Can I Apply for Two Citi Credit Cards at One Time?

A lot of people like to apply for multiple credit cards at one time in order to have their hard inquiries combined. As you may know, this helps to mitigate the damage done to your credit report since only one inquiry will be reported. But not every bank allows you to capitalize on this oppurtunity and for Citi, it’s a little bit complicated on whether or not they allow you to apply for two Citi credit cards. 

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Citi application rule

Citi has some very specific application rules. The most notorious of these is the 8/65 rule which states that you cannot get approved for more than one Citi credit card in 8 days and not more than two credit cards in 65 days. The former portion of this rule is what kills the ability to be combine inquiries and be approved for two cards at the same time, since only one approval is allowed in a week’s time.

Thus, because of that rule you cannot get two Citi personal credit cards at once.

Business card exception 

However, according to The Frequent Miler, you can apply and get approved for a Citi personal and a Citi business credit card at the same time. However, as noted by the Doctor of Credit, the hard inquiries will likely not be combined since they result from different departments within Citi. This is quite common, as it’s usually hit or miss when trying to get inquiries combined from applications for both personal and business credit cards. Read here for more on applying for small business credit cards and learning how they can help preserve your credit score.

So you can get two Citi credit cards at once, it’s just you are limited to one personal and one business credit card at the same time. 

The Citi 6/6 rule 

Something else to consider is what some dub the “Citi 6/6 rule” which states that you might be denied if you’ve had 6 or more hard pull inquiries in the last 6 months. This does not appear to be a hard and fast rule like the 8/65 rule, as you can find data points where people have still been approved for Citi credit cards despite having way over 6 inquiries in the previous 6 months. Still, if you can, I’d still try to heed this advice since many applications have been denied on this basis.

If you’re on the cusp of violating that rule or already over it, be sure to check out which credit bureau Citi pulls from in your region. Some banks like Barclaycard often pull from the same bureau like TransUnion, but for other banks, it can vary based on where you’re located in the country. It might be the case that you have fewer than 6 hard pulls on the credit bureau that Citi will likely pull for you. You can use this tool to research data points on credit bureaus pulled in your area. 

In the end, if you do come across a denial based on too many recent inquiries, try your luck with reconsideration and if you have good reasons for the inquiries or new accounts like I did, you might get your denial overturned.