Well folks, I think it finally happened; I’ve actually been “punished” for being too fiscally responsible. Haha!
Yesterday, I was trying to take advantage of one of the free money promotions I posted about (the $100 cash back bonus for signing up for the Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard).
After entering in the normal pertinent details for applying for a credit card, I received the usual “you’ll receive an answer in several business days” message. I thought nothing of it.
To my surprise, this morning, I woke up and had the message below in my email inbox.
Dear JACOB:
Why we’re writing you
Thank you for applying for the Citi(R) Dividend Platinum Select(R) MasterCard(R) account. Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your request for the account at this time because of the following:
Your credit bureau report shows you have no revolving accounts with a balance.
How about that folks? The way I read this news is that I was denied the credit card because I have no credit cards on which I am carrying a debt balance from month-to-month.
In other words, the credit card companies are not making money off me (except for the fees they charge the merchants for each card transaction I make – which by the way, MAKES THEM A LOT OF MONEY).
After half-way coming to terms with what had just transpired, I then did a quick Google search to see if this had happened to anyone else and if they could shed some light on the situation (see the link below for details of my findings).
Google Search For Reasons Why I Was Rejected For Not Carrying a Balance
CreditNet.com Discussion Board About Being Rejected For Not Carrying Balances
CreditBoards.com Discussion Board – Being Rejected for Having No Credit Balances
As it turns out, this has happened many times to people applying to CitiBank credit cards. And, the only thing that the others could figure out was that they were rejected because they were currently paying off their balances in full each month.
What Can You Learn From This?
I think the key thing to learn from this is 1) to not apply for CitiBank credit cards for free money bonuses unless you are carrying a balance month-to-month on your credit cards and 2) to stick to what you know is right and keep paying off your balance in full each month (even if society seems to be enticing you to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND, AND SPEND MORE).
How about you all? Have you ever been denied a credit card for seemingly strange/weird reasons? What did you do about it? Did you ever get the company to overturn their decision?Â
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecredit/27297023342/sizes/l
