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Citi Bank Denial

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MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial


@billsfan14 wrote:

ARGH! 

 

I'm so frustrated with Citi... I'll never app for a product of there's again!  [...]

Second lady was a bit more helpful, explains to me again that I need three accounts over 12 months old, and because I don't have that I will be denied for all Citi products!

 

I asked her what about a student card, surely they don't expect students to have three, 12 month old accounts?  How is that even possible for an early student?  She tells me that all Citi products require this.  

 

That doesn't sound very reasonable to me, especially when financial institutions in much better standing than Citi are having no problem issuing me new accounts.   

[...] No wonder they're about to go under!


First, That's an understandable reaction that you're having. However, I've read that a lot of banks view anything under two years as "new". So, this isn't a policy that's unique to Citibank; therefore, it would be rash in my opinion to now decide that you're never ever going to do business with Citibank. On top of that, what I've understood from other customer comments is that in the past generally Citibank won't even approve people with well-established credit if there is even one derogatory piece of information on the credit report.

Second, I mean no rudeness whatsoever with what I'm about to say; I honestly mean this as a helpful suggestion. But in the future, before you apply for a credit card I suggest asking on this forum what the approval criteria are and offering some information about your credit file so that other members here can give you some feedback about your chances of being approved. If this had happened prior to you applying for this card, I think you probably would have been advised to defer applying for now until your credit file is more mature.

Citibank has a secured card; it's supposed to be for people with little to no credit rather than for people with bad credit. So maybe you might have better success with being approved.

https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/cardDetail.do?screenID=940

Second, Citi has student versions of their credit cards. Again, perhaps the approval criteria might be less strict.
https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/showSearchResults.do?family=FAMILY_College
Message 21 of 33
MojaveMoon
Established Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial

billsfan14:

Another suggestion ... when you're intending to apply for a credit card, it couldn't hurt to see if you could speak with an underwriter to discuss your credit file and that underwriter's opinion on your odds of approval. And when your application is denied, again, see if you can speak with an underwriter to learn what you can work on credit-wise to improve your odds of approval down the road.
Message 22 of 33
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Citi Bank Denial

To all the folks grumping about Citi: waiting isn't fun. I know, I'm waiting for my negatives to come off.

But, c'mon: Citi at least has clear thumbs up - thumbs down requirements. If they say that they want to see 3 accounts a year or more older, that's what they want. Put it on your calendar for when you hit that point. But at least it's a change from the dartboard/ Magic 8-Ball approach that other banks use. Amazing, here's a bank where we actually know what they want!

Why apply for something when you don't yet have your reports (and history, etc.) as good as you can get them?
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 23 of 33
billsfan14
New Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial

Mojave,  although I didn't post a thread about the requirements for that card I did what I feel was sufficient research on whogavemecredit and the credit pulls.  I saw plenty of people approved with derogatory information and a few cases, BK.   My scores were in the general range of approval, so I went for it. 

 

Also, as far as the student cards...

 

I asked the CSR that I spoke to about these cards.  She assured me on the phone the same requirements exist for these cards as well.  I explained to her that it seemed very unreasonable for a college student to have three accounts older than a year.  Maybe not so much as college seniors or postgrad, but for freshmen/sophmores this seems like a tall task.

 

The three CSR that I spoke to seemed uninformed, unwilling to break the scripts, and overall unfriendly.   While on the phone with a Chase CSR today, we actually got side-tracked and found ourselves having a conversation!

 

I have cards from 5 prime lenders and am not in the market for a secured card from a lender receiving federal money.  Give me 50 billion and I'll share the loot, ha!  Politics aside, just not very impressed with Citi at this point.

 

 

Message 24 of 33
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Citi Bank Denial


@billsfan14 wrote:

Also, as far as the student cards...

 

I asked the CSR that I spoke to about these cards.  She assured me on the phone the same requirements exist for these cards as well.  I explained to her that it seemed very unreasonable for a college student to have three accounts older than a year.  Maybe not so much as college seniors or postgrad, but for freshmen/sophmores this seems like a tall task.


 

Unless this is a new policy, I don't think this is true for the student cards - I applied & received a Citi mtvU student card in November (at that point I had 3 other cards, one 9 months, one 7 months, one 1 month old).  I've also heard of lots of students getting this card as a first card.  Again, this might have recently changed.

