citibank

Tag Archives for citibank.

[False Alarm] Citi Card Apps No Longer Have 24 Month Language?

April 13, 2017 by Harlan 25 Comments

Update: Not sure what’s going on but I see the 24-month language on some application pages. I’m wrong and nothing has changed. I got excited and jumped. Going to close this for now. Sorry for the false alarm!

Just a quick post.

Citi has been limiting card sign-up bonuses per family of “brands” to every 24 months – with a clock that resets if you open OR close an account within that family. The 3 brands are:

American Airlines
Hilton
ThankYou points

So for example, if you opened or closed the Citi Hilton Reserve within the previous 24 months, you could NOT get the sign-up offer on the Citi Hilton no annual fee card. Period.

But it looks like that restriction has shifted:

“New accounts only”

Now it says, “This offer valid for new accounts only.”

What does that mean?

Is Citi Planning Changes to the Prestige Card?

June 18, 2016 by Harlan 5 Comments

I got an email from Citi asking me to take a survey put together by ISG Research (Insight Strategy Group).

Citi’s rather vague email

The subject was, “We want your feedback on the best credit card rewards programs.”

But once I got into it, I realized they were asking about the Citi Prestige card.

The email even said, “Cardmember since 2015,” which was the year I got my Citi Prestige card.

In the survey, they ask the respondent to consider several mash-ups of card features and select the best option.

They throw around current Citi Prestige features like the 4th night free, annual fee, transfer partners, and ancillary benefits like the 3 free rounds of golf.

What is Citi considering?

Booking Barcelona: Citi Prestige + Hilton Diamond at Alexandra DoubleTree

December 14, 2015 by Harlan 4 Comments

Also see:

The hotel stay for Barcy is all set. And, I booked it – again – with Citi Prestige. I wrote about my first experience booking a hotel room it for Martinique.

View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here

Gonna eat the hell out of that free breakfast

I settled on the Alexandra Barcelona, a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

I’d originally booked the Hilton Barcelona as a Points & Money reward.

Why the switch?

One Week Left: Get 75,000 Points and No Annual Fee With Citi Hilton Visa

September 23, 2015 by Harlan Leave A Comment

Also see:

I chronicled my interest, growing fascination, and ultimate cave-in about the Citi Hilton Visa.

I’ve had the card for a sec now, and really like it. I wrote about the importance of having a no annual fee credit card, and this one might be a really good one to have.

About the Citi Hilton Visa

No Annual Fee Cards + Personal Finance: Why You Need (At Least) One

July 31, 2015 by Harlan 4 Comments

Like it or not, in this country you need good credit. It’s as avoidable as death or taxes. As in, not at all.

Starting out with credit cards, you’ll encounter a catch-22: you need good credit to get a credit card, but you need a credit card to build good credit.

No annual fee cards are NOT boring. In fact, they have some innovative rewards!

A good place to start is no annual fee cards.

For beginners

Complete the Hyatt Diamond Challenge in 9 Nights With the Citi Prestige Card

July 30, 2015 by Harlan 9 Comments

Random thought of the evening.

I’m going through my cards and want to dump:

And replace them with:

The hitch is that you have to wait ~8 days between applications with Citi, so I’m not sure which of their cards to get first. But I’m warming up to the idea of Category 1 and 2 Hilton hotels – there’s a ton of value to be had there.

Anyway.

Citi Prestige + Hyatt Diamond Challenge

Via The Points Guy, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge (something that’s always tempted me). You’ll have 60 days to complete it when you sign up (so until September 30th).

And via View From the Wing, the Citi Prestige card’s 4th night free benefit is “too good” to last. (I agree.)

Hyatt hotels are easily bookable with the Citi Prestige travel program. (Here’s the link to Carlson Wagonlit to search.)

A quick search in Dallas turned up 6 Hyatts, most under $100 a night

If you book a 4-night stay for $100 a night, you’d pay $300 (after the Citi Prestige statement credit).

Do this 3 times in 60 days, pay $900, get Hyatt Diamond status. Any many hotels are available for under $100.

If you have Hyatt stays coming up anyway, this might be something to mix-and-match with cash + points stays.

And hotels booked with the Citi Prestige card do earn elite credit.

What’s Hyatt Diamond status worth?

My Top 5 Hilton Category 2 Hotels for Award Stays

July 13, 2015 by Harlan 12 Comments

Also see:

Seriously tempted by the 75,000 point Citi Hilton Visa offer

I looked through the Hilton Category 2 hotel list to see what gems I could unearth from that piece of barren internet.

I was surprised to find lots of hotels (131, to be exact) all over the US and Europe (and globally). I pulled out my Top 5 picks.

In particular, I’d like to maximize the 5th night free benefit that Hilton gives to all of its elite members.

Here are 5 Hilton Category 2 hotels where I could see myself spending 5 days.

