Approval Rules Citi 5 Day Rule
You may be rejected when applying for a Citi credit card if your credit has been pulled within the last five days (by any bank).
Deep Dive into the Citi 5 Day Rule Rule
There have been reports of people being automatically declined for a Citi card if you’ve applied for a card from any bank in the last 5 days. This seems to be tied to having a hard pull done on your credit. If you’ve applied for a credit card in the last 5 days, regardless of bank (it doesn’t have to be Citi), you may be auto declined.
If this happens, you may also be declined for 60 more days as Citi may just use the same credit pull. After 5 days have passed, you can call for reconsideration to explain, and there have been reports of the customer service representative rerunning the application and being approved. You may have to call multiple times and speak to different reps to make this happen.
Important to know:
Citi also has a 1/8 rule that says you will not be approved if you apply for two CITI cards within 8 days. This is different because it only applies to cards from Citibank. The 5 day rule applies to cards from ANY bank.
Related Rules
How Does This Affect Your Credit Card Strategy?
There probably won’t be many times you’ll be applying for multiple cards within a few days of each other, but it can happen. If you have a big purchase coming up and will meet the spend for a signup bonus with one purchase, you may have a strategy in place to get two cards within a few days of each other. If this is the case and you planned on getting a Citi card, just apply for that first or wait five days to apply.
Important to know:
There are a few other Citi rules to be aware of that are related to this rule. We’ve already mentioned the 1/8 rule. There are also the following rules:
- The 2/65 rule says you can’t apply for a third card until 65 days have passed
- If you plan on getting any business cards from Citi, the 1/95 rule says you can’t get a second business card until 95 days have passed
- Citi backs most co-branded American Airlines cards. These say you can’t get the signup bonus for the same card until 48 months have passed (AA Personal 48 rule and AA Business 48 rule)
Importance of this Rule
* *
There may be the occasional situation where you want to apply for multiple cards quickly. If you have a large purchase coming up that will meet the spend for a signup bonus on its own, you may want to get a second card right away. It probably won’t happen often, but it can happen. If this is the case, just be aware of this rule if you plan on getting a Citi card as one of the two cards. You’ll either have to apply for the Citi card first or wait 5 days to apply for it if it’s the second card you are getting.
Rule Applies to All Cards from This Bank
Cards Subject to This Rule
FAQs
Are there exceptions to this rule?
No, this rule appears to apply to all Citi cards. Just remember that if you apply for a card from any bank, not just Citibank, this rule will apply.
How do I check my status?
If you load all your cards into the Points Navigator, it will tell you which cards you’re ineligible to get and for how long.
Do business cards count for this rule?
Yes, if you apply for a card from any bank and get a hard credit pull, you may be automatically declined for any Citi card, even business cards. It’s also important to remember that Citi also has a 1/95 rule for business cards that says you can’t get a second business card from Citi within 95 days of each other.
Do product changes on existing cards count for this rule?
No, a product change should not trigger this rule as there is usually not a hard pull on your credit.
About Approval Rules
Collecting credit card points is largely driven by understanding and abiding by bank rules regarding approval (or disapproval) of cards. So here's what you need to know:
- Approval rules are rarely fully publicized by the banks
- We use our own research and data points from other users in creating the rules listing
- Our goal in sharing/using the rule listings is to provide you guidance to avoid getting declined
- There can sometimes be exceptions to the rules, but we try to take a more cautious approach in advising you.