A Credit Card Question

I was surprised that my score would be that volatile based on just one month.
Scores are based on what is presently visible on your credit report. They don't keep a past history outside of what is on the credit report.
 
Shel,

Maybe a different course of action. Drop Citibank and get a credit card with a credit union. I am sure a credit union would love your business, and a human from the credit union will listen as to your request for a credit card line increase and be personally vested in the support you are requesting.

As for Citibank, I can think of no dirtier credit card company. People often talk ill will of Captial One, but I had a issue with Citibank about 15 years ago and the issue is still deep in my memory. I travel for work, often around the world. All of my bills are on autopay. My credit cards are paid in full at the end of the billing cycle. While in Australia, my bank was going through a data processor change. Many financial institutions outsource their data processing to IT companies like FISERVE, Jack Henry, etc.

When a financial institution changes data processors, lots of things often change, to include account numbers like checking account numbers. In my case, my Citibank auto payment did not go through. I was able to catch this the very day after the end of the autopayment misfire. Citibank immediately raised my credit card interest rate from 7.99 percent to 29.99. It was like Citibank knows that over time, a consumer will have a misfire with their credit card- and Citibank is just waiting for the misfire to happen, and they will pounce and exploit to the most exploitive extreme. I wrote Citibank multiple times to get the issue corrected- Citibank gave me the screw me no.

I will never ever use Citibank because of what I learned about Citibank. And to think the US taxpayers have bailed out Citibank multiple times, all while the Citibank executives jet set around the globe in their taxpayer paid for private fleet of jets.

I have a Citibank corporate travel card, which is a requirement for my job. Citibank bids for my employer's credit card business, but once they have the contract- they could care less about the customer service. Easily 45 minutes to get eligible to talk to a human, to be disconnected because the call is outside of Citibank's corporate card business hours. And I am calling from places like Lithuania, Kenya, etc...... I could share dozens of major horror stories my peers and I have and still to have with the Citibank Corporate care.

CITIBANK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND..... AT ALL..... They are waiting for any type of misfire on your credit card, and will eat you alive FOR LIFE.

Go to a credit union Shel!
 
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CITIBANK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND..... AT ALL..... They are waiting for any type of misfire on your credit card, and will eat you alive FOR LIFE.

Go to a credit union Shel!


A good idea but verify who the credit card company is. You might get a credit card from the Acme credit union with their name on it but the card could be a Citibank card if you read the fine print.
 
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Your credit score would drop because of your credit utilization. Your credit was maxed out or a significant portion of your available credit was being used.
It works like this, if you have lets say, 50% or more of your credit card maxed out it will ding your score because its shows high credit card balances in relation to your available credit on the card = you are using a significant amount of your available credit for some reason, which to a credit score may mean you are having finanicial issues, so the score gets dinged. Also before your trip you asked for an increase in credit and was denied by your credit card company. Another ding/maybe better said another inquiry was made.

If you owed the same amount of money on that card but had two other credit cards totaling maybe $30,000 worth of available credit (just as an example) , it would show the credit agencies that you were only using lets say $4000 of that $30,000 so would actually show you are very credit worthy and in good shape. But showing a $4000 debit on a $6,500 credit shows a significant credit risk.

Of course I am going to disagree with some in here (nothing new*L*) this has nothing to do with the credit card issuer, in this case Citibank.
Your best bet is to keep the Citibank card forever, pay it off, let some time pass and get another line of credit with another card. You should have 3 cards in all. Keep them clear of balances, or if you must, not more than one card with a balance.
Citibank does not control your score and has nothing to do with your score anymore or any less than any credit product.

NEVER EVER cancel a card that you had a long time, it sounds like you maybe newer to having credit, always keep the card you had for the longest period of time and never cancel it. It shows the credit agencies (which are just computers) that you have had long term credit.
Even though lets say a bankruptcy may only stay on your record for 7 years, if you have a credit card that dates back 17 years it will show that you most likely never had an bankruptcy in those 17 years because you still would not have had that card if you did.
My longest card dates back over 30 years. I don't use it often but will not cancel it.

BTW, I LOVE my Citicard, I get back 2% cash of everything and anything I buy. I have had this card also for years, if I ever bought anything where I was having an issue with a seller, literally as fast as I could contest the charge on line Citibank Credited me. If you don't have a 2% back Citicard maybe once the dust settles you can ask them to convert you. There isn't any product on the market in the world that someone hasn't had an issue with, as far as cards go Citi is my favorite. Any time I ever had an issue with a seller, bam, no questions asked from them, I dispute it online and my account was credited in many cases, without an investigation.
I am not sure if this treatment is because of my credit standing which is outstanding on the FICO scale.
I carry a total of 4 cards only one of which I switch around based on what deals they will give me, but always keep the card I had for 30 years.

I have such sweet deals that its almost stupid.
Though Congress is trying to end that by limiting transaction fees to sellers and stores which would affect cash back and the IRS is also wanting to tax cash back as well.
 
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I LOVE my Citicard

michael-scott-steve-carell.gif
 
Well, its pretty darn cool, everything I buy in life CITI pays me 2% in cash back.
Bought my Mac Desktop with that money, Bose Earbuds, and have over $600 more waiting for me to buy more stuff ... ya da ya da. ... other cards depending on category pay me 5% and use them for that but the Citi is a constant 2% for everything else in life.

Like any product on planet earth your experience maybe different from someone else.
 
Shel keep that card open and get another with a higher limit...$6500 is crazy low especially if you are 800+. I've only held cards with Cap1 and Chase but they've given me way more on the limits than I would ever need.

They also look at utilization...I've requested increases just for the heck of it and been denied due to having too low a utilization rate.
 
