Credit Card Watcher » Citibank

Are Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses Taxable?

ccwatcher — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:30:14 +0000

As reported by the LA Times, Citibank stirred up some controversy this week by mailing out 1099 tax forms to customers who received miles as a reward for opening a new checking or savings account. As a result, many consumers were stuck with an unexpected tax bill. To add insult to injury, Citibank chose to value those miles at a hefty 2.5 cents apiece, making a bad situation even worse.

Why is Citibank doing this?
Why send out the 1099s? Why value the miles at 2.5 cents each? Surely, Citibank’s cost to purchase the miles was significantly less than that. And while it is possible to get 2.5 cents of value or more out of a mile, most experts would agree that it is an aggressive valuation.

Somewhat ironically, the difficulty in placing a value on miles is the primary reason that the IRS has historically not taxed them, as I noted in this prior post on the subject. (It also explains why you should always favor a business credit card that awards point/miles rather than a cash rebate.)

What about miles earned from credit card bonuses?
Fortunately, Citi seems to be the only bank doing this at the moment and has limited this practice to bonuses awarded for checking and savings accounts. This practice has not extended yet to credit card bonus offers. The distinction, as clarified by the IRS, apparently is this–credit card sign up bonuses are almost always tied to a purchase requirement, and thus can be considered similar to a rebate:

in those cases, miles [received for using a credit card] wouldn’t be taxable because they’re more like a rebate.

“A common analogy… is buying a $500 television at a retail store and receiving a $50 manufacturer’s rebate. It’s not income, just a deemed reduction of the cost of the television.”

In contrast, awards associated with opening an account are similar to a gift or award: “When frequent-flier miles are provided as a premium for opening a financial account, it can be a taxable situation subject to reporting under current law,” said Michelle Eldridge, an IRS spokeswoman.

The bottom line?
Strange as it may seem, the annoying initial spending requirement that accompanies many credit cards is apparently the primary impediment that keeps sign up bonuses from getting taxed.

Disclaimer: I am not a CPA and this should not constitute tax advice. Before taking any action, consult a tax professional to assess your own personal situation.

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Are Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses Taxable?

Cash Back Bonus Calendar 2012

ccwatcher — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:46:48 +0000

For the most part, Chase Freedom, Discover More and Citi Dividend have released details of the 5% rotating bonuses that they will be offering in 2012. If you have one of these cards, you can already sign up for your first quarter bonus program. The chart below summarizes the quarterly bonuses available for each of these cards and should give you an idea of how to maximize your cash back.

Cash Back Bonus Calendar 2012
Unless otherwise noted below, if a card appears in the table, it indicates that purchases made in the corresponding category will earn a 5% rebate, subject to a bonus cap. Chase Freedom and Discover More will earn 5% on up to $1,500 in bonus category purchases each quarter. Citi Dividend cardholders will also earn 5% in their bonus categories, but are limited to a maximum of a $300 cash rebate per year, unless they received an offer indicating otherwise.

Category	Jan-Mar	Apr-June	July-Sept	Oct-Dec
Gas stations
Amazon.com
Museums
Movie theaters
Health care
Fitness clubs
Utilities
Restaurants
Grocery stores
Theme parks
Department stores
Electronics stores
Toy stores
Hotels
Airlines
Best Buy
Kohl’s

Note: As of the time of publication, Citi has only released its first quarter’s categories. Also, Discover has only committed to offering its 5% cashback bonus on up to $1,500 in purchases through the first half of 2012. It has not yet specified its bonus spending cap for its 5% cashback bonus for the last two quarters of 2012.

How and When to Sign Up
Chase Freedom cardholders can sign up for these bonuses each quarter by visiting creditcards.chase.com/freedom/activate.aspx or by calling the number on the back of their card. Chase cardholders can also sign up for reminders to activate their 5% cash back. For 2012, cardholders must activate their 5% according to the following schedule:

January – March	April – June	July – September	October – December
Activate between Dec. 15, 2011 and March 14, 2012	Activate between March 15, 2012 and June 14, 2012	Activate between June 15, 2012 and September 14, 2012	Activate starting September 15, 2012

Discover More cardholders can login to their account online or call 1-800-DISCOVER (1-800-347-2683) to sign up for the 5% Cashback bonus program. Unlike Chase’s program, you must have signed up for the program before you can begin earning the 5% bonus cashback. Discover More cardmembers can begin signing up anytime the month prior to the start of a quarter. For instance, for the quarter of April to June, cardmembers can begin signing up March 1.

