topic Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08? in Credit Card Applications

Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 18:00:09 GMT

Hi All,

I really need a flat 2% CB card. I've considered Fidelity (where my retirement is); but Elan is a shaky bank for me.. they are like Ally (who btw invited me with 9 mos 0% on BTs but I declined - mistake?)

What are Citi's general requirements? Don't they focus on inquiries or something like that?

Here are my inquiry stats:

EXP 1/6, 2/12, 9/24 - most falling off between August - Dec

EQ 0/6,0/12,5/24 - four falling off in August

TU 1/6, 4/12,13/24 - six falling off by year end

some acounts obtain with SP only like Bread Amex Rewards.

New accounts across the board: 3/6 - all 60+ days old 4/12, 10/24 with 5 of them hitting 24 months in literally one month

My new Discover card has not hit yet which is why Im like should I go or should I stay noowwwwww!

Ive been wanting double cash for SOOO LONG. When I applied in Dec 2023, I got denied ONLY for "too many inquiries" and my score was 640 ish on EXP FICO 08;

What are my chances of approval with Citi for the Double Cash or Even the Costco Card? I could go Costco because of how their rewards work. I would freeze TU & EQ like I did before.

I have a great banking history with Citi Checking wise - and I've had two or three of their cards in the past that I paid in full (but never any interest LOL - they hated that!) I've had their gas cards and their Diamond Preferred card that started at 5k with 688 FICO thru Exec Office that I closed in 2015 because they wouldn't budge over $5k for a solid 21 months and BOA was willing to grant me 30k out the gate with 705 tu FICO.

I dont want to go through any exec office approvals because their algorithms wont change even if a human opens the account for me, and the algorithm will always try to put me in the doghouse.

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

GZG — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 18:07:41 GMT

what does the pre-qualify tool say, unfreeze your credit to try it

https://online.citi.com/US/ag/cards/pre-qualify

typically costco has less strict underwriting than the core cards, so if you're only pre-qualified for costco, that'll be why

other than not having a recent inquiry in the last week, everything else is a profile specific suggestion

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

youngandcreditwrthy — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 17:15:29 GMT

@GZG

thanks, you seem to have the Citi double cash.. what was your profile like when you got it? All of the free credit sites recommend Double Cash, Mile Up, and Costco with Good to Outstanding chance. In my entire life though, I have never been one to get Citi mailers (Im usually opted out though -I can do enough damage on my own thank you v much! lol)

My inquiries are low, much lower than I realized and it's because I somehow managed to get Comenity and Sync cards with no inquiries once or twice, maybe three times in the last 2 years. theyll be lower though in about a month.

when I do prequal, nothing comes up, but I also check the soft pulls and I dont even see them softpulling me... on any report.

that said, it might be because one of my creditors keeps reporting my old address, and I dunno why or how what they report trumps what I report. doesn't make sense. I AM THE PERSON. So their prequal thing does not work for me bc they aren't even softpulling me. I could try putting in what I *think* would match up to get them to soft pull me, but then Id have to deal with a card being sent to the wrong address. And if you call in and change an address first thing, that's a fraud flag to deal with. Not gunna deal with that.

one of my creditors must be reporting an address thats five years old, and I dont know who because all my bills come to my established address.

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

youngandcreditwrthy — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 17:21:31 GMT

@GZG another card I keep tirelessly getting recommended is the AA card, like that silver one you have in your siggy.

it has some good points, and Im planning a long vacation in the next two months.. but the AA miles card is one the credit sites heavily heavily recommend to me and tell me I have the BEST chance of getting.

My new 11k Discover will report in probably a week. I've only put 300 on it, but once that reports, I will have to wait until Q3 or right before to apply. and this new FICO 10 thing has me worried. I make huge payments (I pif every card except one monthly and usually have about 20% util) but if FICO 10 ends up looking at raw payment data I should be fine.

