Old Dec 15, 2014, 8:06 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: beltway
This wiki is no longer being maintained/updated.

See the new thread & wiki at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...24-months.html.

* * *


Please read this wiki before posting questions in the thread.

Citi's application policy changed again on August 11, 2016.

All public American Airline card links (business and personal)
now have language limiting bonuses to 24 months from last opening or closing
of a card of the same general type (personal or business). See FAQ #1 below.

Click HERE (2015) and HERE (2013/14) to review previous threads on this topic.

For information on the Executive version of this card, see: Citi Executive AA thread

Recommended application procedure:
Clear cache and cookies prior to applying or use an incognito or private browsing session to apply. Opening multiple different apps in different windows or tabs or failing to clear cookies/cache has resulted in people receiving a lesser offer.


Top Personal Card Offers (currently 50K)

For the sake of continuity, please do not renumber items in this list. Links are listed in chronological order (newest ones last).

Note: application pages for all offers in this section contain the following (or substantially similar) language:
American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi / AAdvantage card (other than a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Prior to August 11, 2016, the standard language was less restrictive:
American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had a Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard opened or closed in the past 24 months.
23) Landing page for personal Platinum Select World MC offer for 50K miles after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year; application page. (Source: miles6.citicards.com) Landing page contains the older, less-restrictive language; app page shows new language, which controls.

24) Landing page for personal Platinum Select World MC offer for 50K miles after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year; application page. Landing page contains the older, less-restrictive language; app page shows new language, which controls.

25) Landing page for personal Platinum Select World MC offer for 50K miles after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year; application page. (Source: away3.citicards.com) Expired July 31, 2016.


Top Business Card Offers (currently 50K)

For the sake of continuity, please do not renumber items in this list. Links are listed in chronological order (newest ones last).

Note that all offers in this section contain language stating that
This card is not available if the business already has a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard account. Bonus miles and any additional special offer not available if you have had any CitiBusiness/AAdvantage account opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Prior to August 11, 2016, the standard language read as follows:
Bonus miles not available if you have had a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard opened or closed in the past 24 months.
K) Landing page for business Platinum Select World MC offer for 50K miles after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year. Current application page; original application page. Landing page contains the older, less-restrictive language; app pages show new language, which controls.

L) Landing page for business Platinum Select World MC offer for 50K miles after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year; application page. Expired July 31, 2016.

Other personal cards

Landing page for Citi Gold Mastercard offer for 25,000 miles after $750 spend in 3 months. $50 annual fee, waived first year; current application page.
  • Note: offer terms now state that
    American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi / AAdvantage card (other than a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.
    Prior to August 11, 2016, the standard language was less restrictive:
    American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles not available if you have had a Citi/AAdvantage Gold MasterCard opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Landing page for Citi Platinum Select World Mastercard. 40,000 miles after $1000 spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee waived first year; application page. (Source: miles7.citicards.com) (Do not use this link unless you expect to have problems meeting the higher spend requirement for the 50K offers.)
  • Note: Application page states that "American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi / AAdvantage card (other than a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card) opened or closed in the past 24 months." Landing page still has older, less-restrictive language.

Landing page for Citi Platinum Select World Mastercard. 30,000 miles after $1000 spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee waived first year; application page. (Do not use this link unless you expect to have problems meeting the higher spend requirement for the 50K offers.)
  • Note: Application page states that "American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi / AAdvantage card (other than a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card) opened or closed in the past 24 months."
This offer is included for reference, but at present has no benefits over other offers above.

Application page for Citi Platinum Select World Mastercard, 30,000 miles after $1000 spend in 3 months, $100 in AA statement credits within first year, $95 annual fee waived first year. (Do not use this link unless you value $100 off of AA purchases within 12 months more than 20,000 miles, or expect to have problems meeting the higher spend requirements for the 50k offers.)
  • Note: Application page states that "Statement Credit and American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi / AAdvantage card (other than a CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card) opened or closed in the past 24 months."


