Yippee! I am happy to report that Citibank now acknowledges that I exist as a person living at my current address. You might wonder why this is cause for celebration. Well, it took me six weeks, four memos, and countless telephone calls to prove my existence.

In early July, Doug and I both received one of the teasers we all get from credit card companies. This time, it was a Citibank offer with a bonus of 30,000 American Airlines points. I prevailed over Doug's predictable objection ("we've already got a credit card") and applied online. I also made him apply (naturally, another 30,000 points).

Doug's application was immediately approved online and he received his card a few days later. My online application met a different fate.

On July 11, an email from Citibank Customer Service informed me that my application was denied because they were unable to contact me to verify information on the application. My first thought was wait a minute! How did you attempt to contact me? You didn't leave a voicemail at the telephone number I provided. In this first denial letter, they said I should send the following:

• An original of our most recent telephone bill showing my name/address. Oops. First, my name doesn't appear on the phone bill. Second, we use Vonage and pay by the year so no monthly bill.
• A copy of my bank statement. Yes, I'm listed on that.
• A copy of my latest pay statement. Since I'm retired, they gave me an alternative option to supply a letter from my broker, personal banker or CPA.

On August 5, I received an email from Consumer Credit Services informing me that "We are unable to establish an account for you at this time. The reason for this decision is that we could not verify the accuracy of the information provided on the application or documentation submitted."

2nd Memo to Citibank
What? Verify by what means? This time I found a number and called them. After requesting to speak to a supervisor, I learned that the credit agency did not have my current address on file. OK. So I asked what I should do. I was told that my personal banker should send a letter verifying my address and that I live at my current address. This along with a copy of my IRA statement would be sufficient.

On August 12, I sent my memo recapping my conversation and informed them my personal banker at Capital Bank was sending them documentation. They would now have banker information and IRA account information.

On August 14, I received another rejection stating again that they could not verify the accuracy of my information.

3rd Memo to Citibank
What? I sent exactly what Citibank advised (and I had notes to quote names and dates of conversations). So, why the rejection? I called again. I needed to send my bank statement to them. OK. I did and provided a summary that they would now have my bank statement and a letter from Capital Bank.

On Aug 15 and 16, I received emails stating "We were unable to verify the home telephone number and residential address you provided."

4th Memo to Citibank
No! I had done everything they advised. So, I called again. This time the problem was that I didn't actually send the information AT THE SAME TIME and so they couldn't evaluate it together. During this conversation, the supervisor at Citibank did explain that they must protect themselves from fraud and having a verification of my address was absolutely necessary. I could do this with my phone bill (not a good option for me) or a utility bill. OK. I give in. Doug and I went to the utility company. The local manager changed the account to my name and printed a new copy of our statement with my name and address.

On August 17, I sent a copy of our bank statement with my name/address and a utility bill with my name/address to Citibank.

On August 22, I receive an email from Citibank. You guessed it. They rejected me because they could not verify my address. So, I called and it seems that they had not received my August 17 correspondence yet. I thanked them and said I would wait to see if it was accepted.

Success! ... and a Lesson Learned
Today, August 26, I received my congratulatory email from Citibank welcoming me to the Citi^®Gold / AAdvantage^® World MasterCard^® membership.

I must admit that I don't feel very welcomed.

So, why did I pursue this so vigorously? Well, as an older woman who has established joint credit with my husband for 38 years, it was a real eye opener to discover that I didn't exist, at least not in the eyes of the largest U.S. bank. What if something happened to Doug and I needed accounts in my name — a credit card, a utility account, whatever? Would I have to go through this ordeal to prove my existence? Probably, and maybe I wouldn't have the stamina and determination at that point to do it.

So, my advice. If your accounts are joint, make sure you have your name first on the telephone or one of the utilities. This seems to prove that you live where you say you live. I applaud the credit card company for their thoroughness, but where is the logic? I receive a request in the mail at my home address, I apply for a credit card using the address pre-printed on the application, and then they cannot verify that I live there except through a telephone or utility bill in spite of the numerous documents I sent with my address on it. Go figure. The utility companies must be doing a terrific job of confirming residency.