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

GZG — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 20:08:55 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
@GZG

thanks, you seem to have the Citi double cash.. what was your profile like when you got it? All of the free credit sites recommend Double Cash, Mile Up, and Costco with Good to Outstanding chance.

when I got the double cash I was probably 2/12 ,7/24 IIRC, inquires were 1/6, 1/12, 2/24

citi also pulls my EQ which still reports one dirty tradeline, so they haven't seemed to mind giving me a whole bunch of credit

citi likes who they like and they dislike who they don't, no way to know for sure, AA/Costco will be easier to get on average than one of their core double cash cards

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

youngandcreditwrthy — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 21:09:31 GMT

@GZG that's interesting... so your credit profile was almost exactly like mine is now when you got Double Cash. Hmm.. I mean. I was on the fence about Discover, and they gave me an 11k CL instantly. my scores and income are solid. I'm two years in on a MBFS loan where the car is worth more than the loan.. to a degree that I'm getting offers to cash out equity of my car LOL. hmm hmm hmmm.

gosh I want to do it so bad, but then what if I get a baby limit.

Our profiles are so similar. What limit did you start out at? Id hope for at least 5k. Right now, I'm spending about 5-10k a month on various cars and paying in full about 70% of the time. I do let some of my cards charge a little interest that way they let me keep my big boy limits.

I appreciate your insight and response. I think I know my answer. I think at this particular moment, I am their target demo. little bit better than average credit and income but only marginally.

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

GZG — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 21:33:25 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
@GZG that's interesting... so your credit profile was almost exactly like mine is now when you got Double Cash. Hmm.. I mean. I was on the fence about Discover, and they gave me an 11k CL instantly. my scores and income are solid. I'm two years in on a MBFS loan where the car is worth more than the loan.. to a degree that I'm getting offers to cash out equity of my car LOL. hmm hmm hmmm.

gosh I want to do it so bad, but then what if I get a baby limit.

Our profiles are so similar. What limit did you start out at? Id hope for at least 5k. Right now, I'm spending about 5-10k a month on various cars and paying in full about 70% of the time. I do let some of my cards charge a little interest that way they let me keep my big boy limits.

I appreciate your insight and response. I think I know my answer. I think at this particular moment, I am their target demo. little bit better than average credit and income but only marginally.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Citi-Double-Cash-Approval-3800/m-p/6745948

$3800

honestly think they matched a balance I had reported for one month on my CR and hoped I would BT it

citi will grow, slowly, ~$1500 every 6 months with the right spend

citi is always a crapshoot, the like what they like and they dislike what they don't

the $16k I got on AA biz??? they are wildly unpredictable

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

dfwxjer — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:09:07 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

I have a great banking history with Citi Checking wise - and I've had two or three of their cards in the past that I paid in full (but never any interest LOL - they hated that!)

I've held various Citi cards for the last 20 years and have never paid them interest. Can you please stop propagating this myth?

Citi typically looks for candidates with strong scores and not individuals that have signed up for any type of available credit they come across. What happened with your previous Citi cards, what were they, and why did they close?

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

youngandcreditwrthy — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 06:27:02 GMT

@dfwxjer do you think it's a myth that banks like to make money on interest? and that they consider interest rates and scores based on how much $ they think they can make on you? Id argue that's their entire business model.

I dont think that's a myth lol.. but to each their own.

if you read this whole thread, youll see that I had a Citi Diamond Preferred almost ten years ago that still reports, and I PIF and closed because at the time - my avg CL was 15k and they weren't willing to budge on CLI ever. had it opened 21 months maybe longer - never could get a CLI. I had a Shell card that was paid off and closed in 2009 and then maybe their Exxon Mobile Mastercard around 2009 that was pif and closed. Each of those gas cards was open maybe 2-3 years. I closed the cards because they weren't useful but did use them monthly and pif often to the whole limit. I am surprised that the CDP from 2015 still reports on EQ though - but that's the only report its on.

I never had any bad business with them, I just didnt pay any interest. my spend was good imo but it was before I understood utilization with the gas cards for sure. The CDP was 5k limit - never could get an increase. Shell gas card was I think 200 then went to 400 (that one got a CLI). Exxon Mobile MC was I think 1000, maybe 1500 - never got a cli? CDP I used for Balance Transfers (so I guess I did pay the 3% fee or what not - it was 2015 ish). highest balance was 4800/5000 I paid the BT off in a year rather than the 18 months I had ( I think back then it was 0% 18 months for purchases and BTs). Point is, never any late payments, never any bad history, quite the contrary.

about half of my exp inquiries are due to fall off (MBFS pulled me three, maybe four times) in August 2023. and the Discover card just reported.