Other business cards

None at present.


Citibank Contacts/Resources (Please add others that you know of)
  • Application status: https://www.accountonline.com/cards/...?screenID=3187
  • (800) 695-5171 Personal Application Status and Reconsideration Line with live rep
  • (800) 763-9795 General Personal Application Inquiries with live rep
  • (800) 645-7240 Business Application Status and Reconsideration Line; press 1 for English and then follow prompts
  • (800) 288-4653 Business Application Status and Reconsideration Line; press 1 for English and then follow prompts
  • (866) 606-2787 General Application and Account Questions with live rep
  • (888) 201-4523 Application status
  • (866) 606-2961 Reconsideration Line.
  • Twitter : @AskCiti. Very powerful tool.
  • Executive Office - useful for getting a more empowered agent for reconsideration purposes: CitiBank Executive Review Department, P.O. Box 6000, Sioux Falls, SD 57117

FAQ

The FAQs below will almost certainly answer questions you have about Citi AA Platinum and Gold cards. Do not post in the thread "just to double-check if the wiki is correct"; the wiki is here to avoid having people ask the same questions endlessly. If you have a specific reason to doubt--something a Citi CSR told you, or something you read from a trustworthy blogger--then feel free to ask for clarification. (And no, you should not ask if this paragraph is correct--ever.)
  1. Are these AA cards churnable?
  2. Is there any way around the 24-month restriction?
  3. What are the most current time-restriction rules in applying for all Citi cards?
  4. Do I need to close existing cards before applying?
  5. When should I close existing Citi accounts?
  6. Can I apply for a business card if I dont have a business?
  7. Can I buy Visa gift cards to meet my minimum spend?
  8. Do I have to use my own AAdvantage number on applications?
  9. There is nothing on the application page stating the bonus miles. How do I know what the associated offer is?
  10. After approval, how can I a) confirm the amount of the bonus I can earn and b) determine the deadline for completing the required spend?
  11. When will my bonus miles post?
  12. Do I get 10% back when redeeming miles for awards?
  13. Can I cancel a card using secure messaging?
  14. Which credit bureau does Citi pull and can I force them to use a different one?
  15. When is the 60K (75K, 100K, etc.) offer going to come back?
  16. Is my card World (W) or World Elite (WE)?
  17. Why and when does Citi convert cards to World Elite? Can I do anything to trigger the conversion?
  18. What's the difference between World and World Elite cards?

1. Are these AA cards churnable?
Yes and no. The general rules are:
  • Personal AA cards: As of August 11, 2016, all offers require you to wait 24 months from the date of opening or closing any other personal Citi/AAdvantage account, regardless of type (AmEx, Visa, MC) or category (Gold, Platinum, Executive). Thus,
    • opening or closing a personal Platinum MC will normally require you to wait another 24 months before being eligible for a signup bonus on any personal Citi/AAdvantage card
    • opening or closing a personal Gold MC will normally require you to wait another 24 months before being eligible for a signup bonus on any personal Citi/AAdvantage card
    • opening or closing a personal Platinum MC will not affect your eligibility to apply for (& earn a bonus on) a new Gold MC, and vice versa
    • closing a Citi AA Visa or Amex (legacy cards which are no longer issued) will not affect your eligibility to apply for/earn a bonus on any Citi AA MC

    Note that in the past, downgrading to a different card (aka a "product change" or PC) counted as closing the AA card. This includes downgrades from AA Platinum to Gold as well as downgrades to non-AA cards.

    The "any personal card" restriction imposed in August 2016 is a notable change from the prior policy, which treated different card types (e.g., Platinum & Gold) separately, with a separate 24-month clock for each. In addition, several FT reports since February 2016 confirm that Citi has closed the loophole involving cards converted from World to World Elite.

    Opening, closing, or having a personal card will not by itself affect your ability to open a business card/earn the signup bonus, and vice versa. (But see FAQ #4 below for reasons to reduce your credit line prior to closing an account.)

