topic Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted! in Credit Card Applications

Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 21:36:12 GMT

Hi All,

So I applied for Citi Strata about a week ago when my inquiries were 1/6 2/12 and 7/24 (another three are going to fall off soon); this was on Experian. TU and EQ are lower with a total of 6 and 3 respectively. My velocity also decreased as I opened 2 accounts in 6 months, 3 in 12 and 7/24. Several of those accounts are about to hit two years.

I confidently went to apply for Citi Strata and was immediately denied with a 736 EXP Fico, and also 11% utilization.

Got the letter in the mail with the reference number. I skipped the regular customer service and recon numbers. I had the direct line to an individual who got my Citi Diamond approved via the ER team at Citi Cards, and this number still worked after around 13 years!!!!!! LOL

I called the number, it was a different person in the same department. Also, there was a delinquency noted, of which I have none???? Where is Citi getting their information!????

I don't really need the card, but Citi has got to change something about their algorithm. How is it I get BOMBARDED BOTH VIA SNAIL MAIL, MY EMAIL, AND ON EXP's website and CK's website to apply for all these Citi cards, including AA, Strata elite etc with "outstanding" chances.. and then I pull the trigger because I need to up my travel card game and get denied!!

My goal here is to get approved for a minimum of $5k. All of my business, personal checking, previous Citi cards (3) have been paid off in full.. and I have almost 20 years of history with them. All great history, never late, paid some interest - not a lot - so I should be an excellent candidate for a reconsideration. The representative was pretty quiet, softspoken I should say, and I referenced that I did not break any of Citi's rules of 1/8 and 2/65. Spoke of my excellent utilization, the fact I'm able to pay my giant student loan payment on time unlike half of current borrowers.

I'm just trying to get a travel card here. and I hope ThankYou points are worth it cause the sub I got in the mail was I think 30k points plus 10k for adding an authorized user and then 15 mos 0% on Ps&BTs. But truthfully need a couple travel cards..... going to Wine Country then gonna back track and go to NY!

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

SRT4kid93 — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:15:47 GMT

What was their denial reason? I'm assuming the letter must have had at least 1 right?

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

crystal626 — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:30:30 GMT

They're being very stingy with this card for some reason. Did you ever have the Rewards+?

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

Patient957 — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:43:14 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Also, there was a delinquency noted, of which I have none???? Where is Citi getting their information!????

This stands out to me. If they're saying you have delinquency, that could definitely be a reason for the denial. Did you ask the rep what delinquency they're referring to?

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

FicoMike0 — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 23:02:22 GMT

I think chiti turned me down for something, maybe a deposit account. Couldn't identify me or something, not sure. Anyway, they're nothing special, I haven't tried them again. There are lots of travel cards, usb connect, navy flagship...

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

CreditCrusader — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:27:03 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

I'm able to pay my giant student loan payment on time unlike half of current borrowers.

If I was a betting man, I would wager THIS is what has them spooked.

You must remember, these lenders are seeing some pretty disturbing dynamics relative to student loans. 42.7 million people owe some form of student loan debt. Over 9 million (over 20%) are either 90 days late or already defaulted...and that number is likely to increase in the months to follow.

You're able to pay at the moment - which is great - but the lender may see that "giant student loan payment" and back away. Given the fact that you've checked their other boxes, it's the logical conclusion.

Remember also that CCCs give some pretty odd reasons (some seemingly made up) for denying credit. They're a collection of odd ducks to start with.

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

dfwxjer — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:40:14 GMT

What department are you calling for this backdoor recon? Citi's internal recon process is entirely different than it was years ago so I'm curious what group you spoke with.

Further, did you request a copy of the credit report they used to make their decision? If they're seeing delinquency then you'll want to reconcile this against what you see when you pull your reports so you can clear up any inaccuracies.

Finally, what are your travel needs and what are you looking for in a travel card? Home airport? Is lounge access important? Do you have a preferred airline?