Message 25 of 33
score_building
Senior Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial


billsfan14 wrote:

Mojave,  although I didn't post a thread about the requirements for that cardI did what I feel was sufficient research on whogavemecredit and the credit pulls.  I saw plenty of people approved with derogatory information and a few cases, BK.   My scores were in the general range of approval, so I went for it

 

Also, as far as the student cards...

 

I asked the CSR that I spoke to about these cards.  She assured me on the phone the same requirements exist for these cards as well.  I explained to her that it seemed very unreasonable for a college student to have three accounts older than a year.  Maybe not so much as college seniors or postgrad, but for freshmen/sophmores this seems like a tall task.

 

The three CSR that I spoke to seemed uninformed, unwilling to break the scripts, and overall unfriendly.   While on the phone with a Chase CSR today, we actually got side-tracked and found ourselves having a conversation!

 

I have cards from 5 prime lenders and am not in the market for a secured card from a lender receiving federal money.  Give me 50 billion and I'll share the loot, ha!  Politics aside, just not very impressed with Citi at this point.

 

 


many seasoned vets here would say that if you think a review of whogavemecredit and creditpulls is sufficient research chalk it up to experiencei agree that they can be a great resource but unfortunately are also often outmoded and incompletenot always a highly reliable source of 'research' for me when uncovering some of the basic and more difficult to discern application criteria.

 

speaking to  alarge number of ccc csr, over time you continue to learn to occasionally make tools of the scripted responses and to even sometimes decipher themyou spotted a red flag when you were "assured" that the requirement for different types of cards are the same when that doesn't make sense to youoften the remedy is simply calling back and speaking to another csrit may be a new requirement, but rechecking with one or several others may yield interesting responses

 

i think it's cool when i have a nice exchange w/ a csr too and those are also not entirely uncommon... but to base your impression of citi and chase on your limited exchanges that you mention here may lead you down the wrong path imhonext time it may be chase's csrs that are unfriendly, unhelpful etc. YMMV

 

if any of your five prime ccs are from "zombie" banks, you may have the same luck requesting cli's with themhowever, working with current lenders on clis may be a good approach if you've got 5 newish cards and a history too young to shop for more right nowbuilding more credibility and a more substantive credit file to attract lenders takes timehaving the resolve to sit tight and build only increases your odds of approval the next time around.  

Message Edited by score_building on 03-25-2009 05:15 PM
DCU EQ 5.0, Citi EQ 08 Bankcard, PenFed EX NG2
EX 08: AFCU, Amex, Chase, PSECU EX 98(?)
TU 08: Barclays, Discover
Message 26 of 33
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial

billsfan14, there is no way to speed up the clock.  Building a good credit file takes time, and therefore patience.

 

Your impatience goes hand-in-hand with your age.  The young are always impatient, and always will be.  And advice is something they take if it jibes with what they've already decided to do.  You are no exception, but that's not a sin, it's kinda expected.  (We've all been there).

 

SLOW DOWN!    Veterans of these boards have walked this road you're on.  There's no shortcuts.  Don't apply for anything for the next year, and let time work for you.  It's the only way you're going to get anything decent when you'll need it the most, after graduation (that's when you really enter the cold, cruel world).

 

Credit is not free money, nor is it an award or an approval rating for your life's accomplishments.  It's just a loan, or the promise of a loan, that's it!  So don't take the "declined" personally, take it for what it is...they're just telling you, "You're not ready... yet".

 

You will be, but slow down... you'll get there.  Next year.  Just keep paying everything on time, and you'll be OK.

 

Once again, all the best to you! 

 

       

Message 27 of 33
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Citi Bank Denial

Im curious to know how long it took for them to give you an answer.
Message 28 of 33
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: Citi Bank Denial

Bump!
Message 29 of 33
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Citi Bank Denial

Depending on the length of time you have had some of your accounts, Citi may not consider some of them as references because the age of account is not great enough to meet their requirments.  So, your new accounts are probably not counting as "references" but only as potential liabilities. 

 

Also, when you have only low limit cards, you have to be careful of what you apply for.  Many reward and prime cards have "minimum" credit limits and will only extend those limits to you if you have established credit which is equal to or greater than that minimum.  So, if you apply for a card that only issues limits of $1000 or greater and your current accounts have a maximum limit of $750, you may be denied because you can only be approved for the product type you applied for if you have an existing card equal to or greater than $1000 CL.

 

I was interested in a particular credit card recently and I learned that you must have an existing card with CL exceeding $10k in order to be considered.  In this case, your FICO and income won't matter.  They won't "go first" with the big CL.  They want to watch and wait and see somebody else take the plunge with you.

Message 30 of 33
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