    If you violate the 24-month rule, Citi may still issue you the card but you will not get the bonus.

  • Business AA cards: As of April 22, 2016, all known business card offers contain a 24-month restriction, as noted above.

    Note that beginning in late 2014, new Citi AA business card offers began including the explicit requirement that the applicant not be an existing AA business cardholder. However, this does not appear to have any practical effect.

    Opening, closing, or having a business card will not by itself affect your ability to open a personal card/earn the signup bonus, and vice versa. (But see FAQ #4 below for reasons to reduce your credit line prior to closing an account.)

    When closing a business card, be sure to completely cancel the full account; send an SM or call and request that the account, ending in XXXX and the associated cards, ending in YYYY (etc.) be closed, including the master account. (The master account is the actual line of credit, while the cards are the individual cards associated with each employee of the business.) To find the master account number, go to your online account and select the card you want to close. In the bottom left corner there is a dropdown box next to "Cardholder:" that has the master account and any card accounts listed.


2.Is there any way around the 24-month restriction?
Yes. A targeted offer with a unique invitation code may offer a loophole. Numerous FTers received physical mailers in late 2015 & the first half of 2016 for which the T&C did not contain the 24-month restriction language.

The T&C for these offers will typically say instead that they are "applicable only to new accounts." This is nothing to worry about; all it means is that Citi won't retroactively match you to the offer on an account you already have; it doesn't disqualify someone who has a Citi AA card or has ever had one.

Other noteworthy aspects:
  • In order to access the application page, you must have both the 9-digit invitation code and the surname of the offer recipient.
  • After you authenticate the offer code and are redirected to the application page, you may enter a completely different applicant name and address.
  • Each offer may be used multiple times--perhaps without any limit.
  • Offers expire exactly two months after the nominal expiration shown on the mailer. For example, an offer with a stated May 15 expiration will be fully valid through July 14.


3. What are the most current time-restriction rules in applying for all Citi cards?
  • No more than 2 Citi applications of any kind in 60 days (65 days to be safe).

Citi has been known to miscount in some cases. As a result, it is inadvisable to apply again exactly on day 60 or 90--thus the advice to wait 65 days.

For purposes of these rules,
  • count all Citi applications, including denials and/or applications for non-AA cards.
  • the only day that matters is the application date (not approval date, not activation date).
  • count all calendar days, not just business days.

If you get denied for violating any of these rules, you will probably have to wait the full time period (60+ days before trying again. Use this calculator to establish your dates: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

In addition, FT lore has evolved into soft guidance that you apply for no more than one Citi card (of any kind) in any 8-day period. This is merely prudential guidance, not clearly established Citi policy; there are examples of people applying for two cards in a single day and being approved for the second. However, multiple Citi applications in a short time frame do appear, at least anecdotally, to increase the odds of the second application being denied. (You may see FTers refer to "the 8/65 rule," which refers to this soft guidance plus the strict 60-day rule noted above.)

An example of the guidance above applied in combination:
Day 1 Apply for 50K HHonors - Starts 60-day and 24-month clocks. No apps of any kind recommended for 8 days.
Day 9 Apply for 50K AA Personal Plat MC - Starts 24-month clock for personal Plat MC & resets 60-day clock.
Day 70 Apply for 50K AA Business - Starts 24-month clock for biz card apps & resets 60-day clock. No apps of any kind recommended for 8 days.
Day 160 - Close CitiBusiness card after earning bonus.
Day 9 plus 24 months Apply for 50K AA personal plat MC - As long as you have not closed the Day 9 card in the previous 24 months (as that would have reset the 24-month personal card clock).
Day 160 plus 24 months - Apply for 50K AA Business
Not sure what day you applied? The date is written year, month, day in the application number: 201412150000 means you applied on December 15, 2014.


4. Do I need to close existing cards before applying?
There is no requirement that you close previous personal accounts. In fact, with the new applications that include 24-month language, closing accounts will increase the time between applications. People have reported having 5 or more of the exact same card. However, you must close an open Business account (which resets the 24-month clock) before applying for a new one. See above.


