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Over the years, I’ve nurtured some pretty naive convictions. For example, it turns out that you can’t catch a cold just from being cold, that if you swallow gum it doesn’t stay in your stomach for seven years, and that coffee doesn’t stunt your growth (nope — it’s just the Sicilian genes in me). But it took learning the hard way for me to realize you can get denied a credit card with an 800-plus credit score.

To be honest, I’ve been denied a credit card with a credit score over 800 three times. And while I could talk about any of the possible reasons, I’ll pick the one that most people with 800-plus credit scores will run into: Applying for too many credit cards within a short span of time.

Too many hard inquiries could lead to a credit card application denial

Yes, if you apply for several credit cards within a short span, you could ruin your chances of getting approved. Unfortunately, this could also include credit cards you applied for recently but didn’t get.

The reason is hard credit inquiries. When you apply for a credit card, the credit card company will run a hard inquiry on your credit report. This helps it determine your creditworthiness. A few hard inquiries is usually not a bad thing. However, if you surpass a certain threshold, which usually begins around four or five, it will start to work against you.

Why would credit card companies consider hard inquiries? On the one hand, if you’re applying for multiple credit cards, it might think you’re preparing for some kind of financial hardship. That would make you a risky borrower. On the other hand, the company might think you’re credit card churning — meaning you’re opening new credit cards just to get welcome bonuses.

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Some credit card companies have specific rules on how many of its cards you can open within a specific frame. For example, Chase is known to automatically deny applicants who have opened more than five credit cards within the last 24 months. Known as the 5/24 rule, it’s ruined many credit card enthusiast’s dreams of opening a new Chase card.

What to do if you’ve been denied a credit card with an 800-plus credit score

If you think the credit card company made a mistake, you can call the card issuer to dispute it. While this doesn’t guarantee you’ll get approved, it could give you further reasons for why you were denied.

Otherwise, let some time pass, then reapply for the same card. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for 24 months. If you wait until some of those inquiries are off your report, you might have better luck getting approved the next time you apply.

Looking ahead, a good rule of thumb is to open no more than one new credit card account every three to six months. This doesn’t guarantee approval, but it’s a safer strategy than “scatter-applying” for multiple cards within a one- to three-month period. When you wait, you can improve your chances of getting cards you actually want.

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