topic Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash in Credit Card Applications

Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:06:04 GMT

Knew it was unlikely, but thought maybe I’d get lucky. Oh well. Here are the DPs if folks are interested.

Reasons for denial

Too many accounts with balances
Too many recently opened accounts
Too few bank revolving accounts (???)

Other info

Bureau pulled: EQ
FICO Score (EQ): 810
Inquiries (EQ): 0/30, 0/6, 1/12, 3/24
New accounts: 1/30, 4/6, 6/12, 12/24
I have one other Citi card, originally opened 11 years ago
Probably didn’t help that I got the Venmo card yesterday and it’s already reporting as a new account

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

RASULL12 — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:34:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Knew it was unlikely, but thought maybe I’d get lucky. Oh well. Don’t know the exact reason yet, but here are some preliminary DPs for folks:

New accounts: 1/30, 4/6, 6/12, 12/24
Bureau pulled: I think they just pulled EQ as I didn’t get any notifications from EX or TU
Inquiries (EQ): 0/30, 0/6, 1/12, 3/24
I have one other Citi card, originally opened 11 years ago
Probably didn’t help that I got the Venmo card yesterday and it’s already reporting as a new account

Sorry about your denial.

If you don't mind sharing, what is your EQ score?

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 23:50:24 GMT

Oh yeah, knew I forgot something haha. According to the Citi mobile app, it's 810 as of May 25.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

RASULL12 — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:40:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Oh yeah, knew I forgot something haha. According to the Citi mobile app, it's 810 as of May 25.

Thanks for sharing. I have similar dp's and this is what I needed to hear before applying for another card that I probably won't get due to recent new accounts. I need to stay in the garden myself for the next 12-24 months.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:44:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Knew it was unlikely, but thought maybe I’d get lucky. Oh well. Here are the DPs if folks are interested.

Reasons for denial
Too many accounts with balances
Too many recently opened accounts
Too few bank revolving accounts (???)
Other info
Bureau pulled: EQ
FICO Score (EQ): 810
Inquiries (EQ): 0/30, 0/6, 1/12, 3/24
New accounts: 1/30, 4/6, 6/12, 12/24
I have one other Citi card, originally opened 11 years ago
Probably didn’t help that I got the Venmo card yesterday and it’s already reporting as a new account

I was denied, too. It said I would receive a letter in 7-10 days. Were you able to already see your denial reasons because you have a current CC with Citi? I only have a co-branded Macy's.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:13:34 GMT

I called the phone number on the decision page and, much to my surprise, the automated system listed off all the reasons I was denied + the credit bureau.

Not sure if I'm allowed the post the number, but happy to if the mods are okay with it.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

FinStar — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:22:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I called the phone number on the decision page and, much to my surprise, the automated system listed off all the reasons I was denied + the credit bureau.

Not sure if I'm allowed the post the number, but happy to if the mods are okay with it.

It's perfectly ok to post the phone number ☑️

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:34:49 GMT

Thanks @FinStar!

@Anonymous The number I was given on the denial page was 1-866-441-7409.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:35:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I called the phone number on the decision page and, much to my surprise, the automated system listed off all the reasons I was denied + the credit bureau.

Not sure if I'm allowed the post the number, but happy to if the mods are okay with it.

That would be much appreciated! I'm always eager to screen shot approvals, but I guess I was a little to eager to make a denial page disappear quickly.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:36:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks @FinStar!

@Anonymous The number I was given on the denial page was 1-866-441-7409.

Thank you! Off to call...

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:53:16 GMT

Well, this is a new one for me.

The second reason they stated was too many recently opened accounts. Understandable.
The FIRST reason was "lack of recent credit activity". What?

Have I been harming my credit profile by not letting much report? I have 15 CCs and routinely use most of them. Some only get a small auto bill to keep them alive. But at least 5 get monthly regular spend and another 3-5 get bursts of spend every 2-3 months. In order to keep my reported utilization low, I have been paying most of them before the statement cuts.

Thank you so much for the number. I'm going to go update my original thread.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 01:58:57 GMT

I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 02:09:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?

Good grief - that's bizarre!

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

FinStar — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 03:08:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?
Good grief - that's bizarre!

My understanding, whenever that particular negative reason code pops up, it may mean that the overall proportion of bankcard revolving accounts reporting actively is fairly limited or the proportion of bankcards vs retail cards is low.

So, I don't think the aggregate count is the main reason. But, if only a small percentage of the 18 revolving accounts is reporting some activity then it may appear as a disproportionate use of [bankcard] revolving credit (in their eyes).

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 03:24:45 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?
Good grief - that's bizarre!
My understanding, whenever that particular negative reason code pops up, it may mean that the overall proportion of bankcard revolving accounts reporting actively is fairly limited or the proportion of bankcards vs retail cards is low.

So, I don't think the aggregate count is the main reason. But, if only a small percentage of the 18 revolving accounts is reporting some activity then it may appear as a disproportionate use of [bankcard] revolving credit (in their eyes).

Hm, 13 of my 18 cards are currently reporting non-zero balances, though, so I'm still baffled.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 18:42:44 GMT

Sorry for your denial but thanks for providing datapoints.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 19:35:53 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?
Good grief - that's bizarre!
My understanding, whenever that particular negative reason code pops up, it may mean that the overall proportion of bankcard revolving accounts reporting actively is fairly limited or the proportion of bankcards vs retail cards is low.

