Citi 48-Month Churning Rule Explained in Detail

Update 4/11/23: Citi has made some changes to the rules, Citi family cards now have a 48 month clock similar to the American Airlines cards. This  greatly simplifies many of the things we  previously discussed in this post.  I’ve updated the post now below and removed the no-longer-relevant parts.

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Citi has a rule that once you get the signup bonus on a credit card, you can’t get it again within 48 months. We often get questions in the comments section from people trying to understand the nuances of this rule so I thought I’d explain it here as clearly as possible on each card separately.

The Rule

On all ThankYou cards (Premier, Preferred, Prestige, Rewards+), American Airlines cards, and Custom Cash you’ll see something like this:

American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months.

  • You can only get a bonus if you have not received a bonus on this card in the past 48 months.
  • Each TY/AA/CC card runs on its own. They don’t lump the family of cards together. E.g. if you got a bonus on the Rewards+ recently, you can still get the Premier bonus.
  • There’s no account closure clause. Only getting a new account bonus resets the clock; closing the card does not reset the clock.

Q&A

Card Doubles

1) If I got a card bonus in July 2017, can I apply for the same card in August 2021 while the first card is still open and get the bonus?

Yes, since you haven’t received a bonus a card within 48 months you are eligible for the bonus.  As long as you get approved for the card, you should get the bonus when meeting the requirements.

Note, there’s no guarantee Citi will approve someone for a second card of the same version as the one they currently have. Many people have had success holding multiples of the same card, especially with AA cards, but this might change and it might not be true for all Citi cards. The Citi Custom Cash explicitly states that they do not approve a customer for more than one Custom Cash card.

Card doubles (business)

2) Is that true for Citi business cards as well – can I have two of the same card, concurrently?

No, the terms indicate that a single business can’t hold two of the same card, and Flyertalk confirms the same. You’ll have to close the card, wait 48 months from close, then apply again to get a second bonus.

Again, for American Airlines cards there is no account closure clause so you can open a new one right away, provided it’s been 48 months from when you received the prior bonus.

(Note, Citi seems to combine all businesses of the same person/loyalty account into one. If you open under one business, you’ll need to wait 48 months from bonus posting to open for another business.)

Workaround

3) Is there any way around the 48 month rule?

You might occasionally bump into a targeted offer or pre-qualified offer which doesn’t have the 48 month verbiage. If you do, go for it!

Didn’t receive bonus

4) What happens if you open or close a card but never got the signup bonus (e.g. didn’t meet the minimum spend requirement)?

Based on the current terms of most Citi cards, it seems that only receiving a bonus impedes you from getting a future bonus. If you opened a card and did not receive a bonus you should still be eligible. (More discussion in this post.)

Business cards

5) Does the 48 month rule apply to Citi business cards?

Yes, those cards show  the 48 month rule as well.

Calculating the date

7) How do we calculate the exact date of a new card?

All Citi cards now seem to run based on the date the bonus was received, not the date of card approval.

Final Word

See Strategies For Dealing With Citi’s New Application Rule for more info, and see 17 Things to Know about Citi Credit Cards for general info on applying for Citi cards.

Aside from Citi’s rule for giving signup bonuses, they also have rules as to how many cards you can signup for total (8/65 rule), irrespective on the bonus. We discuss that rule in detail in a separate post.

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Cole Gleason
Cole Gleason (@guest_570142)
March 14, 2018 18:06

Is this post missing some sections? The Card Doubles heading does not seem to match the content.

William Charles
Admin
March 14, 2018 19:02

Some people seem to be missing categories when they have adblock installed, no idea why as it’s not intentional but removing it for this site should fix the issue.

JD
JD (@guest_1816326)
March 19, 2024 05:50

Can you have 2 Citi Premier cards at one time? It’s been >48 months since my last bonus and wondering if I can get another one for the sign up bonus without closing my first one.

BradE
BradE (@guest_1750773)
December 4, 2023 11:37

Am I eligible after 48 months and 1 day, or do I have to wait until the next calendar month after 48 months to apply? For example if I last received a bonus on the statement closing 12/20/19, can I apply 12/21/23 or do I have to wait until 1/1/24 to ensure 58 months has passed?

Oliver
Oliver (@guest_1712509)
October 10, 2023 08:56

Looks like this is left over from when had the account closing rules. A new bonus is available 48 months after earning the original bonus. It no longer matters when you close the original card.

2) Is that true for Citi business cards as well – can I have two of the same card, concurrently?

No, the terms indicate that a single business can’t hold two of the same card, and Flyertalk confirms the same. You’ll have to close the card, wait 48 months from close, then apply again to get a second bonus.

