Citizens Bank Cash Back Plus Card

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Regional or not even the big names have blackholes for branches.

If you're a credit junky you've heard of the players in the market through researching the approvals section.

Citizens is kind of "basic" and odd when it comes to 1.8% rewards.  What's the point of the missing 0.2% or even being bold to gain market share with a 2.5% instead?  There's nothing really appealing about their product   Sure 5% is a novelty and then it gets tossed aside for lackluster value beyond the next few months and the delayed payout will deter many as well.

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Some might go for it at 1.8%. Posters here have 1.5% cards, and not 2% cards. Maybe some can't qualify for any 2% cards.

[coldfusion]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

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@coldfusion wrote:

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

My EQ can't handle another HP, thus i will look another way.  Their HQ is based out of where I live (well at least alot if not most corporate jobs are, not sure if true headquarters), but no branches..  So weird!

Forst most their CL's are kinda meh, but if ok with a 7k-10k CL then cool.  Card maxes out at 25k as well

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Their true corporate headquarters are near where I work in the Providence RI financial district.

But yeah they aren't particularly generous with their SLs and you have to wait at least 9 months to be considered for a CLI.

The UI on their online banking site is in pretty serious need of an overhaul.

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Interesting as their IT appears to be in brentwood, TN or at least some of it as just got a call about a job from them a few days back lol.

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It could be spread out in multiple locations. For a sizable company, IT usually is spread out. Might be cheaper to have some of it in TN, otherwise if all of IT was in New England, it might be a 1.5% card lol.

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That card used to be a 1.5% card.  They upgraded it to 1.8% somewhere about 15 months ago.

[coldfusion]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Regional cards don't get as much traction because so much of the country can't get them. Most of the good regional cards are for the eastern states and completely cut off central and west. 

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checking accounts are regional, but their cards aren't....

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I guess Citizens is unique there. Regions, BBVA, PNC, FNBO, TD, etc., are all regional on cards too. 

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One can create a back door with PNC by opening up a checking account as they have fewer georestrictions.  if your profile is strong enough they'll eventually start sending card preapprovals.

BBVA has, or at least had, a wider footprint for their Clearpoint card than for their Rewards card which is mildly interesting as they're both core cards, not core vs. co-branded.

[Anonymous]

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@coldfusion wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Regional cards don't get as much traction because so much of the country can't get them. Most of the good regional cards are for the eastern states and completely cut off central and west. 

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checking accounts are regional, but their cards aren't....

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I guess Citizens is unique there. Regions, BBVA, PNC, FNBO, TD, etc., are all regional on cards too. 

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One can create a back door with PNC by opening up a checking account as they have fewer georestrictions.  if your profile is strong enough they'll eventually start sending card preapprovals.

BBVA has, or at least had, a wider footprint for their Clearpoint card than for their Rewards card which is mildly interesting as they're both core cards, not core vs. co-branded.

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BBVA only makes exceptions for customers they mail offers to. 

Even as an existing customer, without a mailer or a prequal online, I would have to call them and they would have to use a code to open a new account for me. 

I don't count any banks where you have to have a checking account with them to get a card out of area. That shouldn't be a requirement - nobody needs 50 credit cards but they need 50 checking accounts even less. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@coldfusion wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Regional cards don't get as much traction because so much of the country can't get them. Most of the good regional cards are for the eastern states and completely cut off central and west. 

---

checking accounts are regional, but their cards aren't....

---

I guess Citizens is unique there. Regions, BBVA, PNC, FNBO, TD, etc., are all regional on cards too. 

---

One can create a back door with PNC by opening up a checking account as they have fewer georestrictions.  if your profile is strong enough they'll eventually start sending card preapprovals.

BBVA has, or at least had, a wider footprint for their Clearpoint card than for their Rewards card which is mildly interesting as they're both core cards, not core vs. co-branded.

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BBVA only makes exceptions for customers they mail offers to. 

Even as an existing customer, without a mailer or a prequal online, I would have to call them and they would have to use a code to open a new account for me. 

I don't count any banks where you have to have a checking account with them to get a card out of area. That shouldn't be a requirement - nobody needs 50 credit cards but they need 50 checking accounts even less. 

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I guess some banks don't care to be major players or don't have the budget for it, otherwise they would market the cards nationwide. Capital one and Chase are all over the TV with ads. Does Kevin Hart care to save 1.5% on his purchases? If he were smart he would. Never been in a Capital One cafe.

Citizens doesn't really market this card at all.

[Anonymous]

I tried to get this card 6 months ago and was denied, my scores at the time was about 640 across all boards and I had less inquiries so I doubt with all my new accounts that I'll get approved since the 5% cash back would be good with the holidays coming soon.

[CreditCuriosity]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I tried to get this card 6 months ago and was denied, my scores at the time was about 640 across all boards and I had less inquiries so I doubt with all my new accounts that I'll get approved since the 5% cash back would be good with the holidays coming soon.

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IMO scores in the 640's isn't their target audience and they are a more "prime" lender.  I would go with Discover and try their Pre-Qual site or Cap1's.  Best of luck with whatever you do.  I see you have NFCU in your signature as well no lender will be able to touch them currently you have a nice ace in the hole with them.  Continue to use them while your scores continue to improve.

[Anonymous]

I'm good with what I have right now, I have a 2% and 1.5% cash back on everything cards right now with decent limits so the 1.8% is not a big deal since Citizens is a very picky bank with horrible apps and online web pages, Unless I get something that has a higher cashback I'm not gonna apply, regional banks tend to be very cautious with lending it seems.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Regional or not even the big names have blackholes for branches.

If you're a credit junky you've heard of the players in the market through researching the approvals section.

Citizens is kind of "basic" and odd when it comes to 1.8% rewards.  What's the point of the missing 0.2% or even being bold to gain market share with a 2.5% instead?  There's nothing really appealing about their product   Sure 5% is a novelty and then it gets tossed aside for lackluster value beyond the next few months and the delayed payout will deter many as well.

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Well, compare with the Discover IT Miles which gets some good press here.  While it's less than a year, the 5% is high compared to that cards 3% (and the bonus payout is delayed there as well, for a year).  And then the residual 1.8% is better than the Discover's 1.5.    And it has somewhat higher acceptance than Discover.

As a keeper card, no, but then I have expressed my feelings on that topic!   In the old days, I would sign up for this card and, um, use it a lot at various types of store.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Regional or not even the big names have blackholes for branches.

If you're a credit junky you've heard of the players in the market through researching the approvals section.

Citizens is kind of "basic" and odd when it comes to 1.8% rewards.  What's the point of the missing 0.2% or even being bold to gain market share with a 2.5% instead?  There's nothing really appealing about their product   Sure 5% is a novelty and then it gets tossed aside for lackluster value beyond the next few months and the delayed payout will deter many as well.

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Well, compare with the Discover IT Miles which gets some good press here.  While it's less than a year, the 5% is high compared to that cards 3% (and the bonus payout is delayed there as well, for a year).  And then the residual 1.8% is better than the Discover's 1.5.    And it has somewhat higher acceptance than Discover.

As a keeper card, no, but then I have expressed my feelings on that topic!   In the old days, I would sign up for this card and, um, use it a lot at various types of store.

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Good point. It really isn't that bad of a card for some people. 5% on anything and everything with no limit in the introductory period is pretty good. Their example in the brochure is on $10,000 spend.  But if you have a lot of spend, say $40K, at 5% can be a nice chunk of change. Not many could do that, but I'm sure some can. 2K rewards is a nice return.