Towards the start of May, Chuck broke the news that Citi was no longer honoring their generous Citi ThankYou Point & American Airline Citigold checking bonuses for people that didn’t receive the targeted offer. There has been two issues with this change in unofficial policy by Citi:
- People that were targeted are being told that they aren’t eligible (making it seem like Citi is just saying everybody isn’t eligible as they weren’t actually tracking the targeted offers as they all used the same promotional code)
- People that confirmed that they were eligible before completing the requirements are being told they are no longer eligible after meeting the requirements and in many cases paying annual fees
Now both offers specifically stated in the fine print the following:
This offer is available to targeted bank cardmembers who receive this communication
I think Citi are well within their rights to not honor this promotion, but I do take issue to them not honoring it in the two cases I listed above. If that applies to you, here is what I’d suggest doing:
- Collect all the relevant information regarding your account and bonus. You’ll want things such as: proof you were targeted (or proof that Citi stated you were eligible. It’s also worth checking your old paper statements to see if the offer showed up there at any stage), date the account was open, date the requirements were met, date the bonus should have been paid (remember this is 90 days after the end of the month you completed the requirements in).
- File a complaint with Citi (by phone, or secured message. I prefer secured message to keep a paper trail), including all of the relevant information listed above.
- Ask to be escalated to a manager if unsuccessful
- Ask to be escalated to the executive department if unsuccessful
- If still unsuccessful, state to the ED that you will be forced to file a complaint with the CFPB if the matter cannot be resolved
- File a complaint with the CFPB
I’ve now had a few readers (via e-mail) follow these steps and they’ve all gotten their points to post. There isn’t really any point in starting the process until it’s been 90 days after the end of the month you met the requirements, as they will just tell you to wait. You could probably also ask to escalate to the executive department sooner, or file a complaint with the CFPB sooner but I prefer to give large institutions a chance to make things right first. As always, stay calm and friendly – the customer service representatives are used to people yelling at them day in day out and they are much more likely to try and help you if you’re being nice.
It’s probably also worth downgrading to the basic account if they don’t resolve the issue in a timely matter. This shouldn’t affect your eligiblity for the bonus as the terms clearly stated:
Bonus miles credited will be based on the consumer account package at the time of qualification
Citi are also tightening the requirements for Citigold in November, so expect these promotions to be a thing of the past.