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 22:13:16 GMT

@crystal626 never had the rewards+ but it had been recommended to me on all these different sites and I got mailers for it for the past 6 months to a year before the offers started on the Stata.. so it was the same sitaution... I just didn't understand that particular card back then. Didn't apply for Rewards+ though ever.

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 22:17:23 GMT

@Patient957 she said a loan officer would have to look at it. I'm not sure, but I'd love to know, and I'd love to have my app manually reviewed. She took a lot of notes of my explanation. She was very very nice, albeit she forwarded my app to a loan officer.

it just doesn't make sense. I get it, they are't required to lend me any money... it's a publicly traded co operating in a private market. I get that, but my risk is incredibly low in terms of default. I have no kids, been in the same industry for 15+ years, have ample savings, almost paid off my car two years ahead of time. DTI low in the 10% range. even paying my student loans, and I made that point that in a time where they're predicting 50% of students, former borrowers can't pay their loans, I'm paying mine.. my huge 700 payment. lol

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 22:18:58 GMT

@SRT4kid93 yeah, it was "too many inquiries" which I had 1 in 6 months on Exp which is all the pulled and even less on the others. Equifax is down to 3 total inquiries all from 2023 and early 2024.

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 22:22:45 GMT

I know @FicoMike0 .. it just kind of makes me angry because I wasted a HP, I planned several months out, and I'm virtually no risk. They were one of my first cards. Ive had an excellent history with them... it doesn't make any sensen. and I wasted a hard pull last year during my rebuild for the "double cash" because it was dubbed as being for "fair credit" and even then, during my rebuild, with fair credit, I got denied.

I thought I might have owed Citi like one last account fee from my previous checking account, but I checked all available sources, including the Citigold bank near me, and they told me nope, I don't owe them anything, and they were encouraging me to apply for the Strata Elite in branch to get 100k bonus. But I don't want an AF card. Cap One is offering me the Venture upgrade for free 99 rn, so I'll go that route if needed.

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

youngandcreditwrthy — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 22:40:53 GMT

something that is versatile, not tied to any specific website and something that can be converted to cash.

the thank you point earn seemed great. 5x points, plus the self select category which can keep me from using my Amazon Prime card.

I know the student loan issue is a big one, but I've been a consistent payer and in the past year alone have paid 10k towards them. I get it, but normally they will mention something like "installment balances too high relative to initial amounts" if they want to deny for student loans. it was only inquiries.

@dfwxjer lounge access yes, and I don't mind paying for it, but I'm not usually a frequent traveler. I used to travel for work all the time, and it wore on me. I prefer Delta, but I can't get Amex to approve me as a matter of principal (they closed my BCE account over ten years ago for no discernable reason on my end so I refused to pay the $100 balance and I'm blacklisted LOL but I don't think they ever put it on my credit at all)

just something general purpose. Onekey card is great so far, but it's not really.. .what I was looking for. I got pre approved for Imprints new booking.com card with 150/1k spend in 90 days for 5750, it's a pretty visa siggy, but I don't want to be captive to booking.com. lol

I'm a good credit risk, not at 25k albeit, but at 5-10k and then if all goes according to plan, in about 6 more months I'll have several more aged accounts, almost no inquiries on any reports and be near 800, but I mean..the lady did agree that my score was very good... on the cusp of "excellent" which I think hits at 740.

The second to last time I applied for Citi, it was a Simplicity card, and I had a 720 FICO. They denied me then too, and that time, I don't remember even getting a reason other than "too low of a score" and that was in 2014 when we didn't have high inflation, and a 720 FICO meant a lot more than it does now...so if 720 doesn't cut, 740 doesn't cut it, and we hear many reports of 800s not cutting it, but then we hear reports of people with 620, 660, 690 getting their cards.. I mean what gives?

