Credit score cut-offs increased to reduce bad debt

Posted in 'Credit Score' by Barry Stamp

15 December 2011

It’s at this time of year that the more sophisticated credit card companies make a tweak to their credit scorecards. The ‘cut-off’ score is increased for 14-18 days which means that for some 3 star rated consumers it will be much more difficult to get a credit card than at other times in the year.

This is because it is known that historically the ‘delinquency’ – or the tendency to go into arrears – increases significantly for those people who apply for and obtain credit cards in the few weeks leading up to Christmas.

There is no known explanation for this, but several credit professionals believe that the type of person who applies for a new credit card in the run up to Christmas is making a crisis purchase and is far less financially savvy than others.

This is just one example of just how important your credit score can be when applying for a credit card. Every lender uses a different scorecard, so the cut-off scores vary from lender to lender. But at checkmyfile we have studied thousands upon thousands of credit reports to work out what the cut-off score is on our own credit scorecard.

By doing this, we can work the process in reverse. If we know your credit score, we can tell you which lenders are likely to accept you if you apply. This means you can apply for credit with confidence, knowing that you’ll get the card on your first application and in good time.

Use our free Find a Credit Card service to get the cards that you qualify for. We list them in order of the lowest interest rate to the highest, so you can find the cheapest available credit.