I'm starting to warm up to Shell, even though their gas prices were always the highest pre-covid. They're now offering a similar reward structure for in-store convienence purchases that offer x amount of cents off per gallon. The kicker is they've included Dunkin.
I understand they're through Citi Retail Services and offer both a store card and a Mastercard version. What type of datapoints are available for both options? What does Citi Retail Services typically look for in underwriting? I already have the 5% gas cashback (any station- including Shell) Sam's Club Mastercard, so I would need a really good reason to get it. Beyond what is posted online for their marketing, what more can I learn from users that already have it? Does it grow? If I am only eligible for the store version, is there a conversion to the Mastercard at some point? Is it even worth wasting an Equifax pull for?
I only have one card with Citi Retail Services and that is a 6mos old Macy's store card version with a very small $500 limit. I've spent close to $5,000 (furniture) on this card and have never carried a balance. Yet, every month they deny my request increase. My profile is extremely good, with a very low DTI of 4% (no mortgage), 6 figure income, 1% credit utulization, credit age: 7mos. I'm currently waiting for four authorized user tradelines to be removed entirely from my report before making any new applications- along with letting my June NFCU credit limit increases reflect.. INQS: EQ: 2 | EX: 3 | TU: 7
Is 7 months the age of your oldest account or your average age of accounts?
Okay. And how old is each AU account that is still reporting?
(There's a reason I'm asking, I promise 😊)
@Anonymous wrote:Im not really sure what all of those acronyms means.
My oldest account(s) which are closed from rebuilding (Cap 1 - 1yr, Discover 1yr2mos, Selflender 1yr, NFCU SSL 6mos) are 1yr 11mos and then like it says credit age "7mos".
One of my oldest (38mos) rental agreement only posts to TU, so EQ and EX don't get that.
Average Age of Accounts (AAoA) is calculated by adding up the age of all of your accounts (open & closed, revolving, installments, etc.) in months, and dividing by the total number of accounts. So...based on ages you've provided for your primary accounts (meaning, not including your AUs), your AAoA on EQ & EX is 11 months. Math: 12+14+12+6 = 44. 44/4 (total num of accounts) = 11.
On TU it would be 12+14+12+6+38 = 82. 82/5 = 16.4 so AAoA, for TU only, is 1 year, 4 months.
I asked for the ages of your AU accounts to see if thats why your 'credit age' is coming in at 7 months instead of 11 months. If the AU accounts are young accounts, then that may explain why your AAoA is showing as 7 months.
The reason I asked about your credit age is because 7 months is a super young file -- the lack of history makes your profile weak (despite your other very positive stats). A young profile is a high-risk profile (even if you, as a person, are not), which explains Citi's reluctance to increase your credit limit from the initial $500 SL. I honestly don't know anything about Citi retail, and cannot answer your specific Qs about the Shell card, but Citi is still a big bank and it can be difficult to get higher starting limits and CLIs from big banks with a very young profile (credit unions are a bit different as they tend to be relationship driven and NFCU is just in a league of its own...).
I'd wait till your AAoA ages beyond the 1 year mark, at least, so your profile is a little more stable when you app - it won't guarantee a higher starting limit, but it may improve your chances. The longer your credit history, so long as it's derogatory-free, the lower-risk you appear to be and banks are more likely to extend credit with higher starting limits / CLIs. All that said, if you want to app now then do so - and should you get a low limit - deal with it and let it age along with your profile -- Citi will open up to you eventually so long as you maintain good credit behavior.
@credit_is_crack wrote:The Card: I have the Shell MC and depending on where you are with other cards pwill determine its value.
I have a 5% gas card with USAA and based on premium gas, I get a better return using my USAA than shells $.05 per gallon. If someone didn't have a 5%, or 3% gas card, the the Shell card would make sense.
what I do have it for is the store purchases. On the MasterCard version you get 10% off anything inside of Shell up to $1,200 in Spend per year. At the pump I use USAA, in the store I use my Citi Shell MC. Beer, snacks, anything but lotto, 10% off, year round.
it also has random perks like "buy two jack links and get $.10 off per gallon", or Dublin like you mentioned, and random restaurants too, you get more cents back for gas. It's all automatic so if I by chance buy something with a perk, it auto feeds right into the account. There's no registering or anything. Its actually quite advanced and sophisticated how it manages itself. At $.10 a gallon I come out ahead of my 5% USAA.
the rewards are stackable so this week I get jack links for $.10, next week it's "buy a Gatorade and get $.05, the following week it's something else for $.10. So when I do decide to use it at the pump it adds them all together ($.25 for rewards plus default $.05 = $.30 off every gallon up to 20 gallons). That is where I'll see the savings.
With using premium and rolling in discounts, I'm paying for regular gas prices on premium gas, plus 10% off anything in the store. If you know how to work it, it's a great card. I've only used Shell for years so it made sense for me.
Growth: When you apply if you qualify they offer you a choice of both (if you can get the MC, do it). Like the Sears MC they toss random non-Shell bonuses at you - store card does not get that.
if you don't qualify for the MC, they'll auto issue the store version. I don't think there is a path to convert or upgrade. More like close and reapply - not very attractive.
Citi retail will start out with lower limits, but they grow at different paces and vary on the brand. My Macy's Amex grew from $1k to $25k in 5 months all via SP CLIs.my shell started at $1,600. I did get a CLI 4 months later (asked for $5k more and got it automatically online - not sure if I left some on the table). Now when I look at it online it says HP, which is pretty standard for the Shell cards. Usually all CLIs are HP - I think I just lucked out.
this is not a card you grow to $25k or anything, although I haven't seen anything about it's max limit.
@Mahraja may know. J think his is around $10k, but he's well known for getting banks to dole out huge limits for him. I'm at $6.6k and that's more than enough for its function. Not worth a HP to me to get it higher when I won't put more than $250 a month on it.
for some folks the card works well, for some it would be a waste. Do the math for you and you'll know. hope this helps
The Max limit on the Shell Mastercard is $20,000 .. I just called Shell and spoke to a Supervisor.
I was on hold .. a whole 2 minutes.