I've been looking at the AA and Costco cards because both CK and EXP are telling me those are excellent odds and my research here shows that too.

haha you're funny... saying it's a myth banks don't want to make money from interest LOLOL People get CLD frequently for not spending enough all the time and some banks will say as much.

since you've got 20 years of experience with Citi, is it true that the co-branded cards like the AA ones are easier to get and less focused on inquiries/new accounts? Ive read several anecdotal reports of people in the 760s - 780s - 800+ FICOs getting denied for only one inquiry in 6 months "too many inquiries" on Citi core cards.

I'm very strategic with my applications such that I've not wasted a hard pull since that Citi DC app in Dec 2023.

other stats: dti 15% roughly including housing, aaoa 8 years roughly averaged, oldest account near 20 years (open)

Re: Citibank Double Cash or Costco with 720 EXP FICO 08?

dfwxjer — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:40:03 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
@dfwxjer do you think it's a myth that banks like to make money on interest? and that they consider interest rates and scores based on how much $ they think they can make on you? Id argue that's their entire business model.

I dont think that's a myth lol.. but to each their own.

if you read this whole thread, youll see that I had a Citi Diamond Preferred almost ten years ago that still reports, and I PIF and closed because at the time - my avg CL was 15k and they weren't willing to budge on CLI ever. had it opened 21 months maybe longer - never could get a CLI. I had a Shell card that was paid off and closed in 2009 and then maybe their Exxon Mobile Mastercard around 2009 that was pif and closed. Each of those gas cards was open maybe 2-3 years. I closed the cards because they weren't useful but did use them monthly and pif often to the whole limit. I am surprised that the CDP from 2015 still reports on EQ though - but that's the only report its on.

I never had any bad business with them, I just didnt pay any interest. my spend was good imo but it was before I understood utilization with the gas cards for sure. The CDP was 5k limit - never could get an increase. Shell gas card was I think 200 then went to 400 (that one got a CLI). Exxon Mobile MC was I think 1000, maybe 1500 - never got a cli? CDP I used for Balance Transfers (so I guess I did pay the 3% fee or what not - it was 2015 ish). highest balance was 4800/5000 I paid the BT off in a year rather than the 18 months I had ( I think back then it was 0% 18 months for purchases and BTs). Point is, never any late payments, never any bad history, quite the contrary.

about half of my exp inquiries are due to fall off (MBFS pulled me three, maybe four times) in August 2023. and the Discover card just reported.

I've been looking at the AA and Costco cards because both CK and EXP are telling me those are excellent odds and my research here shows that too.

haha you're funny... saying it's a myth banks don't want to make money from interest LOLOL People get CLD frequently for not spending enough all the time and some banks will say as much.

since you've got 20 years of experience with Citi, is it true that the co-branded cards like the AA ones are easier to get and less focused on inquiries/new accounts? Ive read several anecdotal reports of people in the 760s - 780s - 800+ FICOs getting denied for only one inquiry in 6 months "too many inquiries" on Citi core cards.

I'm very strategic with my applications such that I've not wasted a hard pull since that Citi DC app in Dec 2023.

other stats: dti 15% roughly including housing, aaoa 8 years roughly averaged, oldest account near 20 years (open)

You're confusing "Banks like to make money on interest" (of course they do) with their approval criteria for granting credit. I have no issues getting approved for Citi cards, co-brand and core, having never paid them interest. It's inaccurate to "Citi doesn't approve my application because I've never paid them interest". I did not say

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but your story is all over the place based on your posting history. It's hard to follow along since it's evolving, but I can say with certainty that Citi isn't denying you new credit based on you "never paying them interest".

As to your current question, at times the Citi co-branded cards are easier to get depending on the partnership deal they have going on. If AA, Costco, etc are pushing to expand membership then they may loosen criteria. CK and EXP have paid partnerships to push certain products. Without your entire backstory I don't know what your approval odds are, but once again Citi doesn't "hate" you because you never paid interest. I'd personally guess it had something to do with the $200k in debt you said you let go several years ago, but that's just a wild guess.