Whether you pay interest or not, they get transaction fees although I pay about 70-80% of my balances in full each month except if there's a 0% that I'm not in a hurry, and even then, I'll keep the util low so it doesn't mess up my score.

the "Executive Resolution" team is who is handling it. gave me 15 days, which is fine. I froze every report except Exp as there was no mention of an additional hard pull AND including the 15 days, this will be well below a 30 day time period.

If they come back and say they can't approve it, fine because I did open the OneKey card after LOL but even that.. like Wells Fargo is a far more conservative lender that Citi from what I've observed in the past 15 years, it doesn't make sense.

I do recall BOA getting my name mixed up with my Nephew's and he passed away sadly, so maybe there was a crossing of names? When I calll BOA, they still thank me for all the stuff he did with his accounts there HAH Maybe there's crossing of names with Citi?

I BET that is it!

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

SRT4kid93 — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 18:25:47 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy

I don't know much about citi and there under writing standards. But I do know some issuers are very turned off by even 1-2 recent inquiries. With the economic climate the way it has been. Those looking for recent credit could be showing signs of economic distress. Even if they never showed signs of this before.

I think it's dumb, they don't take into account that some people are only applying for credit to grow their profile, and some people use credit because they choose too not because they have to .

Re: Very Upset w/Strata Denial after planning and hard work! EO Resolution Ticket Submitted!

dfwxjer — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:21:46 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
something that is versatile, not tied to any specific website and something that can be converted to cash.

the thank you point earn seemed great. 5x points, plus the self select category which can keep me from using my Amazon Prime card.

I know the student loan issue is a big one, but I've been a consistent payer and in the past year alone have paid 10k towards them. I get it, but normally they will mention something like "installment balances too high relative to initial amounts" if they want to deny for student loans. it was only inquiries.

@dfwxjer lounge access yes, and I don't mind paying for it, but I'm not usually a frequent traveler. I used to travel for work all the time, and it wore on me. I prefer Delta, but I can't get Amex to approve me as a matter of principal (they closed my BCE account over ten years ago for no discernable reason on my end so I refused to pay the $100 balance and I'm blacklisted LOL but I don't think they ever put it on my credit at all)

just something general purpose. Onekey card is great so far, but it's not really.. .what I was looking for. I got pre approved for Imprints new booking.com card with 150/1k spend in 90 days for 5750, it's a pretty visa siggy, but I don't want to be captive to booking.com. lol

I'm a good credit risk, not at 25k albeit, but at 5-10k and then if all goes according to plan, in about 6 more months I'll have several more aged accounts, almost no inquiries on any reports and be near 800, but I mean..the lady did agree that my score was very good... on the cusp of "excellent" which I think hits at 740.

The second to last time I applied for Citi, it was a Simplicity card, and I had a 720 FICO. They denied me then too, and that time, I don't remember even getting a reason other than "too low of a score" and that was in 2014 when we didn't have high inflation, and a 720 FICO meant a lot more than it does now...so if 720 doesn't cut, 740 doesn't cut it, and we hear many reports of 800s not cutting it, but then we hear reports of people with 620, 660, 690 getting their cards.. I mean what gives?

Whether you pay interest or not, they get transaction fees although I pay about 70-80% of my balances in full each month except if there's a 0% that I'm not in a hurry, and even then, I'll keep the util low so it doesn't mess up my score.

the "Executive Resolution" team is who is handling it. gave me 15 days, which is fine. I froze every report except Exp as there was no mention of an additional hard pull AND including the 15 days, this will be well below a 30 day time period.

If they come back and say they can't approve it, fine because I did open the OneKey card after LOL but even that.. like Wells Fargo is a far more conservative lender that Citi from what I've observed in the past 15 years, it doesn't make sense.

I do recall BOA getting my name mixed up with my Nephew's and he passed away sadly, so maybe there was a crossing of names? When I calll BOA, they still thank me for all the stuff he did with his accounts there HAH Maybe there's crossing of names with Citi?

I BET that is it!

How many credit cards do you currently have, and what are the balances being reported? How many are new accounts within the last year? Apologies if you already stated these DPs above.