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There’s a reason consumers are encouraged to try to boost their credit scores as much as possible. The higher your score, the more likely you are to qualify for a new personal loan or credit card the next time you want one.

But even if your credit score is a perfect 850, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be granted a credit card every single time you apply for one. Here’s why a credit card issuer might choose to reject your application despite perfect credit.

1. You’ve opened too many new cards recently

It’s natural to want to chase credit card sign-up bonuses for the cash back or extra rewards. The problem, though, is that if you open too many new credit cards in short order, it can signal a red flag to credit card issuers that you may be overextending yourself. And that could cause a credit card application to get rejected.

Even if a credit card issuer isn’t worried about the risk of you not paying your balance (because with a perfect credit score, it’s clear that you have an impeccable payment history), they might reject your application because they think you won’t use your card all that often.

Credit card companies want your business. But if you’ve recently applied for a handful of cards, an issuer might assume that you’re really only in it for the sign-up bonus since you clearly don’t have a need for yet another credit card.

2. You’ve applied for too many credit cards from the same issuer

Some credit card issuers have rules specific to them that say you can only apply for so many cards within the same time frame. If you go overboard, you could be denied on that basis alone, even if it’s pretty clear that you’re loyal to that one issuer.

3. You don’t meet the income requirements

Some credit cards have certain income requirements that need to be met. It’s more than possible to have perfect credit even if your income isn’t all that high. It means you’re doing a fantastic job of managing your money and bills. But if you don’t meet an issuer’s income requirement for a given card, you could be denied despite having perfect credit.

What to do if your credit card application is denied

If you’re denied a credit card and have perfect credit, see if any of the factors above apply to you. But also, don’t hesitate to call the issuer and ask for an explanation — and also, to verify that the denial wasn’t a mistake.

It could also be that you made an error in filling out your credit card application, or something else that’s correctable. But either way, it’s important to understand why you were denied so you can avoid the same issue the next time a new credit card catches your eye.

At the same time, if you want to maintain perfect credit, using the cards you already have is a good way to avoid hard inquiries that drag your score down. But if you’re thrilled with your current cards and you’re willing to absorb a credit score hit from a hard inquiry, check out this list of the best credit cards to see what else is out there.

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