Question
It's that time of the year! I just got slapped with the $85 membership fee again. Last year I called and threatened to cancel and they offered me 3000 miles to stay, which I accepted.
This time I did the same thing and they offered a $25 credit on my MC. It's a certificate that they will send me to sign and then I have to return it to them.
I haven't tried calling their bluff and trying to proceed with the cancelling of the card after their offer - does anyone know if they can or will pony up more?
Last year I spent about $30k on the card and I'm on track to do the same this year and will spend more next year.
Answer
What if you re-applied for the card and took the 12.5K sign-up bonus and six month fee waiver? Does anyone know if their is a waiting period before you can do this?
Answer
What if you re-applied for the card and took the 12.5K sign-up bonus and six month fee waiver? Does anyone know if their is a waiting period before you can do this?
If you apply within 6 months of closing your account, they will re-open the prior account and you are NOT eligible for the bonus miles - this is disclosed in the terms and conditions of the application
Answer
If you apply within 6 months of closing your account, they will re-open the prior account and you are NOT eligible for the bonus miles - this is disclosed in the terms and conditions of the application
Tried this. They were unwilling to wave fee, but did offer to "downgrade" card for NO FEE, but also no miles.
Answer
I did the math and came up with a big "no". So, I got rid of the Citi AA Platinum and went with AMEX Blue Cash and the free Citi Platinum Dividend cards. Why?
Figure my annual spend on my non-work cards was between $30k to $40k. I used $0.01/mi as the value of miles - so the miles I'd get on an annual basis would be worth between $300 to $400/year. Subtract the $85 annual membership fee, and I'm winding up with a card that pays me between $215 to $315 a year in miles.
Now with the cash rebate cards, I'm up to $550 so far (year ends in Dec) with Amex, and $100 so far (payable anytime) with the Citi - both with no annual fees.
Now - here's the small print. Citi will limit your cash back to $300 in any year. You get 1% for normal purchases and 5% for groceries, drugs, gas, etc. AMEX has a more complex tier structure that goes up the more you spend - but doesn't have a cap (that I've found). However, the numbers are 1% and 3% (I don't carry a balance). Bottom line: if you work the system just right, you'll maximize your money back *much* more than with the airline mileage cards. ^
Answer
This isn't for everyone (i.e. those that don't live in an area with Citi branches/ATMS), but citibank has a premium banking/brokerage product called CitiGold that has all sorts of benefits. One of those benefits is no annual fees on any Citibank credit or debit cards. This means you could get the fees waived automatically on the Citi/AA Platinum Select Word MasterCard and/or the Citi/AA Premium Debit Card with no annual fees (normally $85 and $65 respectively). I believe you can also get a Diner's club card with no annual fee. There are also many high level benefits like dedicated lines at some branches, dedicated account executive, waived fees for almost every basic banking transaction you could think of, etc.
CitiGold accounts require 100K in assets with Citibank (or a 250K first mortgage), but that can be in a Citigroup Investment Services brokerage account (i.e. you just transfer some retirement mutual fund assets there to qualify).