Citi Dividend cardholders also can sign up online at dividend.quarterlyoffer.citi.com, by logging into their account online and clicking on the 5% cash back offer or by calling 1-800-231-0891.

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Cash Back Bonus Calendar 2012

Citi AAdvantage Credit Cards: 50,000 Bonus Miles + $150 Bonus

ccwatcher — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:12:49 +0000

Through January 31, 2012, you can apply for a new Citi AAdvantage credit card and receive 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles, a $150 statement credit and 2 Admirals Club one-day passes. This offer is valid on the Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage Visa Signature card, the Citi Select / AAdvantage American Express card, as well as the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Visa card.

To earn your 50,000 bonus miles, you’ll need to spend at least $3,000 within your first 4 months of opening your account. To receive your $150 statement credit, you’ll also need to make an eligible American Airlines purchase within your first year. Eligible purchases include flights or gift cards with AA as the merchant of record, but exclude car rentals, vacation packages, purchases of miles, duty-free purchases and AA Cargo products and services.

Under this offer, the first year’s annual fee is also waived. After the first year, the consumer cards carry an annual fee of $85 while the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card has an annual fee of $75.

While this offer is not as lucrative as the now expired 75,000 bonus AAdvantage miles deal, it’s currently the best available for these cards.

For more details, see ~~away7.citicards.com.~~

Update 2/3: The previous URL has expired, but the offer can still be found at this link. In addition, on this landing page, the expiration date for this offer has been updated to February 29, 2012.

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Citi AAdvantage Credit Cards: 50,000 Bonus Miles + $150 Bonus

Holiday Credit Card Promotions and Deals Roundup

ccwatcher — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:08:05 +0000

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday nearly upon us, credit card companies have welcomed the shopping season with a number of special deals and promotions designed to woo your spending.

Want to get the most out of your holiday purchases? Check out this massive list of limited-time offers.

American Express

American Express Cyber Week (Valid Nov. 21 through Nov. 30, 2011)
50 different offers are available at a 20% discount from partners such as Banana Republic, Sony, Tumi and Cuisinart. See the Membership Rewards website for details.
Earn 5x Membership Rewards Points (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Earn extra points when you shop through membershiprewards.com/earn at 20 select merchants, including Apple, Target.com, The Home Depot, and Brookstone. You can get 5X points on every qualified online purchase until the end of the year, automatically, with no enrollment required, made through membershiprewards.com/earn.
B&BW Gift Card Discounts (Through Dec. 31, 2011 or while supplies last)
Buy 4 $10 Bath & Body Works gift cards, get 1 free
Small Business Saturday (November 26, 2011)
Spend at least $25 at a small business with your registered American Express card on November 26, 2011 and get a $25 statement credit.

Bank of America

Upromise Holiday Cash Back (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Earn an additional 11% cash back for college, in addition to the cash back you would normally receive, when making purchases through the Upromise.com shopping portal with your Upromise.com credit card. See this list for participating retailers.

Capital One

Perk Central Holiday Deals (Nov. 25 through Nov. 28, 2011)
During this period, Cap One is boosting its bonus rewards for purchases made with select retail partners through its online shopping portal, Perk Central. Some retailers include: Landsend.com (100% rewards increase), Macys.com (40% rewards increase), Lego.com (100% rewards increase) and Gamestop.com (40% rewards increase).

Chase

Earn 5% on dining, department stores, movie theaters and charities (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
When you register your Chase Freedom card this quarter, you’ll earn 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent on dining, department stores, movie theaters and charitable organizations.
Chase Freedom Ultimate Rewards Discounted Gift Cards (Through Jan. 4, 2012)
Chase Freedom cardholders can save 20% on AMC and Bath & Body Works gift cards when redeeming at the Ultimate Rewards mall. Save 10% on Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, California Pizza Kitchen, Gap, Kohl’s, Land’s End, Macy’s and Old Navy gift cards.
Earn extra Reward Points for Shopping at ultimaterewards.com (Through Dec. 12, 2011)
Earn an extra 10 points per $1 spent at the following retailers on the specified dates through the Ultimate Rewards Mall:
- Nov. 21 – Kohl’s
- Nov. 25 – Best Buy
- Nov. 28 – Apple Online Store
- Dec. 5 – Target
- Dec. 12 – Overstock.com
Cyber Monday Discount (Valid Nov. 28, 2011)
Chase Freedom, Sapphire and Ink cardholders can use their rewards points to shop through ultimaterewards.com on Cyber Monday to save 25% on all merchandise.

