Am I "Stuck" With Citi...

[Andy77]

I think I am in a stuck, waiting period with Citi here is why...

I opened a secured card with them in 2009, paid on time, never late, never over CL...it unsecured 18 months later, but CL was never increased.  I have been a citibank client for 12 years btw.  I asked for increase and reasons of denial were:

collection, judgement, or public record on file (I have a 4 yr old bk on my CR - discharged sept 2009)

revolving balances too close to credit lines (or something like that)

I will be paying off ALL debt in the next month or so, so score should go from myfico of 640 to possibly 690 (my cards are maxed now thats why I think the big boost)

BUT, I still don't know if they will give me a CLI because of the BK on there 

SO...does anyone have any suggestions??

My ONLY other thought is it open (2) more secured cards with them, put down 5k each, then in 18 months try and do a conversion to another card

YOUR thoughts please... 

PS.....I feel like I have been spinning my wheels with Citi for 4 yrs and soon I will be housing 70k liquiid at their bank...not that it will matter at all, but just wanted to mention it just in case it might

[enharu]

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@Andy77 wrote:

I think I am in a stuck, waiting period with Citi here is why...

I opened a secured card with them in 2009, paid on time, never late, never over CL...it unsecured 18 months later, but CL was never increased.  I have been a citibank client for 12 years btw.  I asked for increase and reasons of denial were:

collection, judgement, or public record on file (I have a 4 yr old bk on my CR - discharged sept 2009)

revolving balances too close to credit lines (or something like that)

I will be paying off ALL debt in the next month or so, so score should go from myfico of 640 to possibly 690 (my cards are maxed now thats why I think the big boost)

BUT, I still don't know if they will give me a CLI because of the BK on there 

SO...does anyone have any suggestions??

My ONLY other thought is it open (2) more secured cards with them, put down 5k each, then in 18 months try and do a conversion to another card

YOUR thoughts please... 

PS.....I feel like I have been spinning my wheels with Citi for 4 yrs and soon I will be housing 70k liquiid at their bank...not that it will matter at all, but just wanted to mention it just in case it might

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If you are okay with secured cards, you can try getting secured cards from other banks as well, such as BofA.

It will be hard for Citi to give you a CLI simply because of the BK on file. Most "prime" banks aren't exactly recent BK-friendly. Once your BK ages, your chances should be better, so just give it time.

[Andy77]

Thank you for the reply.  I have a BofA secured card and it will graduate and think I have a better chance at getting a CLI with them because unlike Citi I can talk to an analyst at least.

BUT I want to stay with Citi because of their rewards program.

Bank of America does not offer rewards just to have your checking accounts with them.  Citi gives me 1300 points a month just for being a banking client and those points I can use for lots of thanks...bank of america does nothing

[Andy77]

What year is the BK considered older?  

I know people on this board have gotten fully approved for Citicards at the 8 yr mark, but I already have my foot in the door and its been in there for 4 years...so I thought I had an edge...but maybe I was wrong

[enharu]

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@Andy77 wrote:

Thank you for the reply.  I have a BofA secured card and it will graduate and think I have a better chance at getting a CLI with them because unlike Citi I can talk to an analyst at least.

BUT I want to stay with Citi because of their rewards program.

Bank of America does not offer rewards just to have your checking accounts with them.  Citi gives me 1300 points a month just for being a banking client and those points I can use for lots of thanks...bank of america does nothing

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I will send you a PM for a number to call at Citi. Hopefully they can help you.

Bank of America has rewards for being a banking customer. You get 50% bonus when you redeem it towards your checking account. Not sure if that applies to all the cards, or just the Privileges (that was the only card I looked at). If you spend quite a bit on that card, 50% bonus can be a significant chunk. It's essentially going to be a 1.5% base cashback card, and more if you happen to spend in those bonus categories.

When your BK ages, everything should be better overall. It's hard to say "when" exactly, but most likely >7 year mark.

[CreditScholar]

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@enharu wrote:

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@Andy77 wrote:

Thank you for the reply.  I have a BofA secured card and it will graduate and think I have a better chance at getting a CLI with them because unlike Citi I can talk to an analyst at least.

BUT I want to stay with Citi because of their rewards program.

Bank of America does not offer rewards just to have your checking accounts with them.  Citi gives me 1300 points a month just for being a banking client and those points I can use for lots of thanks...bank of america does nothing

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I will send you a PM for a number to call at Citi. Hopefully they can help you.

Bank of America has rewards for being a banking customer. You get 50% bonus when you redeem it towards your checking account. Not sure if that applies to all the cards, or just the Privileges (that was the only card I looked at). If you spend quite a bit on that card, 50% bonus can be a significant chunk. It's essentially going to be a 1.5% base cashback card, and more if you happen to spend in those bonus categories.

When your BK ages, everything should be better overall. It's hard to say "when" exactly, but most likely >7 year mark.

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+1. 7 years is a good rough estimate.

[Andy77]

Thank you for the PM

Could you please PM me with the rewards info you are talking about for the B of A checking account.  I could not find anything on their site about being rewarding for just having a checking account with them

Thank you very much

[enharu]

This is the card I looked at: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/bankamericard-privileges-cash-rewards-credit-car...

It says: 

• Plus, get a 50% customer bonus when you redeem your cash back into a Bank of America® checking or savings account, or a Cash Management Account® with Merrill Edge® or Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
  

I looked at some other cards, such as this: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/cash-back-credit-card.go

There's still a bonus, but it's just not as generous: Bank of America® customer? Enjoy a 10% customer bonus when you redeem your rewards directly into your Bank of America checking or savings account.

You are not being rewarded for just having a checking account.

You are rewarded when you redeem your rewards (such as a check or deposit) towards your Bank of America / Merrill account.

[SnackTrader]

I don't get it - how much money do you have at Citi? My understanding with most banks is that your banking relationship doesn't help a whole lot until you hit a large dollar balance.

But if you have a large dollar balance in the bank, why are you carrying maxed out credit cards?

Either way, a long banking relationship is very different from a long credit relationship. But I wouldn't say anyone is ever stuck, it just depends on how high you are willing to escalate your situation.

[enharu]

To add to what snacktrader said, if you are a citigold customer, talk to your private banker. Hopefully they can help, but BK record is considered as a serious deliquency, so chances are still pretty slim to be honest.