topic Re: Citi DC rewards question in Credit Cards

Citi DC rewards question

Bankrupt2019 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:38:11 GMT

I've put about $6k through my DC card this month.....there's no cashback showing in the tracker? Am I doing something wrong? Or does it maybe not show up until after the statement cuts?

sorry if this is a dumb question.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

sdsoccerdad — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:32:12 GMT

It will show up after statement cuts as 1%. If you pay it off before the statement cuts, you'll see the 2% in total cashback

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Bankrupt2019 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:37:13 GMT

Great thanks! I've already paid it all off. So I should get the 2% at statement time, perfect. I wish it tracked in real time haha.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

wasCB14 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:41:13 GMT

The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

sdsoccerdad — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 06:19:45 GMT

There is also an option to convert to thank you points if you already have a card that earns that.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 16:07:01 GMT

@sdsoccerdad wrote:
There is also an option to convert to thank you points if you already have a card that earns that.

There is no requirement of another TYP earning card to convert CB to TYP. Although without a premier or prestige, TYP from DC is not very useful or valuable.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

sdsoccerdad — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 16:52:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@sdsoccerdad wrote:
There is also an option to convert to thank you points if you already have a card that earns that.
There is no requirement of another TYP earning card to convert CB to TYP. Although without a premier or prestige, TYP from DC is not very useful or valuable.

I didn't realize that. Thanks for the info!

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 18:45:47 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.

Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that. I haven't used the card for last 6 months though.

Usually right after I crossed $25 cash back reported, I'd submit a $25.00 credit, leaving the rest to grow for the next $25.00.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

pinkandgrey — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 18:47:29 GMT

It's added when the statement cuts. If you haven't paid off the purchases, they will show 1% cash back. Whatever you HAVE paid will show 2% cash back.

I love this card; it's my daily driver!

Re: Citi DC rewards question

wasCB14 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 19:08:37 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.
Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that. I haven't used the card for last 6 months though.

Usually right after I crossed $25 cash back reported, I'd submit a $25.00 credit, leaving the rest to grow for the next $25.00.

My understanding is that if you take a statement credit, then you don't get the second 1% for the amount of the credit because a statement credit isn't considered a "payment". So it works out to more like 1.98%.

I could be mistaken. I have a 2.625% Visa and a 2.5%+ Amex. I don't use Plastiq and I don't really care for TYs. You can imagine how rarely I use my DC. I'd have closed it a while ago if I wasn't logging in to Citi anyway for my Costco card.

Something could have changed on the card without my knowledge.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 19:47:30 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.
Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that. I haven't used the card for last 6 months though.

Usually right after I crossed $25 cash back reported, I'd submit a $25.00 credit, leaving the rest to grow for the next $25.00.
My understanding is that if you take a statement credit, then you don't get the second 1% for the amount of the credit because a statement credit isn't considered a "payment". So it works out to more like 1.98%.

I could be mistaken. I have a 2.625% Visa and a 2.5%+ Amex. I don't use Plastiq and I don't really care for TYs. You can imagine how rarely I use my DC. I'd have closed it a while ago if I wasn't logging in to Citi anyway for my Costco card.

Something could have changed on the card without my knowledge.

It's still the case. It's not really going to be easily visible to people, you apply a $25 credit and your balance goes down by $25 so "things are working". It's just that the 1% payment credit is a little less than if you paid without the statement credit

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Aim_High — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 21:50:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.
Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that.
My understanding is that if you take a statement credit, then you don't get the second 1% for the amount of the credit because a statement credit isn't considered a "payment". So it works out to more like 1.98%.
It's still the case. It's not really going to be easily visible to people, you apply a $25 credit and your balance goes down by $25 so "things are working". It's just that the 1% payment credit is a little less than if you paid without the statement credit

