May 17, 2013, 11:04 pm
Last edit by: beltway
- What are the most current working links?
- Is this card churnable?
- How frequently can I apply for these cards?
- Do I have to close my previous card before reapplying?
- I got the 60K card and bonus but when I finished the spend on my second 60K card I did not get the bonus. What happened?
[1] What are the most current working links?
There is a standard offer for 50K points after $1K spend in 4 months. (No landing page is available for this offer; lnik taken from wiki for http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...amex-citi.html.)
There are no known 60K offers available. The most recent one expired in late September 2014.
[2] Is this card churnable?
In the past, this card has been easily churnable. However, in December 2014 Citi began inserting language into some applications and landing pages disqualifying current Hilton Visa cardholders & requiring an 18-month wait from the date of the previous card's cancellation. The application link listed above does not include this restriction, and FTers have confirmed that they have been approved through this application despite being current or recent holders of another Citi Hilton card.
[3] How frequently can I apply for these cards?
You can only apply for ONE Citi card in a week or TWO in two months (60 days). To be safe, it is frequently suggested to wait 8+ days between ANY two Citi applications and 65+ days until your third Citi application of ANY kind. These are rolling dates, so you have to wait at least 60 days (65+) from your second application to your 4th applications, and so forth.
If math is not your strong suit, you can use: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html.
Example:
Day 0 - Citi HHonors Card #1
Day 8 - Citi AA Personal Card
Day 65 - Citi AA Business Card
Day 73 - Citi HHonors Card #2
Day 130 - Citi TY Card
[4] Do I have to close my previous card before reapplying?
Not if you use the application link above. As stated above, in December 2014 Citi began introducing new application pages requiring an 18-month wait since cancellation of the prior card.
Note that when you close an account, Citi may not "free up" the credit limit from that card for as long as 6 months. So if you're going to apply within 6 months, it's better to not cancel beforehand.
[5] I got the 60K card and bonus but when I finished the spend on my second 60K card I did not get the bonus. What happened?
There appears to be a problem with Citi crediting you with both bonuses but Hilton not crediting the second bonus because their system sees it as a duplicate.
You need to open up a case, preferably with Hilton, and explain that you have two separate cards (feel free to explain one is for business and one for personal if they ask why you have multiple cards and you feel like explaining). You also need to diligently check back with them and make sure that they do not close the case as you already got the bonus.
This is very much a YMMV situation. Depending on who you talk to and where, this can be a relatively short process or a particularly unpleasant and long one. Best advice: Be nice to the CSRs and get them on your side or HUACA until you find someone useful.
For some people it may be worth getting the 50K card instead, possibly trying to "bump the bonus" to 60K and getting it as a 10K adjustment instead.
Citi Hilton HHonors Visa [2011-2014]
Apr 5, 2012, 12:11 pm
#226
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: henderson, nv
Programs: AA, DL, UA, US, RR, HH, SPG, PC
Posts: 139
I applied for the HH Visa two weeks ago but wasn't instantly approved (still went to Step 5 I believe). Got a call the end of last week saying I already have as much credit as they will give me (Citi AA AMEX & MC) and only would approve me for a low limit. BUT I could shift credit lines so I dropped some of the MC credit into this one and two days ago got the congrats letter. She confirmed the terms of the bonus for me as well.
I wonder...she never brought up the Citi AA Biz Visa I have. I hear that's a seperarate division but they don't factor in that credit limit?
I wonder...she never brought up the Citi AA Biz Visa I have. I hear that's a seperarate division but they don't factor in that credit limit?
Apr 5, 2012, 12:12 pm
#227
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 316
I did the two-browser trick just now using the 50K application twice. Neither was instantly approved. One app went to Step 5 (which I assume means I'm good), and the other app went to the dreaded Step 3.
I have 4 other Citi cards, but I've never applied for a Hilton card before and haven't applied for any in Citi cards in at least 6 months.
Should I call to nag the reconsideration line about the 2nd app? If so, should I wait until I get the first card? What do people tell Citi as to why they need two of the same cards?
I have 4 other Citi cards, but I've never applied for a Hilton card before and haven't applied for any in Citi cards in at least 6 months.
Should I call to nag the reconsideration line about the 2nd app? If so, should I wait until I get the first card? What do people tell Citi as to why they need two of the same cards?
Apr 5, 2012, 3:42 pm
#228
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: BGM
Programs: DL, US, AA, Marriott Silver, HHonors Gold, Best Western Diamond
Posts: 188
I guess these companies send out membership cards and information packets at the end of each month or something -- a few days ago I got my Marriott silver card and my AA lounge passes, and today I got my Hilton silver card. ^
Apr 5, 2012, 5:57 pm
#229
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: AA PLT / 2MM
Posts: 2,113
I got a call from Citi today asking me to move some credit around to get approved, and they made me move 3K from another card to open this one. As both of my apps went to pending online, I assume this call was the first card (the one that went to step 5). Thoughts / advice?
