topic Re: Citi Worthwhile? in Credit Cards

Citi Worthwhile?

asulaw — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 01:15:43 GMT

Hey guys,

I've been lurking for a while here, and have gotten a lot of information from people for quiet some time now. So thanks to everyone who contributes to these forums!

Because I appreciated it so much I wanted to also join into some conversations on credit cards. Before I go on, let me give a little back story.

I'm 21 with 7 credit cards now. My oldest card is my WF College Card which is purely just for my AAoA. I then got a Discover after my good record with WF. But not until recently did I start to feel the hurt on my utilization because I had things to take care of for school. So I decided I wanted to get something worth my time with a large limit, I applied and to my surprise (very surprised, mind you) I got the Marriott Premier card with a 5k limit. After that happened Chase just wanted me to open more cards, so in under 3 months I have opened another account with them. I wanted to balance transfer some of my stuff away from these high interest college cards and get them so I can pay it down. Thus, I have a Slate, and I got an offer for a BT with a ThankYou Preffered. Another surprise in the mail was a Amex TE, which I was naughty and pulled the trigger even though I had about 4-5 inqs on my CR.

TLR - Now that you kind of know what I am going through with BT's my question is, is Citi worth it? Now let me say that yes, they gave me a nice limit of $2k which is more than Chase gave me for the Slate at only $1,500. But I have to say that Citi doesn't provide anything worth my time after I am done with this BT. If I really want to BT anything normally I like to use the Discover, I find them much easier to use. I was considering maybe turning the TY Preffered into a Diamond, or keeping it, but I just can't justify it.

What is everyone's opinon on Citi, are they really that good to have, especially when I already have a Signature and Amex?

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

B335is — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 01:22:04 GMT

People have strong opinions of Citi. Both good and bad. Most that don't like Citi have been denied approval or CLI. Citi has been good to me. Thank you preferred was my first decent card during my credit rebuild. Started me at $3k a few years ago, it's only at $5.2k today. Even after the 18 months 0%, they continue to send me 0% offers almost every week. I carry a small balance $200 on it, which they seem to encourage.

If they sent you a pre-approval, you have a very good chance at approval.

ETA: Once you establish a relationship with Citi, they become very willing to approve other cards. AAdvantage and HHonors are pretty popular.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

asulaw — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 01:31:39 GMT

See my girlfriend and I use a PRG for flight rewards, and I have the Marriott for the free stay (pays for itself). That's why it wouldn't make sense for me to pick up another AF card, to be honest I hate them because my budget now doesn't support them until I can start working full-time after graduating.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

gdale6 — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 02:01:22 GMT

I would not waste time with Citi they dont have any cards that are really good with rewards IMO.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 02:38:30 GMT

I think it is. I got the diamond preffered today for only two reasons. 0% apr 18 months for a $500 BT and incase amex is not accepted. It just so happens i receved 11.99% which is my lowest and 4.3k CL which is my highest. It seems like a great secondary card to me. Rewards on this one i dont care about much. They also approved me for the best buy card with 4K limit. I must be doing something right in their eyes.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

asulaw — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 05:03:13 GMT

Not bad, I was annoyed because I literally saw within a week of getting my card they sent me another application and the APR was 12.99 instead of whatever I got (don't remember tbh).

I think I might close this account out after the BT is done and end up trying for a BCE or maybe the new EveryDay.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

Shock — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 05:09:59 GMT

My CDP became my highest limit at 3k when I first got it. it became my "big ticket" and large purchase card. i never did many large purchases on it. since then, my limits grew exponentially on my other cards. citi is pretty useless now. lackluster cards with a very prime lender. i am greatful they gave me my first non-toy limit, but once i realized that rewards matter to me, they have since gotten 0 purchases. nothing against them, but i'd rather utilize rewards properly.

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

youdontkillmoney — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 06:31:10 GMT

@asulaw wrote:
Hey guys,

I've been lurking for a while here, and have gotten a lot of information from people for quiet some time now. So thanks to everyone who contributes to these forums!

Because I appreciated it so much I wanted to also join into some conversations on credit cards. Before I go on, let me give a little back story.

I'm 21 with 7 credit cards now. My oldest card is my WF College Card which is purely just for my AAoA. I then got a Discover after my good record with WF. But not until recently did I start to feel the hurt on my utilization because I had things to take care of for school. So I decided I wanted to get something worth my time with a large limit, I applied and to my surprise (very surprised, mind you) I got the Marriott Premier card with a 5k limit. After that happened Chase just wanted me to open more cards, so in under 3 months I have opened another account with them. I wanted to balance transfer some of my stuff away from these high interest college cards and get them so I can pay it down. Thus, I have a Slate, and I got an offer for a BT with a ThankYou Preffered. Another surprise in the mail was a Amex TE, which I was naughty and pulled the trigger even though I had about 4-5 inqs on my CR.

TLR - Now that you kind of know what I am going through with BT's my question is, is Citi worth it? Now let me say that yes, they gave me a nice limit of $2k which is more than Chase gave me for the Slate at only $1,500. But I have to say that Citi doesn't provide anything worth my time after I am done with this BT. If I really want to BT anything normally I like to use the Discover, I find them much easier to use. I was considering maybe turning the TY Preffered into a Diamond, or keeping it, but I just can't justify it.

What is everyone's opinon on Citi, are they really that good to have, especially when I already have a Signature and Amex?

^^^

How about Chase freedom, I just got one and got 15 months 0% interest on purchases

Re: Citi Worthwhile?

thelethargicage — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 14:03:03 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
I would not waste time with Citi they dont have any cards that are really good with rewards IMO.

I agree, very subpar rewards program. And their website is kinda glitchy too.