5. When should I close existing Citi accounts?
Citi cards can be closed immediately after receiving a bonus and paying off the balance. There are no verifiable reports of Citi clawing back miles except in cases where charges forming part of the required bonus spend are later reversed (for merchandise return, etc.).

Reasons to keep accounts open:
  • Having large credit lines improves your utilization percentage.
  • Maintaining old cards improves average age of cards.
  • Credit lines can be moved from old cards to new cards.
  • Anecdotal evidence suggests that Citi counts the credit lines of recently-closed accounts for 3-6 months against your total available credit. You can call/SM to reduce credit lines instead or prior to closing to free CL more quickly.
  • You can receive retention offers once every 6 months per card. See this thread for details on the latest retention offers.
  • Closing cards now resets the clock for future applications for the same type and category of card.

Reasons to close accounts:
  • Having a large amount of available credit with Citi will eventually reduce your chances of instant approval. You may end up with 1K/2K credit lines, especially on Business cards. You can also SM and request that your CL be reduced.
  • There is little incentive to pay an annual fee if it is not waived.
  • The annual fee on cards is rarely waived.
  • Having a large number of open Citi cards will show up on your credit report and may affect non-Citi applications as well as the overall age of your accounts.
  • Closing multiple accounts of the same type and category simultaneously resets the clock only once. Doing so so when opening a new account (or shortly thereafter) likewise minimizes the wait for future churn eligibility.


6. Can I apply for a business card if I dont have a business?
Anyone can apply for a business card. You do not need a registered business with an EIN. If you do not have a business with an EIN or with bills/accounts in the business name, you can apply using your name as the business. The three possibilities are that: 1. You could be approved unconditionally, 2. You could be asked to fax a couple of bills or accounts (water, electricity, gas, cable, or phone bills, bank accounts, etc.) in the name of the business to Citi, or 3. You could be required to fill out and send a 4506-T tax form. Whatever you do do not make up income etc. about the business. Plenty of people have been issued cards for businesses with $0 annual revenue, 1-5 employees, and 0 years in business.


7. Can I buy Visa gift cards to meet my minimum spend?
Purchases from banks are almost always coded as a cash advance regardless of what they are for. Purchases from stores, e.g. CVS, are almost always coded as a purchase.

If you are concerned about it, its recommended to send a secure message Citi and have them set your Cash Advance limit to zero. Phone CSRs often say they cannot do this.


8. Do I have to use my own AAdvantage number on applications?
Yes. The name on the card application must match the name on the AAdvantage account. You cannot apply for multiple cards for different people and use the same AAdvantage account number.


9. There is nothing on the application page stating the bonus miles. How do I know what the associated offer is?
You need to have faith in the readers of this thread if you want to maximize your miles. FTers constantly apply for these cards and report back to confirm bonus amounts. If you don't feel like trusting in the experiences of others, then apply for an offer with a landing page.


10. After approval, how can I a) confirm the amount of the bonus I can earn and b) determine the deadline for completing the required spend?
For personal and business cards, you can always send Citi a secure message through your online account to confirm your bonus amount and deadline. (You must first activate the card and set up online access, either by creating an online account or by linking your new card to your existing online account. Unlike some other banks, Citi does not automatically add your new card to your existing online account.)

In addition, for personal cards only (and perhaps only for online applications), there are two additional indicators:
  1. The approval letter for a personal card will confirm the amount of the bonus for which you are eligible, but not the spend deadline. (As noted in FAQ #1 above, Citi may approve you for a personal card even if you do not qualify for a bonus. No bonus language in the letter means no bonus.) Approval letters for business cards do not confirm the bonus.
  2. Your online account for a personal card also provides information on eligible bonus and spend deadline. Log into your Citi account and select the applicable card. On the Account Details page you'll see a "My Miles Summary" link; click that link, scroll down, and you will see a pie-chart graphic showing the spend deadline and your progress as of your last statement. (Charges made since your last statement are not included in this total.)

