Hi again, Applied Citibank credit card....they pulled TU which my BK7 isn't there but they denied due to lack of history... they want to see 2 credit cards before they'll approve...they acknowledge my credit score is high (757). I asked them just approve at lower limit...they said no...they recommend me to apply retail or gas cards.... now I checked around...huh? store and gas cards are mostly under Citibank... My question... can I call them and ask them to reconsider approving one of retail/gas card to get started? In TU file... 1 car loan and 1 American Pacific Visa, they want to see 2 credit card...car loan doesn't count... damn! TIA! Tom
Citibank is probably right. You might find it easier to get approval on a store or gas card, even if the bank issuing the card is also Citibank. The incentives for approval, and therefore the quality of credit required, may be different since there is also some agreement between the store and the bank. Not only does the bank have an interest in collecting the merchant fee, and of course being paid interest and pricipal by you, the store has an interest in getting your business by seeing that you have a card to use in their store. Financing can be part of their marketting costs. They might also have some agreement to share some of the risk if you default, or a risk premium based on the customer characteristics might just be structured into the merchant fee structure. Although the interest terms are generally higher than the best MC or VISAs, store cards have usually been easier to get for those with limited credit history. The higher rate can compensate for higher risk.
Ontrack, Thanks for interesting info... Now, my question after reading it...can I call Citibank and ask them to reconsider for their retail/gas cards instead? can I do that and will Citibank do that? TIA, Tom
