I just got a Citibank Platinum select a few weeks ago, with a 2.9% BT rate and a 17.49 APR. I called customer service as soon as I got the card and asked about a lower APR. The rep said they needed a few months history first. Well, today I got a pre-approval for the SAME card in the mail, but the BT rate was 0% until 4/02, and the APR for purchases was 13.49%. I immediately called customer service and told them I wanted the terms of the new offer. There was no problem getting the BT terms, but he said he could ony bring the purchase rate down from 15.9% to 14.9%...since I thought it had been 17.49%, I agreed...I will call again in a few months and ask to have it lowered again. I sent in a pre-approval yesterday for an ATT Universal platinum with 0% BT and 13.49% purchase, so if I get that, I will have the lower rate anyway. The main point of this post is what I call "CREDIT RULE NO. 1" CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE!! EARLY AND OFTEN. If you don't ask, you don't get. BTW, the same thing happened with Discover, but the rep wouldn't budge....I don't plan to use that card much, except to get the cash back. BTW, I asked what CRAs Citi and ATT pull, and he said TU and Experian.
Greyfox, How long did it take you to get your Citi Platinum Select card in the mail after application/approval?
Just call retention every couple of months. At month four i got prime + 1.9% and two months later i got prime +0.9%, my fico was 565 back then, so i'm sure they didn't pull a report when i asked. My last statement reflects 8.9% APR.
I think it was about 3 weeks after I sent in the pre-approval, but I knew I was getting the card earlier, because BTs showed up on other cards.
Citi was "no dice" for me. I just tried to get a lower BT rate (I am about to begin a 3.9% for 9 months with a go to of prime+6.9%) to what has been advertised in newspapers (1.9% for 9 months). Maybe the difference is that I did not get a pre-approval. Oh well,