Apr 5, 2012, 8:51 pm
#230
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 316
Can you clarify re your first and second applications.
I got a call from Citi today asking me to move some credit around to get approved, and they made me move 3K from another card to open this one. As both of my apps went to pending online, I assume this call was the first card (the one that went to step 5). Thoughts / advice?
I got a call from Citi today asking me to move some credit around to get approved, and they made me move 3K from another card to open this one. As both of my apps went to pending online, I assume this call was the first card (the one that went to step 5). Thoughts / advice?
I received an approval email a couple of days after I applied for the two cards. Then next day, I received a call from City for the other card.
Apr 6, 2012, 3:55 pm
#231
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Thanks all! Wife just applied for two more 50K cards with two browsers and both approved instantly (CL: 15K a piece). She got her first Citi HH card about 6-8 months ago. I see many more in her future. 
Apr 6, 2012, 5:35 pm
#232
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA Gold, AA Gold, Hyatt Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle, etc etc
Posts: 382
Apr 6, 2012, 9:08 pm
#234
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
my wife still has hers too from a while back now. And she just applied tonight for a new one.
It said pending approval.
Citi has been giving us both a hard time. Maybe they will tell her shes had too many inquiries, which she has since she's gotten approved for other cards like Amex and Chase recently. For me, Citi said no way. Way too many inquiries, which I also have many of.
We shall see.
It said pending approval.
Citi has been giving us both a hard time. Maybe they will tell her shes had too many inquiries, which she has since she's gotten approved for other cards like Amex and Chase recently. For me, Citi said no way. Way too many inquiries, which I also have many of.
We shall see.
Apr 7, 2012, 1:00 am
#235
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: AA PLT / 2MM
Posts: 2,113
Update on my situation (I double-applied for two Hilton cards, both went pending, got a call about shifting credit limits and got the first one approved). I called today to check on the second app, and they said it was automatically rejected for too many recent inquiries (she said that I have 5 inquiries since January). The woman at the credit/lending department number was sympathetic and said she has absolutely no power to override the computer rejection, even though I have a high credit score and a good history with Citi. Per my request, a supervisor is supposed to call me back within 48 hours to discuss. Anybody know if the supervisors have any more power than the regular phone reps, or is the 'too many inquiries' ding fatal?
The weird thing is that the 'too many inquiries' ding only affected one of my two apps using the two-browser tricks.
The weird thing is that the 'too many inquiries' ding only affected one of my two apps using the two-browser tricks.
Apr 7, 2012, 8:22 am
#236
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
The original and number one purpose of the two-browser trick is for a completely different problem: Citi sometimes rejecting two different apps on the same browser as "duplicates". Doing each app on a different browser was devised as a trick to work around that. (The tendency to sometimes turn both apps into a single pull was only noticed afterwards.)
Any possible other benefits (such as a single pull) should be viewed as "gravy" when you get them, but should be expected IMHO.
Apr 7, 2012, 10:54 am
#237
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: AA PLT / 2MM
Posts: 2,113
The two-browser trick doesn't guarantee that the cards are processed at the same moment. It simply increases the chance of that.
The original and number one purpose of the two-browser trick is for a completely different problem: Citi sometimes rejecting two different apps on the same browser as "duplicates". Doing each app on a different browser was devised as a trick to work around that. (The tendency to sometimes turn both apps into a single pull was only noticed afterwards.)
Any possible other benefits (such as a single pull) should be viewed as "gravy" when you get them, but should be expected IMHO.
The original and number one purpose of the two-browser trick is for a completely different problem: Citi sometimes rejecting two different apps on the same browser as "duplicates". Doing each app on a different browser was devised as a trick to work around that. (The tendency to sometimes turn both apps into a single pull was only noticed afterwards.)
Any possible other benefits (such as a single pull) should be viewed as "gravy" when you get them, but should be expected IMHO.
Apr 7, 2012, 12:02 pm
#239
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,740
I see what you're saying, but this doesn't explain the issue I've posted about. I assume that the two-browser trick should generate two credit reports with identical information. And to the extent that Citi has thresholds for auto-dings (e.g., more than N inquiries in the last T months), I also assume that those same thresholds would be applied to both applications for the same card. Therefore, an auto-ding for one application would logically suggest an auto-ding for the second application.
Before that happens, you have added TWO inquiries to your report. It may make you one inquiry too many for whatever algorithm the program is running at the time to auto-reject the application. Hence the app that got processed later is rejected.