11. When will my bonus miles post?
Roughly 2-3 days after the date of the statement containing the charge that takes you across the spend threshold.


12. Do I get 10% back when redeeming miles for awards?
It depends. First, the rebate program (which began in April 2012) applies only to holders of these cards:
  • Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature
  • Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard
  • Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard
  • Citi Select AAdvantage American Express
It does not apply to the Citi Gold World MasterCard, Citi Executive products, or some of the Citi Business cards.

Also, the maximum rebate for any cardholder in a single calendar year is 10,000 miles. Having more than one qualifying Citi AA card will not allow you to receive a larger rebate; the restriction applies per AAdvantage account.

For more on the 10% rebate benefit, see AAdvantage Citi / Barclays 10% miles / mileage rebate (consolidated).


13. Can I cancel a card using secure messaging?
Yes, assuming you have set up the credit card in your Citi account. Quick and easy.


14. Which credit bureau does Citi pull and can I force them to use a different one?
Citi appears to use Experian most frequently, followed by Equifax. For some people they pull both. It depends on where you are located. You can check the Credit Boards database to see where card issuers have pulled recently.

For the most part, freezing Experian, or another bureau, will not cause Citi to pull a different bureau. They will almost certainly require you to unfreeze the bureau they wish to pull or deny your application. Some people have been successful providing the PIN but others have not. Mostly, freezing a credit bureau in an attempt to force Citi to pull a different one seems to waste time, money, and effort for little result. But YMMV.

For one person's experiences with various card issuers, check here.


15. When is the 60K (75K, 100K, etc.) offer going to come back?
Nobody knows except Citi & they don't announce these things in advance. If we knew, we'd be talking about it non-stop. Please don't ask about it periodically in the thread.

If you want to make yourself useful, you can easily look for new offers by testing the URLs
  • away*.citicards.com
  • fly*.citicards.com
  • travel*.citicards.com
  • miles*.citicards.com
  • go*.citicards.com
  • aadvantagecards*.citicards.com
where * is any digit in the range 1-9.

16. Is my card World (W) or World Elite (WE)?
It was once useful to know if your card is World (W) or World Elite (WE) because of a loophole that previously allowed applicants to open new accounts and earn signup bonuses less than 24 months since the last open/close of the same card type. That loophole has been closed. (See FAQ 1, "Important exception" for more information.)
Physical card
  • If your card is W the back of the card will say "World" and have a red and yellow MasterCard logo.
  • If your card is WE the back of the card will say "World Elite" and have a silver MasterCard logo.
Online account
  • If your card has been converted, the summary for that card (on the home Accounts page) will include, at the bottom, a line with a green flag and the legend "We've mailed your new Citi card. After it arrives, activate it for use. Learn more | Activate"

In the alternative,
  • Log into your online account.
  • Select "Account Management"
  • Select "Profile & Settings"
  • Select "Set Default Credit Card"
Platinum
  • If the card is listed as "Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard" it is W.
  • If the card is listed as "Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select" it is WE.
Gold
  • If the card is listed as "Citi / AAdvantage Gold World MasterCard" it is W.
  • If the card is listed as "Citi / AAdvantage Gold" it is WE.

17. Why and when does Citi convert cards to World Elite? Can I do anything to trigger the conversion?
Citi appears to convert recently opened World MCs to World Elite en masse at periodic intervals once every few months. For most new cardholders, this will occur in the second or third full billing cycle; for holders of legacy Citi AA VISA or Amex cards, the conversion may occur at any time.

There is nothing you can do as a cardholder to trigger the conversion.


18. What's the difference between World and World Elite cards?
See the wiki at Difference in MasterCard World and World Elite?.
Print Wikipost

Citi AA Platinum, Gold and Business cards.

