Credit Card problems

[adione]

That's strange...
I landed here and opened a bank account with DBS, applied for their basic CC soon after; I think I had maybe one or two month-salary deposited, so not even much money at the bank but still I got the CC without problems.
No bad records on my side, same as you, and my salary isn't that high so I'm surprised they didn't accept your application.


Perhaps you will get more luck going directly at bank and speaking with someone? At least they can help you understanding their policies...

my 2 cents

[swbhoy]

Thanks to all who replied. By way of an update I wrote to OCBC explaining my situation and expressing my dissappointment that I had been treated anonymously and that the application was declined without any suggestion of alternatives (such as a secured card). I explained that I would change my banking to a new bank that I felt could offer a more personal service and stated that I'd find it hard to recommend them to any other new arrival in Singapore.
Within 24 hours I received a phone call apologising , they confirmed that they should have offered me alternatives (such as a secured card) and that they would re-submit the application and give it 'special consideration".
May still not end up getting the card but at least I feel better having said something.

[sundaymorningstaple]

adione

Perhaps, that may be the key here. Let's assume that all banks generally give CC's with credit limits up to 2.5x monthly salary.

If you are making 60K a year you could, theoretically end up with a 12.5K credit line (obviously I think they would try to rein you in before you amassed that much in too short a space of time). However, apply that to someone with a salary of 200K+ basic salary and you are looking at a theoretical 40 to 50K. Doing a runner is gonna hurt them if it happens too often. So, maybe they want to go slower before giving out that CC. At least that's what I would do if I were responsible for the issuance of cards.

Edited thanks to saint!

[Saint]

adione

Perhaps, that may be the key here. Let's assume that all banks generally give CC's with credit limits up to 2.5x monthly salary.

If you are making 60K a year you could, theoretically end up with a 150K credit line (obviously I think they would try to rein you in before you amassed that much in too short a space of time). However, apply that to someone with a salary of 200K+ basic salary and you are looking at a theoretical half a million credit line. Doing a runner is gonna hurt them if it happens too often. So, maybe they want to go slower before giving out that CC. At least that's what I would do if I were responsible for the issuance of cards.

I think you've got your annual/monthly figures a bit mixed up SMS

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yup! I sure screwed that one up! Anyway, edited now. Thanks

[$Pripps]

speaking of annual fees its quite funny how they do it here, if you call them up and ask them to get a waiver for the fees they will do that for you. At DBS now they even have a phone menu choice to get waivers.
I haven't paid any annual CC fees except the first year I was here when I didn't know better.

[aster]

Yeah, I noticed that when calling up the DBS helpdesk recently.

Is Citibank just as flexible with the waivers?

[Splatted]

speaking of annual fees its quite funny how they do it here, if you call them up and ask them to get a waiver for the fees they will do that for you. At DBS now they even have a phone menu choice to get waivers.
I haven't paid any annual CC fees except the first year I was here when I didn't know better.

Serious? So you don't actually *have* to pay any annual fees in Singapore? Does only DBS do this or is it becoming more common?

I have stuck with my Aussie cards primarily because all the ones I hold are annual-fee free.

Do they penalize you in any way for this?, eg some CC's will subtract 5000 reward points in return for no annual fee.

[observer]

Yeah, I noticed that when calling up the DBS helpdesk recently.

Is Citibank just as flexible with the waivers?

Yes.

[aster]

Do they penalize you in any way for this?, eg some CC's will subtract 5000 reward points in return for no annual fee.

Some have an automatic waiver if you cross a certain threshold (no points deducted or anything like that), but apparently you can also call and ask or say you might leave and this will do the trick. Probably best to ask here on a bank by bank basis to know what to expect and what approach to take.

[Mad Scientist]

speaking of annual fees its quite funny how they do it here, if you call them up and ask them to get a waiver for the fees they will do that for you. At DBS now they even have a phone menu choice to get waivers.
I haven't paid any annual CC fees except the first year I was here when I didn't know better.

Serious? So you don't actually *have* to pay any annual fees in Singapore? Does only DBS do this or is it becoming more common?

I have stuck with my Aussie cards primarily because all the ones I hold are annual-fee free.

Do they penalize you in any way for this?, eg some CC's will subtract 5000 reward points in return for no annual fee.

Yes, I concur. I have never paid A SINGLE ANNUAL FEES in my entire life . I have been holding these CC for almost 30 years now.
My rule of thumb to the banks, if you wanna give me , give me and don't charge me the Annual Fees and I will be your loyal patron or else I will go somewhere else.
DBS hmm... funny that I don't even ask them and they waive it for life. I have never used their CC although I have it with me for 10 years now

[swbhoy]

Thought I'd update this post with a conclusion. Applied twice , to two different banks and so was declined twice by both.
I sent a final email of complaint to both, stating my dissatisfaction and making it known that , as a new arrival in Singapore I would be sharing my experience with fellow expatriots and that I would find it impossible to recommend their organisation to new arrivals in Singapore.
Within a week, and with no further contact I had received credit cards through the post from both organisations.
So it would seem that the decision to decline had nothing to do with my credit-worthiness , positive or negative. It was simply my lack of time in Singapore. My advice , therefore to any one else in a similar position is either; wait a year before you apply for a credit card or, kick up an almighty fuss.

[x9200]

IIRC I applied for a CC within a month or two after arriving to SG and had it granted without any problems. Maybe the situation changed somehow over the years.

[Nath21]

I applied for card 4 months after getting here and got straight away. I asked my banker why would this happen and he said because the bank would want him to show deposit culture (usually only 3 month required) and rejected him on that basis and then on his credit report all it shows is a rejecetd application so the other bank sees another reject him and dosent make any inquiries of their own. Its most likely he has a blak mark on his credit report here. You should be able to access your credit report and see but Im not sure about this (in OZ you can but you have to pay a small fee via non bank or ask your bank).

[x9200]

You may want to have a CC with a bank you do not have any saving/current accounts with and then must be a different way to evaluate your deposit culture.
For the Credit Report you can get it even online (with SingPass) for SGD5. It is pretty informative but I don't know whether it will show the reasons for rejections.