Citi Forward Denied

[Anonymous]

About a week ago, I applied for the Citi Forward card and was denied for the following reason :

Thank you for applying for the Citi Forward(SM) Visa(R) account. Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your request for the account at this time because of the following: o Your total credit obligations, which include outstanding credit lines, are too high to meet our approval guidelines, when compared to your stated income.

The reasoning behind the denial seemed odd to me, since I only have one open credit card (Discover Student 1500 credit limit about 9 months old). I don't put much on the card either. Since I was paying for the credit score tracker service they offer without using it and noticed the report Discover gets for their credit score tracker service is from Experian, which Citi used to determine their denial, I decided to "order" the report on Discover's website and learned Experian had both mixed-up, my father and I, since we don't generally differentiate between SR and JR. After learning this, I panicked and went ahead and ordered the reports from the other two bureaus and was relieved to not find the same mess.

I had my father call Experian over the weekend to fix this problem and we are now separated from one another. I, too, had to call Experian the next day, since I looked over the updated report on Discover's site again, it contained some personal information mistakes that needed to be corrected and now are. I also learned that the secure credit card I had with Wamu with a 600 credit limit about two-three years ago shows up on all three of the reports, but under the Chase name.

I've been wondering the past week if it was the right decision to even apply in the first place, since I don't make much money having a part-time job throughout the school year, about 9000 is what I make throughout the year and should be happy with my Discover, but I just turned 21 and all I have on my history are the Discover and "Chase" accounts. Should I just call Citi and see if they approve me, now that everything is fixed or does it seem like a longshot? The e-mail they sent doesn't contain a phone number and I don't have the slightest clue on which number to call. Should I even try to build my credit with credit cards? That seems like a dumb question to me, lol.

[Anonymous]

call for reconsideration, explain everything to them, i saw here, some one with no score approved for forward

[Anonymous]

As was stated, apply for reconsideration and explain your situation.

They approved me for the Forward last September with an income around $8500 for a $4000 CL back when I was a student.  I'm thinking now that I have a real income post-college I should phone in for the CLI....

[Anonymous]

Well, I called a few days ago and explained the situation to them, the rep gave told me to get a copy of my updated CR and fax it to them when I receive it in the mail, then they'll reconsider my application.

Last night, for no particaular reason, I applied for the Amex Zync and was approved instantly, so i'm thinking of not even bothering with citi, now that I have an Amex and Discover card, but at the sametime still wonder what they'll say if I fax them a copy of my report.

Do you guys think it's worth to try or leave it alone? Will it affect my score in anyway?

[keith021]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well, I called a few days ago and explained the situation to them, the rep gave told me to get a copy of my updated CR and fax it to them when I receive it in the mail, then they'll reconsider my application.

Last night, for no particaular reason, I applied for the Amex Zync and was approved instantly, so i'm thinking of not even bothering with citi, now that I have an Amex and Discover card, but at the sametime still wonder what they'll say if I fax them a copy of my report.

Do you guys think it's worth to try or leave it alone? Will it affect my score in anyway?

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You wasted an inquiry by applying, so I think you might as well fax in the updated copy of your report! Once Citi verifies that the information has been corrected, they most likely will approve your application. I’m assuming you applied for the AMEX after you report was mailed out, and if that is the case, the AMEX inquiry won’t be on your updated report(s).

IME with reconsideration with Citi; I was asked to send in an updated copy of my CR showing the number of inquiries (which was only 2). I was initially denied for TOO MANY CREDIT INQUIRES. A few days later, my application was APPROVED. Good luck! 

[FantumGrey]

I would send it. As someone else said, the INQ is already on there. Plus it's a good idea to have a mix of credit brands because not everyone takes Amex and Discover.

I have the Citi Forward card, well two of them actually, and it's a pretty great card if you dine out, buy books/music/movie tickets a lot. Citi also offers the chance to get CLIs fairly regularly so it's a card that grows with you. Good luck on the recon if you finish going through with it.

[laz98]

you can get more than one of these???  how funny!

[Anonymous]

I am curious about the denial was it instant or did they email you days later?

[Red1Blue]

Have you tried getting Amex Zync card? It is a good card for students like you and probably easy to get approved.

[jefftca925]

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@Red1Blue wrote:

Have you tried getting Amex Zync card? It is a good card for students like you and probably easy to get approved.

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He was approved for it already.  He apped after the Citi decline.  Congrats BTW!