Old May 25, 2016, 9:58 am
  #2266  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: AA BA CO DL UA US
Posts: 814
Originally Posted by sdsearch
Besides the fact that the answer (yes) is in the wiki (as beltway pointed out), why not apply for the Citi AA Gold "from scratch" for another 25k miles? The 24-month clock is separate on the Citi AA Plat form the Citi AA Gold, but you'll start a new 24-month clock on both if you convert, while if you apply for the Citi AA Gold "from scratch" you'll start a 24-month clock on that one only (plus can easily earn 25k AA miles with not all that much spend).

Of course, that assumes you didn't have another Citi AA Gold in the past 24 months.
Thank you.

The wiki said: Note that downgrading to a different, non-AA card (aka a "product change" or PC) counts as closing the AA card.

I don't know if it is covered elsewhere, but the above wasn't clear to me. It would imply a downgrade does not count as closure since it is still an AA card.

As you said, since it counts as a closure, it does not make since at all to downgrade then.
opus2002 is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 10:00 am
  #2267  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by codybear
Took a gamble with the 24-month clock on my wife's account and got her approved using link 25 and I had her ask how much did she have to spend before getting the bonus to verify that the card was going to come with the bonus, which CS said spend $3k to get 50k.

She had opened a Platinum World on 10/6/14. She would have been converted to WE approximately 3 months later. The account was closed on 12/3/15 (Citi would not waive the yearly fee).

So the 24-month clock appears not to be a hard set rule, but I will re-post in 10 days if the cards comes with no bonus language. It may be because of the W-WE conversion occurred before February, 2016 or possibly because the application included an above average income amount, but more experimentation may need to be done.
By and large, Citi agents are completely clueless. You applied through a $3k/50k link, so that is what they see. Whether your eligible for the 50k bonus is yet to be determined. When you receive the welcome letter it will have the 50k point bonus mentioned if you are eligible to receive it. So let us know when that letter arrives.
Superorb is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 11:23 am
  #2268  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 36
My most recent AA Plat also converted to WE in the last 24hrs. I had applied the last week of March.
frairtuck is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 1:25 pm
  #2269  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,927
Originally Posted by codybear
Took a gamble with the 24-month clock on my wife's account and got her approved using link 25 and I had her ask how much did she have to spend before getting the bonus to verify that the card was going to come with the bonus, which CS said spend $3k to get 50k.
Think about it. That doesn't verify anything! It's information available on the offer she signed up for!

To get an answer that would have more chance of verifying it, you have to ask a questions that's not available on the offer she signed up for. The only one I can think of is:

"By what exact date do I have to finish my $3k spend to get the 50k?" The real answer is 3 months plus 14 days from approval date, but I bet approval agents may not know that date yet or know how to compute it or bother to compute it. Agents who you talk to after you get the card have that date in front of them (as do you, in the "progress tracker" online), if you qualified for the bonus.

And everyone gets approved for the card, whether they get the bonus or not, and everyone gets told what offer they signed up for and the terms of it, whether they get the bonus or not.

So by asking what the terms are of the offer, you haven't proved by a single bit that the bonus is coming. You can't know that until either the letter comes or you look for your online tracker.
sdsearch is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 1:29 pm
  #2270  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,927
Originally Posted by opus2002
Thank you.

The wiki said: Note that downgrading to a different, non-AA card (aka a "product change" or PC) counts as closing the AA card.

I don't know if it is covered elsewhere, but the above wasn't clear to me. It would imply a downgrade does not count as closure since it is still an AA card.

As you said, since it counts as a closure, it does not make since at all to downgrade then.
We have more datapoints for downgrades to DoubleCash and such, we may not have as many datapoints for downgrades to Citi AA Bronze (dunno if any datapoints for downgrades to Citi AA Gold), so it's harder to make an absolute statement about it. But let it suffice to say is that we haven't yet heard of a downgrade that didn't count as closing. So your odds aren't that good, but if you want to be our guinea pig so we can improve the wiki with a definite statement that it won't count, be our guest...

