Rejected for Credit Card, how long to wait before reapplying?

Hi anon,

Usually 8 months is a reasonable period to wait before re-applying, but the best way would probably be to find out the reason for rejection. Have a look at your credit report as well, there may be some clues there. The higher your chance to default, the higher the possibility that you might get rejected for additional cards.

Do note that there is a Regulatory Credit Limit of up to 2 months of income if your salary is exactly $30K/yr or 4 months of income if it is higher. I believe this is your total limit per bank, but accessible via your credit report. So it may be that Citibank saw your credit limit with DBS and decided that they didn't want to grant you additional credit (and thus rejected your application) as you might pose a risk to them.

Hi Anon,

An 8-month gap seems like a more than reasonable amount of time to have waited before reapplying for a credit card, so it seems a bit strange to me that you'd be rejected again, especially if you've been paying your credit card bills on time. I'm assuming that you're applying for an entry-level card and not a premium-level card (ie Citi Prestige).

Perhaps there could be other reasons - are you spending a large % of your credit limit every month? Or do you still have student loan debt that you've yet to clear? These are factors that could make banks wary of you as a customer.

If not, maybe you can consider taking a look at your credit report. This will give you insights into what could be improved with regard to your credit score, which should improve your chances of getting approved for a credit card. But if your credit score seems fine as well, then I'm not sure what the reason could be - maybe you can try calling Citibank. I doubt they will disclose the reason, but it's worth a try if you really want to get their credit card.

Hope this helps & all the best!

Regards,

thefrugalstudent