Questions about Citi... move CL’s or ask for CLI at activation?

[Anonymous]

Ahhh... not sure what the best course of action is.

i applied for the Costco business visa today and received an instant approval of 25k. Happy with that! Yet for some reason I thought since Citi pulled my report, that they would combine pulls if I app’d for a second card in the same day.. So I decided to app for the diamond preferred. I have a BT promo ending in October so I wanted a new BT card in the line up as it’s not quite paid off yet. 

So i app’d. Instant approval for.....3k.

i know some people would be thrilled with this but all of my cards are much higher than this. This is my lowest CL and there is absolutely nothing I can do with this card with a 3k limit.

i already have a Citi DC with 12k CL and a simplicity with 15k CL. I PIF DC monthly, and have a 1000 dollar balance on simplicity at 0%.

i really liked the 21 month BT that diamond was offering but 3k won’t cut it.

out of complete frustration (and also because I spent money unfreezing my reports in anticipation of the Costco app) I went over to discover and was approved for their 18 month BT IT card with 15k CL.

citi doesn’t combine hard pulls -after all of this my Experian notifications came in. I got a hard pull for each app with Citi.

now... should I just call Citi and have them close the diamond preferred.i won’t use the card. Or should I try for a cli at activation? They may have given me a low limit because between the DC/Simplicity/Costco I may of hit their internal max on CL’s.

will closing this card quickly lower my score?. As it is all 3apps Pulled Experian, So today I earned 3 inquiries on EX and lost 15 points. I haven’t had an inquiry on there for over a year.

[Jnbmom]

Don't be surprised if you have ones on EQ,  citi is known for pulling 2

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ahhh... not sure what the best course of action is.

i applied for the Costco business visa today and received an instant approval of 25k. Happy with that! Yet for some reason I thought since Citi pulled my report, that they would combine pulls if I app’d for a second card in the same day.. So I decided to app for the diamond preferred. I have a BT promo ending in October so I wanted a new BT card in the line up as it’s not quite paid off yet. 

So i app’d. Instant approval for.....3k.

Citibank is well known to offer paltry starting limits on personal cards. $3K sounds about right.  

i already have a Citi DC with 12k CL and a simplicity with 15k CL. I PIF DC monthly, and have a 1000 dollar balance on simplicity at 0%.

You had $27K in available Citibank limits before the business app and now you have $52K-it is possible that you are at the maximum combined exposure that they feel comfortable with at the moment.  

i really liked the 21 month BT that diamond was offering but 3k won’t cut it.

out of complete frustration (and also because I spent money unfreezing my reports in anticipation of the Costco app) I went over to discover and was approved for their 18 month BT IT card with 15k CL.

This or Chase Slate (no BT fees) would have been the right choice to begin with. Congrats on the approval.

citi doesn’t combine hard pulls -after all of this my Experian notifications came in. I got a hard pull for each app with Citi.

Yeah, you also have to remember one was business and one was personal so two separate entities may have been involved in the approvals-causing the two inquiries. Or that is just how Citibank rolls regardless. Unfortunately, we always have to expect a HP anytime we apply for credit or a CLI.

now... should I just call Citi and have them close the diamond preferred.i won’t use the card. Or should I try for a cli at activation? They may have given me a low limit because between the DC/Simplicity/Costco I may of hit their internal max on CL’s.

Citibank is not known to allow credit reallocations anymore. You could certainly try but I would ask for a CLI at activation. Let them know that you opened the account for a BT and cannot due to the low SL. I would personally go to Twitter or Facebook and ask them to contact you. I have found that social media reps are all US based and have more authority than the CSR's you get when you call the # on the back of the card. 

will closing this card quickly lower my score?. As it is all 3apps Pulled Experian, So today I earned 3 inquiries on EX and lost 15 points. I haven’t had an inquiry on there for over a year.

No; closing the account will not lower your score. The damage has already been done with the HP and the hit to your AAoA for the new card.  I stupidly opened a WalMart Discover in 2009 and closed it a few weeks later without 1) activating it; 2) never made a purchase, cash advance or BT and therefore 3) never submitted payment to the account. 9 years later those lovely people at Sync will not delete the trade line. I have stated time and time again that there is nothing to report as the card was never used. They refuse. My point is that darn account will likely stay on record for 10 years even if you closed it without ever using it. So you might as well try to get some use out of it. You will gain back those points within 6 months after the inquires age. 

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