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You've totally missed the point of my question. I'm not concerned about my lower score, or it "bouncing back." I am just curious as to why the card company may have increased my credit limit at this time (lower score, owing lotsa $$$, and having turned down a request for an increase earlier). Of course I pay my bills in a timely manner ...
They want you to keep using your card and hopefully not paying in full each month.
 
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Thanks for all your suggestions and ideas. Much appreciated.
 
I have a card thru CitiBank that had a 6,500 credit line. Before leaving on my cross-country trip, I asked for an increase (just in case I had some problems). I was turned down and was told that I was at the maximum for that card. When I returned from the trip there were a few thousand in charges on the card and I'd not yet made any payments on it. Because of the charges, my credit score dropped substantially. Last week I received a notice from the card company increasing my credit limit by about 35%.

Why might they have done that after turning me down when my score was high (above 800) and then owing a large amount and not having made any payments and my credit score was lower? I'm just curious about the reasoning.
Credit utilization has the biggest impact on score. Anything more than 20% will hit your score.
 
Well, its pretty darn cool, everything I buy in life CITI pays me 2% in cash back.
Bought my Mac Desktop with that money, Bose Earbuds, and have over $600 more waiting for me to buy more stuff ... ya da ya da. ... other cards depending on category pay me 5% and use them for that but the Citi is a constant 2% for everything else in life.

Like any product on planet earth your experience maybe different from someone else.

It sounds like you found financial freedom and happiness.

I prefer to pay cash and buy what I can afford. No financial wizardry for me where I get paid back with my own money so that they can call it a reward.
 
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Your credit score would drop because of your credit utilization. Your credit was maxed out or a significant portion of your available credit was being used.
It works like

If you owed the same amount of money on that card but had two other credit cards totaling maybe $30,000 worth of available credit (just as an example) , it would show the credit agencies that you were only using lets say $4000 of that $30,000 so would actually show you are very credit worthy and in good shape. But showing a $4000 debit on a $6,500 credit shows a significant credit risk.

Of course I am going to disagree with some in here (nothing new*L*) this has nothing to do with the credit card issuer, in
Citibank does not control your score and has nothing to do with your score anymore or any less than any credong term credit.
Even though lets say a bankruptcy may only stay on your record for 7 years, if you have a credit card that dates back 17 years it will show that you most likely never had an bankruptcy in those 17 years because you still would not have had that card if you did.
My longest card dates back o

It sounds like you found financial freedom and happiness.

I prefer to pay cash and buy what I can afford. No financial wizardry for me where I get paid back with my own money so that they can call it a reward.
RK,

I have been thinking about paying for everything feasible by cash. I am not sure I like giving visa and the big banks a payday on every purchase I make.
 
So basically Gon is grinding an axe 15 years old. It should be noted Capitol One is awful to work as well with and the language in their contract states if you default on any credit card- theirs or those issued by another bank the interest on their credit card goes to maximum amount allowed by law.
I get a ton of rebate cash from Citibank and have never had an issue.
 
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Rod- usually you pay the same price if you pay by cash or card. The difference is by card you get 2 % back. Maybe you can- or already do ask the merchant to give you a 2% discount. If you don't or can't get the 2% back you are leaving money on the table by not using a card. That's a fact.
This, plus the convenience of it. It would drive me nuts to have to carry a wad of cash and have coins jingling in my pockets when out and about.
 
This, plus the convenience of it. It would drive me nuts to have to carry a wad of cash and have coins jingling in my pockets when out and about.
99.97% of my purchases are by credit card. I am told by merchants that the pandemic actually increased credit card usage to merchants not wanting to handle cash.
 
This, plus the convenience of it. It would drive me nuts to have to carry a wad of cash and have coins jingling in my pockets when out and about.
It drives me nuts to carry/conceal, but I now do it even though my personal preference is to not conceal carry.

Looking at a course of action of paying everything feasible by cash is not about convenience, far from it.
 
They want you to keep using your card and hopefully not paying in full each month.
Of course they don't want you to pay it off. But nothing prevents you from doing so. We have a few on principal on this forum who listen to that guy on the radio and pay cash for everything. And I may add that's fine. But don't try to explain to the rest of us that get hundreds or thousands of cash back annually that it's somehow a bad thing. Or how a bank is going " to get us" some way - some day. That's a nonsensical argument.
 
It sounds like you found financial freedom and happiness.

I prefer to pay cash and buy what I can afford. No financial wizardry for me where I get paid back with my own money so that they can call it a reward.
I can understand that, everything I buy I can afford I just use their money until the end of the month and that money sits in my account and collects interest until I pay the bill instead of in the account of the credit card company.

Then on top of it the credit card company has to pay me another 2 to 5% on the money I spend and It doesn’t cost me a penny.
Whether or not use a credit card you pay for it as well.

So what I am saying is everyone who makes a purchase pays the same amount of money but for me when I use my credit card my money stays in my bank collecting interest until I pay the bill, then on top of it the credit card company pays me another 2 to 5% on that money.
So it’s all free money that I am collecting from the merchant and from the credit card company and whether or not you except that money or not even if you pay cash you’re paying cash as well meaning I’m not paying any more money for my products and I’m getting 2 to 5% back plus interest in my bank account.

Hope this makes sense as I explained it. 🙃
 
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You've totally missed the point of my question. I'm not concerned about my lower score, or it "bouncing back." I am just curious as to why the card company may have increased my credit limit at this time (lower score, owing lotsa $$$, and having turned down a request for an increase earlier). Of course I pay my bills in a timely manner ...
Who knows why...only someone at Citibank could answer that question.
 
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