Citi Forward Message - UTI High - Apply for CLI

[dhon55]

Hello all,

I recently made a big purchase using my Citi Forward (Student) card, CL $2,000.  The utilization is about $1,800 and I do intend to pay down.  The statement just closed and so it caught the new, high balance.

For the first time, it gave me a message upon login telling me that I'm approaching my credit limit and asking if I want to request a credit limit increase.

Does this seem familiar to anyone?  I would definitely only consider applying for a CLI if my utilization was low on the card, certainly now is not the time to expect them to approve.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Kenny]

I think the idea that they are offering screams to apply for it.

[Chris679]

I think it is a misconception that your utilization needs to be low for a CLI. Maybe this would be the case If your limit was 10-20k but these companies are begging for people to run up a few thousand dollars on their cards.

[Trivolve]

Go for the CLI. If there's a message that says "a credit bureau report will NOT be pulled" then you can expect SP.

I agree that CLI doesn't seem to care about Util, and may even like high util. I got denied initially for my AMEX BCE 3x CLI at near zero util, but later got approved for 3x CLI when i was literally at 99% Utilization on that card (granted, the balance hadn't posted into a statement yet).

[clocktick]

Two weeks ago, Citi gave me a CLI on a card that I've had over 50% utilization for a while (over $8000 balance).  I would go for it.  I'm not sure of their thinking but maybe they're hoping people will increase their balance higher than it already is.

[Cdnewmanpac]

Citi is not Amex. Citi's lending model is geared more towards interest from long term debt than from swipe fees. they often respond favorably to those who carry higher balances, provided you Pay on time. While my wife was carrying a balance >20k on a 25k limit card for almost a year following the birth of our son, she got preapproved offers for other citi cards two to three times a week. Since paying down to zero, the offers are down to one or two a month.