Note: Prices are based on travel in September 2015 and are after taxes as shown on the checkout screen. Read More

Seriously tempted by the 75,000 point Citi Hilton Visa offer

July 13, 2015 by Harlan 13 Comments

Also see:

I sense an app-o-rama coming on after pondering the benefits of the Discover It card. And now the Citi Hilton Visa has its highest-ever 75,000 point bonus. I heard this offer was ending on August 31, 2015.

Some cards simply aren’t worth keeping any longer, like the POS that is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus and the completely, utterly, insanely useless Chase British Airways Visa (RIP to both. I’ll bury you next to Club Carlson).

Kinda sorta semi-interesting

But, out with the old, in with the new.

What’s so dang special about the Citi Hilton Visa?

For one, its earning structure:

3 Hilton points per $1 at… drugstores?!

Are they crazy? 3X at drugstores is asking for it, no?

CVS, here I come!

If I max out the $4,000 limit on PayPal My Cash cards, that’s 144,000 Hilton points per year ($4,000 x 3 points per dollar x 12).

Not bad!

Maximizing Hilton points

If I’m strategic, each month I’d earn 2 nights at a Category 1 property or 1 night at a Category 2 property… and there are a lot of Hilton Category 2 hotels all over the US and Europe.

If I’m doubly strategic, I can save up some points and get the 5th night free on a 5-night award stay.

5 nights at a Category 2 hotel costs 40,000 points. So the sign-up bonus alone would be good for 10 nights at Category 2 hotels.

And 20 nights at Category 1 hotels! Useful if you want to go off the beaten path.

I already have Hilton Gold status through FoundersCard, but this card does offer Hilton Silver status automatically, which unlocks the 5th night free benefit.

I wish it offered an ongoing annual benefit for renewal, but since it’s a Citi card, you can’t rule that out. Citi is known to have generous, aggressive retention offers.

Because it’s a no annual fee card, you can get the points and throw it in a drawer if you hate it. And let it age your credit accounts.

A good deal considering it doesn’t have an annual fee – but not as good as the Amex no annual fee Hilton card.

Still, for 75,000 points… I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on this one.

Bottom line

So interesting to see the sign-up bonuses on various cards come and go, benefits get added and taken away, devaluations, and new perks… and how they all tie in together.

If you can live with Hilton’s categories, maximize the Category 1 and 2 properties, and take advantage of the earning structure, this card might be a good one to add to the arsenal.

If you hate it after the initial sign-up bonus, who cares? Throw it in a drawer and let it age your other credit accounts. And Citi is known for retention bonuses, so you might get an annual injection of Hilton points by calling and asking.

I’m thinking of doing it… 5 nights for the price of 4 at a Category 2 hotel costs 40,000 points, so the sign-up bonus on this card right now would be good for 2 such jaunts.

Is anyone else thinking of getting in on this offer?

Thank you for using my links! (And yes, the 75K offer is available there!)

Targeted Citi AA Cardholders: 2X Miles in Bonus Categories / 10X Miles with Apple Pay

July 2, 2015 by Harlan 4 Comments

Just saw this and wanted to put it up.

Keep an eye on your mailbox. It seems Citi is targeting American Airlines credit card holders for bonus offers:

Letter from Citi

Here are the deets:

Earn up to 2,500 bonus miles
Earn 2X miles in certain categories (below)
Earn 10X miles if you pay with Apple Pay
Promo runs through 9/30/15

2X / 10X categories:

Grocery stores
Gas stations
Drugstores
Restaurants
Commuter transportation

Couple of thoughts. Citi is going after Barclays in the promo department.

And they’re going after pretty much every other card with the categories. Including drugstores?

If you max out the 10X with Apple Pay, that’s only $250 in spend. So it’s not stellar.

However, Citi sometimes mixes up their promos and sends different offers out.

Did anyone else get one of these recently? Was your offer different?

Enroll in Citi’s 60-Day Return Guarantee Program

May 16, 2015 by Harlan Leave A Comment

I was trolling around on the Citi website today and decided to look through my Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Amex benefits. Lots of good things in there. I like this card because it’s an American Express card not issued by Amex and is no longer open for enrollment. I can use it for Amex Sync offers, Small Business Saturday, and possibly to load up my Serve account (haven’t gotten that far yet).

As I got to the “Shopping benefits” section, I noticed there was one for which I had to manually enroll in on the website.

The 60-Day Return Guarantee program

There it was, hanging out there in the corner like a creep.

Citi 60-Day Return Guarantee program

Enrollment screen – good for a year

I clicked on it, and there was a little button that said “Enroll.” If I enrolled, it would be good for a year.

So I did it. Why not. Then I was told about the benefits:

How to use the Citi 60-Day Return Guarantee

The benefit is good for $250 per claim and up to $1,000 annually. Things returned must be new and unopened. Fair enough. Really not so shabby at all. But then I thought…

WHERE DO I SEND THE STUFF?

Apparently to their office in Ohio lol. But whatever. Then I was like… uhhhh… do I pay for the shipping (I think so)?

And then I started to think if I’d ever wanted to return something after a merchant’s return period had run out. Or what if I bought something while traveling and can’t get it back to the shop? Or what if the store doesn’t allow returns?

