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Citi AA credit cards, except Executive. (2013-2014)

Old Jun 13, 2013, 2:57 pm
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SEE NEW THREAD - 50K AA Cards


As of Sunday August 25, 2013:
Reports indicate personal cards can no longer be rapidly churned.

Click HERE to review the previous thread on this topic.

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.

For information on the Executive version of this card, with $450 annual fee, not waived, see: Up to 100k miles Citi Executive AAdvantage offers

MOST CURRENT 50K LINKS:

Citi Personal and Business:50K miles & two Admirals Club one-day passes after $3000 spend in 3 months, $95 fee waived first year.

Citi AA Platinum Personal Mastercard, 50,000 miles after $3k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. Landing page available here. This is a CHIP and Signature card.

Landing page for 50K Business and Personal MC requires $3K spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. This page leads to the following application pages:
Landing page for 50K Business and Personal MC after $3K spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. This page leads to the following application pages:
Landing page for 50K Business and Personal MC after $3K spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. This page leads to the following application pages:
Landing page for 50K Business MC after $3K spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. This page leads to this application page.

OTHER PERSONAL CARDS

Citi Platinum Select Mastercard. 30,000 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. Up to $100 statement credit for AA purchases. Landing page available here.

Citi Platinum Select Mastercard. 30,000 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year.

Citi Gold Mastercard. 25,000 miles after $750 spend in 3 months. $50 annual fee, waived first year. Landing page available here

If you are already a Citigold customer, read this post from the Miles Professor about another 50K offer from your branch office for the American Airlines credit card.

OTHER BUSINESS CARDS

Citi Business MasterCard. 40,000 miles after $3k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. Landing page available here.

Citi Business Mastercard. 35,000 miles after $1.5k spend in 3 months.

Citi Business Mastercard. 30,000 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. Landing page available here.

Citi Business Mastercard. 30,000 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived first year. Up to $100 statement credit for AA purchases. Landing page available here.


Citibank Contacts/Resources (Please add the others that you know)
  • 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, dial option 3 then option 1 for application status
  • (800) 288-4653 Business Application Status and Reconsideration Line, dial option 3 then option 1 for application status
  • (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
  1. Are these AA cards churnable?
  2. What are the most current time-restriction rules in applying for all Citi cards?
  3. Do I need to close existing cards before applying?
  4. When should I close existing Citi accounts?
  5. Can I apply for a business card if I dont have a business?
  6. Can I buy Visa gift cards to meet my minimum spend?
  7. Do I get 10% back when redeeming miles for awards?
  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 I will be getting?
  10. When will my bonus miles post?
  11. I met the minimum spend. Why does my statement say "Miles Reported to AA: 0"?
  12. Can I cancel a card using secure messaging?
  13. I activated the card online and got a message about this card replacing an old card. What does that mean?
  14. Which credit bureau does Citi pull and can I force them to use a different one?

1. Are these AA cards churnable?
Yes and No. The general rules are:
  • Personal AA cards: As of August 25, 2013 all linked personal AA cards in this thread can be churned only after Citi decides that you are no longer an existing cardmember. This usually occurs between 12 and 26 months after your last successful AA personal card approval of any type including AA Executive card(s). If you want both a Platinum card and an Executive AA card and are eligible under the 12-26 month rule, get the Platinum card first or the Executive card will restart the clock. Although it is not a hard-and-fast rule, 18 months after previous approval is the most common. YMMV. You do not need to cancel old personal cards.
    • Note: You cannot circumvent this rule by applying for a card type different from your previous Citi AA card. If your last personal AA card was a Visa, the waiting period for your next personal AA card will be the same regardless of whether you apply for a Visa, MC, or Amex.

  • Business AA cards: have been churnable repeatedly by some people without restriction other than the general Citi application rules. Apply once every 91-95 days. For unknown reasons, some other people have been unable to churn business cards at all. Also, some (but not all) people need to completely cancel their previous business card (ie, cancel both the card account and the associated master account) before they can apply for another business card.

    Note: If you encounter difficulty in obtaining a Citi AA business card after holding one before, it may because of the unusual way Citi sets up business accounts. The business account per se has its own master number; like a standard MC/Visa, this master account number is 16 digits. In addition, each card on the account has its own 16-digit card number. Each of these numbers, including the number for the primary cardholder, is different from the master account number.

