Last week, I wrote about how Citibank was changing the rules for people applying for one of their credit cards. Previously you were ineligible for a new signup bonus if you had opened or closed that card within the past 24 months. Now you’re ineligible if you’ve open or closed ANY card within that “family” of cards.
Here’s an example. Say you had closed a Citi American Airlines personal card 8 months ago
- Old rules: You’d still be eligible for the Citi American Airlines executive card (and the Citi Business card)
- New rules: You’re now ineligible for a new signup bonus on the executive card (and the American Airlines Personal card as well). Rules on who is eligible for the business cards are still unclear as far as I can tell
A reprieve! The new rules don’t start until August 28th
Afterwards, it seemed like we got clarification that the new rules did not go into place until August 28th. I shared my strategy in that post to talk about which cards my wife and I were planning on applying for. Citibank only allows 1 application per week (the recommendation on Flyertalk is 2 every 8 days). So if you want to apply for 2 cards before August 28th, you need to apply for one by today (really you should have done it yesterday to be safe).
So my wife applied for a Citi Prestige today (I already had one and her recently closed Citi Premier card would make her ineligible for the Citi Prestige for another 24 months under the new rules). She’ll plan for applying for another card on August 27th. I am waiting for the Chase Sapphire Reserve application to go live on Sunday and don’t want to risk having a recent application on my credit report
(SEE ALSO: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum vs Citi Prestige)
(SEE ALSO: Who should do a Chase Sapphire Reserve application (and who shouldn’t apply))
Her Citi Prestige application was sent to pending. And while I normally advise against calling into the reconsideration line (SEE ALSO: Citi reconsideration phone numbers), this time I thought it was prudent. She called in a little bit ago and was approved!
Bottom line: If you want to follow the current rules and best practices for churning, and want to apply for 2 Citi cards before the rules change on August 28th, today’s the last day to apply and still get a 2nd application in by (on) August 27th. If you’re reading this post Sunday or beyond, you run the risk of not being approved for a 2nd application by August 27th