topic Re: too few valid credit references in Credit Card Applications

too few valid credit references

JcT21 — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 15:13:14 GMT

i applied for a CLI for my simplicity mastercard. it was a soft pull and i was denied for the following reason...

"Thanks for contacting us about a credit limit increase for your Citi Simplicity® MasterCard® account. We reviewed your request, and unfortunately, we can’t approve it because your credit report shows too few valid credit references"

what in the world does that mean? what on my credit report is not valid? i have 3 auto loans reporting with 1 showing paid. credit cards from chase, citi, bofa, cap1, amex, discover, barclays, comenity, & synch. no lates, no baddies, utilization at 3%. my scores are good.

is that a generic response from citi?

any info is appreciated....

Re: too few valid credit references

RonM21 — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:04:57 GMT

I'm thinking it means you don't have enough established "other" credit accounts that hey can compare or even look at to make a decision.

Re: too few valid credit references

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:57:15 GMT

What "other" credit accounts might you be referring to RM21?

I think the OP has more than enough valid creditors...

Re: too few valid credit references

UncleB — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 09:44:01 GMT

@JcT21 wrote:
i applied for a CLI for my simplicity mastercard. it was a soft pull and i was denied for the following reason...

"Thanks for contacting us about a credit limit increase for your Citi Simplicity® MasterCard® account. We reviewed your request, and unfortunately, we can’t approve it because your credit report shows too few valid credit references"

what in the world does that mean? what on my credit report is not valid? i have 3 auto loans reporting with 1 showing paid. credit cards from chase, citi, bofa, cap1, amex, discover, barclays, comenity, & synch. no lates, no baddies, utilization at 3%. my scores are good.

is that a generic response from citi?

any info is appreciated....

That response honestly has me puzzled.

This is one of the few times I'm going to suggest reaching out to the Citi EO - you're not reaching out specifically for a CLI, but really for an explanation of what you need to work on to get one (that's how I would approach them if it were me...)

Of course when you reach out to them for an explanation they will also get to take another look at your request, which I think you have a good chance at.

Re: too few valid credit references

DoroLucky — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 14:44:57 GMT

@JcT21 wrote:
i applied for a CLI for my simplicity mastercard. it was a soft pull and i was denied for the following reason...

"Thanks for contacting us about a credit limit increase for your Citi Simplicity® MasterCard® account. We reviewed your request, and unfortunately, we can’t approve it because your credit report shows too few valid credit references"

what in the world does that mean? what on my credit report is not valid? i have 3 auto loans reporting with 1 showing paid. credit cards from chase, citi, bofa, cap1, amex, discover, barclays, comenity, & synch. no lates, no baddies, utilization at 3%. my scores are good.

is that a generic response from citi?

any info is appreciated....

How old is the account AND is your EQ/CR frozen?

I'm asking because I asked them for a CLI yesterday and received the EXACT same message. The only thing I could think of that may generate this response is that my account is too new (opened 3-16-16) or that they tried to do a HP and couldn't because my EQ is frozen. Also, I did call in as well and was told by the rep that I was denied because my account is "too new" and that if I want an increase, they will need to HP me.

I too have accounts from Chase, Citi, BOA, Cap1, PenFed, Discover, Amex, NavyFed, SyncB as well as 5 auto loans (3 closed and paid and 2 open), mortgage, student loan, etc. So I'm sure I do not have "too few valid credit references" as these accounts goes back 16 years.

I'm going to take Uncle B's advice and contact their EO. Uncle B, do you know how I could go about that?

Re: too few valid credit references

UncleB — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:23:05 GMT

@DoroLucky wrote:
@JcT21 wrote:
i applied for a CLI for my simplicity mastercard. it was a soft pull and i was denied for the following reason...

"Thanks for contacting us about a credit limit increase for your Citi Simplicity® MasterCard® account. We reviewed your request, and unfortunately, we can’t approve it because your credit report shows too few valid credit references"

what in the world does that mean? what on my credit report is not valid? i have 3 auto loans reporting with 1 showing paid. credit cards from chase, citi, bofa, cap1, amex, discover, barclays, comenity, & synch. no lates, no baddies, utilization at 3%. my scores are good.

is that a generic response from citi?

any info is appreciated....

How old is the account AND is your EQ/CR frozen?

I'm asking because I asked them for a CLI yesterday and received the EXACT same message. The only thing I could think of that may generate this response is that my account is too new (opened 3-16-16) or that they tried to do a HP and couldn't because my EQ is frozen. Also, I did call in as well and was told by the rep that I was denied because my account is "too new" and that if I want an increase, they will need to HP me.

I too have accounts from Chase, Citi, BOA, Cap1, PenFed, Discover, Amex, NavyFed, SyncB as well as 5 auto loans (3 closed and paid and 2 open), mortgage, student loan, etc. So I'm sure I do not have "too few valid credit references" as these accounts goes back 16 years.

I'm going to take Uncle B's advice and contact their EO. Uncle B, do you know how I could go about that?

If it were me, this is what I would do...

My first stop would be the 'sticky' thread, but the information there could be dated and there are several numbers to choose from.

Here's a direct link:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Backdoor-Numbers/m-p/408066

And here's what you'll find there:

Citi: 888-201-4523 (New App Approval Status)
Citi AA: 888-662-7759
Citi App Status: 800-645-7240, 800-288-4653, 800-750-7453
Citi: 800-444-2568 (Retention Dept.)
Citi: 800-763-9795 (App status?? They ask for your app #)
Citi Credit Bureau Dispute Fax: 866-713-5028
Citi EO for the Citi Cards division: 605-331-1698 (Open at 9AM CST) ~popamode72

Citi EO: 866-336-7285 ~maiden_girl

Citi EO#2 423-477-6858 ~newnew2015

Citi: CSR: 301-733-5501 (New App Status) ~eagle2013
Citi: 1-800-695-5171 (New App Status appears US Based w decision ability) - Bubka3

As you can see, there are quite a few different numbers, any one of which might be effective.

After looking over all these numbers, I would probably reach out to the community to see if anybody has any recent (positive) experience with any of them. You might start a thread brieftly stating that you need to reach out to the Citi EO, and you're aware of the following numbers, 800-xxx, 800-xxxx, etc. This way you're letting everybody know up front you've done 'due diligence' and will prevent you from getting a dozen posts referring you back to the sticky thread (hopefully).

Again, this is what I would do if it were me...

Re: too few valid credit references

DoroLucky — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:57:08 GMT

Thanks Uncle, I had already emailed their EO by the time you replied. Haven't heard anything yet.

Re: too few valid credit references

UncleB — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:04:24 GMT

@DoroLucky wrote:
Thanks Uncle, I had already emailed their EO by the time you replied. Haven't heard anything yet.

Ah, gotcha... let us know when you hear back from them! <fingers crossed!>