    Sometimes, when you call to close your card account, all the card numbers are canceled but the master account remains open. When this happens, subsequent applications for a business card may encounter difficulty. Online, there should be a dropdown of accounts under your business login; the number that match your card number is your card account, the number that does not match your card number is your master account. When cancelling, ask to cancel both accounts, giving the last 4 digts of each (as shown in that dropdown).


2. What are the most current time-restriction rules in applying for all Citi cards?
  • Only 1 Citi application of any kind per week (8 days to be safe).
  • No more than 2 Citi applications of any kind in 60 days (65 days to be safe).
  • No more than 1 Citi business application in 90 days (95 to be safe). This does not override the rules above.

While the day limits are a little flexible by a few days either way and YMMV, the rules themselves are not flexible. Note: In applying the rules above, count all Citi applications, including denials and/or applications for non-AA cards.

Mixed type Example:
Day 1 60K HHonors Visa
Day 9 or later 50K Personal Platinum Visa
Day 66 or later 50K Business #1
Day 74 or later 60K Executive
Day 161 or later 50K Business #2
18 Months, 74 days or later 50K Personal Platinum Visa

Not sure what day you applied? The date is written year, month, day in the application number: 201402280000 means you applied on Feb 28, 2014


3. Do I need to close existing cards before applying?
No. There is no requirement that you close previous personal accounts. People have reported having 4 or more of the exact same card. However, many people have reported problems getting AA Business cards if they have an open Business account.


4. When should I close existing Citi accounts?
This is a matter of personal preference. 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 (exception - miles were clawed back for returned merchandise around November 2011).

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 receive retention offers once every 6 months per card. See this thread for details on the latest retention offers.

Reasons to close accounts:
  • Having a large amount of available credit with Citi will eventually reduce your chances of instant approval. Your application will automatically be reviewed if your CL's total 75K or more. This may also result in a large disparity between existing account CL's and new CL's, such as 20K, 20K and 1K for a new card, as an example.
  • There is little incentive to pay an annual fee if it is not waived.
  • The annual fee on Business 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.


5. 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.


6. 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 can not do this.


7. 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 Citi 10% miles back / rebate for reward redemption.


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. AA does not care or even know how many Citi accounts you have so there is no harm in having your AAdvantage account number associated with multiple cards in your name. If you forget to add your AAdvantage account number to your application, an AAdvantage account in your name will be created and can later be merged with your existing account by calling AA.


9. There is nothing on the application page stating the bonus miles. How do I know what I will be getting?
You need to have faith in the people here if you want to maximize your miles. The people on this board constantly apply for these cards and report back what they are told are the benefits and what they actually receive. The way Citi works is that if you are approved for a card, you will get the bonus associated with the link you applied under as long as you make the minimum spend. It does not matter if you already had the card or anything else. If you are approved - then you get the bonus. The two exceptions to this are: 1. If you fail to clear your cache and accidentally load a cached application, you get the miles associated with that application and 2. Some people have recently succeeded in 'bumping the bonus' by contacting Citi and requesting a match to a 50K offer after applying for a 40K card. If you don't feel like trusting in the experiences of others, then apply for an offer with a landing page.


10. When will my bonus miles post?
Two working days after the date of the statement containing the charge that takes you across the spend threshold. It posts overnight, it'll be there when you check your AAdvantage account in the morning.


11. I met the minimum spend. Why does my statement say "Miles Reported to AA: 0"?
No one knows exactly why this is happening to some people (Citi blames AA, AA blames Citi, and both blame the merger). It supposedly has something to do with the time it takes them to properly link your AAdvantage number to your card. There are two ways to deal with this:
  • Wait 1-2 statement periods, and see if the points post on their own. Per Citi, it can take this long for the accounts to link.
  • Call AA (1-800-882-8880) and open a case about it. Most people have had their miles post within 2 weeks of doing this.

For ongoing discussion, see Some AA Citi Card miles not transferred to AAdvantage accounts [Q3 2013 - Q1 2014]


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


13. I activated the card online and got a message about this card replacing an old card. What does that mean?
When activating cards online, Citi normally displays the text:

"This account replaces your old account, which is now closed. Statements for your old account will be available for up to 6 months. Your current account summary and unbilled transactions are now listed under your new account number."
This is normal and is supposed to be displayed when activating a replacement card but it seems to display even when activating a brand new card. This is nothing to worry about.


