Thoughts on Citi?

[Anonymous]

I have no info on TY points. However, I recently I got a Citi Double Cash card. Here are my overall thoughts on Citicard;

Citibanks interface is super simple to navigate. They allow soft pll CLIs, all you have to do is keep checking for them. PAYMENTS POST TO YOUR BALANCE IMMEDIATELY. Price rewind is great. I added a few things to experiment with and it really does work! Saved $30 so far. No longer do I have to worry about price matches (as much) when I shop, I just buy the item and enter into Price Rewind and let Citi do the work.

I typically am not a fan of super banks since I work for a community bank, but the Citi DC really is a nice card. 

Other caveats; Citi has *actual* Online Chat! Chase does not, just that archaic message center. And Cap One's chat is intermittant at best (your chances of catching lightening in a bottle might be better than finding Cap Ones chat button). 

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I have no cards in the TYP program; however, I do have 3 cards through Citi. I have never had ANY issue with them. I’ve even had DW start becoming a Citi fan and she holds two of their cards now, and hasn’t had any issue with them.

For Christmas I bought 3 Apple watches from Best Buy, had a question as whether or not I could finance them for 24 months (in store they were only allowing 18, a quick call to Citi and a confirmation from Best Buy that they were ok with it, and boom 24 months at 0%).

The app is easy to navigate and the chat feature is very nice (you don’t even have to have the app open, it will send you notifications when they reply).

I also deal with them on a professional level at work. I speak to CSRs at least once a week resolving issues for customers and it’s just really easy.

As with all lenders, some people feel very strongly for/against any of them.

[Green456]

Called them once, no issues. US based customer service.

[KJinNC]

I have a Citi secured card, so, I have no personal knowledge about the TY or DC cards. Though I plan to get a DC card in the future.

But the reason I am posting is to comment on Citi's customer service, and more importantly, their app.

1 - I needed help from Citi customer service activating my card. They had my DOB wrong, so I was unable to validate my info. I called, and the U.S.-based people I talked with had it straightened out in a few minutes. The one who actually fixed it was on a technical support team and had a gruff voice. I felt like I'd accidentally called a mechanic in Queens. But he got it sorted out fast.

2 - Their app is the best of the apps I use for my cards (the others are Discover, Capital One, and Synchrony/Amazon Store Card). The reason I say that is that it uniquely lets you set up autopay that splits your payment in half, to control utilization. It also offers Equifax FICO 8 Bankcard. I would prefer regular FICO 8, but hey. It's pretty cool either way. Most other features are standard.

I am personally loyal to Citi because they were the first company to give me a card, appeared on my credit reports lightning-fast, and my experiences with them have been positive so far.

That said, of course we're just numbers to lenders. And, lenders are just numbers to us. There are exceptions here and there, but we're basically looking for the best cash back or the best terms in some way. They are looking for the most lucrative, lowest risk, least volatile consumers. Anyone who doesn't know that isn't looking at this clearly. That doesn't mean it's great salesmanship for a rep to say it, but I'm honestly not sure how anybody can be angry about a simple and obvious statement of fact. Banks don't exist to be our friends.

[Winesnoblv]

I have had the AAdvantage Platinum MC for almost a year.  When applied, had 3/6 inq and 4 new accounts.  Instant online approval with cl of $10k.  Was able to receive a sp cli after 6 months to $13k.  However, in March, I applied for the Prestige card with an instant denial.  when I attempted to recon, I was told I had too much credit for my income which after seeing discussions on this board, I found to be "strange."  Also, I have been a Citi customer for over 8 years with both personal and business bank accounts as well as a PLOC.

In other words, who knows what their reasoning could be for denial.  

[Anonymous]

I have the Citi DC cash. Every 6 months cli. sp.  We use them for  misc. spend  With so many other good reward cards  Amex BCP, US Bank cash plus and Chase Freedom (and shop with Chase) they don't get the use from us they once had. Home owners Insurance, Auto insurance and quarterly IRS estimated quarterly are the main thng we use them for.  These are are all big ticket charges but spread out over the year and pif. 

[coreysw12]

Citi has treated me great. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. When I went through my last credit crisis, I kept up my payments with them even though I was defaulting on most everything else... they never took any AA against me, and as soon as I resolved my issues they immediately gave me a CLI.

YMMV, but my experiences with citi have been nothing but positive.

[Viva-LV]

Four Citi cards:  AA Plat, Rewards +, Simplicity, Costco Visa.  Use the AA for miles, but I've never been interested in the TY points (I've seen a few positive posts).  Always have had good customer service on the phone with CSR's.  Great website, cli policy (sp's).  Wife has Dia Preferred, with multiple auto-cli's.

[Green456]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

Citi has treated me great. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. When I went through my last credit crisis, I kept up my payments with them even though I was defaulting on most everything else... they never took any AA against me, and as soon as I resolved my issues they immediately gave me a CLI.

YMMV, but my experiences with citi have been nothing but positive.

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That is reassuring about Citi.

[MrDisco99]

I just did a huge write-up on my experience with AmEx, so I guess I'll do Citi as well...

I only have two cards with them, so my experience is a bit more limited.  They have a good website.  The fact that payments reflect instantly is a nice touch.

My DC card is the one that never leaves my wallet.  It doesn't get many swipes anymore, but it is my failsafe card for when Amex is not accepted, and for some automatic utility payments that don't take Amex.  2% is 2%.

I don't do much retail spend on Citi anymore, but Price Rewind is a fantastic feature.  I made back a good bit of money with that back when I did.  I need to keep that in mind when doing impulse purchases.

The Premier is a bit hit or miss with me.  Decent earning on travel, dining, and entertainment without having to juggle multiple cards is nice.  The card is accepted everywhere, unlike my Amex.  Points are worth 1.25cpp on the portal, so I don't know what the guy above me was talking about with 1cpp being exceptional.  I got a decent point bonus when I signed up and I made good use of the points that way on stuff that would have otherwise been difficult or impossible to get for free MR/HHonors/SkyMiles.  And it was indispensible in Greece where most places would not take Amex.  If I was a frequent international traveler, this card would be a keeper for me.

Unfortunately, as much as I would love to be an international frequent jet setter, I'm really not.  If I was, I'd probably be better off with different cards anyway like CSR or Plat, which have better bonus multipliers and better perks.  The Citi Premier just seems like it's trying to be a compromise between those premium tier travel cards and regular everyday spend cards and it's got too much stiff competition on both ends of that spectrum now.  The transfer partners are a bit esoteric, so transfer redemptions are meh.  The portal is good for travel booking on any airline, hotel, or car rental agency, but 1.25cpp is not very competitive (still better than Amex Travel I guess) and their customer support after booking is pretty abysmal.  I was unable to verify my reservation with Turkish Airlines until I showed up to check in, and if I hadn't run into a stranger who helped me out, I would've had no idea how to pick up my Alamo rental in Santorini (there is no booth at the airport and Citi/Connexion were zero help... I literally had to find a guy).

I'm glad I had it for my trip, but I likely won't pay to keep it another year.  Unless they have a retention offer for me.  They didn't last year, so I'm not optimistic.  I'll just use my Cap1 QS when I'm out of the country.