Citi

5% cash back on department, clothing, electronics and toy store purchases (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Upon enrollment of your Citi Dividend card, you’ll earn 5% cash back on at department, clothing, electronics and toy stores. Your max rebate is capped at $300 per year, but does not apply to rebates earned through the Citi Bonus Cash Center, where you can earn an unlimited cash back.
Citi Holiday Sweeptstakes (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Register and use your Citi credit card for a chance to win a $10 to $10,000 Citi prepaid card.

Discover

5% Cashback Bonus on Restaurants and Fashion (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Discover More card cardmembers can enroll to earn 5% Cashback Bonus on up to $300 in purchases at department stores, clothing stores and restaurants.
Increased Cashback Bonus through ShopDiscover (Through Dec. 31, 2011)
Over 70 ShopDiscover retailers have increased their Cashback Bonus by 5%, with partners such as Crate and Barrel, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble offering 10% for a limited time. Other merchants are also offering free shipping on merchandise purchased through ShopDiscover.

MasterCard

“Here’s to Moms” Spend & Get Offer (Through Dec. 31, 2011 or while supplies last)
Enroll your MasterCard in the promo, then spend $200 online to earn a $20 MasterCard gift card. Must be one of the first 80,000 qualifying cardholders to complete the promo to receive your gift card.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Holiday Credit Card Promotions and Deals Roundup

$50 Amazon Gift Card for 4,900 Citi ThankYou Points

ccwatcher — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:32:27 +0000

For a limited time, Citi is offering $50 gift cards to Amazon.com for only 4,900 ThankYou points. That means you’ll get slightly better than a penny’s worth of credit at Amazon for each point.

To redeem your ThankYou points for Amazon.com credit, you can visit this link or just go to thankyou.com and search for “Amazon” as the reward keyword. You can only have one Amazon gift card in your shopping cart at a time, so if you want to get more than one card, you’ll need to check out first before repeating the process. The gift certificate will be emailed to you as a code which can then be applied to your Amazon.com account.

While this is definitely one of the better redemption options for ThankYou points available, it should be noted that you can get a better value for your points if you have a Citi ThankYou Premier card. Citi ThankYou Premier cardholders also have the option of redeeming their points towards flights in the Citi ThankYou Travel Center, where each point can be redeemed for 1.33 cents of credit.

This Amazon gift card offer is slated to run through October, but inventory goes fast. So if you’re interested in taking advantage of it, it would be best to redeem your points sooner rather than later.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

$50 Amazon Gift Card for 4,900 Citi ThankYou Points

Citi ThankYou Premier Card – 50,000 Bonus Points, First Year’s Annual Fee Waived

ccwatcher — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:38:25 +0000

Citi is currently offering 50,000 bonus ThankYou points on its ThankYou Premier Card. While it has offered this in the past, this particular deal is better than ever because the annual fee of $125 will be waived for the first year.

Under this offer, you’ll receive 50,000 bonus ThankYou points after making $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months. 50,000 bonus points is enough to redeem for $500 in gift cards, or even more when you redeem for travel. One of the features of the Citi ThankYou Premier Card is that you’ll be eligible for a 25% discount on flights when you redeem your points through Citi’s ThankYou Travel Center, meaning that your 50,000 points can be used for $665 towards travel.

While their point systems are quite different, this new offer from Citi is now quite competitive with Chase’s Sapphire Preferred 50,000 point deal. Both are targeted towards the same upscale, traveling demographic.

For more details or to apply for the Citi ThankYou Premier card, see this link:

~~Citi ThankYou^SM Premier Card – $500 in Gift Cards~~

Update 2/3: The 50,000 bonus point offer has now expired. To see the current Citi ThankYou Premier offer, see this link.

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Citi ThankYou Premier Card – 50,000 Bonus Points, First Year’s Annual Fee Waived

Citi Increases Value of ThankYou Points When Used for Student Loan Rebates, Mortgage Payments

ccwatcher — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:19:06 +0000

In a refreshing change from the norm, Citi recently increased the value of its ThankYou points when they are redeemed for student loan rebates or mortgage payments. Citi credit card members can now redeem Thank You points for a check towards either their student loan or mortgage at an exchange rate of 100 points per $1. For instance, 2,500 Thank You points can be redeemed for a $25 check.

