Re: Is it possible Citi made a mistake when they a... - myFICO® Forums

Anonymous · ‎12-12-2017

A couple weeks ago I joined AARP and applied for the AARP Chase Visa. I received a message that they needed more time to review my application and I kind of forgot about it. About a week later I applied for Wal-mart and Amazon (I'm a prime member) and they each approved me for a store only card each with a $200 limit. A few days later I open my mailbox (snail mail) and there's a pre-approval in there for a Citi Double Cash. I've kind of had my eye on that card anyhow so I applied and was instantly approved for a $1,000 limit.

Stupid me should be smart enough to know when they say they need more time to review my application, it's an automatic denial. Today I received my letter in the mail and they wrote me a book! It said, your credit score it too low, I know they pulled TU and they said my score is 605. What??? Credit Karma says my score is 689! It says your Average Age of Accounts is too new, You have too many new recent accounts, you have too many recent inquiries (TU says I have 4), your balance to limit ratio across all of your accounts is too high and lack of installment loan information. FNBO was reporting a $300 CL and $279 balance, Walmart a $200 CL and $189 balance, Amazon a $200 CL and $158 balance the last I checked. Citi is too new and still hasn't reported, but that has a $1,000 CL and $0 balance as I am still waiting on the card. They will all be paid to $0 when I get my paycheck Friday.

I see no point in even trying to recon with Chase as I feel like they thought my application was a joke. When I told a friend I was pre-approved by Citi, he said they clearly made a mistake. They told me I could recon for a higher SL but that would be another HP, but I'm scared if they look at my credit again they might catch their mistake and either lower my SL or close the account. They said if I waited 6 months and used the card several times I should be able to get a CLI with a SP.

I really wanted a better Visa card because my FNBO started out as a secured card, they refunded my deposit and just last week they gave me a $300 CLI so now I have a $600 CL on a high interest, no rewards card, only plus is no AF. Cap1 converted my Platinum starter card to a QS Mastercard with no AF and 1.5% cash back. In my wallet I want to carry my Citi DC, a good Visa card and my Menards store card. I might use the Cap1 card for gas or something once in a while to keep using it, but the best they will ever do is maybe a $100 CLI every 6 months.

Looks like I'm being forced to the garden for maybe a year or more. There's really nothing out there I'm interested in applying for, it even seems pointless to convert my Wal-mart card to a Mastercard or apply for a Sam's club Mastercard as I already have the Citi DC. Since both the DC and my Cap1 are Mastercards, I want my next card to be a Visa or Amex. Not really interested in any more store cards or co-branded store cards. Right now I don't care so much about the Wal-mart card, but I don't want to loose the $1,000 CL on the DC card.

Anonymous · ‎12-13-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
A couple weeks ago I joined AARP and applied for the AARP Chase Visa. I received a message that they needed more time to review my application and I kind of forgot about it. About a week later I applied for Wal-mart and Amazon (I'm a prime member) and they each approved me for a store only card each with a $200 limit. A few days later I open my mailbox (snail mail) and there's a pre-approval in there for a Citi Double Cash. I've kind of had my eye on that card anyhow so I applied and was instantly approved for a $1,000 limit.

Stupid me should be smart enough to know when they say they need more time to review my application, it's an automatic denial. Today I received my letter in the mail and they wrote me a book! It said, your credit score it too low, I know they pulled TU and they said my score is 605. What??? Credit Karma says my score is 689! It says your Average Age of Accounts is too new, You have too many new recent accounts, you have too many recent inquiries (TU says I have 4), your balance to limit ratio across all of your accounts is too high and lack of installment loan information. FNBO was reporting a $300 CL and $279 balance, Walmart a $200 CL and $189 balance, Amazon a $200 CL and $158 balance the last I checked. Citi is too new and still hasn't reported, but that has a $1,000 CL and $0 balance as I am still waiting on the card. They will all be paid to $0 when I get my paycheck Friday.

I see no point in even trying to recon with Chase as I feel like they thought my application was a joke. When I told a friend I was pre-approved by Citi, he said they clearly made a mistake. They told me I could recon for a higher SL but that would be another HP, but I'm scared if they look at my credit again they might catch their mistake and either lower my SL or close the account. They said if I waited 6 months and used the card several times I should be able to get a CLI with a SP.