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.


For rules and info on any offers that include Admirals club passes or statement credits, see here.
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Citi AA credit cards, except Executive. (2013-2014)

Old Aug 27, 2013, 7:59 pm
  #2356  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Programs: AA LTP, UA, DL, HH, Marriott/SPG
Posts: 583
I applied for Citi AA plat Visa w/ 50k bonus on 8/12 and upon calling in to get an instant decision, agent approved application. On 8/22, I applied for Citi AA Visa #2 and got the "you will be notified in a week...". I called in on Sunday (per message received) and application was approved. Online status didn't change to "congratulations" until Monday. I called today to see about getting a card expedited, but the agent said I would be getting it in 7-10 days. Without asking, the agent volunteered that my account shows the 50k promo. Looks like I barely made it!!

Last edited by I Love to Travel; Aug 27, 2013 at 8:10 pm
I Love to Travel is offline  
Old Aug 27, 2013, 8:14 pm
  #2357  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posts: 14,162
Originally Posted by wolfie52
...That is why I keep the goodies to myself. Greedy people always ruin it for the rest.
What is keeping it to yourself, if not greed?
PaulMSN is offline  
Old Aug 27, 2013, 9:03 pm
  #2358  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,060
Originally Posted by Superorb
Statement closed on my AA Biz today and I got the 10k match bump from 40k
On the 18th I got a 40K Biz - mega messup on my end to not have used the 50K link (or maybe it was not there on the 18th - not sure). Anyway, did you ask or did they give it to you?

If you asked was it via SM or call?

Thanks - I searched the thread ahead of time for match and biz, sorry if this is a repeated question
raccah is offline  
Old Aug 27, 2013, 9:07 pm
  #2359  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 657
Originally Posted by wolfie52
Unfortunately greed takes its toll.

I have used a "modified" churn system for years (made lots of free AA miles)...way before I found this blog, and specifically this wiki. I always kept the info to myself because people do not know how to do things correctly, they ALWAYS GET GREEDY....like applying for 3 or 4 (or more) of the same CC's!

I read, and re-read the language on the application pages for Citi AA CC's and I can not for the life of me understand why they WOULD NOT ENFORCE the conditions, that are almost ALWAYS THERE: "... not available to existing cardmembers or recent applicants for a Citi / AAdvantage credit card."

That is why I keep the goodies to myself. Greedy people always ruin it for the rest.
I imagined Scrooge McDuck jumping into to his tower of aa coins while calling others greedy when I read this.
drdrew450 is offline  
Old Aug 27, 2013, 11:35 pm
  #2360  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 28
Need some miles and decided to give it a shot. My citi AA account was closed about 2 or 3 month ago. Got a decision pending. Will see how it goes. Might call tomorrow.
tdk2999 is offline  
Old Aug 27, 2013, 11:41 pm
  #2361  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 256
Originally Posted by raccah
On the 18th I got a 40K Biz - mega messup on my end to not have used the 50K link (or maybe it was not there on the 18th - not sure). Anyway, did you ask or did they give it to you?

If you asked was it via SM or call?

Thanks - I searched the thread ahead of time for match and biz, sorry if this is a repeated question
I would like to know this too as I just got approved for the 40k/biz card a week ago. Need to know what to say in a SM to get whatever 10k match there is if there is any
oyouno is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 1:11 am
  #2362  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Hilton, Hyatt, Priority, SPG - AA, Hawaiian Airline, United, US Airline
Posts: 608
My data point:

Dec 3, 2012: approved the first Citi Plantinum 50,000 points
Dec 3, 2012: approved the second Amex Citi AAdvantage 50,000 points
Oct 2 2013: approved the first Citi AAdvantage business 50,000 points
July 14 2013: approved the third Citi Plantinum 50,000 points
July 24 2013: approved the forth Citi Plantinum 50,000 points