What makes this especially enticing is that in the past, people have not only used this redemption method to pay down their student loans or mortgages, but as a way to directly convert their points to cash. (It should be noted, however, that Citi does not officially support this practice.)

To redeem your points, call the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596). You’ll be asked for the name and spelling of the financial institution holding your loan. Alternatively, if you are looking to directly convert your points to cash, you can give them the name of the bank where you want to deposit the check. Citi will then send out a check made out to that bank or lender. At that point, you can deposit it as you would with any other check, or mail it in to your lender.

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Citi Increases Value of ThankYou Points When Used for Student Loan Rebates, Mortgage Payments

Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card: Up to $500 in Gift Cards

ccwatcher — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:21:08 +0000

Citi has a new offer out for its ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card, allowing you to earn up to 50,000 ThankYou points, redeemable for $500 in gift cards.

This is the most lucrative sign up bonus offered yet for the Preferred Card, though it also has the largest spending requirement. You’ll earn 25,000 bonus points when you spend at least $5,000 within the first 6 months of opening your account; you’ll earn an additional 25,000 points when you spend another $5,000 in the following 6 months.

As is standard for the card, you’ll receive 1 point for every $1 on all purchases and also earn an anniversary bonus for every year you remain a member. There is no annual fee.

Update 12/22: This offer has now expired. Please see this link for the current Citi ThankYou Preferred Card deal.
~~Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card application – Up to $500 in gift cards~~

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Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card: Up to $500 in Gift Cards

Citi Dividend World MasterCard – $300 Signup Bonus

ccwatcher — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:55:50 +0000

Citi has a new offer for its Citi Dividend World MasterCard. You can now earn $300 cash back after you spend $5000 within the first 3 months of opening your account. That’s up from the normal $100 signup bonus you normally see for this card. While it isn’t as generous as the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus, it’s still a nice offer for a no annual fee credit card.

For those unfamiliar with the Citi Dividend, it’s similar to the Chase Freedom and Discover More cards in that it offers a flat 1% cash rebate on all purchases, with the opportunity to earn 5% on categories that rotate throughout the year. Currently, you’ll earn 5% cash back on airlines, hotels and car rentals through September 30, 2011.

Note: This $300 bonus offer has expired. You can still, however, get a $200 bonus after only $500 of spending on the Dividend World MasterCard here.

~~Citi Dividend World MasterCard $300 Bonus application~~

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Citi Dividend World MasterCard – $300 Signup Bonus

Citi ThankYou Preferred Card: $250 in Gift Cards

ccwatcher — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:52:19 +0000

In addition to the 50,000 bonus ThankYou point promo Citi is offering on its Premier Card, Citi has temporarily sweetened its deal on the ThankYou Preferred Card. Until June 30, 2011, you’ll earn 26,000 bonus ThankYou points, redeemable for $250 in gift cards when you open a new Citi ThankYou Preferred Card and spend at least $1,000 within 3 months.

One important reason that you may want to consider this card rather than the Premier, despite offering a less lucrative bonus, is that it does not carry an annual fee.

However, the Preferred card is bare bones in features compared to the Premier card. The Premier card offers the following benefits that the Preferred does not:

1.2 points per dollar at supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations
1 Flight point per mile flown that must be matched by spending
No foreign transaction fees

The Premier card, of course, is also currently offering twice as large a signup bonus. Whether these perks are worth $125/year is up to you. To apply for either, see the links below:

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Citi ThankYou Preferred Card: $250 in Gift Cards

Citi ThankYou Premier Card: 50,000 Bonus Points Worth $665 in Airfare

ccwatcher — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:40:56 +0000

Note: As of 8/15/11, this 50,000 bonus ThankYou points offer has expired. To see the current Citi ThankYou deals, see the following links:

Citi has just launched a brand new limited-time offer: you’ll earn 50,000 bonus ThankYou points for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months of opening a new Citi ThankYou Premier Card account. This signup bonus is enough for $665 worth of airfare when you redeem your points through the ThankYou Travel Center. Alternatively, you could exchange your 50,000 points for $500 in gift cards or other rewards.

You’ll also earn 1.2 points per $1 when you use the card at gas stations, supermarkets, drugstores, and at commuter transportation and parking merchants. Everywhere else, you’ll earn 1 point per $1 spent.