Exactly. It's smoke and mirrors that isn't obvious to a lot of people. It's a small loss, but it's one of many reasons why I thought the Double Cash was inferior to some other 2% cards, including the PenFed Power Cash card, as least for me. IMO, Citi really stacked the rewards deck in their favor in many ways (and in sneaky manners that most people don't think about.) Since you lose the "1% when you Pay," the 1.98% (when redeemed for statement credit as opposed to 2.00% when redeemed for bank deposit) is correct. The other major redemption shortfalls compared to some other 2% cards includes the $25 minimum redemption, the delays in rewards credit when charges or payments post (up to 30 days for each) as opposed to as soon as charges clear pending, and the punitive 12-month rewards expiration if you let the account go idle. (For example, PenFed Power Cash rewards a full 2% with no games when charges clear pending, can be redeemed for as low as a penny, can always be redeemed for full value either as statement or bank credit, and never expire as long as your account is open. Plus DC has higher fees and interest rates.)

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Bankrupt2019 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 21:01:15 GMT

I'm only fortunate enough to have this card because my brother has great credit, but now I'm starting to think I should find a better rewards card for him to get me 😂😂. However; it's good to know about depositing to bank instead of using as statement credit. Although it seems very strange, I would've thought the "penalty" would go the other way.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 21:14:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It's still the case. It's not really going to be easily visible to people, you apply a $25 credit and your balance goes down by $25 so "things are working". It's just that the 1% payment credit is a little less than if you paid without the statement credit

Oh! I see now, got it. That is sort of sneaky that the statement credit isn't considered a payment!

So either send the cash to a bank or have them send a check and then photograph it/deposit it. Hassle! I'll probably flip usage to my Fidelity Visa as it's much less of a hassle, especially after Citi nerf'd benefits.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 01:40:26 GMT

Is this a brand new card? If it is, one of the quirks is you won't be able to do a direct deposit into an account until you make 2 payments (or maybe even 2 consecutive payments from the same account) and then something crazy like waiting 15 or 45 days after the second payment.

I found out the hard way by closing 2 payment accounts and opening a new checking account. I couldn't redeem until 2 payments posted and whatever number of days.

I got a check mailed to me in the interim.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

SouthJamaica — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 03:30:38 GMT

@Bankrupt2019 wrote:
I've put about $6k through my DC card this month.....there's no cashback showing in the tracker? Am I doing something wrong? Or does it maybe not show up until after the statement cuts?

sorry if this is a dumb question.

That's what I don't like about the DC. They delay everything.

Whatever you've earned, you don't get it until the next statement.

E.g., your rewards for the purchases won't show up until the next statement.

If you wait until the statement cuts and then pay the balance in full, you won't get the second half of your rewards

until the statement after that.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

SouthJamaica — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 03:31:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.
Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that. I haven't used the card for last 6 months though.

Usually right after I crossed $25 cash back reported, I'd submit a $25.00 credit, leaving the rest to grow for the next $25.00.

When you take it as a statement credit, you're not getting credit for the payment.

Re: Citi DC rewards question

SouthJamaica — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 03:33:07 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
The thing to watch out for is that if you want the full 2%, you need to redeem your rewards for a check or bank deposit. Taking a statement credit will give you slightly less than 2%.
Did this change since last year? My $25 credits never cost more than that. I haven't used the card for last 6 months though.

Usually right after I crossed $25 cash back reported, I'd submit a $25.00 credit, leaving the rest to grow for the next $25.00.
My understanding is that if you take a statement credit, then you don't get the second 1% for the amount of the credit because a statement credit isn't considered a "payment". So it works out to more like 1.98%.

I could be mistaken. I have a 2.625% Visa and a 2.5%+ Amex. I don't use Plastiq and I don't really care for TYs. You can imagine how rarely I use my DC. I'd have closed it a while ago if I wasn't logging in to Citi anyway for my Costco card.

Something could have changed on the card without my knowledge.

You're not mistaken; you're absolutely correct. Redeeming for a statement credit costs you a little bit because you're losing the payment points.