Citi Flex Line of Credit

What is a Line of Credit

A line of credit is an amount of credit for which you have been pre-approved. The amount of the line is based on your credit history and your ability to repay the amount of credit. You can use all, or part, of the line at any time. As soon as you repay what you have borrowed from the line, that amount of credit becomes available for you to borrow again. This is called a revolving credit account.

A credit card is another type of revolving credit account. The amount of the line of credit is called your credit line or available credit. You can borrow money from the credit line by using your credit card, or card number, to make a purchase. The amount of your purchase is deducted from your total available credit. When you repay the amount of credit you have used, the amount available will increase. When your credit card balance is zero, your total available credit will be back to the total amount of your credit line.

You can also have a line of credit accessed by a check, instead of a credit card. You can write a check for any amount up to your total available credit line. As you repay the balance, it becomes available for use again. It is also a revolving credit account.

Benefits of the Citi Flex Line of Credit

The Citi Flex line of credit is a revolving credit account. You can be approved for a credit line from $2,000 to $32,500 depending on your credit history and financial situation. Access the line by writing a check or by contacting Citi customer service by phone or online and asking them to send a check to you or to a creditor.

Fixed Monthly Payment

Your monthly payment is easy to budget because it is the same each month. The amount of the payment is based on the number of months you want to take to repay the amount you have borrowed. The system will automatically calculate your monthly payment based on 60 months to repay the balance plus interest.

If you want to pay off the balance more quickly, or if you want to take longer than 60 months, you can call Citi customer service and change the repayment period to as little as 24 months or to as long as 72 months. The longer you take to repay the amount borrowed, the less your payments will be each month. For example:

Customized Purchase Terms

You can customize your repayment terms for each purchase. For example, if you wrote a check for a $10,000 purchase you may decide to take 60 months to pay it off. If you then wrote a check for $2,000 you might decide you only want to take 24 months to pay off the $2,000. Each of these two transactions will have a different monthly payment. The two payments display separately on your monthly statement.

Variable APR

The Citi Flex account has a variable APR that is usually slightly higher than a credit card with a similar credit line. As with a credit card, you only pay interest on the amount of the line you use.

The account is sometimes offered with a promotional APR rate for a specific period, like six months. Be sure to check the Terms and Conditions stated with the offer to know what the APR will become after the promotional period.

Reasonable Fees

There are very few fees with this account:

• No application fees
• No annual fees
• No prepayment penalties
• A 3% transaction fee each time you write a check

Apply in Sixty Seconds

You can apply online and get a response in only 60 seconds.

Tips to Manage your Line of Credit

The flexibility you have in setting your own payment terms can make the Citi Flex line of credit an attractive credit tool to consolidate high balance credit cards, make large purchases or to have for unplanned expenses like car repairs and emergencies. As with all credit and loan products, carefully consider all aspects of the account before you apply:

• Flexibility Can Be Expensive – The APR on this flexible payment Citi Flex account might be higher than the rate you are paying on your credit cards. If you are looking for a way to consolidate credit cards and pay off their balances, you might want to consider a low rate credit card offer that gives you a low APR for a promotional period. You can use this promotional period to pay off the credit card balances.
• Repayment Timeframes Must be Reasonable – Set a repayment term that will result in a monthly payment that is reasonable for your financial situation. If you set an unrealistic repayment timeframe and you have a late payment or miss a payment, the APR may default to a much higher APR.
• There is no Grace Period – Interest is charged from the day you write the check. Even if you pay off the total bill when you receive the first statement, you will be charged interest from the date you made the purchase until the end of the monthly billing cycle.