Citi CL decreased!

[bint-bilady]

Hey everyone

I just found out that Citi has decreased my student card limit from $4000 to $3520 which it made me very angry! I requested a cli and that's what i got instead! I know that my credit ha gotten worse since I got this one 4 month a go. I wonder if this could be th reason. In general I haven't missed any payment and my utli is about 50%. how can I handle this problem? 

Thanks in advance 

[haulingthescoreup]

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bint-bilady wrote:

Hey everyone

I just found out that Citi has decreased my student card limit from $4000 to $3520 which it made me very angry! I requested a cli and that's what i got instead! I know that my credit ha gotten worse since I got this one 4 month a go. I wonder if this could be th reason. In general I haven't missed any payment and my utli is about 50%. how can I handle this problem? 

Thanks in advance 

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Not sure what you were trying to say with I know that my credit ha gotten worse since I got this one... --it has, or hasn't gotten worse?

Not a lot you can do right now. I'd work on reducing my util to under 10% and adding clean history, and maybe check back with them in 3-6 months for a recon, once that util is down.

Asking for CLI's in this environment, especially when your credit report isn't squeaky clean, is inviting disaster. Don't ask them to take a look at your credit if there's stuff that you don't want them to find out.

[plasticguy]

The 50% utilization isn't good. That's the last thing creditors want to see. My rule and only my rule is 20% or less. Others will disagree

[GomerPyle]

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@plasticguy wrote:
The 50% utilization isn't good. That's the last thing creditors want to see. My rule and only my rule is 20% or less. Others will disagree

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I agree with your rule. I believe under 20% is a good line in the sand. Use it but don't abuse it.

[Uborrow-Upay]

+1

[smallfry]

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@plasticguy wrote:
The 50% utilization isn't good. That's the last thing creditors want to see. My rule and only my rule is 20% or less. Others will disagree

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I agree with you and I would go further. Unless you have very high scores and pristine credit reports keep the utilization well under 10% and PIF always or you're asking for trouble. Citi will cut your limits for not enough usage or high utilization. Asking for more credit on a card with 50% utilization is at least in their mind an admission of trouble paying your bills.

[Anonymous]

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@bint-bilady wrote:

Hey everyone

I just found out that Citi has decreased my student card limit from $4000 to $3520 which it made me very angry! I requested a cli and that's what i got instead! I know that my credit ha gotten worse since I got this one 4 month a go. I wonder if this could be th reason. In general I haven't missed any payment and my utli is about 50%. how can I handle this problem? 

Thanks in advance 

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Hi Bint.

I think, if you read your own post, that you have explained the CLD all ready.

1.  You requested a CLI with very little history (only 4 months) on a student card with a fairly big CL for a new student card.

2.  Your "credit has gotten worse" since you initially got the card.

3.  Your utilization is 50%

and now you want more CL.  To a bank this screams:  "Hey, I have used up a lot of  my credit, my credit rating has gone down, and now I want more credit when I am a student with high utilization."

The bank is going to say, "hey this looks risky, let's pull the CL down a bit and watch how this goes."

Your remedy:  pay down your debt and stop carrying large (if any) balances.  Let the account age.  Use it responsibly. 

[pattycake]

I have to concur with hauling and txjohn.  When you ask Citi for a CLI, they will pull your report (as many CCs are now doing).  If your score is not to their satisfaction, they will deny you.  I'd advise you to work on paying your bills on time, even if only the minimum, and working with your other creditors to make sure you can work on some type of payment plan to bring your credit back into shape.  

Also, I have been reading that student cards are going to be harder to come by.  We are reverting to the credit standards of the 70's and 80's.  Back then, even if you had a full time job and no debt, it was like pulling teeth to get any type of credit card.  College students did not have credit, they had bank accounts that mom and dad could place money in to pay for expenses. 

[bschmidt]

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@pattycake wrote:

Also, I have been reading that student cards are going to be harder to come by.  We are reverting to the credit standards of the 70's and 80's.  Back then, even if you had a full time job and no debt, it was like pulling teeth to get any type of credit card.  College students did not have credit, they had bank accounts that mom and dad could place money in to pay for expenses. 

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Hopefully this will actually be a blessing in disguise in the long run.  If I could go back and do it all over again I wouldn't have gotten a CC while in college.  Too tempting to use when the money was in short supply and you're just living for the day.  Something had to give - credit was way too easy for college students.  But I do think it'll be painful for college students at least initially.  Around here, tuition for state schools has risen 50% in less than 10 years.  So that all adds up to more student loan debt.  Because of the new laws and lending standards, few if any will be able to get a CC on their own while in school even if they wanted to.  So you wait 'til you're out and with all that student loan debt, fat chance you'll be able to get much credit even with a full time job.  I think it'll all shake out in a few years, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when the new laws take effect in conjunction with new lending standards.

[Anonymous]

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bschmidt wrote: 

I think it'll all shake out in a few years, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when the new laws take effect in conjunction with new lending standards.

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Ditto.