In addition, some of the card’s other benefits include:

No foreign exchange fees
Earn points for the miles you fly when you purchase a ticket with your Citi ThankYou Premier Card.
Earn an anniversary bonus based on the number of points earned from purchases every year. The longer you remain a cardholder, the larger your bonus percentage will be.
Receive a complimentary domestic companion ticket each year

The Premier Card does carry a $125 annual fee which is not waived for the first year under this offer. The annual fee is permanently waived, however, if you are a CitiGold customer. For this reason alone, the current Chase Sapphire deal is the better value at this time for non-CitiGold customers if you were only going to apply for a single card. Nevertheless, this 50,000 bonus ThankYou points promo is still an attractive option.

Note 8/15: This promo has now expired. For the latest Citi ThankYou deals, see the following links:

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Citi ThankYou Premier Card: 50,000 Bonus Points Worth $665 in Airfare

Free 1000 AA Miles for Citi AAdvantage Cardmembers

ccwatcher — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:06:28 +0000

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the AAdvantage program, AA has lined up a deal a day for 30 days. Its deal of the day for tomorrow, May 10, 2011, is 1,000 bonus AAdvantage bonus miles simply for having a Citi AAdvantage credit card.

In order to be eligible for the promotion, you must have an open Citi Aadvantage credit card or CitiBusiness AAdvantage credit card on or before May 8, 2011. To register and reserve your bonus miles, visit www.aa.com/AAdvantage30 on May 10, 2011, starting at 12:01am CST. Note that this promo is valid for one day only, so don’t miss it!

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Free 1000 AA Miles for Citi AAdvantage Cardmembers

Get a 25% Discount on Any Flight Using Your ThankYou Premier Card

ccwatcher — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:33:42 +0000

According to this thread on FW, if you have a ThankYou Premier credit card or a card that is due to be converted to one (such as a Citi PremierPass Elite or Citi Amex Platinum card), you can get a 25% discount off the Thank You points needed to book a flight. Better yet, this discount applies as long as you apply points towards at least a portion of the ticket, essentially allowing you to always get 25% off the best available airfare.

For example, for a ticket that normally costs $400 (or 30,000 ThankYou points), you could instead redeem 1,000 points plus $290ish in cash to get your reward ticket. Needless to say, this option considerably improves the value proposition of the ThankYou Premier card.

Is this a temporary glitch in the system or is this the way things were designed? According to the marketing materials, one of the key benefits of the Premier card is a “15% discount on all air travel when booked through our travel benefits provider, Spirit Incentives.” It should be noted, however, that ThankYou travel redemptions are provided by a different agency, Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions.

At any rate, that is the way the system currently works, provided you have a Premier card, so take advantage while you can.

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Get a 25% Discount on Any Flight Using Your ThankYou Premier Card

Citi Credit Cardmembers: Get a Free $25 Credit at ideeli

ccwatcher — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:46:48 +0000

ideeli is a members-only shopping site featuring limited-time sales of designer apparel, accessories, home, beauty, travel and kids products. Until March 2, 2011 or supplies run out, Citi is offering a free $25 credit at the site. It’s a chance to get something for free (as they stock some items at or under $25), or to purchase something more expensive at a nice discount.

~~Link~~ (via SD)

Edit: It looks like this offer got used up fast, as the link has now expired.

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Citi Credit Cardmembers: Get a Free $25 Credit at ideeli

Citi ThankYou Premier Card: $200 Bonus in Gift Cards

ccwatcher — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:06:55 +0000

Citibank is introducing the Citi ThankYou Premier Card with a large signup bonus upfront: 20,000 ThankYou points after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months. That’s enough points to redeem for $200 in gift cards or other rewards.

In addition, some of the card’s other benefits include:

No foreign exchange fees
Earn points for the miles you fly when you purchase a ticket with your Citi ThankYou Premier Card.
Earn an anniversary bonus based on the number of points earned from purchases every year. The longer you remain a cardholder, the larger your bonus percentage will be.
Receive a complimentary domestic companion ticket each year

The Premier Card does carry a $125 annual fee which is waived for the first year.

For more details, see the Citi ThankYou Premier Card application.