Neville
Neville (@guest_1660432)
July 26, 2023 15:14

I have just ‘confirmed” (as in, called in and got the same answer twice from two different departments) that this:

“American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months.”

means that the clock STARTS when the earlier bonus was RECEIVED (as seems clear from the Citi statement) and that the comparison date at the END of the 48-month window is the APPROVAL date for a new card (not the issuance date of a new bonus).

Their language, straight off their scripts, is “you will not be eligible for a new account bonus offer …” . The words “eligible” and “offer” seem to be the key ones from Citi’s perspective. You become “eligible” for the “offer” on the date of the new card approval. If you are still within the window, they will simply not make the offer to you. (they don’t tell you you aren’t getting the offer, though – you have to find that out the hard way)

I specifically asked whether, if my window is at 47 months right now, and I apply and receive approval right now, but take 3 months to hit the bonus spend requirements (so, that would be 50 months), I would receive the SUB. The answer was “No.” No bonus for you! (err, me)

I happen to know that my prior-card SUB dates were 8/22/2019 (personal) and 8/25/2019 (business). So, I will wait and apply for personal on 9/1 , wait the required 8 days, and then apply for the biz card.

It is frustrating because I really need to use the cards now. I have a lot of spending to do … now. But I will have to wait until mid-late Sept to get my cards in hand and start the bonus spend. In the meantime I will put the absolutely-required spends on my Chase UR card (always good to have UR points banked up) or a different AAdvantage card (to gain status points for next year).

I *definitely* need to do the spreadsheet! 🙂

allen
allen (@guest_1632942)
June 12, 2023 00:24

1. how can i get the account opening date or the date i received SUB? I called citi and was told they did not have the info since the closed account was too old
2. if i am under the 48 month rule, will Citi still possibly approve my application but does not give me SUB? or it will simply decline my application (i hope that is the case)
thanks.

VL
VL (@guest_1633477)
June 12, 2023 23:17

There is no way to find out when you got the bonus if it was more than few years ago and you do not keep track of your bonuses. Citi will not tell you. Your best bet would be to look for the emails from some trips.. may be when you used the bonus, booked the tickets with miles, etc..

Unfortunately, Citi will approve you and then do not grant the bonus. I am a DP. I applied (intentionally) for AA Biz card under different business trying to see if the bonus is a per business (like in case of Barclay), or per loyalty account (like in case of Chase).. turned out – per loyalty account. So,
they do know if you had it :)) but will not tell you.

Allen
Allen (@guest_1633485)
June 12, 2023 23:31
  VL

Wait. You said per loyalty account. So if you use a new AA account, i will not be limited to the 48-month rule?

VL
VL (@guest_1633537)
June 13, 2023 03:19

I do not think you are permitted 2 loyalty accounts within the same program for the same person, if that is discovered they (AA) may close your accounts. If 2 different biz owners on2 separate occasions, then clearly you can earn the bonus both times.

My DP – 2 different biz, 2 different EINs, same loyalty account (aka same person behind it all) – no bonus within 48 months.

Neville
Neville (@guest_1660404)
July 26, 2023 14:12
  VL

I was able to get my 4-year-old information on AAdvantage bonus payment by calling American. I only call Citi when I want to waste time and not get any real help 🙂

Sam Auyeung
Sam Auyeung (@guest_1778339)
January 15, 2024 16:40
  VL

Look up your AA account statements to see when the bonus posted to your AA frequent flyer account or look at a credit report to see when the account was open and add maybe 4 months from that date- usually 90 days to meet minimum spend requirement and another month for the bonus to post.

Matt
Matt (@guest_1613289)
May 6, 2023 11:02

It it definitely just that multiple business cards don’t work? Personal doesn’t affect the business clock and vice versa? The comments seem to reflect that, but the post only indicates that two businesses with different EINs fail.

Simon
Simon (@guest_1609126)
May 1, 2023 00:16

My last AA card bonus was 50K for first 3000 and another 10K for total 6000, and the 10K arrived several months later than the first 50K – in this case, the 48-month rule started when the 10K was received?

howard
howard (@guest_1604378)
April 23, 2023 09:51

with the new language: “Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier account in the past 48 months”, opening, closing or upgrading to a Citi Premier will no longer have impact on bonus eligibility right? only receiving a Citi Premier bonus within the past 48 months will count.

mark
mark (@guest_1598461)
April 15, 2023 12:06

citi is a bogus bank, always denied denied for me.

frogger
frogger (@guest_1596506)
April 12, 2023 22:28

I remember the days when you could get a Citi AA card every 60 days. Now Citi has become worthless.