Apply for Citi AAdvantage Platinum from France

[villemiami]

I am American, but right now, I'm in France for 6 months. I still have my house in the USA.

I'd like to apply for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and then use it online right after approval. I read that right after approval, I would get a temporary card number that I could use online. With this, I would make a purchase over $2500 so I can get the 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles. My neighbor would put my mail inside my home so when I receive the physical credit card, it would be inside my home. But I would be unable to use it until I come back to USA in 6 months. Do people have to activate their physical credit card? If yes, if it's not activated within 6 months, what would happen? Is there a risk that I would not get my 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles?
I trust my neighbor, but I don't like to ask him to mail my new credit card to France.

[coldfusion]

You should in theory be able to get your card number and temporary CVV via mobile app after approval until you get the physical card. 

As this is a new account, using the mobile app while in France whether using cellular or wifi to access the Internet in conjunction with an immediate large purchase may trigger a red flag as Citibank takes a fairly aggressive positioning with their anti-fraud unit.

In addition you risk a Catch-22 since you won't be able to use that temporary CVV indefinitely and using the card once without activating it for 6 months after it was sent can make you appear like a bonus-chaser, which wouldn't endear you to Citibank either.

Noted that my suggestion really isn't something you want to do, but if you trust your neighbor that much it might be a good idea to have them send you the unopened letter in a FedEx envelope via FedEx international Economy.

[pizzadude]

Good advice above, also I'll add that while applying you might have to jump through some hoops with security / verification as it's possible that applying for a credit card from an international IP address might flag you for additional scrunity.  

I think you'll be fine without activating the card for 6+ months, at least I don't think this will trigger them to shut down your account but you might continue to get emails / notifications about it. 

[YogurtFan]

For another card that came while I was traveling, my brother got the envelope, opened it and photographed the front and back of the card.  I activated it online and added it to my Google Pay.  Slight snafu.  I had to call the bank and speak to a human to finish the Google Pay activation.  They asked me for the expiration date/CSC and that was it.

[arifjk]

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@villemiami wrote:

I am American, but right now, I'm in France for 6 months. I still have my house in the USA.

I'd like to apply for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and then use it online right after approval. I read that right after approval, I would get a temporary card number that I could use online. With this, I would make a purchase over $2500 so I can get the 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles. My neighbor would put my mail inside my home so when I receive the physical credit card, it would be inside my home. But I would be unable to use it until I come back to USA in 6 months. Do people have to activate their physical credit card? If yes, if it's not activated within 6 months, what would happen? Is there a risk that I would not get my 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles?
I trust my neighbor, but I don't like to ask him to mail my new credit card to France.

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Theoritically, it may workout. If you have Citibank bank accounts and its app, after the approval, the credit card account will show up automatically in the app. Then you just need to activate it via the app by entering the CVV code. That's what happened to me. However, all of this was happening still in the US. I applied the card in Chicago though I reside in CA. I am able to use the card for up to a temporary limit. I activated the card while away from home since my wife opened and took the picture of the card. Then I am able to use the card anywhere, but again, this is still in the USA.

Another thing you can do is to use VPN while you are apping as well as activating the card. Set the server to United States. Choose a reputable VPN and non-blacklisted USA Server from their options. NordVPN is a good VPN. This is just my take and I am not responsible for the outcome of your decision. [Mod: please cut anything from the above paragraph if this violates any TOS, thanks]

[SouthJamaica]

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@villemiami wrote:

I am American, but right now, I'm in France for 6 months. I still have my house in the USA.

I'd like to apply for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and then use it online right after approval. I read that right after approval, I would get a temporary card number that I could use online. With this, I would make a purchase over $2500 so I can get the 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles. My neighbor would put my mail inside my home so when I receive the physical credit card, it would be inside my home. But I would be unable to use it until I come back to USA in 6 months. Do people have to activate their physical credit card? If yes, if it's not activated within 6 months, what would happen? Is there a risk that I would not get my 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles?
I trust my neighbor, but I don't like to ask him to mail my new credit card to France.

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If you're not willing to have your neighbor send it to you, I think you should wait until you return to the States.

I assume you have no interest in your neighbor learning your full account number, expiration date, and CVV code.

[villemiami]

You are right. I could ask him to send the envelope without opening it, but I'm not sure which one it would be. I'm not sure it would be written Citi on the envelope.

[nytokyobred79]

I think you've gotten some good advice upthread. I've been in a similar situation as I spend many months out of the US for work. And I've had my family send the card unopened via secure mail. But I completely understand the situation as this is your neighbor. As others have said, if you have the Citi app, you can perhaps just activate the card in your account. I have a citi checking acct but no card. But in the case of Chase, I was able to activate my newest card via the mobile app and didn't have to go through additional security protocols. Perhaps, and hopefully Citi's mobile app activation is similar to Chase's. 

[ptatohed]

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@villemiami wrote:

You are right. I could ask him to send the envelope without opening it, but I'm not sure which one it would be. I'm not sure it would be written Citi on the envelope.

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It will likely be a plain white envelope that you can feel the card through.  

[learningcredit54]

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@ptatohed wrote:

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@villemiami wrote:

You are right. I could ask him to send the envelope without opening it, but I'm not sure which one it would be. I'm not sure it would be written Citi on the envelope.

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It will likely be a plain white envelope that you can feel the card through.  

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You can have your neighbor courier the card to you. as @ptatohed stated - your neighbor will feel the card with ease.