What does Citi like to see for CLI?

[FalconSteve]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I feel like what lenders "like to see" is pretty standard across the board generally speaking.  Heavy spend relative to limit and paying it off monthly overall is the recipe for greatest CLI success as a blanket statement to cover the vast majority out there.

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Generally, yes, but some look at the actual spend and some use statement balances as a shortcut. I guess they could also assume that even if you are spending 2x your limit, but your balance is low, everything is great for them (low risk, plenty of transaction fees from merchants).

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, I certainly don't think a reported high balance would hurt CLI chances and in some cases may give the lender an incentive to bump a limit up.  I tend to think those numbers however are more meaningful on your CR for other (competitor) lenders to see what you've got going on.  The lender with which you're reporting or not reporting a high statement balance obviously knows what you're putting through their product monthly and whether or not that warrants a CLI based on their internal criteria.

[Remedios]

Prior to my last CLI, my spend was under $25.00 per month (some months it was $0.00.

First and second request (both in the same week because I roll like that) were denied for number of inquiries (I had 0 on EQ, 2 on EX, TU we-dont-talk-about-TU)

Following week, CLI was approved with no changes on CR, and the amount was higher than previous increase when the card was actually seeing some use. 

[Ficoproblems247]

My DC has been a pain point for me the past couple of months. I have been eligible for my 180+ day SP CLI for a couple of months now, but have been denied. The denial reasons were too many inq, and escalating balances. At the time of my last request I had 4 inq (3 scorable) and something like $200-$300 or so balance on a $47K TCL reporting. I did have 2 new accounts opened in under 6 months since the last time I tried, so I suspect that is the real reason for the denial. It's now past that point so I'm going to give it another try after my next statement cuts in a couple of days and hope for the best. If they give me the SP increase I am going to go all out and take a HP to see how high I can get it all at once. With the amount I've been using the card it's certainly worth a HP to me since it's only at 2K right now. Good luck on getting your increase!  

[FalconSteve]

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@Ficoproblems247 wrote:

My DC has been a pain point for me the past couple of months. I have been eligible for my 180+ day SP CLI for a couple of months now, but have been denied. The denial reasons were too many inq, and escalating balances. At the time of my last request I had 4 inq (3 scorable) and something like $200-$300 or so balance on a $47K TCL reporting. I did have 2 new accounts opened in under 6 months since the last time I tried, so I suspect that is the real reason for the denial. It's now past that point so I'm going to give it another try after my next statement cuts in a couple of days and hope for the best. If they give me the SP increase I am going to go all out and take a HP to see how high I can get it all at once. With the amount I've been using the card it's certainly worth a HP to me since it's only at 2K right now. Good luck on getting your increase!  

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I'm sorry you've been dealing with the same thing, but it does make me feel slightly better knowing that I'm not alone. Our SL is $2900 (I keep thinking it is $2500), which was managable until the Christmas shopping season. Now, I find myself using my 1.5% AmEx Cash Magnet (and even a 1% card once or twice) more than I'd like. I'll never understand how AmEx can trust my wife and I with $20k, BB&T with $11k, but Citi with $2.9k. I guess it is what it is. Sometimes MyFICO feels like a support group.

[Anonymous]

Some have reported large Citi CLIs when willing to give up a HP to them.  I am not one of those people; my HP only yielded me another $5k on an already low 5-figure limit.  The only reason I tried though was after reading about many HP CLI success stories... so if it's worth it to you, that may be an option.

[Wavester64]

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@FalconSteve wrote:

My wife has a Citi Double Cash card that we use as our primary non-category card and this Christmas season has resulted in a lot of spend on that card. I've even had to make multiple payments. She only got the card in February and our spend until the last few months was so-so, so I'm not shocked that she hasn't gotten an increase yet, but I want to optimize our chances.

Paying interest is out of the question. However, I want to know if I should let a balance post at the end of the month or should I be continuing to pay it before the statement generates? If I leave a balance, should I be shooting for 1%, 5%, 10%, 30%, or another ratio of the credit line to make them happy?

She has a perfect payment history with this and her scores vary between high 700s and low 800s (Although I think I read that Citi uses their own model).

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As a Citi-Costco card holder, I can honestly say this: If I had a $1 for each time I requested a CLI and was declined, I would have more $ than the CLI Citi gave me each time, which is $0 

I know it doesn't answer your question - but Citi is pretty much the ONLY Lender that has never given me a CLI.

So that and my dislike of the CB process with the card, they are going by the wayside come Feb 2021. 

[cashorcharge]

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@Remedios wrote:

Prior to my last CLI, my spend was under $25.00 per month (some months it was $0.00.

First and second request (both in the same week because I roll like that) were denied for number of inquiries (I had 0 on EQ, 2 on EX, TU we-dont-talk-about-TU)

Following week, CLI was approved with no changes on CR, and the amount was higher than previous increase when the card was actually seeing some use. 

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Sounds perfectly logical!  HAHAHA!

[UncleB]

While it can vary from profile to profile, I'm one of the ones who only use a card for a $2 bag of ice every six months and they are still giving me SP increases.

I will add that early-on I was denied a SP increase due to inquiries (they weren't wrong) but I tried again once most of the HPs were past the six-month mark and they came through.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Citi-Diamond-Preferred-CLI/m-p/4988685 

(Note that the Diamond Preferred mentioned in that old thread is the Double Cash I mention in newer threads.)

[Wavester64]

@UncleB 

>>While it can vary from profile to profile, I'm one of the ones who only use a card for a $2 bag of ice every six months and they are still giving me SP increases.

Good stuff