Best strategical move for AMEX and Citicards.

[enharu]

@young, just because citi took adverse action against you, doesn't mean they will against everyone else.....

[09Lexie]

Just re-read your last post. The SP's for Amex are for current cardmembers. Citibank can be inq sensitive but since we are talking about the future-it's really hard to say which might be easier

[Sorainzo]

Well, I had a CapitalOne card back in 09 with no previous credit cards before that and got the usual CapOne $500 limit. Then I applied for a Citibank students card a few months after, and was instantly approved with a whopping $5,000 limit. I was really surprised because it was such a high limit for someone with only 1 other credit card that was just recently opened a few months prior.

Then SallieMae and DirectLoans payments kicked in, and I found myself paying off the monthly student loans (the non-deferred ones) with those credit cards and also fond myself paying off the credit cards bills WITH the balances of the other card and sometimes took the money out of the SAME credit card just to pay it off to pay off another month. Then that all of those just became so overwhelming and found myself with high balances on both and the cards going into collection.

I paid them both off completely in full in 2011, so my credit score was going back up, unfortunately I couldn't use the cards anymore or reopen them and the workers at both CC companies said that I would need to reapply (after contacting exec offices) to get another card, so I said forget it, I'm just going to let my score get back up. Then, all of a sudden, when I was about to apply for another card in 2012, BAMfound out my score TANKED 90 POINTS! It went from a 680 to a 590. This was due to a stupid mistake Direct Loans made by sending me reminders to pay the bill to the incorrect address. They marked EACH specific loan (for each term) individually, so that was about 12 DIFFERENT 90-day late markings on my account. Ridiculous. And not only that, they weren't even supposed to be billing me on those loans because I was IN SCHOOL. Those loans were supposed to be deferred while you're in school. Then they claim they contacted here and there and that I would have to send a request to have them removed, which is another beast in and of itself.

Even after all that, Capital One actually INSTANTLY approved me just a MONTH after that happened, which is why I like them. They even increased my limit from $500 to $750 (Lol, yeah I know, big deal) just a few months later. But, it seems if you know your way around calling Executive Offices with Capital One, you can find yourself with a pretty decent card with a pretty decent limit, because I've seen people say that they called CapitalOne's EO and got their limit raised passed $2,000, which is cool. Also a few months later, I applied for Chase Amazon Rewards and got approved, but with a low limit.

That's a quick explanation of how I got my current cards. I got both of my current cards with high 500s and low 600s and they were listed as their "average" cards. My utilization ratio on both of my current cards are low because I try to pay them off in full each month before their statements so that it shows $0 or near $0 on each of the statements. Yeah, so my credit score should keep rising.

[B335is]

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@Sorainzo wrote:

I paid them both off completely in full in 2011, so my credit score was going back up, unfortunately I couldn't use the cards anymore or reopen them and the workers at both CC companies said that I would need to reapply (after contacting exec offices) to get another card, so I said forget it, I'm just going to let my score get back up. Then, all of a sudden, when I was about to apply for another card in 2012, BAMfound out my score TANKED 90 POINTS! It went from a 680 to a 590. This was due to a stupid mistake Direct Loans made by sending me reminders to pay the bill to the incorrect address. They marked EACH specific loan (for each term) individually, so that was about 12 DIFFERENT 90-day late markings on my account. Ridiculous. And not only that, they weren't even supposed to be billing me on those loans because I was IN SCHOOL. Those loans were supposed to be deferred while you're in school. Then they claim they contacted here and there and that I would have to send a request to have them removed, which is another beast in and of itself.

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As frustrating as it all was, it happens to the best of us - it happened to me - and until I came to the realization it was my fault, that nasty mark was there on my credit report, staring me in the face.  It''s your responsibility to stay on top of the payments, if something is promised to be deferred, get it in writing.  Reminders should be regarded as a courtesy.  

Are you working to clean up these negatives on your credit report (Goodwill letter, pay for delete)?  I would honestly get some of the negatives cleaned up before using a HP for Amex or Citi.  Barclays has the Barclaycard for Good Credit that actually has a decent rewards structure and the underwriting isn't quite as tough as BCE.

[takeshi74]

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@Sorainzo wrote:

My question is, what would be the BEST strategical move to applying for these two cards if your credit score is decent enough to get the Citibank, but somewhat good enough to get the BCE?

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Prioritize your list and apply in order of your priority.  Best can and does vary from person to person on any topic.

However, I'd agree that if your scores in your signature are current then you might have problems.  You could certainly go for the green and garden if denied.

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@longtimelurker wrote:
If you are eligible for the Forward, this is a card worth having.  And, as always, go for the BCP rather than BCE.   But neither BCP nor BCE is really "fabulous" in terms of total rewards

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I wouldn't use the word fabulous but the BCP is an important card in my wallet.  These aren't one-size-fits-all matters.

[longtimelurker]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:
If you are eligible for the Forward, this is a card worth having.  And, as always, go for the BCP rather than BCE.   But neither BCP nor BCE is really "fabulous" in terms of total rewards

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I wouldn't use the word fabulous but the BCP is an important card in my wallet.  These aren't one-size-fits-all matters.

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And I was just addressing the word "fabulous", from my viewpoint.  I think it should be taken for granted that most/all posts really mean "IMO" or "in the cases I am thinking of".  We are not imparting universal truths....

[Dubious]

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@Sorainzo wrote:

That's a quick explanation of how I got my current cards. I got both of my current cards with high 500s and low 600s and they were listed as their "average" cards. My utilization ratio on both of my current cards are low because I try to pay them off in full each month before their statements so that it shows $0 or near $0 on each of the statements. Yeah, so my credit score should keep rising.

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I'm not sure if you're letting BOTH cards show a 0 balance every month, but you should let one show a >0 (but low) balance because you'll get dinged for not using your credit. Also, utilization isn't cumulative so your score won't rise because you kept low util for one, two, three months in a row or something. However, your score will rise because your AAOA will rise, as well as the age of your negatives. 

How long has it been since your last negative? 

[Sorainzo]

That would be the middle of last year, and again, due to that mistake on their part.

[weeehooo]

I have used Citi as my main credit card for 13 years until i found this site, and they have been great to me the entire time.  No problems whatsoever. 

 I am planning to cancel my BCE as the rewards %s are not that great, and i get much better rewards with cards like (Sallie Mae, or Penfed). 

Just my 2 cents