topic Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ? in Credit Cards

Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

Andy77 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:22:31 GMT

My oldest credit card is with Citibank and I like that I can transfer money from my checking account to my credit card and I get instant credit for it.

With all my other cards it takes days to pay them and I am using the Citicards more then the others because of the delay in payment to the other cards.

If I were to close all my accounts except my Citicards, would that have any bearing on being any easier to obtain more credit with Citibank

(How I see it is, I have two cards, both with the same bank) so they only have to review their own products when I ask for a CLI, so would my chances of getting this approved be greater or No, guidelines are guidelines?

Thoughts?

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

lg8302ch — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:27:12 GMT

I would not like the idea to depend on a single lender

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:28:25 GMT

@Andy77 wrote:

My oldest credit card is with Citibank and I like that I can transfer money from my checking account to my credit card and I get instant credit for it.

With all my other cards it takes days to pay them and I am using the Citicards more then the others because of the delay in payment to the other cards.

If I were to close all my accounts except my Citicards, would that have any bearing on being any easier to obtain more credit with Citibank no

(How I see it is, I have two cards, both with the same bank) so they only have to review their own products when I ask for a CLI, so would my chances of getting this approved be greater or No, guidelines are guidelines? Nope. They'll still look at your CR. Your internal score is just one of the many factors they look at.

Thoughts?

I don't recommend you close the other accounts. Just leave them as is.

That way, you don't lose everything if Citi ever takes AA against you for any reason...

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:31:02 GMT

And if for some reason you had to choose only one lender for all your cards, Citi would not be the choice of many...

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

coldnmn — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:31:46 GMT

Personally I would never put all my eggs in one basket. What would you do if for some reason they froze your accounts while on vacation?

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:37:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Andy77 wrote:

My oldest credit card is with Citibank and I like that I can transfer money from my checking account to my credit card and I get instant credit for it.

With all my other cards it takes days to pay them and I am using the Citicards more then the others because of the delay in payment to the other cards.

If I were to close all my accounts except my Citicards, would that have any bearing on being any easier to obtain more credit with Citibank no

(How I see it is, I have two cards, both with the same bank) so they only have to review their own products when I ask for a CLI, so would my chances of getting this approved be greater or No, guidelines are guidelines? Nope. They'll still look at your CR. Your internal score is just one of the many factors they look at.

Thoughts?
I don't recommend you close the other accounts. Just leave them as is.
That way, you don't lose everything if Citi ever takes AA against you for any reason...

Having diversity in your overall portfolio allows for options in the event you encounter any issues with that specific lender. Citi can be wonderful, but it can also get ugly.

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

09Lexie — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:40:10 GMT

I agree with the others; depending on one lender for your portfolio isn't wise IMO. Diversity is always best.

Spread the luv around.

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

score_building — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:49:01 GMT

Diversity can be key in the mercurial world of credit, where market condition sometimes dictate terms.

If anything, would recommend keeping your bases covered with a combo of strong local/regional/major banks and CU.

One is the lonliest number if AA strikes, can also reduce a lenders incentive to compete for your business

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

rlx01 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 05:53:46 GMT

Which banks take days to pay?

Both AMEX and Chase use next day ACH for payments (withdrawn next business day for me). It's possible the bank with your checking account is delaying those payments.

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

Revelate — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 09:23:37 GMT

Alternatively just have multiple checking accounts.

I simply ACH money from my Chase account to USAA and then from there to anywhere needed like BOFA, or to DCU directly as it's no charge inbound for them. 4 of 8 cards are effectively instant payment accepted; however, other than cutting it close on limits or on payment dates (both I would suggest can be avoided) it's not that much of an advantage, but if it's a non-optional benefit for you, pick up a USAA checking account and transfer money anywhere.

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 09:28:31 GMT

Reminder: the Boy Scout Motto is "always be prepared." Other posters have said it. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Going on, it pays to have credit cards that access the Mastercard and Visa network. You never know when a network failure could take place!

Re: Close All Accounts Except Citi Credit Cards ?

takeshi74 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 13:38:05 GMT

@Andy77 wrote:

If I were to close all my accounts except my Citicards, would that have any bearing on being any easier to obtain more credit with Citibank

As others have pointed out, that's not the only concern you should be thinking of. You may not see the need for credit form others now but things can and do change. Consider the full impact of closing those accounts (impact on utilization, impact on AAoA down the road, impact on number of accounts, etc) as well as the risk of relying on a single creditor.