The Chase Slate is one of the top balance transfer credit cards on the market and it can save you lots of money in interest.

But what credit score is needed to get approved for the Chase Slate?

I’ll show you the credit score and income needed for the Chase Slate and explain what other credit factors will play a role in you getting approved. 

I’ll also review the Slate and talk about things like credit limits, pre-approvals, and checking application status.

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

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What credit score is needed for Chase Slate approval?

The Chase Slate generally requires a good FICO credit score of around 700 or above.

However, you can get approved with lower credit scores in the 600s and I’ll explain how below. 

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What other credit factors matter?

When it comes to credit card approvals, you can’t just focus on the credit score alone.

You need to consider other factors, such as:

• Credit account history
• Utilization
• Payment history
• Credit inquiries

Credit account history

Credit scores can often be deceptive because you can have a “great score” in the 700s but with little to no credit history, you’ll likely struggle to get approved for Chase cards like the Slate.

If you have virtually no credit history you might want to look at some cards for fair credit scores that you can use to build up your score before applying for Chase cards.

For example, you might go for a Discover It card to build up your credit and then after six to 12 months, go for the Slate. Or if your score is the 500s or low 600s you might think about going for a secured credit card.

Tip: If you can be patient, a great way to start building a relationship with Chase is to start banking with them. Simply opening up a checking account for 6 to 12 months can be a great way to establish a relationship with Chase.

Utilization

Utilization is how much of your overall credit limit that you’re using.

So if you have three credit cards with a total limit of $30,000 and you are using $15,000 of that credit then your credit utilization is 50%.

You want your overall utilization to at least be below 30% but I prefer to keep mine around 5%.

However, you need to also pay attention to the utilization on your individual credit cards.

If you have another Chase card that’s maxed out, that’s going to look bad when you apply for another one of their credit cards. In that case, you’d definitely want to pay that credit card down first.

Late payments and negative remarks

Late payments are a big factor for your approval, too.

If you have lates within the past year or two, you might get some push back — this is especially true if your late payments were with Chase.

If you have really fresh lates (that just hit within the past few months), I would probably wait several months before I tried applying.

Also, Chase has been known to deny people with bankruptcies on their credit report.

Credit inquiries

Try to limit the number of credit inquiries within the past 90 days to decrease the odds of Chase rejecting you on that basis.

Remember, credit inquiries fall off your credit report after two years.

Credit scores in the 600s?

If you do enough research, you’ll find that some people have been approved for the Chase Slate with credit scores in the 600s (even the low 600s).

It’s hard to know the exact details of these credit profiles since they are self-reported but you can expect that if they had a low credit score, they probably had some established credit history or a relationship with Chase.

Something else to note about these people getting approved with a score in the 600s is that they probably were approved for a very low limit (but not always). 

This is a problem with a card like the Chase Slate because it’s #1 benefit is that you can get a $0 balance transfer.

If you start off with a $500 credit limit that doesn’t give you much room to do a balance transfer and sort of defeats the purpose of getting that card.

In that case, it would probably be more beneficial to go for a rewards card like the Freedom (discussed below).

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Improve your credit score

If you don’t think that your credit score is quite up to par then you might consider some of the tips below for quickly improving your credit score.

• Boosting your credit score
• Get a “starter” credit card
• Get added as an authorized user
• Balance transfer to business credit card
• Consolidate your revolving credit into an installment loan
• Goodwill letters
• Get errors removed

Depending on what is holding you back, some of these factors can improve your credit score virtually overnight:

For example, if it was only high utilization that was holding you back and you used an installment loan to bring down that balance, your score could shoot up a 100+ points in a matter of weeks or even days (depending on when your statements closed).

Or if negative late payments were the only blemish on your credit report, then getting them removed via goodwill letters could boost your credit score in a hurry.

You can read about these methods here. 

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What income needed for the Chase Slate?

The Chase Slate doesn’t require a high income, and people have been approved with incomes in the $20,000s and $30,000s.

Again, income will just be one factor considered so if you have a long credit history with 100% payment history, you can probably get by with an income no the lower side.

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What are the Chase Slate credit limits?

Because a lot of applicants in the process of re-building or building up credit it’s not uncommon for Chase Slate credit limits to be on the lower side.

If you don’t have a lot of income and a thin credit history, you might only be approved for a $500 credit limit.

However, Chase can be pretty good about giving you credit limit increases after 6 months or so (sometimes automatically). You can read more about getting Chase credit limit increases here.  

Also, if you have another Chase credit card you can always transfer your credit from one of those cards to your Slate.

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Chase Slate application status

If you apply and don’t get approved instantly then you’ll probably want to check on your application status.

Chase allows you to do this over the phone and online if you already have an account with Chase.

Read more about how to check your Chase Slate application status here. 

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Chase reconsideration line

If you’re denied for the Chase Slate you might still have a chance of getting approved.

You’ll just need to call the Chase reconsideration line and plead your case about why you need the Chase Slate. 

I think a good reason for going for a card like the Slate is that you have a plan to make a large purchase or balance transfer and pay it down.

Chase knows that the Slate product is for people trying to manage their debt so it’s not going to shock them if you can communicate a plan to take control of some debt or pay down a big purchase.

Just try not to sound like you’re on shaky financial ground when calling into recon because that would obviously set off a red flag.

The phone number is: 1-888-270-2127.

You can read more about my Chase reconsideration tips here.  

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Chase Slate features

The Chase Slate is known for being one of the best balance transfer credit cards on the market.

• Transfer balances with an introductory fee of $0 during the first 60 days your account is open
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers from account opening.
• Free FICO score 
• No annual fee
• No penalty APR
• Credit Dashboard 

The Chase Slate is one of the only credit cards that offers both a $0 fee for balance transfers and a 0% intro APR for 15 months, so it’s a great balance transfer option. With it’s $0 annual fee, the Chase Slate has a lot of potential for pure savings.

Outside of those perks, though there’s not a lot to the Chase Slate.

It is nice that you’ll get access to credit dashboard where you can monitor and track your FICO Experian score. You’ll also be provided with summaries of your score so you’ll see exactly what is affecting your credit score.

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Chase 5/24 & Application rules

The Chase Slate is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.

This means that you won’t get approved for it if you’ve opened five or more credit cards within the past 24 months.

There are a number of exceptions to this rule and it’s good idea to be aware of them.

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Chase Freedom vs Slate

If you don’t need the balance transfer and you want to earn great rewards while also still getting a 0% APR offer then the Chase Freedom would be a logical option for you.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5 back on all purchases and comes with a 0% intro APR for 15 months.

It’s also known for being one of the easier Chase cards to get approved for so you won’t need a fantastic credit score to get approved.

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What credit bureau will Chase pull from?

There are three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Some banks like American Express like to pull from one credit bureau most of the time (Experian).

However, Chase is harder to predict  — I’d say expect an Experian pull and one additional bureau but it could be very location-specific.

You can find out how to search which credit bureau your local bank might pull here. 

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What Chase cards can I get pre-qualified (pre-approved) for?

Chase has been known to offer pre-qualified (pre-approved) offers for the:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Freedom cards
• Chase Slate

You can find pre-qualified cards in mailers but you can also find them in-branch.

There are certain steps you’ll want to take try to increase your odds of getting pre-qualified offers and you read more about how to get Chase pre-qualified offers here. 

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Chase refer a friend

The Chase refer a friend program allows you to earn extra points when others use your links and get approved but the Chase Slate does not offer a refer a friend option currently. 

You can read more about the Chase refer a friend program here. 

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Final word

The Chase Slate is a fantastic balance transfer card since you can do them with no fees and with 0% APR for 15 months.