Citi upgraded my secured card - UPDATE

[Amwar73mf]

O.K., I'm very happy, because I was just chugging along, charging my one bill a month and paying it off early every month, thinking I had six months more to go. I got the letter today that they were sending me back my deposit and upgrading me to a Citi Diamond Preferred card, which may take up to 75 days to arrive.

I read that this new card is a balance transfer card, and you get 18 months at 0% interest, but none of that was mentioned in the letter. I'm wondering if I have to wait for the card to arrive to get that benefit. I guess I'll ask them. Of course, I have no idea what my credit limit will be, but it seems sensible that it will be at least equal to my Discover, which is $2500.

I took a 12-month free interest deal on my Discover card a few months back, so I could get a few items, but it didn't work out the way I had planned. I've still managed to pay much more than minimum every month, but I didn't get to buy the things I wanted. Long story. I still have until November for that, so hopefully, I can do something with it once I get this unexpected expense paid off, so I can keep it under 30%.

I'm a bit concerned about my credit score. At its highest, it was 735, now it's gone down to 702. I'm not charging anything except that one bill on Citi right now, and hope that paying off the remaining balance on Discover quickly will push it back up. I don't like being that close to being below 700.

Anyway, things are going well for now. I still don't have the income to use that credit score to qualify for any big loans, but I don't want any big loans right now. I do need to get some kind of small loan so I can have different kinds of accounts on my record. I'm switching from my bank to a credit union, because it's been sold three times in six years and is now part of a large regional bank, which I don't want. I wanted something local, so credit union it is. Do you think this is a good move? Plan is to use the next COVID check to open a savings account at the credit union. I don't have a savings account now.

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your graduation 🎓 and product upgrade!

CU's to join for Savings Rate now and possible Credit Products later!

[M_Smart007]

Congrats on your Citi success! ..

[GrandBaker]

Great news! Congratulations! 

I wouldn't worry about those scores taking a hit. They'll be back up within a few months as long as you're continuing on-track responsibly.

My oldest credit account is with Citi because they have always treated me right.

[designated_knitter]

Congratulations!  I'm very jealous given I had the card for 18 months and they sent me a "Christmas Card" telling me that they were going to keep my money for another 12 months...

But my scores are no where near yours.  Thick dirty file!

Enjoy the new card!

[Slabenstein]

Big congrats on the upgrade.  The Diamond Preferred does have a 0% APR for 18 mo's promo for new cardholders, but since this is a product change I wouldn't expect you'd be offered the same.  But getting your deposit back & no longer having your limit tied to it is still great!

I think joining a credit union and opening a savings account are both great ideas.  I've been a fan of credit unions for as long as I've had a credit report, and imo they're generally a better option than the big banks for deposit accounts and a lot of credit products.  I also like that the money they make off of me goes back to the members, one way or another, rather than to the pockets of shareholders or whatever, and I think that they tend to be more oriented towards serving their members, as opposed to wringing profit out of customers, than their competitors.  Ofc there's a lot of variation among them and there are worse and better ones, but if you do some research on your local credit unions you should be able to find a good one that works for you.

A savings account is an important part of long-term financial stability and, because of that, also indirectly part of maintaining a good credit profile.  Having an emerency fund for unexpected expenses or a short term job loss can make the difference between coming through it financially intact and having your report hit with late payments, charge offs, etc.  You'll also want savings to build up for any down payments you might need down the line.  I'd recommend putting at least 10% of each paycheck towards savings and keeping at least 3-6 mo's income in the account, if that's financially feasable for you.

[CreditAggie]

Congratulations on your Citi Secured graduation!

Once you have it, I would look into product changing the Diamond Preferred into a Double Cash so you can earn rewards with the card. I believe the Diamond Preferred's 0% APR promo is only for new cardholders who directly apply for the Diamond Preferred. 

[cashorcharge]

Nicely done!  Congratulations!!

[calyx]

Congrats on the graduation!

Just fyi: It usually takes them a couple of months to get the new card and everything situated - they're just slow like that (so that you'll truly graduate around a year).
You get the 0% as a new acccount holder, so the promo won't apply to your graduated card.

You can PC the Diamond Preferred to DC at some point, but I'm glad I didn't.   When I ignore my DP for a couple of months, they send me 5% or 10% cashback offers and I use them for that (but I already have a 2% card).   I've also noticed (anectdotally, of course) that I get more offers for good gift cards through their easy deals site (I've gotten 3 free Amazon $10 cards, a coupld of WaWa cards, and recently got a $50 Lowe's card for $30).   

[Amwar73mf]

I posted on March 30 that Citicard had upgraded me to a Diamond Preferred and sending my deposit back. Well, I FINALLY got my deposit Saturday, but haven't received my new card and no upgrade at all to my limit or change to my rate.They said it would take two months to get the new card, so probably will receive it the end of this month.

From what I've read, most people don't get any rate change and no or a very small limit increase. I'll call them if that happens, but I'm not optimistic. Of course, I've kept my charges below 30% (only charge my internet bill every month, and pay it off early), so maybe I'll be rewarded for that.

I damaged my car in a parking lot the other day, and my insurance won't cover it, so I'll be putting it on my Discover card, which has 0% interest until the end of November this year. So I'm looking for a new card with a 0% interest for transfers before that runs out, so I can pay it off slowly and not deplete my meager savings. I'm really pissed at myself for doing that, because I've only had that car since January. It's not a new car, but it's the first car I've had in 10 years, and it's nice, so I'm really upset. But the car is paid for, at least, so that's that. Life sucks sometimes.