Happy

<<02/18/08 NEW CITICARD MBR BONUS MILES 25,000

02/18/08 CBAA WORLD MASTERCARD PURCH 1,140 >>


That looks like a direct copy/paste from AA account - I am sure you would recognize it how AA account postings look like.

asiaFT

Just Curious, how many days do you wait before applying for new set of Citi Cards.

I got my miles around Feb 10th. I am debating if I should apply right away or waot till March or April to apply

Thanks

Marathon Man

I actually do not know but something tells me to wait a month or two at least.

Do any churnologist experts on here have tips on this sort of thing? I am only good at ways to earn miles and burn them.

technique

There are people that apply on day 60 and have no problems...

Really though, citi seems to be cracking down on people with high # of inquiries, so that's what I'd keep my eye on... So be careful, you don't want to have all your accounts forcefully closed...

I just saw on FW a guy got shut down by citi and only had 5 inquiries, so it's a crap shoot... No one seems to be immune

CandymanJim

I have had no problems getting 3 apps approved every 60 days. My only issue is my 20-25k bonuses are not showing up immediatly like they used to. I suspect they put me on the 8 week posting routine. But hey, if that is the worst of the situation, I can live with it.

Jim

Marathon Man

I tend to think that if you push things but not PUSH them, you should be ok. I do think they will eventually end the churn, as did other mileage ccs, but we must live in its glory now, knowing that at any time it could all fall apart. I tend to think FW plays a roll in helping them change things like how long it takes to post and how much more time will pass before they say, OK that's it. no more churning for miles! Making it harder to see the miles post quickly is usually the first sign that things are about to change. If it used to take only a few weeks and now it takes longer, then they are obviously trying to discourage people from doing things... It stinks but that's consistent with all other mileage gigs I have seen go thru significant changes. Those changes are often for the worse, even if they appear to be something else.

Play cautiously. Dont do anything too "automated"

sdsearch

Yes, but the delay could be a way to stop your speed of churning!

Let's say they stretch out the delay to 8 weeks. That's 8 weeks from the time of the first statement, so more than 60 days. Then let's say they cannot "investigate" your missing miles if you've already closed the card. They're thus forcing you to keep the card open to finish the investigation of the missing bonus miles.

Now, combine that with the reported limits on how many Citi cards you can have at once, and you might see that if all this happens, you won't be able to apply for new cards if you can't cancel bonus-already-posted cards first and have too many cards still open "pending bonus investigation".

Thus a "neat" way ("neat" from Citi's perspecitve, of course, not yours!) to limit churning to even less often than 2 or 3 every 60 days...

Marathon Man

well said... and yet one can only hope that technically, they SHOULD still be able to 'investigate' missing miles from a closed card. I mean, seeing as how you did actually earned them while it was open, as long as ask them about it in like, the first month and not next year or something, this ought to be the case. Of course, you and I know that with mile stuff, the ways we THINK business should be done are never really applied here. Yeah, they'd probaly delete those or something cras like that. It would therby prevent churning, as you suggest. I betcha that IS how they might try to curb it!

CandymanJim

For no rhyme or reason ONE of my cards just posted the 25k bonus on the closing on the first statement. Miles and bonus promptly posted on AA. Still missing 45k from 2 previous cards. The Mrs. cards are missing simular miles. go figure! I am starting to believe these missing bonuses are unintentional, and more of a reflection of Citi to get their act together.

Jim

technique

I'm not surprised... They are pretty messed up over there...

ja_user

The CC division of Citi has generally had a good posting record, unlike the banking division. Maybe they both decided to use the same system

technique

I've had nothing but stellar luck with my AA miles posting 1 day after the statement cycles, always like clockwork... But there are many other divisions that can sink their hands into the mix, and those divisions are pretty messed up...

Additionally, citi as a whole is in a world of pain right now with 1000 being laid off and billions in debt... So, overall they are pretty messed up as well

jurisdr

No. It doesn't qualify.

If there's a promotional balance transfer offer you would like to take advantage of and not have your $750 in purchases be subject to a purchase apr, do this: Sign up for online account payment. Make $750 in purchases. Once the purchases post to the account, pay the amount in full online. The following day have balances transferred. This can all be done in a few days.

Marathon Man

strangely enough...

My wife's AA account got the bonus I mentioned in an earlier post above.

She had spent like $1,200 and this obviously triggered Citi to get the bonus.
Later, however, she had also returned a bunch of stuff to the stores she bought at when first getting this card. She returned what actually makes her net spending be BELOW the $ amount needed to trigger the bonus.

And to date, AA has NOT taken out any miles, but here's what her statement says if you look at it now:

*** CITI AADVANTAGE MILES UPDATE ***

Regular Miles Accumulated This Month : -177
Earned Miles: -177
Regular Miles-Current Balance: -177

It looks like some pro-rated amount they planned--at least on paper--to take back, unless she happens to spend the money again. Or, it could be related to miles from purchases made on the card and a minus amount to that actual purchase balance to date.

Interestingly, she has (gasp) NOT used her AA Citi mastercard at all in the past couple weeks and has a credit bal on there of over $500. She had sent in a payment that was able to cover initial spending but returned things after it posted. The returns were innocently done--ie, not just to try and get miles or something even though the items were returned.

She has them owing her money as we speak, but when she uses the card, it will all work itself out.

I am inclined to find out two things, however--if only to just find them out:

1) I know from experience if you go long enough with a credit balance on a Citi card, they will send you a check.

Would the miles still stick?

2) If she does use the card more but still has some sort of credit bal for another month, let's say, then would they actually deduct miles as shown above for some amount like that?

She did get the 25k bonus but in actuality, she now has not 'spent' the money needed to even trigger it. Oh wait, she did SPEND it, and paid the card already, but that's not her balance now.

All fun stuff to consider.
MM

sbagdon

I applied for this offer, and received my card in the mail, and was able to activate it immediately, yet had to go through off-shore tech support to link it to my online ID. I anticipate having no issues spending $750 over the next 4 months, just with "normal" spending. I'll pay it off as I go. Then I guess I'll mark it for closure, after 6-7 months. So... what card would someone suggest next? Apply for this same card, again? At 25K per card, this is too easy...

Steve B.