Just got approved for Citi, need advice on how to garden!

[aubie1kenobie]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum, but I have been reading posts for the past 3-4 months and just didn't register until now. Anyway, I have a very limited credit history (only 3 cards: one store card, one secured card and was added on as an authorized user in another card, and AAoA is about a year, and that's mainly because of the authorized user card). I received my first offer in the mail and decided to go for it, and got approved! 3K credit limit. I really want to get my score up so I can get a decent car loan in a couple of years. Any tips? I mean, aside from keeping util low, using card responsibly, etc. Is there anything I need to know about Citi and how they view credit card usage? I just want to get my score up (my credit union reported my TU to be 707, and my EX score on my last rejection a couple of months back was 663).

I got the diamond preferred. The card which I got added to as an authorized user (USAA) has a high utilization (74%), and I did go for a balance transfer (not the full amount, but enough to put the util of the USAA card under 50%) with 0% APR for 12 months. Since I am helping pay down that credit card anyway I thought a balance trnasfer with 0% APR is a good option. I should be able to pay the full balance transfer amount in a year, and after that I plan on using the card but paying in full everytime.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[09Lexie]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your approval. With util that high in both TLs and with a thin file, the only advice I could give you is to pay the balances way down-less than 20% is best -less than 10% for optimal FICO scoring; do not app for anymore cc's -you have more than enough for credit scoring.

AFAIK, Citi doesn't mind balances and will or may give CLI's after 6 mos.

[aubie1kenobie]

Thank you for this! That's the plan, pay down the balance but it'll take time to do that. Just want to make sure I do good on this one since it's the card with my highest CL so far and my first REAL approval (don't really count the secured card and the store card).

I almost regretted getting added as an authorized user because of the high utilization but if I get removed from it then I lose 2 years of account history. Guess I'll just wait until the balance gets whittled down.

[aubie1kenobie2]

Hey, I couldn't log on to my initial account, so I created another one. Anyway, I've been reading about people getting their limits slashed after they pay off the balance. I did transfer some balance into this card and have been diligently paying it off monthly but only about 1/10 at a time (I figured I have until September next year to enjoy the 0% APR anyway). Is this wise or should I pay it off faster?

Oh, and between last October and today I also got approved for Discover and Amex (got a preapproved offer for the Delta card, currently a Silver Medallion status on Delta so I decided to go for it and got approved). I don't plan on applying for any more cards in the next year, as my next project is an auto loan sometime next year (2nd half, still saving up for the DP). This Citi card is still my highest CL though so I'd hate for it to get slashed. Maybe I'm just being paranoid? I pay off the balances in full on all my other cards except for this one.

[alvon123]

congrats

[efranklin23]

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@09Lexie wrote:
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your approval. With util that high in both TLs and with a thin file, the only advice I could give you is to pay the balances way down-less than 20% is best -less than 10% for optimal FICO scoring; do not app for anymore cc's -you have more than enough for credit scoring.

AFAIK, Citi doesn't mind balances and will or may give CLI's after 6 mos.

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+1 The Util RAte on that USAA Card is way too high. Need to get it under 20%. If not, I would recommend that you take your name off the card as an AU to help build credit. And yea, avoid apping as you're adding HPs that are decreasing your score slowly

[myjourney]

Welcome to the forum and congrats 

[longtime_lurker]

IME, Citi is balance friendly; at least doesn't seem to mind a running balance.

[aubie1kenobie2]

The USAA one has a 41-42% util now and the Citi card has about 37%. The rest have between 10-15%, and are paid in full everytime. Charged a little bit on the Discover card for gifts and I'm trying to get $1000 charged on the Amex one so I get the bonus miles (I always pay within a few days of incurring the charge). I'm afraid that with 3 accounts opened in the last 2 months, my AAoA will take a hit if I get taken off the USAA one (since that is the oldest account, almost 4 years of credit history). Anyway, just want to make sure I don't do anything to mess things up, since I'm so new to credit.

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

[notfancy]

I'd give advice on how to garden, but the gardeners would laugh at me. Congratulations on your progress though, and good luck!