Citibank is the midst of overhauling their credit card line up, some cards are having additional benefits added, other cards are having their bonus categories change and some cards are having a purely cosmetic change. We’ve already known about the changes coming to the Citi ThankYou Premier, but the card is also getting a physical upgrade as well.
As you can see, the magnetic stripe is on the front of the card – much like the Citi Prestige card. Personally I’m not a fan of having the magnetic stripe on the front of the card, cashiers always seem to struggle to use it correctly. At least this magnetic stripe seems to be a little bit easier to see than the one on the Citi Prestige (although that will be changed to make it easier to locate soon as well). Below is what the card currently looks like:
Hat tip to Anam on myFICO
View Comments (6)
Magnetic strip in front is a terrible idea. Now instead of 10 seconds to swipe the card & get on my way, it takes 5 minutes because the cashiers all mess it up. I was actually declined twice because they went in the back (restaurant) to swipe & came back to tell me it "didn't work". Once I had to go with the waitress to the machine to show them how to swipe so it goes through. Explaining that the strip is in the front ahead of time does absolutely nothing -- people still swipe it wrong. Defeats the purpose of convenient payment. This is an example of trying too hard to be different and ending up just being annoying.
Just got the card and it came with the old design :) O well.
I see! Thanks for responding. Just opened 3 new cards within the past couple weeks. I better give the credit bureau a rest so I might try in a couple of months and let you know.
Ken, did you try this and did you get the bonus? Is it a different product?
I definitely like the new look and I completely agree about the magnetic strip. It seems that the banks are trying to be more creative. Would you happen to know if it will be considered a "new" product? I recently closed the Premier about 6 months ago and thinking about applying for it again.
I very much doubt it, although it has had some major tweaks other than this new design. I'm sure we'll hear about it if people do start getting the sign up bonus twice, or you can be the guinea pig and let us know. Just make sure you wait for the other changes to go through first.