In other words, this is a world where it's hard to be absolute, because don't really know Citi's internal rules, we just form an impression of what those rules seem to be based on datapoints. When the datapoints are incomplete, we have to extrapolate.

So from a scientific perspective, I don't think we "know" that converting Citi AA Plat to Citi AA Gold definitely counts as a closure. It's just such a strong likelihood, based on other things that have counted as a closure, that it seems an incredibly high risk.

And Citi AA Gold still has an annual fee, while losing benefits like 10% rebate on redemptions (capped at 10k/year), so that's probably why no one has considered downgrading just to Citi AA Gold before. They either consider downgrading to Citi AA Bronze or some other non-AA Citi card, and in all reported cases of those they have all counted as closures AFAIK.

Last edited by sdsearch; May 25, 2016 at 1:36 pm
sdsearch is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 3:08 pm
  #2271  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: FL
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, IC Plat Amb, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,299
Sooo... I have 4 AA plats all WE from 3 years to the most recent (6months ago) the AF for 3 of them is coming next month. Should I apply for a 5th one for the 50k miles? If the loophole still open? I dont want to pay annual fee for 3 cards... and If I close them it would be 2 years for my next AA card...

Thanks in advance!
lotrbfme is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 7:06 pm
  #2272  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,927
Originally Posted by lotrbfme
Sooo... I have 4 AA plats all WE from 3 years to the most recent (6months ago) the AF for 3 of them is coming next month. Should I apply for a 5th one for the 50k miles? If the loophole still open?
No, the loophole is closed. So don't apply for a 5th one, because you won't get 50k miles.

Originally Posted by lotrbfme
I dont want to pay annual fee for 3 cards... and If I close them it would be 2 years for my next AA card...
There'a whole thread devoted to that quest:
sdsearch is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 7:12 pm
  #2273  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,784
Originally Posted by pallhedge
Closed accounts remain on your credit report for 10 years. An account you close today won't affect your AAoA until then. By then, his next AA card will be nearly 10 years old. Lather, rinse, repeat.
^ ^ ^

No matter how many times we post this, it keeps coming up as a problem.

Google: urban myth, closing an account affects your AoA...

Ok, so I was making that up (just the Google Urban Myth part, not the AoA part), but I tried it, and that sure enough it is there.

"New Myth: Closing a Credit Card Account Always Hurts Your Score

In the long term, your closed cards will continue to contribute to your credit score for the entire time they appear on your credit report, typically about 10 years after closing."

RobertHanson is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 7:23 pm
  #2274  
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,072
Not true. It's widely expected that the next update to FICO will count only open accounts for AAoA purposes.

Discover's new CreditScorecard.com site, which offers a free EX FICO score, is already only showing open accounts, which might be a hint that the change is imminent.
jsk1973 is offline  
Old May 25, 2016, 9:19 pm
  #2275  
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The World!!!
Programs: Some of them not all ...
Posts: 1,532
Originally Posted by AugustWest
In the fine print: "If you are an existing Citi/Aadvantage cardmember, you are not eligible for this offer."
Actually, it says:

"If you are an existing Citi AAdvantage cardmember, you are not eligible for this offer on your existing account."

So you would be elegible for this offer on the new account they will give you if you are approved, as there is no 18 nor 24 month rule in the entire mailer. To bad I had to read all terms just to find this almost at the end in the back page of the application form send by mail

Guess will have to give it a try, even with the Citi Business still opened but all other personal cards closed and cancelled.
carlitos is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 5:16 am
  #2276  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA
Posts: 43
Originally Posted by sdsearch
So by asking what the terms are of the offer, you haven't proved by a single bit that the bonus is coming. You can't know that until either the letter comes or you look for your online tracker.
You are absolutely correct. No bonus is coming. My gamble just cost me a loss of 6 months, but I was given 5k miles for the inconvenience by a CS supervisor. It was good while it lasted, but with five federal tax ids, not all is lost.
codybear is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 5:49 am
  #2277  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 333
Originally Posted by carlitos
Actually, it says:

"If you are an existing Citi AAdvantage cardmember, you are not eligible for this offer on your existing account."

