A Citi Diamond preferred? My sister just got a mailing to apply for the diamond preferred last week.
Don't know her credit score but she has never had a credit card, however about 5 years ago she was talked into by the sales rep at best buy into financing a tv in store. What a great deal and being someone just out of high school with little if any knowledge about credit or being responsible she only heard the part about walking out of the store with a flat screen tv.
Turns out with no job, and some hard times she didnt have the money to pay for a tv, so she just stopped making payments, and when collection and late payment notices came in the mail just ignored them. Now she has made a deal with the collection agency and is having a bit of her wages garnished until it is paid off.
...and someone with that credit profile is invited to apply for a Citi diamond preferred? 
I wonder about the criteria banks use when doing a mass mailing.
@Anonymous wrote:A Citi Diamond preferred? My sister just got a mailing to apply for the diamond preferred last week.
Don't know her credit score but she has never had a credit card, however about 5 years ago she was talked into by the sales rep at best buy into financing a tv in store. What a great deal and being someone just out of high school with little if any knowledge about credit or being responsible she only heard the part about walking out of the store with a flat screen tv.
Turns out with no job, and some hard times she didnt have the money to pay for a tv, so she just stopped making payments, and when collection and late payment notices came in the mail just ignored them. Now she has made a deal with the collection agency and is having a bit of her wages garnished until it is paid off.
...and someone with that credit profile is invited to apply for a Citi diamond preferred?
I wonder about the criteria banks use when doing a mass mailing.
I would not be surprised if someone at Citi made an error and sent diamond preferred stuff to a completely wrong list. Of course it could be a way to hook people in, deny them, then offer them something much less in its place..
@crunching_numbers wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:A Citi Diamond preferred? My sister just got a mailing to apply for the diamond preferred last week.
Don't know her credit score but she has never had a credit card, however about 5 years ago she was talked into by the sales rep at best buy into financing a tv in store. What a great deal and being someone just out of high school with little if any knowledge about credit or being responsible she only heard the part about walking out of the store with a flat screen tv.
Turns out with no job, and some hard times she didnt have the money to pay for a tv, so she just stopped making payments, and when collection and late payment notices came in the mail just ignored them. Now she has made a deal with the collection agency and is having a bit of her wages garnished until it is paid off.
...and someone with that credit profile is invited to apply for a Citi diamond preferred?
I wonder about the criteria banks use when doing a mass mailing.
I would not be surprised if someone at Citi made an error and sent diamond preferred stuff to a completely wrong list. Of course it could be a way to hook people in, deny them, then offer them something much less in its place..
It's called casting a wide net (think fishing). They have to gain clients, hopefully market share if possible. To do that in this economic environment they know (like AMEX with ZYNC) that they have to broaden their reach. The easiest way to do that is dangle a carrot. They don't want to appear to be going sub-priming (like slumming), so Citi (again like AMEX) is doing it creatively. Most of the "primers" are going about it in some way (there just aren't that many "primes" left to market to anymore).
I was denied that card last week with a low 700 score, I'd pass on it.