So, I don't think the aggregate count is the main reason. But, if only a small percentage of the 18 revolving accounts is reporting some activity then it may appear as a disproportionate use of [bankcard] revolving credit (in their eyes).

I have 15 total and 3-5 of them have been reporting balances in recent months. I only have 2 strictly retail CC (Macy's & Sync Amazon Prime). I do have Visa/MC versions of store CCs (4). I thought those reported as bank cards. I have another 8 that are strictly bank cards. The 15th isn't a CC - it's PayPal credit.

Honestly, my credit needs have changed so much in the last few years that I don't need a lot of them and it's a chore to keep them alive. But I'm always hesitant to straight up close anything that isn't costing me an annual fee. I don't need PPC and could easily close that if it is causing any harm. How does that report or look to bank creditors? I don't need my Macy's store CC and struggle to keep it alive. But I HAVE to - it's my oldest card at 32 years. I was going to let my Sync Amazon close naturally from lack of use. But now I'm wondering if it's wiser to wait and see how the Chase Amazon situation shakes out. I have that one, too. I have another Sync, JCPMC, that I would also gladly let close.

When I look at the most recent cards that reported balances, there were 3 bank cards and 2 retail. So maybe that's it. Do I need to close a couple retail cards, or will letting more of my banks cards report balances correct the ratio, if that is the problem they saw?

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

FinStar — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:11:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm similarly baffled by the last reason they gave me: "too few bank revolving accounts." Is 18 cards nowhere near enough, Citi?
Good grief - that's bizarre!
My understanding, whenever that particular negative reason code pops up, it may mean that the overall proportion of bankcard revolving accounts reporting actively is fairly limited or the proportion of bankcards vs retail cards is low.

So, I don't think the aggregate count is the main reason. But, if only a small percentage of the 18 revolving accounts is reporting some activity then it may appear as a disproportionate use of [bankcard] revolving credit (in their eyes).

I have 15 total and 3-5 of them have been reporting balances in recent months. I only have 2 strictly retail CC (Macy's & Sync Amazon Prime). I do have Visa/MC versions of store CCs (4). I thought those reported as bank cards. I have another 8 that are strictly bank cards. The 15th isn't a CC - it's PayPal credit.

Honestly, my credit needs have changed so much in the last few years that I don't need a lot of them and it's a chore to keep them alive. But I'm always hesitant to straight up close anything that isn't costing me an annual fee. I don't need PPC and could easily close that if it is causing any harm. How does that report or look to bank creditors? I don't need my Macy's store CC and struggle to keep it alive. But I HAVE to - it's my oldest card at 32 years. I was going to let my Sync Amazon close naturally from lack of use. But now I'm wondering if it's wiser to wait and see how the Chase Amazon situation shakes out. I have that one, too. I have another Sync, JCPMC, that I would also gladly let close.

When I look at the most recent cards that reported balances, there were 3 bank cards and 2 retail. So maybe that's it. Do I need to close a couple retail cards, or will letting more of my banks cards report balances correct the ratio, if that is the problem they saw?

IMO, trying to make sense or do a deep-dive on some of the 'broad' negative reason codes will drive anyone to insanity. I wouldn't change much in order to satisfy reason codes that can inherently change like a moving target. Specific codes that address certain factors such as derogatory data, inquiries, new accounts, sure. But I wouldn't go on mass closures -- unless you feel this would be the right time to address any 'dead weight.'

So, don't close PayPal Credit or Macy's if it's not hurting your profile. Perhaps rotate activity on dormant accounts (or accounts that get seldomly used) and let more balances report naturally (within reason). If you're doing the AZEO method, perhaps reconsider that strategy unless you're going to be in a position that requires your profile/scores to be optimized. Just my .02¢.

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 20:32:51 GMT

IMO, trying to make sense or do a deep-dive on some of the 'broad' negative reason codes will drive anyone to insanity. I wouldn't change much in order to satisfy reason codes that can inherently change like a moving target. Specific codes that address certain factors such as derogatory data, inquiries, new accounts, sure. But I wouldn't go on mass closures -- unless you feel this would be the right time to address any 'dead weight.'

So, don't close PayPal Credit or Macy's if it's not hurting your profile. Perhaps rotate activity on dormant accounts (or accounts that get seldomly used) and let more balances report naturally (within reason). If you're doing the AZEO method, perhaps reconsider that strategy unless you're going to be in a position that requires your profile/scores to be optimized. Just my .02¢.

Will drive anyone to insanity? I think it already did for me in less than 48 hours.

SouthJamaica explained some more points to me, in another thread, about how various CCs report. Thank you so much to both of you. Looks like I can chill about this for now and simply pay a little more attention to which CCs report so I show bank card use. I don't have a need for a mortgage or other loan for the foreseeable future, so no need for AZEO.

I wish Macy's would upgrade me to the Amex version so I could use it outside of the store. It's been a challenge since my daughter went off to college and I removed DH. They used to be the heavy users!

Re: Denied for Citi Custom Cash

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 02:17:04 GMT

Since we're doing random theories - I got declined too. 808 score, lots of available credit ($150k) with almost no utlization ($1k). My reasons were also odd and not particularly relevant. My theory is they don't want to give people who don't need credit more credit. It's pretty clear from my reports that I don't pay interest to anyone and I have nearly every cashback harvesting method available - so why give me another card?