Programs: AA EXP 1MM, Marriott PLT, HHonors Silver, SPG, Avis First
Posts: 4,019
Citi is very screwy. I signed up for a MC under the 20,000 bonus after charging $750 (mailed targeted promo). 25,000 bonus miles just showed up in my AAdvantage account. Worked to my advantage this time.
Time to cancel the card to start over again with a new offer!
Let me add my endorsement to the Starwood Amex. A good deal for me, and many others. Keep an AA Citi MC as backup for the handful of places that do not accept Amex.
And, if the backup is a Citi Bronze, it carries no annual fee (though only earns 1 mile/2 dollars). Perfect as a backup.
Programs: AA EXP/1MM, IC RA, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis Chairman
Posts: 909
Quote:
Originally Posted by purpleskiesfly
Debatable - so try it
Anyway, I've got enough of a credit education behind me to understand that this is the way it works (or worked when I garnered the knowlege). FICO recently implemented a new way to score and I'm not up to par on the new method yet.
Sorry to say, but such a blanket statement is not accurate in many circumstances. Here are a few general rules:
Recent hard inquiries will hurt your FICO. How much can vary wildly.
Old accounts with no negative information typically help your score
High limits with low usage typically help your score
New accounts typically hurt your score
I had never heard that the act of closing an account was bad for your score, but I know firsthand that closing new accounts can help. Especially if you close a lot of really new accounts.
If the Amex was a new card, it most likely HELPED the OP's FICO to close it. However, if the MC was old, it probably did more damage than the Amex helped. The inquiry that you probably got for applying for the Amex also hurt your score.
Anyone that wants to know more should check creditboards, but as a general rule, I now have 1 no-fee card for every major lender. If I ever want to close another card, I move the credit limit to my fee-free card. That way over time I have a pile of really old cards with high limits that are at almost 0% and cost me nothing. Just be sure to have some activity so the cards get reported and don't get closed.
Programs: AA - ExPlat 1MM Marriott - Platinum, Hertz - Presidents Circle
Posts: 424
Quote:
Originally Posted by mvoight
The net result of open and closing an account that fast would have no overall change in your score. If you had the card for a while and had $0 used of a $20000 limit, that would be a good thing as the scoring likes it when your outstanding debt/credit ratio is low.
Canceling the card would reduce your credit limits, without reducing the amount owed. This would be a negative.
The numbers work differently. Just because the account it closed, it's still on your credit report even though it is marked as closed. It's better to have the account open and not used then to close it. It all depends on how the creditor reports it also - but it would realistically be reported as 'closed by consumer' which still acts as a negative.
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Programs: AA - ExPlat 1MM Marriott - Platinum, Hertz - Presidents Circle
Posts: 424
Quote:
Originally Posted by edlin303
Sorry to say, but such a blanket statement is not accurate in many circumstances. Here are a few general rules:
Really wasn't a blanket statement but if that's the way you read it, OK.
>Recent hard inquiries will hurt your FICO. How much can vary wildly.
On most averages 7-13 points, but can vary. If you're car shopping, you get some time (2 weeks if memory serves) to 'finalize the deal' and have several inquiries only count as one. Mortgage lenders get the same single hit experience, but the single hit time gets a longer timeframe - month or three - since closing a housing deal is not as quick as a car.
>Old accounts with no negative information typically help your score
Correct
>High limits with low usage typically help your score
Debatable in some circles. If you've got a 25k limited and your high credit number is only $50, you're not really 'using' credit so the high limit doesn't really do much for you. Granted, I'm not saying going out and run up 15k on the card, but 'reasonable' usage is better than no usage - shows a track record that you know how to manage your credit.
>New accounts typically hurt your score
Yes, but your score generally recovers within a month or three back to the pre-hard inquiry/account opening.
__________________
๑۩۞۩๑Purple๑۩۞۩๑
This place is 98% whining and 2% substance, and yes, it is difficult to tell the difference sometimes.
Citi® / AAdvantage® American Express® Card questions (consolidated)
Just got the invitation to add the AA Amex card to my Citi AA MC - with the 5000 mile bonus and 20% extra miles for a year. While I have more credit cards than I want or need, the bonuses are tempting. I have some questions and would appreciate some help from those who have the card:
1. Are the statements issued by Amex or Citi - ie, do they look like Amex statements or similar to the AA Citi Mastercard statements.
2. When do the miles post? My AA MC miles typically post to AA before I even receive my paper statement in the mail. On the other hand, most Amex programs seem to delay the actual crediting of rewards for a month - until you pay the bill.
3. For those who use Citibank as their bank (I have Citigold) if I want to pay the Amex bill online, is it treated as a transfer (like other Citi credit cards) and therefore posted immediately, or is it treated as a payment which takes several days to process and post?
4. Any issues with the credit line? I have very large lines on my MC and Visa cards. But I find when I open an Amex card, they are very stingy. Without a large line, this is of no use to me.
Any other thoughts would be welcome. Thanks in advance.
1. My online statements are just like the MC statements.
2. Miles always post 2nd day after statement date.
3. Citi not my bank.
4. Citi MC limits are usually $12,000 for me but the Citi Amex was only $2,000.
Citi called on the Amex application because of total credit line with Amex
cards.
1. My online statements are just like the MC statements.
2. Miles always post 2nd day after statement date.
3. As long as your Citibank CC is linked to your ATM card that is linked to the checking/savings account you want to pay from, it should be instant.
4. Same as the above poster (PDX_Roy) in that they said I already had maxed out my lines of credit on my other cards so they gave me a $2,000 Amex credit line but offered me to move credit from my other cards over if I wanted.
Bottom line is, I have not seen ANY real difference between MC, Visa, and AMEX when it comes to the citi AA cards.
I applied for (and got) a Citi Master Card and AMEX with 25K miles each. The miles have actually posted.
My SIL is building miles for a trip, so I had her get the Master Card last year and she got 20,000 miles. I told her to get the AMEX, too, but I can't find the link for it, even though I was sure I found it here. Like that's never happened to anyone else before.
Can anybody help?
Thanks.
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