Citibank 0% apr for military?

Old Jan 15, 2014, 1:25 pm
  #1  
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Citibank 0% apr for military?

HI,

I know about American Express waiving annual fees and such and was trying to research if any other companies had similair programs when I cam across this article:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/top-credit-card-perks-military-members/story?id=20321085&page=2

I also came across this one from November:

http://www.cardhub.com/best-military-credit-cards/

It says not only does Citibank waive annual fees like Amex but they also reduce the APR to 0%. I don't have a citibank card, anyone have experience with this?

It be pretty hard to pass up on a permanent 0% while in the military (not that I carry a balance but just in case...)
lonewolf210 is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2014, 5:16 pm
  #2  
 
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I don't have any exp with this Citibank promo but I also never carried a balance while I was in the military and I would suggest never carrying one.
This would just seem like a great way to get trapped into debt. I would say 75% of all my military friends and co-workers all were in tons of debt. NO clue how to money manage.

I did open a chase bank account that had a 300dollar bonus, and then got all fees removed from the account for being a veteran, but I guess chase didn't like that, and they closed my account without warning or reason a few months later.

The whole idea behind the free bonus money is they charge you monthly fees every month and you cannot close the account for at least 6 months so you end up paying 6months of fees , I avoided this though but I guess they didn't like that very much.
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Old Jan 15, 2014, 5:26 pm
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Originally Posted by oyouno
I don't have any exp with this Citibank promo but I also never carried a balance while I was in the military and I would suggest never carrying one.
This would just seem like a great way to get trapped into debt. I would say 75% of all my military friends and co-workers all were in tons of debt. NO clue how to money manage.

I did open a chase bank account that had a 300dollar bonus, and then got all fees removed from the account for being a veteran, but I guess chase didn't like that, and they closed my account without warning or reason a few months later.

The whole idea behind the free bonus money is they charge you monthly fees every month and you cannot close the account for at least 6 months so you end up paying 6months of fees , I avoided this though but I guess they didn't like that very much.
Quoted post is misleading, Chase doesn't have an issue with mil accounts that have received an opening bonus. Just have activity in your account.

Regarding the OP's question, I haven't dealt with this personally, but my understanding is that it is linked specifically to the SCRA which covers active duty (not including reservists unless deployed/AR). If you have the financial discipline to take advantage of those offers, then good on you. However, you'll be 1 in a million (E) or 1 in a thousand (O). You'd be impressed how often the O's squander their cash.
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Old Jan 15, 2014, 7:00 pm
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Originally Posted by TMKTakot
Regarding the OP's question, I haven't dealt with this personally, but my understanding is that it is linked specifically to the SCRA which covers active duty (not including reservists unless deployed/AR). If you have the financial discipline to take advantage of those offers, then good on you. However, you'll be 1 in a million (E) or 1 in a thousand (O). You'd be impressed how often the O's squander their cash.
O I know I am an 0-1 and it amazes me how much some of my friends blow money. I almost never carry a balance but it would be nice just in case of a major vehicle repair or something to have the option to carry one a month or two. Not to mention you could also get the prestige card with no annual fee which would be awesome

O also my dad's a financial adviser so I get talks about debt monthly if not weekly
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Old Jan 15, 2014, 8:57 pm
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Originally Posted by lonewolf210
O I know I am an 0-1 and it amazes me how much some of my friends blow money. I almost never carry a balance but it would be nice just in case of a major vehicle repair or something to have the option to carry one a month or two. Not to mention you could also get the prestige card with no annual fee which would be awesome

O also my dad's a financial adviser so I get talks about debt monthly if not weekly
Best advice is call Citi and ask them directly. I've never had a problem getting information regarding military/SCRA programs from any major lenders. They'll be able to tell you what's covered and what isn't, and make sure you meet whatever the criteria are so you don't get blindsided. It's at their discretion, because the SCRA -limits- interest and provides guidance to creditors for military members, it does not waive or remove fees/interest in and of itself. It also doesn't stop them from considering that debt you are carrying in risk assessments (duh).

Financial advice is good, but educating yourself is better. Do the due diligence, then reap the rewards. On a vaguely related note, you might skim through this blog, http://themilitarywallet.com/, he has some good info (and some useless chaff too) that you might find useful on general service benefits.
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Old Jan 15, 2014, 9:19 pm
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I’m Navy Reserve, mobilized to Afghanistan last year. I cannot comment about AmEx or Citi as I chose to close most of my CC accounts prior to deploying in order to re-apply (and get sign-up bonuses) once I got back home. I did keep a Chase CC account open and the letter I received from Chase states:
- maximum APR of 6% for entire account balance, including new purchases, unless a lower introductory or promotional rate applies (not that I personally carry a balance)
- exempt from all fees including foreign transaction fees, late fees, annual fees
- account will be reviewed and any adjustments for previous fees or interest will be credited back to the account.

Chase did send me 3 letters, each about a month apart. First one stated benefits will expire 90 days after my (active) military service ends, second stated 12 months after, 3rd stated 3 years from the day my service started (about 2.25 years after it ended). Each letter stated “the extension of your benefits is a gesture of appreciation for service in the military and our commitment to you as our customer”. This is a wonderful perk as I am averse to annual fees and this Chase card is the only card for which I do pay an annual fee and Chase has exempted me from the fee for a total of 3 years in consideration of a 9 month mobilization.

A good resource for this subject is The Military Frequent Flyer blog . The link is to his recent post about the SCRA and Capital One, the first paragraph has links to his posts about the SCRA and Chase and AmEx. SCRA benefits are different for each CC issuer and also different for active duty and reserve personal.

It’s nice that many business are extending perks to military personnel. Even the federal government has joined the bandwagon, making income earned while in a combat zone tax free up to the maximum pay for enlisted personnel. I certainly cannot speak for anyone other than myself but I always appreciate these perks and never take them for granted. Considering the typical military member is 19 or 22 years, does not make a whole lot of money and is often clueless about money management, I suspect that in their own way, they all also appreciate these gestures and perks.
Dr Jabadski is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2014, 10:43 am
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Couple of years ago, a reservist buddy of mine was deployed to Kuwait for 6 months. He had recently applied for a Chase credit card with bonus points and was 3 weeks into his 90 days spending time frame. So he contacted Chase about deferring the spending time frame till after he came back from deployment. All he had to do was send a copy of his deployment orders and that was it. Chase not only allowed him to complete his spending for the bonus points after he came back but they threw in a couple of more perks, I forget what those were.
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