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Citi ThankYou Premier Card: $200 Bonus in Gift Cards

Citi Platinum Select MasterCard: 0% APR on Balance Transfers for 24 Months

ccwatcher — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:54:06 +0000

The Citi Platinum Select MasterCard is now offering an intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 24 months and 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. The initial balance transfer can be performed anytime within 4 months of account opening. There is a 3% balance transfer fee with a minimum of $5. There is no annual fee.

Link: Citi Platinum Select card application

Update: Please note that the previous promo has ended. Please click here to view the current promo for the Citi Platinum Select card.

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Citi Platinum Select MasterCard: 0% APR on Balance Transfers for 24 Months

Citi Platinum Select, Diamond Preferred: 0% on Balance Transfers for 21 Months

ccwatcher — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:22:04 +0000

Citi is currently offering 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months and 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months on both the Citi Platinum Select and Citi Diamond Preferred Card. There is a 3% balance transfer fee with a $5 minimum and no cap.

See the following links for more information:

Update: Please note that the previous promo has ended. Please click here to view the current promo for the Citi Platinum Select card or here for the current promo for the Citi Diamond Preferred Card.

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Citi Platinum Select, Diamond Preferred: 0% on Balance Transfers for 21 Months

Citi Price Rewind

ccwatcher — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:21:36 +0000

Ever have a pang of regret when you notice that shiny new toy you just bought dropped in price right after you purchased it? Back in the days when Amex’s Best Value Guarantee program still lived, that wasn’t such a worry. All you needed to do was call them up, provide evidence of the price drop and get refunded the difference.

The good news is that such programs still do exist. Many credit cards will reimburse you the difference if you find the same item at a lower price, either at the same retailer or elsewhere. For instance, under Citi’s current price protection program, if you find a printed advertisement within 60 days of your purchase for the exact same item, they will refund you the price difference, up to $250 per item (and up to a maximum of $1,000 per cardmember per year) if you placed the entire purchase on your Citi credit card. The major problem is that, unlike the original BVG, internet purchases or advertisements have been excluded from such price matching, significantly diminishing their usefulness.

Enter Citi Price Rewind.

While the specifics are not being completely publicized yet, the initial details (as recalled by a FT poster) seem potentially promising:

Here’s what I remember from my reading:

1. Two methods to submit claims. A) You can “register” your purchase and their engine will search for lower prices -or- B) you can find a lower price on your own. (The automated search is clearly the innovation intended to lull you into using your Citi card rather than doing your own price comparisons.)

2. Internet purchases and ads are not excluded, but the ad must show the exact same model number and the seller must be a business (with a Tax ID number?) located in the USA. Ads can be published online, in newspapers or magazines, but “flyers” are excluded. Ads must have been published within 30 days after purchase. Typical long list of excluded categories including all services, real property, cars etc.

3. If you find a lower price you must submit: merchant receipt, credit card statement and advertisement with lower price within 90 days.

4. Minimum price difference $25. Maximum claim $250. Annual cap $1,000 per person (even if you have multiple cards enrolled in program.)

Full details will be available at www.citipricerewind.com when it launches next week.

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Citi Price Rewind

Citi Credit Card Offers Roundup

ccwatcher — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:19:50 +0000

Credit card companies are aggressively pursuing new customers once again, mailing out 29% more offers as compared to the first quarter a year ago. Are those offers on the whole as rewarding as we’ve seen in the past? Sadly, the answer is no. Still, many of them do represent an improvement over what we’ve been used to for the past year. In this post, I’ve compiled a list of recent Citi offers:

Up to 35,000 miles with AA credit card signup
Citi Dividend Platinum Select: 5% cash back on restaurants, hotels, and car rentals between July and September 2010. It sounds as though Citi may be joining Chase Freedom in copying Discover’s model of having rotating bonus categories. To earn the 5% cash back bonus, you’ll need to log into your account online and sign up for the promo.
Citi Platinum Select now offers a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers and a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases. There is a 5% uncapped balance transfer fee.
The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card now offers a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. Additionally, this card now has the added benefit of a $50 gift card bonus. Customers can redeem 6,000 bonus points after $300 in purchases within 3 months of account opening for their $50 gift card. For the first year, you’ll also earn 5 ThankYou points for every $1 spent at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and 1 ThankYou point afterwards.
Citi has also been more active in offering long-term balance transfers to existing customers. Like the deals for new accounts, they have been coming with uncapped balance transfer fees of 3%.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Citi Credit Card Offers Roundup

Citi Platinum Select MasterCard: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 21 Months

ccwatcher — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:51:17 +0000

Citi has just introduced a brand new promotion for its Citi Platinum Select Mastercard, offering an 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers and 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases. Both the rate and length of your introductory offer will be based on your creditworthiness. If you’re looking to take advantage of the balance transfer offer, there is a 3% uncapped balance transfer fee with a $5 min. The card has no annual fee.