So you would be elegible for this offer on the new account they will give you if you are approved, as there is no 18 nor 24 month rule in the entire mailer. To bad I had to read all terms just to find this almost at the end in the back page of the application form send by mail

Guess will have to give it a try, even with the Citi Business still opened but all other personal cards closed and cancelled.
Right, we had just discussed those extra 4 words and their (lack of) meaning. They seem redundant. And I think the point of fine print is just that--to make the important stuff hard to find.

In my experience, having on open business card has not interfered with getting personal card bonuses, so you should be fine.

Too bad the mailers seem to be drying up! I think I make squeeze out two more rounds with existing ones, but then I'll have to look for a new angle.
AugustWest is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 6:24 am
  #2278  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: Spg Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,578
Originally Posted by sdsearch
We have more datapoints for downgrades to DoubleCash and such, we may not have as many datapoints for downgrades to Citi AA Bronze (dunno if any datapoints for downgrades to Citi AA Gold), so it's harder to make an absolute statement about it. But let it suffice to say is that we haven't yet heard of a downgrade that didn't count as closing. So your odds aren't that good, but if you want to be our guinea pig so we can improve the wiki with a definite statement that it won't count, be our guest...

In other words, this is a world where it's hard to be absolute, because don't really know Citi's internal rules, we just form an impression of what those rules seem to be based on datapoints. When the datapoints are incomplete, we have to extrapolate.

So from a scientific perspective, I don't think we "know" that converting Citi AA Plat to Citi AA Gold definitely counts as a closure. It's just such a strong likelihood, based on other things that have counted as a closure, that it seems an incredibly high risk.

And Citi AA Gold still has an annual fee, while losing benefits like 10% rebate on redemptions (capped at 10k/year), so that's probably why no one has considered downgrading just to Citi AA Gold before. They either consider downgrading to Citi AA Bronze or some other non-AA Citi card, and in all reported cases of those they have all counted as closures AFAIK.
Dont know if this means anything , but I did a PC to a double cash shortly before before my 4/4/16
SUCCESFUL Citi AA card via targeted mailer from someone else.
PETERPNYC is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 7:08 am
  #2279  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Location independent
Programs: AA PlatPro, Asiana Diamond, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 287
Does anyone have recent datapoints about matching offers on a Citi AA Platinum?

I applied for, got approved, got the bonus language in the letter, and now have the online tracker for 30k/$1k spend. I applied via 'other cards you might be interested in' on Citi's website after checking to see if I was pre-approved for any cards. (I wasn't, but they offered this card below that)

I was successful in matching a 50k offer to 60k online through Citi's chat function on my last card. So, I tried that process again - 4 times. All four of the chat agents said that I would have to call the "Citi offer match phone number" of 800-321-2484.

Should I be hearing "Danger FlyerJT! Danger!"? Could this be a trap that will end up ruining my existing bonus?
FlyerJT is offline  
Old May 26, 2016, 7:56 am
  #2280  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: Spg Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,578
Originally Posted by FlyerJT
Does anyone have recent datapoints about matching offers on a Citi AA Platinum?

I applied for, got approved, got the bonus language in the letter, and now have the online tracker for 30k/$1k spend. I applied via 'other cards you might be interested in' on Citi's website after checking to see if I was pre-approved for any cards. (I wasn't, but they offered this card below that)

I was successful in matching a 50k offer to 60k online through Citi's chat function on my last card. So, I tried that process again - 4 times. All four of the chat agents said that I would have to call the "Citi offer match phone number" of 800-321-2484.

Should I be hearing "Danger FlyerJT! Danger!"? Could this be a trap that will end up ruining my existing bonus?

I think that if you asked to be matched to the 50K after $3k spend it might
look better . That is what I would do!

Not try to get 50K for $1k spend and point that out to whomever I spoke with if, you are willing to do the extra spend.
PETERPNYC is offline  

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