Citi Secured MC after Citi IIB

[Jeffster]

Does anybody know if Citi blacklists, or if it would approve an app for a Citi Secured MC 1.5 years after a Chap 13 DC where Citi was IIB.

My 100 percent Chap 13 discharged on 1/5/21. Would Citi automatically decline me for the secured card since they were IIB? I am willing to give it a shot but if it’s a definite no-go, I’d rather not waste the inq. I know there are some profound opinions about Citi but just considering all my options. 

 

Any advice would be most appreciated as always.

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jeffster

[Jeffster]

I had a couple inquiries to burn and decided to waste one on Citi. Looks like I’m blacklisfed. 
 

Instant denial. I don’t know who they pulled yet. 
 

Oh well. That’s life.

 

Update: They pulled EX. I’m in California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jeffster

[DCY030]

5 hours ago, Jeffster said:

I had a couple inquiries to burn and decided to waste one on Citi. Looks like I’m blacklisfed. 
 

Instant denial. I don’t know who they pulled yet. 
 

Oh well. That’s life.

 

Update: They pulled EX. I’m in California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CITI is not a good choice. Are you Vet or a service member's related family?

NFCU would be a great start. FNBO, BoA, Discovery (although a junk) are also good choices.

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

Forget about Citi. I’ve tried applying for their secured card a few times during my rebuild. Once they quit denying me for being blacklisted, they decided to come up with other reasons, such as inquiries, utilization, and negative credit items. They are very stingy with that secured card and with their products in general unless you have pretty good credit.

 

Try Discover and Capital One. They both have soft pull pre-approval checkers for their secured and unsecured cards. It can’t hurt! I agree with the other poster above that NFCU would be an excellent choice if they are available to you.

[nemo]

Agreed, it isn't just the blacklist.  I talked to Citi about the secured card when I was rebuilding.  They made it clear to me that that card is for building, not rebuilding.

[cashnocredit]

5 hours ago, nemo said:

Agreed, it isn't just the blacklist.  I talked to Citi about the secured card when I was rebuilding.  They made it clear to me that that card is for building, not rebuilding.

Citi approved me for a secured card when the only things on my credit reports were several paid collection accounts and a paid tax lien and one other secured CC just a few months old. That was my only positive account closed or open. Pretty clear I was rebuilding however, none of the collections were credit related and I had a positive deposit account history with Citi.

 

[WestCoastKid]

As a data point - I burned citi around 07 CO (no bk) for around 5k.

 

Fast forward to 2019 I was approved for Citi secured with low 500's scores, large cc chargeoffs (but no Citi showing on my reports) and I accepted with max 2500 deposit.

 

YMMV.

[nemo]

It sounds like I gave up too easily.  The variation suggests that people keep trying until they get accepted.

[nemo]

My other mistake was that I was worried about burning an INQ at the time, so I talked to them, leading to the apparently bad advice.

[shifter]

Citi has been the best creditor to both me and my wife after we IIB'd them collectively for 6 figures. We each have two cards from them, received within 1-2 years post BK and they have slowly, but steadily increased the CLs over the years. Total CL is now around 70k.

 

One data point is both of us had clean EQ reports, which is what they pulled because the others were on ice. It's possible that contributed to us getting around any blacklist.

 

I would focus on getting the BK removed and cleaning up your reports while you season other secured cards like Disco. 

[centex]

When it comes to a secured card on questionable reports, the thing I would ALWAYS recommend is to plop your hind cushions into the cushion of a the chair at a local branch where you should be doing your banking.  An officer will often have more discretion than an algorithm.  Character and capacity can be a big deal, and hopefully we see a return to the days where that counted for more than a calendar once a year. 

 

From the standpoint of a Fair Isaac score, it matters not one iota if the secured card is from a BIG bank or mid-directional-community co-op.  A card is a card.  The thing on a secured is you want to put as much of a deposit as you can manage as higher limits ultimately beget higher limits.  Years ago, there was a bank that would allow up to $25K as the deposit, and yes, there ARE people who need to go a secured route with that manner of funding available. 

[hegemony]

perhaps citi has changed its IIB blacklist policy but it took me >10 years to get back in. I'm down to one citi card as their offerings are ho-hum at best.

[Jeffster]

On 5/21/2022 at 4:05 AM, Fred030 said:

CITI is not a good choice. Are you Vet or a service member's related family?

NFCU would be a great start. FNBO, BoA, Discovery (although a junk) are also good choices.

Sadly, no. Not eligible for NFCU until my dad’s service records are sent to me by the VA. I hear it could take years. I submitted a request late in 2021. I already have a BofA CCR. I IIB FNBO. 

[dvd]

On 5/20/2022 at 10:37 PM, Jeffster said:

I had a couple inquiries to burn and decided to waste one on Citi. Looks like I’m blacklisfed. 
 

Instant denial. I don’t know who they pulled yet. 
 

Oh well. That’s life.

 

Update: They pulled EX. I’m in California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citibank makes you wait 2 years from filing date before they will approve you for a secured card.

[hdporter]

8 hours ago, hegemony said:

perhaps citi has changed its IIB blacklist policy but it took me >10 years to get back in. I'm down to one citi card as their offerings are ho-hum at best.

 

The decline in competitiveness of the Citi card portfolio is almost depressing.  For the longest time, Double Cash and Cit Prof Cash (3% on dining/travel) were my daily grind.  And, for a time, Citi Driver's Edge was unbelievable (although redemption against auto maint was awkward).

 

The affinity for Citi that I demonstrate on CB is borne out of a particularly satisfying experience.  They made Bev and myself solid devotees when she sought a hardship arrangement in 1998 and didn't close her card, as others did, but instead "suspended" the account until she was caught up, preserving a relationship that dates back to 1989 (account is still open).

 

Every now and then Citi manages to pop out a gem (in terms of SUB).  The 80k AAdvantage miles I gleaned from a Citi Premier this winter was precious.  But, yeah, the bar's been raised on what makes a competitive card these days, and they haven't made the stretch.

 

 

[Jeffster]

2 hours ago, dvd said:

 

Citibank makes you wait 2 years from filing date before they will approve you for a secured card.

I’m 5 years from filing date. 
 

1 hour ago, hdporter said:

 

The decline in competitiveness of the Citi card portfolio is almost depressing.  For the longest time, Double Cash and Cit Prof Cash (3% on dining/travel) were my daily grind.  And, for a time, Citi Driver's Edge was unbelievable (although redemption against auto maint was awkward).

 

The affinity for Citi that I demonstrate on CB is borne out of a particularly satisfying experience.  They made Bev and myself solid devotees when she sought a hardship arrangement in 1998 and didn't close her card, as others did, but instead "suspended" the account until she was caught up, preserving a relationship that dates back to 1989 (account is still open).

 

Every now and then Citi manages to pop out a gem (in terms of SUB).  The 80k AAdvantage miles I gleaned from a Citi Premier this winter was precious.  But, yeah, the bar's been raised on what makes a competitive card these days, and they haven't made the stretch.

 

 

I remember from the very early 00s Citi was like the Holy Grail of card providers. They really have been surpassed. You are right.