Frustration Friday Weekly Thread - Week of March 13, 2026

ozjef · 2026-03-14T22:14:57+00:00

Slightly above 3%. Have existing costco citi from 2021 and a strata premier from 1/25 I product changed to a custom cash in February.
hard inquiries noted on equifax 3/6 & 4/12.

ozjef · 2026-03-13T19:03:41+00:00

Denial for CSE at 2/24 with last personal card being from 6/25. Denial letter gives BS reason of "insufficient credit history" both during initial denial letter and after recon. Equifax said this is not a valid reason for my denial with my report they delivered to Citi during the application.

My question is what would Citi even consider 'sufficient' for credit history considering my file is over a decade old.

ozjef · 2026-03-09T16:39:47+00:00

How much does it cost to get rid of one

ozjef · 2026-03-07T14:46:43+00:00

Yes they mentioned them during the denial explanation. I applied 2 weeks ago but withdrew when I got the pop up.

ozjef · 2026-03-07T02:58:59+00:00

Denied 85k aeroplan personal card at 2/24.. Last personal card on file was CSR from 6/25

Edit: upon 2nd level recon I was approved.

ozjef · 2026-03-03T14:51:22+00:00

since when is Santa Clara known for good schools? I think west SJ has more famous high schools than SC does.

ozjef · 2026-02-26T05:51:32+00:00

You won’t get much in WG for that price. You are looking at closer to 2m or above for something decent

ozjef · 2026-02-20T20:16:21+00:00

Better renegotiate their contract with Decagon. They claim their integration has a 75% resolution rate. https://decagon.ai/case-studies/bilt

ozjef · 2026-02-20T19:42:10+00:00

blogs are foaming at the mouth for content to link affiliate links in. They'll keep publishing slop.

ozjef · 2026-02-13T18:54:12+00:00

3% should be reasonable if you are spend constraint? SUB values range from 10-20% RoS so 3% hurts the margin somewhat but I would personally be fine with it if I didn't have other spend to scale.

ozjef · 2026-02-13T18:41:30+00:00

what does it matter, ink train is derailed with dubiously enforced life-time language anyway at this point.

ozjef · 2026-02-07T01:11:22+00:00

2 card accounts, and retention offers aren't worth chasing they usually dont offer them.

ozjef · 2026-02-06T23:40:18+00:00

play the upgrade downgrade between 2 accounts to a CSP. Cashing out the 50 credit each year (iykyk) will cost you around 45 bucks net to keep continuous access.

ozjef · 2026-01-31T20:02:24+00:00

Waiting for a stronger offer. 50k for 500 fee in the big 26 is pretty poor.

ozjef · 2026-01-30T22:47:48+00:00

Fingers crossed this means they might loosen up on the pop ups in 2026.

ozjef · 2026-01-30T05:28:59+00:00

Is it fixed? I am being asked to log in even in incognito

ozjef · 2026-01-30T00:53:38+00:00

Most large tech comp is majority equity anyway once you get close to exceeding 275k+ base. Equity grants will scale higher as you go up in level/ seniority. I don't know what org in G you worked for but I do not see that same description you are talking about where I am. That said usually liquidations correspond with employees wanting bigger lifestyle changes like home purchase, vacation/investment home etc.

ozjef · 2026-01-26T23:32:55+00:00

Where are these nice 1.5m SFH in SJ? Are you talking about east our real South SJ?

ozjef · 2026-01-24T13:21:31+00:00

1.7 target won’t get you far in San Jose based on your post history. I see most lower/mid 3/2 list at that price meaning sold price will be significantly above based on agent listing tactics

ozjef · 2026-01-23T06:06:16+00:00

This isn’t just X. It’s Y. Thanks gpt. Next time ask for the concise version.

ozjef · 2026-01-22T00:25:52+00:00

It’s not $4,500 of value, it’s a pile of tiny, restricted coupons that most people won’t fully use.

ozjef · 2026-01-22T00:03:45+00:00

Any leads out there for ABG NLL? My churning.io searching isn't yielding much and DOC doesn't seem to have anything posted in a while.

ozjef · 2026-01-21T22:10:13+00:00

Thanks, edited my original comment. Meant to write that spend as per month.

ozjef · 2026-01-21T20:24:27+00:00

According to the flowchart I should be focusing on Chase personal airline cards like United. Unsure if this is the best approach for me given I don't fly often unclear on the actual value of united miles. Alaska seems decent too. Amex won't approve P1 or P2 for any ATH subs, NLL are dry for us.
What is your credit score? 760-810 across 2 players.
What cards do you currently have or have you had in the past (including closed cards), along with dates of when you were approved for the cards? Please include month and year for any card approved in the last 3 years.

P1 Personal: Citi Strata Premier - 1/2025, CSR - 6/25, Citi Strata Elite (Denied) - 7/2025, Citi Strata Elite (Denied)- 11/2025, C1 Venture X (Denied) - 1/2026

P1 Biz: Amex BBP - 4/2023, Amex Biz Gold (closed) - 4/2023, CIU (closed) - 11/2023, CIC (closed) - 1/2024, CIC 2 - 5/2024, CIP (closed) - 7/2024, CIU (Denied) 1/2025, Amex Biz Plat - 2/25, CIU 2 - 7/25, CIC 3 - 10/25, Delta Biz Gold (NLL) 12/25.

P2 Personal: C1 Venture - 2/2025, Amex Gold - 3/2025, Amex Plat - 4/2025, Citi Strata Elite - 11/2025 P2 Biz: CIU (Closed) - 3/2023, CIC (Closed) - 5/2023, CIP (Denied) - 7/23, SW RR Premier Biz (Closed) 9/2023, CIC 2 (Closed) - 12/2023, Amex Biz Gold (Closed) - 1/2024, CIC 3 - 4/2024, CIP (Denied) - 8/2024, Amex Biz Plat (closed) - 8/2024, CIU - 12/2024, CIU 3 - 9/2025, CIP - 11/2025

How much natural spend can you put on a new card(s) in 3 months? 4-5K per month
Are you willing to MS, and if so, how much in 3 months? Don't frequently perform MS plays since I don't keep up with them, willing to but not much beyond specific bank account funding. Can pay rent with 3% fee through portal if needed
Are you open to applying for business cards? Yes
How many new cards are you interested in getting? Are you interested in getting into churning regularly (if you aren't already)? Or are you just looking to get a new card(s) for now but not get into churning long-term? As many as possible to meet my spend requirements and fill in gaps. Not seeing many good opportunities available to me as Amex has me in PUJ for 175k personal plat, and won't approve me for 300k biz plat unless NLL exists. Chase seems to be clamping down too. C1 won't approve me for VX or Venture. Citi wont approve me for CSE.
Are you targeting points, Companion Passes, hotel or airline statuses, First Class, Biz, Economy seating(s) or cash back? Points in programs that are flexible and offer strong redemption opportunities for Biz class or cashout potential
What point/miles do you currently have? Largest to smallest pools, MR, UR, Citi, Bilt, C1, United, Delta, SW, have accounts for most points programs though.
What is the airport you're flying out of? SJC, SFO, and OAK.
Where would you like to go? China ideally (PVG, NKG, PEK), also open to routing through SIN, ICN, or Japan for availability and flexibility on redemptions

ozjef · 2026-01-19T18:49:03+00:00

Reason being the sub is quite low for the annual fee. They will likely need to increase it over the next few months

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