Recently I was shutdown by Citi after a fraud alert. I suspected that the shutdown was because of too many inquires and account and sure enough I was right.
Citi officially stated “too many recently opened accounts” for the basis of shutdown
We’ve closed your accounts
Based on information obtained from a consumer reporting agency, we’ve had to close the following account(s):[states full card number]
Specifically, your credit report indicates too many recently opened accounts.
The Stats
Here are the relevant stats that I’m willing to put in one place:
(all stats below are from Experian which is what Citi used to come to shutdown decision)
# of inquires: ~15/12
# of Accounts in last 4 months: 0/1, 1/2, 4/3, 6/4
Above mentioned stats are from Experian which is what Citi used to come to shutdown decision.
If you’re hell-bent on knowing my other stats, you could read my older posts detailing out various credit card applications.
Closing Thoughts
Similar to Chase shutdown due to inquires/accounts, I believe there is no magic number of inquires and/or accounts required for Citi shutdown either. What seems to be certain is that many of these shutdowns came after a fraud alert. In other words, fraud alert can trigger a manual review which can lead to shutdown.
Oh and we have not seen new Citi credit card application being a catalyst for shutdown of this type, not yet anyway…
6 comments
This is getting scary! Thanks for the heads up
Uh oh! Did i get shut down? Last Thurs I brought gc at OD. on the second tran it got denied. I didnt get any fault alert so I called Citi. Went thought security check and ask if I called in earlier? I told them no. Advise to wait for a letter regarding fraud. Decided to call back on Fri. Try to go through phone validation but they were unable to validate with cell and lane line. Asked to wait for the snail mail. Hope I’m not jumping into conclusion its an actual fraud and not a shut down.
if you login online you should be able to tell if you got shutdown or not. See this post http://travelinpoints.com/citi-shutdown-citi-closed-all-my-credit-cards/
Any idea how long can one gets approved for a Citi card again? I got shutdown 1.5 yrs ago. Thanks.
what were you shutdown for? Citi shutdowns are typically lifelong.
It started from a fraud alert as well. I have tried applying for a Citi card since then but only got letters that say “your credit privilege is restricted” in the mail. I’ve heard some people could come out of it, isn’t that true? I hate missing all the good cards Citi offers.