To view more info or to apply, see this link.

Update 3/2011: Please note that the previous Citi Platinum Select promo has ended. Please click here to see the current promo.

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Citi Platinum Select MasterCard: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 21 Months

Citi AA Cards: Up to 35,000 Bonus AA Miles upon Signup

ccwatcher — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:42:44 +0000

Citi is currently offering up to 35,000 bonus miles on its American Airlines co-branded credit cards, including the Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage Visa Signature card, Citi Select / AAdvantage American Express and CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Visa card. Under this promo, you’ll be awarded 30,000 AA miles after spending $750 within 4 months of signing up and another 5,000 bonus miles if you make at least $5,000 in purchases during your first year.

In addition, if you sign up using this link, the annual fee will be waived for the first year.

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Citi AA Cards: Up to 35,000 Bonus AA Miles upon Signup

Citi Introduces Annual Fees on Inactive Accounts

ccwatcher — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:23:36 +0000

While Citi warned us last year that it planned to tack on an annual fee to accounts that didn’t meet a specified spending threshold, that news became a reality this week as notices of this policy change poured into cardholder mailboxes. Effective April 1, 2010, an annual fee of $60 is being added to many Citi credit card holders’ accounts. That fee will be credited back to the account holder if spending reaches $2400 in the calendar year. Alternatively, the cardholder can opt out of this change and cancel their account.

The changes come as the enactment of the next phase of the Credit Card ACT on February 22 draws nearer, and banks look to find ways to offset the accompanying loss of revenue.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Citi Introduces Annual Fees on Inactive Accounts

Citi Starts Closing Gas Credit Card Accounts Without Warning

ccwatcher — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:56:29 +0000

These days, when a credit card issuer decides that it no longer wants your business and decides to close your account, it’s not that unusual. When the issuer chooses to close your account without any warning, that (fortunately) is unusual and frankly, a poor business practice. Yet according to this AP story, that is precisely what Citi did to a number of card holders of its oil partner co-branded MasterCard accounts, including Shell, Citgo, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66-Conoco cards.

Citi allegedly closed many of these oil company affiliated credit cards last Wednesday, but did not send out notice to its affected cardholders that their accounts had been closed until the following Monday. Citi did not supply a reason for the account closures, though they do appear to still be accepting new applications for these cards.

If nothing else, the story once again underscores the importance of not relying on a single bank for your credit, given how quickly and unexpectedly it can be taken away.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Citi Starts Closing Gas Credit Card Accounts Without Warning

Citi Diamond Preferred, PremierPass Cards: 0% on Balance Transfers for 12 Months, No Fee

ccwatcher — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:28:14 +0000

Citi has a few no balance transfer fee promos still out there. The Citi Diamond Preferred Card has an offer for 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months with no balance transfer fee on the initial BT. The Citi PremierPass card also offers 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months with no balance transfer fee on the initial BT, plus 0% on purchases for 12 months.

Here is the link.

Enter offer code 851 for the Diamond Preferred card or enter offer code 853 for the Premier Pass card. (Via FW)

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Citi Diamond Preferred, PremierPass Cards: 0% on Balance Transfers for 12 Months, No Fee

Citi’s Thank You Network Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Promos

ccwatcher — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:56:42 +0000

Citi is celebrating the 5th anniversary of its Thank You rewards network with a number of limited time promotions, including opportunities to earn 5x points. Between July 27 and September 30, 2009, Citi is offering the following promos:

5x ThankYou Points – earn 5 points per $1 spent at select merchants when shopping through the Bonus Center. Participating merchants include shutterfly, drugstore.com and Sports Authority, among others.
Rewards Deal of the Week – redeem points for selected rewards at a 40% to 50% discount
2x points for travel – Earn twice as many ThankYou points when booking a hotel or package on Expedia between July 26 and August 31, 2009 with travel completed by October 31, 2009. Use promo code TY2XHB to redeem.

For more information, see www.thankyou.com.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you'll always find the best credit card deals.

Citi’s Thank You Network Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Promos