Citi Forward ThankYou Points

[dhon55]

Hi all,

I received my Citi Student Forward card in late February, and my first statement with my balance posted finally closed yesterday.

My balance was $61, and it now says I have 61 ThankYou rewards points.  These purchases were a combination of at Amazon.com ("bookstore"), and at restaurants, so ALL of them should've been worth 5x, but instead, it is just 1x.

In addition, I signed up for paperless statements immediately after applying, which I believe gives you 1,200 points.  And paying on time each month gives you 100 points /month.

However, even after all of this, I'm only at 61.  Will this correct itself by the next statement or should I call?

Thanks!

[bs6054]

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@dhon55 wrote:

Hi all,

I received my Citi Student Forward card in late February, and my first statement with my balance posted finally closed yesterday.

My balance was $61, and it now says I have 61 ThankYou rewards points.  These purchases were a combination of at Amazon.com ("bookstore"), and at restaurants, so ALL of them should've been worth 5x, but instead, it is just 1x.

In addition, I signed up for paperless statements immediately after applying, which I believe gives you 1,200 points.  And paying on time each month gives you 100 points /month.

However, even after all of this, I'm only at 61.  Will this correct itself by the next statement or should I call?

Thanks!

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Some people have reported slow posting of bonus points (there is a thread on FlyerTalk about this)  But, and this is important!  Others here have reported that it turns out that their account turned out not to have the 5x indicator, and they had to phone and argue with Citi.   So I would phone and confirm that your account has been set up correctly.

[annebythesea]

I had the same problem when I first got my Forward card a couple years back and I ended up calling and they fixed it. For some reason, the 5x wasn't checked or something. So I'd call and ask.

[nagisa]

I've always got my 5x points immediately after the statement cuts. You should call and check on that if i were you.

Speaking of which I just got a bonus letter saying they're going to give me 5x points (up to $625) on Clothing/Home Improvement/Home Fursnishing/Dept stores until the end of June.

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Earn 5 ThankYou Points per $1 spent on retail purchases at clothing, home improvement, home furnishing and department stores, up to 2,500 additional points, through 06/30/13!*

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[dhon55]

Thanks for the info, everyone!  I'll call tomorrow to find out.  I'm surprised the paperless statements bonus hasn't posted at all either, it seems like that would be automatic.

[dhon55]

I just wanted to follow up on this post.  I contacted Citi's customer service via their online message system about the issue, and got this message in response:

We are aware of an issue with the promotional offers on the Citi Forward Card and are currently working on a fix to be implemented shortly. Please allow 1-2 billing cycles for the promotion to be adjusted and the correct amount of points added to your account. If you do not see an adjustment after this time, please contact us.

Does this sound acceptable?  I suppose I could wait, but I'd like to know if the past purchases and any future purchases I make will be rewarded as advertised.  Otherwise, I'd just use my Discover or Chase for purchases.

[bs6054]

I would call and get someone (and get the name!) to confirm that your account is set up to receive 5x points, as the message you give doesn't quite state that!

Then you can decide if you want to believe it before you see the points post.

If your other cards offer similar 5%, (and you are not saving points for travel on the  Premier/Prestige cards), it might be safer to use those cards until points post in your statement.

[b_seeker]

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@dhon55 wrote:

Thanks for the info, everyone!  I'll call tomorrow to find out.  I'm surprised the paperless statements bonus hasn't posted at all either, it seems like that would be automatic.

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I don't know about Citi, but some lenders take awhile to give you the bonus points from promotions.

[tlee562]

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@dhon55 wrote:

I just wanted to follow up on this post.  I contacted Citi's customer service via their online message system about the issue, and got this message in response:

We are aware of an issue with the promotional offers on the Citi Forward Card and are currently working on a fix to be implemented shortly. Please allow 1-2 billing cycles for the promotion to be adjusted and the correct amount of points added to your account. If you do not see an adjustment after this time, please contact us.

Does this sound acceptable?  I suppose I could wait, but I'd like to know if the past purchases and any future purchases I make will be rewarded as advertised.  Otherwise, I'd just use my Discover or Chase for purchases.

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I got the exact same secured message. Still not getting 5x typ one month later.

Tried calling CSR, who then told me the Forward does not get 5x points. I then pointed them to the their own website advertising the 5x promotion. They gave me some nonsense explanation saying "well you know, promotions change all the time!" and told me to mail in a paper copy of the advertisement to some PO box in South Dakota to prove my case.