due to certain factors that the banks rate particularly critically during the examination. Understanding this reasoning is the first step to be more successful in the next attempt:
- Negative Schufa entries
The most common reason why a credit card is rejected are negative entries in your Schufa information. Banks basically check your creditworthiness before issuing a credit card – and the evaluation is usually quite strict.
Negative entries such as unpaid invoices, dunning procedures or even foreclosure often lead to immediate rejection, even if they are in the past and may have long since been solved. Even smaller entries can be problematic because they indicate unreliable payment behavior – and this represents a risk for the bank that it stays on your payments.
It is interesting that some banks are already very careful with a Schufa score under 95 percent, while others only reject at significantly lower values. Which bank you apply for your credit card definitely plays a role.
2. Too low income
Banks want to make sure that you are able to pay your credit card statements every month. Therefore, check your incomes very precisely. A too low or irregular income can lead to rejection, even if you have high amounts in your account.
3. Type of income
The type of your income also plays a crucial role in lending, even if the absolute amount is correct – permanent employment contracts are definitely treated preferably.
Freelancers and the self -employed traditionally have heavier than employees to get a credit card, even if they earn well. While an employee with a fixed content of 2,000 euros per month usually receives a credit card, a freelancer can be rejected with an average monthly income of 4,000 euros.
The reason: self -employed naturally have fluctuating income and can theoretically be without orders overnight – hardly a bank wants to take this risk.
4. Wrong or incomplete information
If your creditworthiness or incoming is not exactly the best, it makes sense to write a little better values in the application – but you shouldn’t do that. Incorrect information in the application practically always leads to rejection. Banks check your data very precisely and compare them with various databases.
Even small discrepancies in names, addresses or income data can become problematic. It becomes particularly critical when the impression arises, you would have deliberately made false information, so a little cheating does not work. Therefore, you should fill out all forms extremely carefully and truthfully.
5. Too many credit requests in a short time
If you have applied for several credit cards in a short time, this can be a warning signal that your chances also reduce. Many inquiries in succession indicate financial difficulties that banks do not want to support.
Experts recommend waiting for at least three to six months between credit card applications – unless you have good reasons for several cards and an excellent creditworthiness.
6. No credit history
Paradoxically, people can also be rejected without negative entries if they have no credit history. Banks rate the risk of completely new customers as incalculable.
That is why young people or students who have never taken out a loan have particularly difficult to get a credit card. If this applies to you, it can help to initially build a positive credit history with smaller financial products.
What are the requirements for a credit card?
To avoid rejection, you should know the typical requirements that banks put on credit card holders. These can differ from provider to provider, but there are definitely common standards that almost all banks have.
The most important requirements at a glance:
- Minimum age 18 years (for some providers also 21 years)
- Residence in Germany
- German bank details
- Valid identification papers
- Regular income in a job
- Positive Schufa information
- No ongoing bankruptcy proceedings
- Complete and correct information in the application
- No too high debt in relation to income
It is important to understand that these requirements are not carved in stone. While Premium credit cards have very strict criteria, there are also providers with significantly relaxed requirements. For example, some banks also accept pensioners, students or the self -employed who have difficulties at other institutes – but this in turn leads to a very low credit line.
What role does Schufa play when allocating credit card?
Schufa plays one of the most important role in credit card allocation – it is practically the heart of the credit check in Germany. Banks use the Schufa information to evaluate your payment behavior of the past and to draw conclusions about the future.
Schufa collects data about your financial behavior from various sources: banks, mail order, telecommunications company and other industries report both positive and negative events.
Positive entries arise from properly handled loans, reliably paid credit card statements or long -term contracts – negative through reminders, defaults or judicial procedures.
How is the Schufa score calculated?
The Schufa score is a value between 0 and 100 percent that indicates your probability of default. The higher the score, the better your creditworthiness. Many banks have internal thresholds: With a score of over 95 percent, the chances are good, between 90 and 95 percent is individually checked and below 90 percent it becomes difficult to get a credit card.
Now you are wondering how you experience your score. There are a lot of providers on the Internet that advertise with chargeable information, but you can query your Schufa score once a year via the data copy according to Article 15 GDPR.