It hasn’t happened a lot, but here and there… yeah, definitely. Maybe once or twice a year. As long as I put the entire amount of the purchase on this card, I could return it and get the money back. Nice.

This is old news

So I thought I’d stumbled upon something new and exciting but nope. This thing’s been around since 2012. Practically Stone Age for the points and miles crowd.

I wanted to mention it here because I’d never heard of it in all my excavations about terms and conditions. Maybe it’s been around so long that it’s not mentioned any more? In any regard, it lives!

Discover, Chase Sapphire Preferred, and Chase Freedom all have similar programs. And the one for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, anyway, is up to $500 per item and you have 90 days to return it. A month more and double the protection that Citi offers.

Chase Sapphire Preferred return protection

However, I couldn’t find much online on the Chase website, so kudos to Citi for making it so easy to find and understand.

Also, apparently, you have to enroll manually for this benefit with Citi – it is not an automatic feature of Citi credit cards. So I wanted to toss it out there in case it might help someone and they’d like to enroll.

Bottom line

Citi has a program that I didn’t know about before today called the 60-Day Return Guarantee.

They’ve kinda hidden under the “Card Benefits” section of the their website, near the bottom. You have to find it and manually enroll to receive the benefit for 1 year for free.

Has anyone else, um, heard of this? Has anyone ever actually used this perk – or something similar offered by another credit card? How was your experience?

Earning Points with Serve Reloads After April 16th

March 18, 2015 by Harlan 7 Comments

Also see:

List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

I haven’t fallen off the earth or anything like that. Real estate in NYC is heating up, and my past few days have been pretty crazy with gearing up for the busy summer season.

I still intend to post the remaining 2 reviews from my recent NOLA excursion and have a few other things in the pipeline for ol’ Out and Out. And of course I’ve been keeping up with the latest points and miles news.

And here is a post in which I clutch at straws.

REDbird Part 2

Boo hissss

After having a terrible time reloading the REDbird card at my local Target in Brooklyn, I brutally dumped it and opened a new Serve account.

So, I was pretty dismayed when I found out they were going to restrict credit card reloads to only include American Express cards starting April 16th.

“Manufacturing spend” in New York City is already hard enough, and this is definitely an added blow. But there are 2 things I can find here that still might make Serve worth it for some people.

1. Even without earning points, this is a great way to pay bills that would not otherwise accept credit cards

2. There are at least 2 Amex cards that are NOT issued by American Express that may still earn points

The first point. Although there are better ways to pay rent than with Serve, if you need to float your payments through a charge card for a month or so, you can still use your Serve account to pay your bill and give you a little extra wiggle room, which could help a lot with cash flow from month to month.

The second point. It is up to the individual card issuers about whether or not to issue points for a purchase. American Express has decided they will not issue points for their own credit cards. But what about Amex cards that are not issued by American Express?

FIA and Citi + others

Two that I can think of right away are the FIA Fidelity Amex and the Citibank Platinum AAdvantage Amex. Both banks do not currently impose cash advance fees for Serve reloads (someone correct me if I’m wrong here), and both banks should continue to issue points since the reloads code as a purchase.

American Express may not give you points, but FIA and Citi still might. And this might continue to be a good way to get either 12,000 AAdvantage miles per year for minimal effort or $240 free dollars contributed toward an IRA with Fidelity.

Then, going back to the first point, you’d still earn miles and/or points for loading up your Serve card, and then can pay rent, student loans, mortgage payments, etc. to merchants who wouldn’t otherwise accept credit cards.

List of Amex cards not issued by American Express, by issuer

What’s in my wallet? (Evaluating credit cards and travel goals)

January 2, 2015 by Harlan 3 Comments

As I begin to figure out my points and miles strategy for 2015, I thought it would be helpful assess what I currently have in my wallet.

Pre-warning: this is a very text heavy post. No pretty pictures to look at, just a whole lotta straight talk (1,200 words worth).

By bank:

American Express

Platinum Card
EveryDay Preferred

I just got a new Platinum Card in hopes that I’ll actually get a bonus for opening it – but I’m not holding my breath. In any regard, I already cashed in the $200 in airline incidentals on AA gift cards in 2014 and will do so again this year, so I will make back most of the annual fee right away.

I occasionally use Priority Pass Select on lounge visits that would otherwise be $50 a pop, and love dipping into the Centurion Lounges where I easily drink over $50 in cocktails alone (not to mention the spa treatments).

I also have utilized the Fine Hotels & Resorts program a time or two, and really love the near-constant Amex sync offers. So, I’m keeping it.

As for the EveryDay Preferred… it really has become by “EveryDay” card – I use it constantly and get 1.5-4.5x Membership Rewards points on everything I buy, which is pretty sweet. The earning is decent for non-bonus spend and is great for groceries, gas, and even more sync offers. (Email me if you’d like a referral to this card!)

If only Amex would up the points-earning power of the Platinum Card, I might actually put a buck or two of spend on it.