Can I have 2 Citi Simplicity cards?

You can have as many Citi cards as you want, as long as your credit and income are good enough to get approved for each. And considering how many good Citi cards there are, for a range of different needs, it’s no wonder people would want more than one. For example, you could use Citi ThankYou Premier to save on travel, Citi Diamond Preferred for 0% purchases and Citi Double Cash for everyday cash back. But you should be smart about your applications. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew and begin missing payments. That would be very bad for your credit score. Even just having a lot of hard inquiries on your credit report in a short time will hurt your credit. And you don’t want to get rejected either. … read full answer

Here’s how many Citi credit cards you can have:

• You can have an unlimited number of Citi cards, as long as you’re approved for each one.
• You’re allowed to have more than one of any Citi card.
• Rumor has it you need to wait at least 8 days between applications for any two Citi credit cards in order to be approved for the second. And you supposedly have to wait at least another 66 days before applying for a third. But Citi Customer Service says they have no information on such a rule.
• Each additional Citi card you apply for will become slightly harder to get, as your income will need to support more potential spending. Having lots of income and excellent credit will help your odds.
• If you want to get as many Citi cards as possible, your best bet is to apply for one a year. A hard inquiry from a credit card application only can hurt your credit for 12 months.

If you’re not approved for a card, that’s not necessarily the end of the line for you. There’s something called “reconsideration,” where you call customer service and ask them to take a second look at your application. If you have a bunch of Citi cards already, Citi might be willing to reduce the credit on some of them and give it back to you on a new card.

No. You cannot have two of the same credit card from the same credit card company at the same time, with two notable exceptions: Capital One and Citibank. People in forums online have shared their experiences with having two different accounts of the same card from both of these issuers, including Capital One VentureOne, Capital One Quicksilver, and Citi Double Cash. In the case of Capital One, some forum users have reported offers to upgrade a current Capital One card to a different card, even if they already have that card. Accepting such an offer is one way you could end up with two of the same Capital One credit card.… read full answer

Even if you’re betting on one of these issuers letting you open another of the same credit account, it’s good practice to call your card issuer and ask before you fill out an application for a credit card you already have. It may not be a great idea to actually apply. For example, if they process the application, but don’t allow you to have two of the same credit card in the end, the hard credit inquiry may still land on your credit report, but you won’t have another credit card to show for it.

It may also be a good idea to ask yourself why you would need two of the same credit card. The benefits seem minimal, and some card issuers have restrictions against cardholders earning the same signup bonus twice – or even against earning more than one bonus from the same issuer. Sometimes, you have to close your existing card and wait 24-48 months to apply again in order to be eligible for another bonus. On the other hand, if you close a particular Citibank credit card account, you can’t apply for that same card again. Each card issuer’s rules are different. You’ll often find any restrictions in the fine print on credit card applications.

Your Citi Simplicity Card approval odds are good if you have a credit score of 700+. That means you need good credit or better to have a shot at getting approved. Your approval odds for the Citi Simplicity Card will also be influenced by your annual income and existing debts.

Here’s more info about the Citi Simplicity Card approval odds:

• Higher odds with at least good credit: Check your credit score before-hand to see if you’re within the optimal range and avoid affecting your score with an uninformed hard inquiry.
• Check if you are pre-selected: To get a better sense of your approval odds before applying for a Citi Simplicity Card, you can check to see if you’re pre-qualified for any offers on the Citi Bank website. Pre-qualifying does not guarantee approval, but it does indicate that you have pretty good odds of getting approved for certain cards, and it won’t affect your credit score.
• Respond to a mail offer: If you’ve been lucky enough to have been pre-selected for a mail offer, you can respond to it on Citi’s website by providing your invitation code and last name. Pre-qualified offers don’t guarantee approval. But you have good chances of approval as long as nothing negative has been added to your credit report.
• Check your credit report: If you haven’t checked your report in a while, you should definitely do it before applying. So, you’ll be able to better assess the impact that the application will have on your credit score. You can get your credit report and check your score for free, right here on WalletHub.
• Update your financial profile: Citi looks at your credit report, plus your annual income and monthly housing payment. If you are currently registered for online access, you can update this info on Citi’s website. Otherwise, you can call Citi Customer Service at (800) 950-5114.

If you want to enhance your application by improving your credit score, WalletHub’s free credit analysis can tell you what steps to take.