CITIBANK SECURED CREDIT CARD JOURNEY

[Anonymous]

hi everyone, let me share you my success story in getting citibank secured credit card. january 2017 i was approved for BANK OF AMERICA for secured credit card with 1500$ limit. NO SSN OR TIN required, just opened a checking account, documents lease contract, passport and visa b1/b2… so its 3 months with me now and using it well, 25% utilization , fully paid, i use it like a debit card, transferring the payment right away from bofa checking , i read in some forums that 2-3 cards in building a credit score would be a great move, so i applied for CITIBANK SECURED credit card also last february 21, 2017 with 2500$ limit, waited for 11 days to know that they are not processing my application because the bank relationship manager in my branch in new york faxed the app to the wrong number… i hated that because time wasted , but i still have to be polite because i am the one asking for favor to built credit score. so they re submitted it again to the correct number. after 4 days i called the hotline and did not tell me its denied, they told me to wait for the letter, 10 days after i received a decline letter stating that SSN OR ITIN is required to get this card, my point is why did the branch relationship manager let me applied even she knew i will be denied because i don’t have any of those required numbers, or she does not know? i told myself i will not apply anymore and not waste my time, will just focus in my BOFA card, i have TD BANK CHECKING too but they didn’t let me applied because the bank manager told me ssn or itin is required to applied for secured card. after a week my letter from IRS stating my ITIN arrived, so i considered re applying again for citibank secured credit card, went to my branch when i had time march 17, new application, this time with tin number and less limit i decided 1000$ since i do not max out my BOFA I don’t want my money to be stagnant in the hold, march 20 i called the hotline they say its processing, march 25 i called again, then they told me to fax again or send by mail the letter from irs stating my ITIN number. i did fax to make it faster. march 27 they took the 1000$ IN MY ACCOUNT, pending, cleared march 29, 2017 then called april 3, its still pending, called this morning april 4 , CONGRATULATIONS! your application for citicard has been approved on april 3, 2017 with 1000$ limit, your card will arrive in 7 days., so i will wait for it … WOW!!!! long journey! i will treasure this card!!! i like bofa too but unfortunately secured cards have no rewards so when i reach my 25-30% utilization i use cash,,, pointless of using these cards frequent if no rewards . by the way TD BANK SECURED is on the way, approved for 5000, but i chose to deposit 600$ only, 3100$ total credit line for me is enough. lesson learned, just be patient and polite, i almost lose my temper with citibank, but i know they have good reputation and i don’t wanna be hook by those cheap secured cards that charge high fees annually and monthly. i did my research with cards IN THIS SITE. thumbs up to the experts here,,, thank you very much!!!. by the way i might close my chase checking since they don’t have secured cards anymore, of course denied me for unsecured slate. my point is if they dont help me and trust me to build my credit score then why would i trust my money to them!  i am small compared to their big clients but no thanks.

let me know guys if you have any questions regarding my experience. goodluck guys

[Anonymous]

Hi lally! Congrats on your approvals! And good for you for not giving up on citi if that was a card you really wanted. Now, I would sit and let these three cards age and your scores to grow. After 6-12 months, if you want, you can probably go for a Chase card if you really want one of the card. They probably just want to see some history before granting credit. 

Also, if you don't mind my saying, your post was a little hard to read. The letters were really big and the paragraphs were long. Maybe for future posts, you can make the font smaller and break it up into smaller paragraphs to make it easier to read. Just a suggestion. 

Again, congrats on getting your cards with three great banks! Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Congrats! If you decide on TD Bank, their cards can graduate as early as six billing cycles now.

[Anonymous]

Hahaha! Thank you very much! You are so right, even me I find my post so long and not clear hahaha, by the way my apologies for my grammar and construction of sentences, been speaking in Spanish for the past 7 years. Nobody speaks English in Barcelona, Catalans don't like English lol.. thank you so much for the advices and thank you for welcoming me

[Anonymous]

@water88 really? And I decided TD bank to have the lowest limit? Omg

[Anonymous]

awe! and its my lowest limit i chose

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hahaha! Thank you very much! You are so right, even me I find my post so long and not clear hahaha, by the way my apologies for my grammar and construction of sentences, been speaking in Spanish for the past 7 years. Nobody speaks English in Barcelona, Catalans don't like English lol.. thank you so much for the advices and thank you for welcoming me

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Barcelona sounds nice! I keep saying I must visit Spain, but haven't yet!!  

And no problem about fhe advice on the posting! Again, Enjoy your new cards!

[Anonymous]

No worries on the initial secured limit with TD Bank. Most likely when they Unsecure/Graduate your card they will give you a CLI up to the amount your profile would normally get approved for.

For instance-Back when I had a Discover Secured (IMO the best Secired card) They graduated my $1000 limit card to an unsecured version and gave me a $2200 Limit at the same time.

2 other things....
One......Your grammar is very good. It was only the large font and one large paragraph that made it hard to read. If you have been speaking only Spanish for 7 years I am super impressed. I lived in Mexico for a bit and I can say from experience it is hard to go back to a different language after time of only using another one.

Two......Welcome to the boards and congrats on your progress so far. I wish you luck in your continued journey.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
No worries on the initial secured limit with TD Bank. Most likely when they Unsecure/Graduate your card they will give you a CLI up to the amount your profile would normally get approved for.

For instance-Back when I had a Discover Secured (IMO the best Secired card) They graduated my $1000 limit card to an unsecured version and gave me a $2200 Limit at the same time.

2 other things....
One......Your grammar is very good. It was only the large font and one large paragraph that made it hard to read. If you have been speaking only Spanish for 7 years I am super impressed. I lived in Mexico for a bit and I can say from experience it is hard to go back to a different language after time of only using another one.

Two......Welcome to the boards and congrats on your progress so far. I wish you luck in your continued journey.

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Thanks Djgrolyos. I should have made it clear in my second post that I was not talking about the grammar, but rather the large font and large paragraph!

[Anonymous]

oh my God! Barcelona is one of the best places to visit!!!unfortunately Spain is in deep financial crisis, 30% unemployment rate last time i know... thats why i am trying my luck in america,,, 6 months here now... you must visit barcelona!