Citi Credit Cards - Worth it?

[raisemysc0re]

I just verified my EX report and they did 2 pulls on that same day.

1 for the BestBuy and the other for the CC.

I read somewhere that if you apply too close it will not do another pull so I agree that it must not be that. I will hold off until I am 0/12 

[wasCB14]

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

Citi does not grab much headline as Chase and AmEx get.  But Citi is a very solid farm system.  Their cards are very straigtforward to use, nothing like those high AF AmEx cards that you'll have to work really hard to get your "benefits".

The DoubleCash is actually a 2x card, not a 2% cashback card.  The only card that is like this is the AmEx Blue Biz Plus card.  But that is a business card.  All others are 2% CB card.  Even Chase Unlimited is a 1.5x card.

Its Premier opens door to transfer partners.  At a $95 AF, it is a very solid card.

Citi Custom Cash is as good at Chase Freedom card.

Citi Reward+ is a must-have card.  I recall it gives you 10% points back when you transfer to partner.  There is a hard limit of 100,000 points each year.  This is huge

Citi TY has 17 transfer partners.  Sometimes it runs point bonus promotions.  

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Prestige used to be better than CSR or Amex Platinum IMO (though I was flying AA more than Delta at the time). The customer service wasn't quite as good as Amex or Chase, but Citi made up for it with spectacular protections. It had 4th night free, price rewind, Admirals access, 3 hour delay protection, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, +2 years on extended warranties, easy 1.6 cpp on AA, etc.

But then they just gutted their protections, going from being arguably the best of the three to by far the worst. The rewards are still there in the Citi system, but there are more risks to things going wrong.

[BronzeTrader]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

Citi does not grab much headline as Chase and AmEx get.  But Citi is a very solid farm system.  Their cards are very straigtforward to use, nothing like those high AF AmEx cards that you'll have to work really hard to get your "benefits".

The DoubleCash is actually a 2x card, not a 2% cashback card.  The only card that is like this is the AmEx Blue Biz Plus card.  But that is a business card.  All others are 2% CB card.  Even Chase Unlimited is a 1.5x card.

Its Premier opens door to transfer partners.  At a $95 AF, it is a very solid card.

Citi Custom Cash is as good at Chase Freedom card.

Citi Reward+ is a must-have card.  I recall it gives you 10% points back when you transfer to partner.  There is a hard limit of 100,000 points each year.  This is huge

Citi TY has 17 transfer partners.  Sometimes it runs point bonus promotions.  

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Prestige used to be better than CSR or Amex Platinum IMO (though I was flying AA more than Delta at the time). The customer service wasn't quite as good as Amex or Chase, but Citi made up for it with spectacular protections. It had 4th night free, price rewind, Admirals access, 3 hour delay protection, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, +2 years on extended warranties, easy 1.6 cpp on AA, etc.

But then they just gutted their protections, going from being arguably the best of the three to by far the worst. The rewards are still there in the Citi system, but there are more risks to things going wrong.

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True.  Because Citi sees that it did not make much money by offering this premium card.  Its Premier is as good as the Chase CSP.  

[FinStar]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

I just verified my EX report and they did 2 pulls on that same day.

1 for the BestBuy and the other for the CC.

I read somewhere that if you apply too close it will not do another pull so I agree that it must not be that. I will hold off until I am 0/12 

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Just to clarify @raisemysc0re, they will still be two separate HPs regardless. One will be accessed by the Citi Retail division which does the UW for the BestBuy CC and the other will be for any Citi 'Legacy/Core' CCs. Those HPs will never be combined even if you apply on the same day or within seconds of each other.

[raisemysc0re]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

I just verified my EX report and they did 2 pulls on that same day.

1 for the BestBuy and the other for the CC.

I read somewhere that if you apply too close it will not do another pull so I agree that it must not be that. I will hold off until I am 0/12 

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Just to clarify @raisemysc0re, they will still be two separate HPs regardless. One will be accessed by the Citi Retail division which does the UW for the BestBuy CC and the other will be for any Citi 'Legacy/Core' CCs. Those HPs will never be combined even if you apply on the same day or within seconds of each other.

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I agree that it would be 2 seperate pulls in general but I read somewhere that if you try to apply for 2 within 8 days it will automatically decline and not pull. I think you are right that it did not because it is different UW departments and the 8 day validation was not done.

This is what makes me think that something else besides the 8 day rule caused the denial. Am I wrong in my thinking? 

[FinStar]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

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@FinStar wrote:

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

I just verified my EX report and they did 2 pulls on that same day.

1 for the BestBuy and the other for the CC.

I read somewhere that if you apply too close it will not do another pull so I agree that it must not be that. I will hold off until I am 0/12 

---

Just to clarify @raisemysc0re, they will still be two separate HPs regardless. One will be accessed by the Citi Retail division which does the UW for the BestBuy CC and the other will be for any Citi 'Legacy/Core' CCs. Those HPs will never be combined even if you apply on the same day or within seconds of each other.

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I agree that it would be 2 seperate pulls in general but I read somewhere that if you try to apply for 2 within 8 days it will automatically decline and not pull. I think you are right that it did not because it is different UW departments and the 8 day validation was not done.

This is what makes me think that something else besides the 8 day rule caused the denial. Am I wrong in my thinking? 

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We'll never know so therein lies the mystery. Since decisions are algorithm-driven, a lender is required to provide at least one (1) reason for the application not getting approved, but there could've been several other factors as to why you may not have qualified aside from just the inquiries in general. 

My suggestion is to minimize any future applications for credit and just let time do its thing. Another item to keep in mind that could potentially work against your profile may point to the number of accounts with moderately high limits, and it's possible Citi may not see you as an ideal candidate [at the moment] given your overall exposure elsewhere factoring your income as well. Keep today's economic environment in mind since most lenders tend to frequently tweak their UW criteria.

[raisemysc0re]

I said screw it and applied...

DENIED!!!

[FinStar]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

I said screw it and applied...

DENIED!!!

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Did they provide an option to receive the decision electronically? If so, I'd be curious to learn what they may have cited this time around. Otherwise, when you receive the correspondence, be sure to share it with the community.

[expatCanuck]

@raisemysc0re 

Sorry to hear that.  I see that we have many cards in common.

I'd wager that INQs and recent cards are the reason.

For Inquiries I am currently at 1/6, 5/12, 8/24

For recent credit card accounts 2/6, 4/12, 6/24

If I'm attempting to create a new relationship (and, notwithstanding the Best Buy card, I think you were), I'd wanna be no more than 2/12 || 4/24.  Less is more (I've been denied at those app levels even with a 20+ year relationship).

[raisemysc0re]

I was just approved for the X1 card (SL $32.5K) the other day and no INQ has hit any of my reports so far so I thought I'd try it before it does.

I'm giving up on it for now. Will probably go to the garden for the next 12 months and then revisit.

My DW shows offers   for being pre-selected so maybe I'll have her get it and then AU into it.