City National Bank have two credit card offers that are available in branch (that I recently added to our best credit card bonus page). They are as follows:
- City National Bank 100,000 Point Visa Business Offer (requires $15,000 spend)
- CNB Crystal Visa Infinite 70,000 Points Signup Bonus (with Lounge Access + $250 Airline Credit)
The personal offer in particular is a great deal as the annual fee of $400 is waived in the first year and it comes with a $250 airline credit (see what works/doesn’t work here) for both primary cardholder and authorized user. In addition it also comes with lounge access. The downside to both offers is that you have to apply in branch and branches are in NY, DE, GA, TN, NV & CA only.
In addition they are looking for high networth/income individuals so not everybody will be approved. Still fantastic deals if you can get them! We have a full review of the personal card that can be found here.
Any data points on whether funding any bank accounts with the biz or personal card counts as a cash advance?
Curios: What is the lowest income any of you have managed to get approval with? (And did you open a checking and/or a credit card?)
Went in to the branch today and asked about the card’s eligibility for visa holders. Banker said she is not sure but has seen lot of denials on this ground. But she also mentioned that she met a person yesterday who was approved for the card while on visa. So maybe YMMV.
I asked her why the bank discriminates against visa holders when other institutions are willing to extend much larger credit line, and she responded candidly that they may leave anytime.
Still, I decided to take my chance and completed the paper application. She would let me know about the decision in 2-3 business days. Hopefully if immigration status is an issue, they would deny it even before running the credit check. She did mention that my salary (200k+), years with current employer (10+), credit score (800+) and mortgage does improve my chances of getting it approved while on visa.
Here is my experience with this bank as a visa holder. Before applying, I specifically asked the banker if being a green card holder or US citizen was a requirement for this CC. She said there was no problem at all. I applied, hard pull from Experian and when I called for a feedback, she told me I was being denied the card because of my immigration status. I was very mad of course since my question was very specific and I wouldn’t have wasted a hard pull if had known. She told me they cannot discourage anyone from applying. So when she answered to my immigration question, she either didn’t verify it or just lied to me. In both cases this is very bad and shows lack of professionalism from this bank. Still considering if I should press this further and escalate it to a manager. The communication happened through email, so I have plenty of proof. What do you guys think?
Applied in branch in NY today, banker didn’t mention anything about checking account requirements but I am not a citizen or a green card holder. He did mention that there is a pushback for applicants who are staying in US on visas. Fingers crossed, waiting for their response now..
Please keep us posted! My banker seemed to not have a clue about this. My inquiries are at a risky point, so I have to choose between this card or Citi AA. 1 more wasted hp will be sad.
Update – visa holders are not allowed to apply, application was not processed.
What Credit Bureau do they pull and are they sticklers for Inquiries? My experian is showing 12 inquiries and 5 have been in the past 6 months, 9 in the past 12 months.
DP I read earlier said Experian. I too am curious how sensitive they are for recent inquiries? I’m at 12 Experian as well.
Not too inquiry sensitive or chex sensitive. They pulled Experian for me and also SO.
I checked in branch at Bay Area and was told people in work visa cant apply for this card.. only citizens and gc holders can apply.Is that true?
Anybody have approved while in work visa?
In the same boat, banker said he will check with backend before submitting the application as I am on visa, still waiting for his reply.
Once you have access to online banking, the option to apply for the CC online is available.
So really, you don’t need to go to a branch.
1. apply for account online.
2. wait till it’s approved, and receive your debit card.
3. create online log in.
4. log into account
5. click tab about credit card
6. click apply.
Neat. @doc you should post this…
Does that show the bonus though?
I would like to know if the bonus will show when applied online. pls let us all know. Thank you in advance
I also realized just now that you cannot open a checking account online if you are not in the 5 states where they have branches. There is no option to move forward with the application.
Are you in a state where they have branches?
how to get access to online banking? can one apply for the bank account online?
I was at a branch in LA and they wouldn’t let me open a checking or credit account,since I lived in a state with no branches.
I think it depends on branch/banker. Try a different branch.
Happens to be i meet the criterias to get this card and live not terribly far from a CNB.. I feel a bit crazy making the special trip but seeing the diminishing opportunities in the churning playground I might do it…
Well, it’s worth $1200 and if you have one AU it’ll be worth $1700 to you. So, I think that’s pretty valuable. It’s not particularly easy and not instant gratification but it’s still pretty nice.
Interesting i overlooked the part about AU that is really impressive… but how is the AU worth $500 it seems like is just worth $250?
It’s $250 per year. So, 2017 and 2018.
nice.. thanks!
In my case you needed to open and account – savings was easiest with $100 minimum and no fees. They did pull Chex. For the CC they pulled Experian. It took about 4 days for them to get back to me. I think debt to income is more important than income itself. They wouldn’t divide mortgage up and weighed it against my income entirely. So, keep that in mind.
*an. I wish there was a way to edit comments!