eddieras

well, i coached my son as to what they'd ask - he called and was quickly told he was declined and that was that! i didn't cover that in the prep! should i call back? i've been a citibank cc holder for 20 years! plus this was a targeted email with invite code that he received from them. any recommendations?

rgAAFT

Call again and get them to reconsider. If they actually meaningfully denied you, then ask what the reasoning is. Theoretically, with targeted offers something as simple as a small name mismatch could have triggered an automated application denial. That's the thing about citibank reconsideration reps, a lot of them are not willing to go in deep and investigate why an application was declined. This is especially true if they see that the automated underwriter (for the sake of argument) "hard denied" an application, even if it was done in error.
Your job is to politely ask them to actually help you and all that jazz
If all else fails, wait for the denial letter, and then write a traditional letter to the Citibank executive review department, mentioning within it the 'Applications ID" as well as writing down and attaching the offer/ offer code, your son received. I also think you should be the one to write the letter, to add weight to it since you have been a long time customer with citi. Also, is your son an authorized user on any of your cards? If not, then this should be your first step. One of the things banks like to see is an active credit report which shows a few open accounts in good standing, even if he's just an authorized user on them.

Hope that helps
PS
Lending department may have little to no real knowledgeable staff working weekends

eddieras

once again - thank you rgAAFT for your help and advice. I will definitely call.

howtofreetravel

I got my first amex with an income of 0 just saying also you should build the credit rating first before going for difficult cards

rgAAFT

An AA card is not difficult to get for students. This was my first card as an individual owner as opposed to an AU on a bunch of cards. Kids can be added as AUs to accounts as early as age 13 with some issuers

eddieras

well, i called and they said the invite code was not in the application and advised to reapply. there was nothing else she said she could do. i had him reapply and again got the "more processing" needed. we'll see!

rgAAFT

This time you may really have to call again. The system may have auto denied the Application due to it being within close proximity to the initial application
Different citi cards have different "rules" regarding this, and the citi AA platinum card happens to be one of those that are strict on "duplicate applications" but since this happened in error due to the invite code not being inserted initially, they should be able to override the system if the second application was indeed denied due to "duplicate applications"

eddieras

ok - was traveling the last two weeks, bringing my son to college. i did call and was told the second app was declined. i told the agent that the last agent said the invite code wasn't inputted and perhaps the 1st denial caused the 2nd denial since it was only a week or so later he applied again. The agent was really no help at all. We just got home and in the mail was another target invite to my son - same offer as above. what do you suggest i do? so frustrating when it seems a computer error caused all this!

rgAAFT

Do not apply again.. write a letter to the executive review department
Explain the situation, provide any applicable invitation codes and application reference numbers (you should have received those by now) within the letter and have the executive office manually approve him

The mailing address for the executive review department as well as other useful citi contact information and tools can be found within the wiki of this thread (read it very carefully)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...ost-first.html

eddieras

quick question-since my son is 18 and we call he always has to give the agent permission to talk to me - how do i handle this via letter?

mia

The letter will be from your son, not from you, and will bear his signature. You can draft the letter for him, but he needs to sign it.

rgAAFT

+1 agreed and I would put a sentence in there like
"My mom/dad has been a citi card member for many years and I too would like citi to help me build a strong credit foundation by approving me for my first card as the primary account holder..." Something along those lines. This , with the intent to not only show your continued loyalty to citi, but also that by approving your son for a card they have the opportunity to grab and make another potentially loyal and good customer for years to come. (banks love to hear that, as it means future profitability)
Hope that helps

eddieras

thank you both so much for all your assistance! i'll be sure to report back. thanks again!