Hey Everyone! Browsed FW many times and finally decided to join up!

I apologize in advance for this lengthy post!

Quick background: I've never done an AOR. In fact, until a few days ago, I had no INQ! HHI: 175k, 5-6 cards, most in $15-25k CL range. 50%< utilization. Satisfied mortgage and car loans. Mid 20's - 8 years of history - NO neg. Not completely sure of scores...guessing somewhere in the 730-780 range??

Original goal: Get a couple of 0%/12 month no-fee BT deals.

Original plan: Do several CLI requests and a mini-AOR.

Issue: Soon thereafter, I came across the "Severe A/A by Citi" thread!

I have 2 Citi cards - one w/a $3000 CL (had for 7-8 yrs.) and a newer one that replaced my Macyz, which had a $7k CL.

So I decided to call each those cards and request CLIs. $25k from the first, which they have yet to increase at all. Then, I requested $30k from the second...they came back quickly with an approval to $20k.

Then, I did a mini-AOR:

Associated Bank - deferred (4/19: Approved $25k)
Lifespring - deferred (4/21: Approved $20k Requested $30k BT w/app)
U.S. Bank PBR - deferred (4/20: Approved $25.5k Requested $24.5k BT w/app)
U.S. Bank Baylor &
U.S. Bank Linux - deferred on both (denied on both - would only approve first card (PBR Above) since this is my first acct with them)

The next day, while browsing FW, I found the links to the Drivers Edge and Home Rebate no fee 0%/12. Decided to just go ahead and apply and got instant approvals for mid-7k on each (pretty weak).

So here is my question:

I was going to call the Driver's Edge and Home Rebates and request CLIs immediately, but after reading the whole Citi A/A thread, I'm not sure what to do. I had also considered some re-allocations. Here are what I think my options are (and please feel free to add at will!):

1. Leave everything as-is for now as far as CLs go. Wait a while (3, 6, 12 months??) then do standard CLI requests.

2. Call and attempt a re-allocation (new $20k increased card transferred onto one??) onto either the Driver's Edge or Home Rebates, but NOT ask for CLI on those cards.

3. Just go ahead and request immediate CLIs on both the Driver's Edge and Home Rebate and see what they say, then maybe attempt the reallocation.

Also, if you respond, any advice on the current B* situation and which company (companies) I should join for monitoring? Yes, I have done quite a bit of research, but I still don't know if TC or PM123 or ??? is best. Already got on board with CreditKarma (859 for past 3 days), but would be willing to join 1 or 2 pay programs...

p.s. I know I should have done better research so I didn't get into this situation to begin with. I also know it pays to have my FICOs when doing any kind of AOR...please try not to beat me too hard on this! Thanks!!

So what's the question? Can we have the cliff notes version, please?

I would pay all of your bt money back and close all of your cards to be safe....seriously, reading that thread, I have a hard time summarizing anything except that right now is not the time to be so greedy...25 card applications, pushing thousands of bt into citibank and asking for refunds/checks, and using to much of your limit, etc....be as "reasonable" as a FW member can be...

NoMoneyToWaste said:tolamapS said:So what's the question? Can we have the cliff notes version, please?

My main question is:

How do I handle my new/old Citi cards based on what we now know about their new "risk management" approach?
If you could condense your original post a bit, pull the questions out of the middle and highlight them, you might get a few more responses.

What state are you in? I would recommend getting a hold of the credit report that Citi is pulling in your state (see the Creditpulls database over at Creditboards.com - I think you need an account (free) to read that DB now) to see how many inquiries you have, as a start, as that's what Citi is keying in on these days.

In Florida it looks like Citi tends to pull Equifax. You're going to want to get a hold of that report. If your inquiry count is above 5 you're in the A/A space of several of the folks in the Citi A/A thread, and I wouldn't advise doing anything that will get them looking at that report again - but that's just my opinion. I would also recommend reading through the entire Citi A/A thread.

One thing about the Creditpulls DB, it will bring back everything that begins with whatever issuer you type in. So you can be very specifc by card (which you should to the extent you can, bearing in mind that people will input things differently) or you can type "citi" and get pretty much the whole pile.

swishyx said:In Florida it looks like Citi tends to pull Equifax. You're going to want to get a hold of that report. If your inquiry count is above 5 you're in the A/A space of several of the folks in the Citi A/A thread, and I wouldn't advise doing anything that will get them looking at that report again - but that's just my opinion. I would also recommend reading through the entire Citi A/A thread.

One thing about the Creditpulls DB, it will bring back everything that begins with whatever issuer you type in. So you can be very specifc by card (which you should to the extent you can, bearing in mind that people will input things differently) or you can type "citi" and get pretty much the whole pile.

Just finished editing OP...please check it out.

I did read entire Citi A/A thread...which is what got me skeered! I will definitely keep an eye on that for any new info. I wonder if my other apps used EQ or not? I will just have to pull EQ and see how many hards I have before I do anything w/Citi....

Thanks for the tips on the Creditpulls DB...I'm going to register with CB right now and check it out!

tolamapS said:

Perhaps you have researched for 30-40 hours, but it does not show.

1. Stop asking for more credit from CITI. Your inquiries for new credit, inquiries for credit limit increase are starting to show desperation. You are pushing it. If you can, start doing the balance transfers. At this point, even re-allocation requests might be risky, although as swishy said, the trigger has been 5 inquiries for many people,

2. With respect to B*, there are at least two threads that go in excrutiating detail as to which services to get. It appears that you might have the answers, but you need re-assurance. Part of the spirit of this forum is to sometimes take partial answers w/ uncertainty, and develop your own strategy.

I definitely hear you on the 5+ inquiries. I need to check my EQ, and the others for that matter, to see what they show before proceeding with anything. I realize the safest bet right now would be to "fly under the radar"...but would like to get an idea of what others are experiencing.

I have looked at over a dozen posts about B*, and it's just hard to get a handle on what the most current situation is...NO SW, TC is good, TC is bad and is getting sued, PM123 is great, PM123 is horrible and expensive, etc. Just figured if anyone who was responding to the main question had any input on this one, I'd love to hear it.