Regret Leaving the Garden

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I came home last night to a 0% balance transfer pre-selected offer from Citibank. Freaking Citibank!!! I have been wanting a card from them and tried earlier in the year only to be declined. After reading up on the Forum last night and understanding that being pre-selected is not the same as a pre-approval, I decided to take the chance as it seemed like the hp would likely come from TU. I could afford the hp from TU. Of course they pulled EX, bringing me to 8 inquiries there and a 1 point dip. Ugh. I was approved for $3100, but this is hardly a cl that would really allow me to fully take advantage of the 0% balance transfer. I called right away after the approval to see if I could get a cli on the same hard pull only to be rebuffed by two different depts, saying I would need to wait until the card arrived. Even if I am not able to get a higher limit the card will help my overall utilization. But do you think I still have a chance at a cli on the same hard pull if I wait for the card to arrive in 7-10 business days? Now off to change my signature as it pertains to my gardener status. I am so ashamed...

[MartyWrite75]

Congratulations on your approval! Look at it this way. Your foot is in the door now and things will go up from there.

[xaximus]

Congrats on the approval. Don't be so down on leaving the garden. I just did myself haha. Generally, you can call after receiving the card to see what can be done. Also if you are doing a BT, they may increase to get the whole balance, but as always, YEMV. Keep in mind, CLI's are every 6 months so if you have a decent amount of usage, you should be able to get a decent CLI.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! That helps and just so I understand, @xaximus, Citibank considers you for a cli every six months? 

[Gmood1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Thank you! That helps and just so understand, @xaximus, Citibank considers you for a cli every six months? 

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In 181 days you can go in and request a cli on a SP. You can do that every 181 days. Congrats on your approval.

As others have said, at least you were approved and the limit will only go up from here.

[Anonymous]

It ain't that bad.  Citi starting lines are some of the lowest in the business.  Their SP CLIs are usually only $1,500 every 6 months.

Now you know!  At least it isn't a $250 Victoria Secret card.  You now have more knowledge than you had yesterday.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, All. This is very helpful. Feeling better. 

[K-in-Boston]

To help a little more, the CLI language changed from HP to SP pretty quickly on both of my cards. I got decent CLIs at the 2-3 month mark on both. Just keep looking on that screen once you get the card!

Congrats on your approval.

[19eighty5]

Congratulations on your approval!

[joltdude]

The SP language changing only works for the first CLI after opening for telling when you can ask for the first one ... after that its every 6 months (AND making sure its the SP language not HP)

Saw the language change early and succeeded on my first CLI, but saw language change shortly after and Bzzt.. too early....