Base on this thread, the personal card can't be churn anymore. How about business version? I had the first business version on Oct 2 2013. The card is still not closed yet. When should I apply the second business version? Anybody knows? thanks!
happy9zz is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 2:23 am
  #2363  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: SFO, SJC
Programs: UA, AA, AS, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 706
Holy crap... if this is true, then perhaps all our churning will have been for naught:

http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...antage-awards/

Are AA miles going to become worthless pretty soon? Not to mention all the other major airlines following suit...
glu800 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 3:53 am
  #2364  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: STL
Programs: MR Plat Premier, IHG Spire, Hilton Diamond, Southwest CP
Posts: 623
Ugh...horrible news if this is truly coming.
arizonawildcat is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 5:17 am
  #2365  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Programs: UA MR UR AA
Posts: 107
Originally Posted by glu800
Holy crap... if this is true, then perhaps all our churning will have been for naught:

http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...antage-awards/

Are AA miles going to become worthless pretty soon? Not to mention all the other major airlines following suit...
Malaysia Airlines have always had fuel surcharges on award travel. I've flown with them via Enrich multiple times. I didn't think it would be any different when they joined OneWorld so at least to me it's not a big surprise.

Whether or not this spreads to other airlines is a big question now.

Correction: just read the blog and AA's twitter response. This is bad news.
farulg is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 6:03 am
  #2366  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SE coast USA
Programs: US, AA, AM, BA, HH, SPG, PC, Carlson, Marriott, Choice
Posts: 306
Originally Posted by glu800
Holy crap... if this is true, then perhaps all our churning will have been for naught:

http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...antage-awards/

Are AA miles going to become worthless pretty soon? Not to mention all the other major airlines following suit...
Well that does it for me; I'll forget that AA Business card application, in fact, I'll probably forget about all AA products and use those AA miles domestically ASAP - it's for sure we'll stop using the two cards we have! Thank goodness for SPG!
aglasgow is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 7:32 am
  #2367  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: STL
Programs: Hyatt Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 521
After reading that link, it's not just international travel that has fuel surcharges, but domestic, too, right?
doss1 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 8:22 am
  #2368  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: USA
Programs: All of em...
Posts: 1,262
Originally Posted by doss1
After reading that link, it's not just international travel that has fuel surcharges, but domestic, too, right?
No, just so far for Malaysia and British Airways.... Malaysia has always had surcharges and so has BA when booked separately, so it's not the biggest surprise on AA. What we can only hope and pray for is that it just stays like this and we will just never fly BA/Malaysia anymore :/

If they really do add it to everything, we can still use AA miles for hotel/car redemptions that we might not have done before, but we'll get something out of it. Also just sticking to AA will at least GET YOU to other countries. Less complicated routes but it can be done. I for one will not stop applying for AA cards and earning free miles.

BA devalued and I still get some rad free flights here and there.
Hilton devalued and I've still stayed in free hotels... not the end of the world but could certainly be lame!
x712xdamx is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 9:15 am
  #2369  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
Originally Posted by wolfie52
Unfortunately greed takes its toll.

I have used a "modified" churn system for years (made lots of free AA miles)...way before I found this blog, and specifically this wiki. I always kept the info to myself because people do not know how to do things correctly, they ALWAYS GET GREEDY....like applying for 3 or 4 (or more) of the same CC's!

I read, and re-read the language on the application pages for Citi AA CC's and I can not for the life of me understand why they WOULD NOT ENFORCE the conditions, that are almost ALWAYS THERE: "... not available to existing cardmembers or recent applicants for a Citi / AAdvantage credit card."

That is why I keep the goodies to myself. Greedy people always ruin it for the rest.
Well, this thread (and probably whole of FT and other such forums) is based on premise that users who found / got something nice would share it with others. It is definitely a 'win/win' situation for the business offering such goodies (Citi in this case) and consumers who take up the offer. I think it would be naive to believe that Citi closed their offer for a few applicants who applied for 3 or 4 or n cards! Number of FTers though quite big is probably a bucket in small pool of water.

Cheers!
fromfall98 is offline  
Old Aug 28, 2013, 9:18 am
  #2370  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,135
Folks, there's an entire thread -- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ls-follow.html -- devoted to this breaking (bad) news on fuel surcharges. May I suggest further YQ discussion be directed there, so we can keep this already mammoth thread from becoming even more diffuse? Please?
beltway is offline  

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