You may wonder why I never write about Citi credit cards. The simple answer is, I’ve never been approved for a card by Citi, so I don’t have much to say. It seems like some people have a hard time getting approved by certain banks, and for me, that bank is Citi. Over the past year, I applied for three Citi cards waiting at least three months in between applications. No dice.
My first denial was for the Citi Hilton card last October. I had opened a handful of credit cards since July so I realized this application was a mistake as I was in violation of Citi’s unofficial 6/6 rule.
I opened more cards throughout the year, and this June, I decided to try again with the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select. I only had one hard pull in the past three months and was under six in the last six months. Another instant denial and another wasted hard pull.
This October, I was bored and wanted to press my luck. I applied for the Citi AA card again, still with only one hard pull in the past three months. Denied again!
The frustrating part is that I always get the same reason for denial “Lack of recent installment loan information.” In my opinion, this is a bullshit reason for not approving me. If I’ve opened too many cards recently then fine, but why am I being penalized for not having loans…
Final Thoughts
I’ve wasted three hard pulls over the past year trying to get approved for a card by Citi. For some reason, they just don’t seem to want to approve me. I plan on taking a churning break starting in February, so maybe I’ll get approved by Citi after I let things settle down. I’m also considering applying for a no annual fee card like the Double Cash card in hopes of establishing a relationship with the bank. Maybe that would help increase my chances of approval on cards with valuable sign-up bonuses.
Anyone else having trouble getting approved by Citi?