According to this, paid information is of course possible at any time. If you discover mistakes in your Schufa information, you can also have it corrected-this can significantly improve your creditworthiness.
What are the differences between credit cards providers?
There are many different credit cards in Germany and the providers have different business models and target groups. These differences have a direct impact on the acceptance criteria, which is why a rejected credit card at a bank does not mean that you have no chance for everyone else – provided the creditworthiness is right.
Traditional house banks such as savings banks, Volksbanken or the large private banks usually have very strict criteria. You mainly award credit cards to existing customers with good credit rating and stable income. However, these banks have the advantage that they know you personally and can evaluate your overall relationship.
Direct banks and fintech companies, on the other hand, have more flexible approaches that also give customers a chance with less perfect credit rating, but with lower credit frames. So keep an eye out for credit cards with a high acceptance rate.
If your Advanzia credit card is rejected, this is usually due to very serious credit problems. Even if you have been rejected at TF Bank or don’t get a KlarNA card, your chances are low for other banks.
Apply for a credit card: How to increase the opportunities
A successful credit card application begins before the actual application. With the right preparation, you can significantly increase your chances and avoid that your application will be rejected.
- First you should check your Schufa information and have any errors corrected. Wait for at least four weeks after the correction before making an application so that the changes have arrived in the system.
- At the same time, you should honestly rate your financial situation and only apply for providers whose requirements you meet. For example, if you are independent, for providers who explicitly accept self -employed. With low incomes, you should rather inquire about direct banks with free credit cards than with traditional branch banks.
- Absolute accuracy is required when filling out the application. All information must be correct and complete. Do not gloss over your income, but do not forget to specify all sources of income. In addition to the main job, this also includes rental income, pensions or regular maintenance payments.
- Timing is also important. Do not present the application shortly before or during a job change, as this can be seen as instability. The best time is if you have a stable professional situation and do not run any other loan applications.
What to do if you don’t get a credit card? The best alternatives
If you don’t get a classic credit card despite all efforts, there are various alternatives that offer you similar functions. These solutions have less strict requirements and can serve as an intermediate step to get a regular credit card later:
Debit card
A debit card is the most obvious alternative to the credit card. It works in a similar way to a credit card, but books the amounts directly from your checking account. As a result, banks have practically no risk of failure and also assign debit cards to customers with poor credit ratings.
Visa or Mastercard’s debit cards are also accepted worldwide and can be used online as well as credit cards. The main difference is that you can only dispose of the credit in your account. This can be problematic for hotel bookings or rental car bookings, as they sometimes require a real credit card as a guarantee.
Travel Debit Call
If you are often abroad, you should be careful, because many banks require high fees for foreign transactions. Special travel book cards such as those of Wise or Revolut, on the other hand, offer you great conditions for foreign currencies.
They also have better exchange rates and generally lower fees than classic bank cards. These cards are also issued without a credit check, so that the chances of rejection are very low.
Prepaid credit card
Prepaid credit cards are not real credit cards because they only work with previously charged credit. They are practically output without a credit check and offer you most functions of a normal credit card – except, of course, the credit line. You can use them wherever credit cards are accepted.
The advantage is that you can no longer spend more than you have charged – ideal if you want to protect yourself from debts. They are therefore less suitable for emergencies or larger purchases.
Which credit cards without Schufa examination are there?
Real credit cards without Schufa examination are very rare in Germany, since banks are legally obliged to check the credit rating of their customers. What is advertised as a credit card without a credit check is usually a prepaid credit card or debit card.
Even if there are no providers who offer a credit card without a credit check with disposal framework, there are credit cards with a high acceptance rate. If you are looking for a credit card despite Schufa entry, you should use exactly these providers. So you get a credit card even with slight credit problems, but you have to live with a much lower credit line.
Our conclusion
Getting an application for a credit card is frustrating, but no reason to despair. The reasons are usually understandable and can be remedied with a little patience and good payment behavior. It is important that you understand the causes and work specifically to improve your creditworthiness. With the right strategies and the selection of suitable providers, you can significantly increase your chances of a successful credit card application. And if it doesn’t work with a classic credit card, alternatives such as debit or prepaid cards offer almost the same functions.
