Not experienced with Citi but skipped it as a second card for family member with thin but long AAoA. Instead went for BCE.. Different friend went for BCE at 9mo after first cc and got it with thin history and got 61 day 3x cli
@Anonymous wrote:I've been looking at cards to apply for when I hit my 1 year credit history mark. I'm at 6 months right now but just doing some research so that I have an idea what to look into. I've noticed that not many people seem to mention Citi as much as Chase/Cap1/etc. I've got an eye on their Thank You and their HHonors cards (doubt I should even dream of apping for the Double Cash right now). Are they really hard on having a 1 year history; should I hold out like I'm planning for Amex until I hit 1.5-2 years?
Why hold out for the double cash? Its underwriting criteria cannot be that different than their other cards. You don't need a super long history to get prime cards. As long as your report is spotless of blemishes and excess inquires, and you have low utilization, you could probably get any card you want. (With the exception of Chase, as they do like at least 1 year. But AMEX only needs 6 months of CC history.)
Agreed. Citi is not that hard to crack. They pride themselves on being the biggest issuer of credit cards in the world, meaning they have the most cardholders (supposedly). Having said that, it can't be that hard to get the card you want.
I got a 11k instant approval for the citi aa exec card. I got it with about 9 months of active revolver history. I had other things in my report, but it definitely wasn't the hardest credit approval for me.
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@B335is wrote:I've tried just about everything imagineable with Citi and nothing they do makes logical sense to me. They deny a 6 month CLI increase (which is usually $1400) and turn around the same day and approve a new $10k card. Go figure. And they've done the same thing when I submitted a hard pull CLI request.
Anyways, Citi was my first real card when I was rebuilding. They sent me a targeted offer and it was instantly approved. I don't know how they are specifically on thin files though. Are you pre-qualified for anything? I churn their HHonors cards in between AAdvantage applications and it really takes a lot of HHonors points to redeem anywhere decent. The board certainly loves Chase and Amex (Chase is great for reconsideration and Amex for the backdating). Citi isn't known for either. But go for whatever you're more interested in.
Sounds a lot like Chase. Will not give you a CLI or if they do, its a small 300 one. But approve you for a 12k card (as they did me)
@B335is wrote:I've tried just about everything imagineable with Citi and nothing they do makes logical sense to me. They deny a 6 month CLI increase (which is usually $1400) and turn around the same day and approve a new $10k card. Go figure. And they've done the same thing when I submitted a hard pull CLI request.
Anyways, Citi was my first real card when I was rebuilding. They sent me a targeted offer and it was instantly approved. I don't know how they are specifically on thin files though. Are you pre-qualified for anything? I churn their HHonors cards in between AAdvantage applications and it really takes a lot of HHonors points to redeem anywhere decent. The board certainly loves Chase and Amex (Chase is great for reconsideration and Amex for the backdating). Citi isn't known for either. But go for whatever you're more interested in.
It takes soo many hilton points to get a decent location that I'm not even thinking about churning for points with them. My interest in the hilton card is to get the hotel status and free weekend nights. I may just get the reserve card and keep it for the annual night. The AA cards are another story (this will likely change next year once merger is complete), although my accounts are not old enough to do heavy churning yet but probably by next spring when my first two accounts cross the two year mark in age.
@joltdude wrote:
Not experienced with Citi but skipped it as a second card for family member with thin but long AAoA. Instead went for BCE.. Different friend went for BCE at 9mo after first cc and got it with thin history and got 61 day 3x cli
Oh wow. The BCE is the exact Amex I was interested in. Trying to stay away from those annual fee cards. Maybe I should app for that at the same time also. 