Don't give up until you've called the backdoor number!

[isilon01]

About a week ago, I applied for a Citibank ThankYou Visa Card and got declined.  Today, I received a letter explaining why they declined my application.  It said "your total credit obligations, which include outstanding credit lines, are too high to meet our approval guidelines, when compared to your stated income".  That didn't make any sense because my DTI is roughly about 25%.  Then I remembered seeing a thread about calling Backdoor numbers to talk to a live person about your application status.  So I called the Citibank one (800-763-9795) and was connected with a human operator right away!  Then I told her that I didn't agree with the letter. She said she would be happy to resubmit my app for someone to review.  I had to listen to some disclaimers before I could say "Please go ahead" to her.  Then she put me on hold for a minute or two and told me "congratulations, you've been approved!"  Best 5 minutes I spent this week!!  Now I'm waiting for my new Citibank visa card with a $7k CL.  I tried to get her to give me a CLI on the spot but she said she didn't have any such authority but also said that once I've received my card I should call the customer service to ask for a CLI.  I'm going to do my homework and search the forum to formulate my game plan before I pick up the phone!  

[myjourney]

---

@isilon01 wrote:

About a week ago, I applied for a Citibank ThankYou Visa Card and got declined.  Today, I received a letter explaining why they declined my application.  It said "your total credit obligations, which include outstanding credit lines, are too high to meet our approval guidelines, when compared to your stated income".  That didn't make any sense because my DTI is roughly about 25%.  Then I remembered seeing a thread about calling Backdoor numbers to talk to a live person about your application status.  So I called the Citibank one (800-763-9795) and was connected with a human operator right away!  Then I told her that I didn't agree with the letter. She said she would be happy to resubmit my app for someone to review.  I had to listen to some disclaimers before I could say "Please go ahead" to her.  Then she put me on hold for a minute or two and told me "congratulations, you've been approved!"  Best 5 minutes I spent this week!!  Now I'm waiting for my new Citibank visa card with a $7k CL.  I tried to get her to give me a CLI on the spot but she said she didn't have any such authority but also said that once I've received my card I should call the customer service to ask for a CLI.  I'm going to do my homework and search the forum to formulate my game plan before I pick up the phone!  

---

Congarts 

[coldnmn]

Congrats!  I'm going for a Citi card next year after my lates are off my report. I hope I have the same outcome.

[09Lexie]

Excellent! Persistence surely paid off.

[koalablue]

Well done, OP!  I had heard you have to write to Citi to get recon results but I'm very glad to hear you had success in calling.

[knoregs]

Congrats!

~kn

[MsLadyRover]

Excellent job! Congratulations OP!

[missjae]

Congrats!