I really wanted a better Visa card because my FNBO started out as a secured card, they refunded my deposit and just last week they gave me a $300 CLI so now I have a $600 CL on a high interest, no rewards card, only plus is no AF. Cap1 converted my Platinum starter card to a QS Mastercard with no AF and 1.5% cash back. In my wallet I want to carry my Citi DC, a good Visa card and my Menards store card. I might use the Cap1 card for gas or something once in a while to keep using it, but the best they will ever do is maybe a $100 CLI every 6 months.

Looks like I'm being forced to the garden for maybe a year or more. There's really nothing out there I'm interested in applying for, it even seems pointless to convert my Wal-mart card to a Mastercard or apply for a Sam's club Mastercard as I already have the Citi DC. Since both the DC and my Cap1 are Mastercards, I want my next card to be a Visa or Amex. Not really interested in any more store cards or co-branded store cards. Right now I don't care so much about the Wal-mart card, but I don't want to loose the $1,000 CL on the DC card.

Congrats on the approval. I’m sure it’s not a mistake that Citi approved you. Regarding your credit scores and what I highlighted. Ignore what CreditKarma gives you for scores. That is a Vantage 3.0 score and not a FICO scores. As far as we know no credit card company is using Vantage scores for their decision making. You really need to pull your full 3 bureau report from FICO so you know what your real FICO scores are. It will also give you multiple versions of the scores like Bank Enhanced, Auto Enhanced and Mortgage scores of various FICO model years. All of these are used by various creditors. CK is a good resource to monitor your EQ and TU reports, but for the most part their scores are completely meaningless and can vary significantly from your FICO scores.

Anonymous · ‎12-13-2017

It said, your credit score it too low, I know they pulled TU and they said my score is 605. What??? Credit Karma says my score is 689!

Credit Karma uses FAKO scoring. Get a FICO score that most lender use. You should be able to get a free credit report from 3 CRA from annualcreditreport.com

your balance to limit ratio across all of your accounts is too high and lack of installment loan information. FNBO was reporting a $300 CL and $279 balance, Walmart a $200 CL and $189 balance, Amazon a $200 CL and $158 balance the last I checked.

Probably not going to do any good in doing a recon with Chase. If the credit cards you have is what you have listed (FNBO, Walmart, and Amazon), that's a really high utilization ratio between the 3. If my computation is right, that's 89% of your credit line. Bring it down to 30% or below. Ideally, bring it down to 10% and lower. Lack of installment loan info - any car loan, mortgage (this counts a lot), or personal loans? If none, look into "share secure loan" thread on here.

They told me I could recon for a higher SL but that would be another HP, but I'm scared if they look at my credit again they might catch their mistake and either lower my SL or close the account. They said if I waited 6 months and used the card several times I should be able to get a CLI with a SP.

Yes, Citi will only approve credit line increase every 6 months. I doubt they will close your account. But, it won't do any good. Use your Citi card responsibly and they will be giving you CLIs. Their CLIs are mostly SP. If you want more than what they give you at that time, it will be a HP. And I don't think it's a mistake. They have looked into your profile and probably showing as high risk because of high util ratio.

it even seems pointless to convert my Wal-mart card to a Mastercard or apply for a Sam's club Mastercard

Both are issued by Synchrony, I believe. Unfortunately, converting retail cards to MC or VISA is not doable. I tried. It's based on the lender's discretion.

Not really interested in any more store cards or co-branded store cards.

I agree. Retail cards are not rated equally like VISA, MC, or AMEX.

Looks like I'm being forced to the garden for maybe a year or more.

I agree with this. Rebuilding will take time. Once you have shown responsible use of what you have, they will come. Then, it will be more challenging. You have to be even MORE responsible with what they give you.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU !!! AND WELCOME TO MYFICO FORUMS.

This site has a lot of very good and smart people who have helped me with my credit journey.

AverageJoesCredit · ‎12-13-2017

Let your scores grow, bring down your util, use your DC and itll grow, and eventually youll get a good Visa.

SBR249 · ‎12-13-2017

While I understand the need to have a good Visa card in some circumstances (Costco, for example), in the vast majority of cases a MC is just as good as a Visa. Since you have both the QS and the DC, you are already getting decent CB across the board for non-category cards. I'd agree that a year or so in the garden would be most helpful now.

MrDisco99 · ‎12-13-2017

I've never gotten a pre-approval letter in the mail from Citi. That approval was not in error.

And yeah don't even bother with CK scores. They're garbage. I just use CK to stay up to date with my report details.

The Citi DC is one of my favorite cards. I have a lot of cards and that one never leaves my wallet. Use it well.