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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 Jul 13, 2013, 6:38 pm
  #646  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by IkeEsq
I have found that when I have too many cards, and thus too high an available CL, I seem to get deferred more. I still get the cards, it just takes a bit more effort. Usually this is not a big deal but when they mess with things and start denying people who call in but not ones who are auto-approved, it is a good thing. I definitely cancel cards that are coming up for annual fee.
I only pay the AF if there's some sort of anniversary bonus like the BA or USair cards. Both of my Citi HHonors cards have no annual fee so I wasn't sure if I should be keeping them open for any reason. And also if I go for AAdvantage Visa #2 bvefore or after canceling one of the HHonors cards. Also, I was approved for the AAdvantage Biz card June 5th if it makes a difference.
Superorb is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2013, 8:26 pm
  #647  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Originally Posted by Superorb
I only pay the AF if there's some sort of anniversary bonus like the BA or USair cards. Both of my Citi HHonors cards have no annual fee so I wasn't sure if I should be keeping them open for any reason. And also if I go for AAdvantage Visa #2 bvefore or after canceling one of the HHonors cards. Also, I was approved for the AAdvantage Biz card June 5th if it makes a difference.
That is fine when you have only a couple, but after a while they start piling up. My wife and I had 3-4 HHonors cards each before I started clearing out the most recent ones. Plus, we currently have 5 AA personal cards each (with my wife having a sixth showing up this week).

We never had a problem getting new Business cards with open Business cards so we just cancelled them before the AF came due as they don't do retention offers on Business cards AFAIK. Others have had problems so it makes sense to close them after the bonus posts.
IkeEsq is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2013, 9:11 pm
  #648  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 498
Originally Posted by IkeEsq
That is fine when you have only a couple, but after a while they start piling up. My wife and I had 3-4 HHonors cards each before I started clearing out the most recent ones. Plus, we currently have 5 AA personal cards each (with my wife having a sixth showing up this week).

We never had a problem getting new Business cards with open Business cards so we just cancelled them before the AF came due as they don't do retention offers on Business cards AFAIK. Others have had problems so it makes sense to close them after the bonus posts.
do you usually try to move over the credit limit when you close so your utilization percentage does not change your credit score? I know citi will not merge cards anymore but a call asking to move credit limit from 1 citi honors card to another must be amusing
aeneas3 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 1:38 am
  #649  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Hilton, Hyatt, Priority, SPG - AA, Hawaiian Airline, United, US Airline
Posts: 608
Hello, anyone helps me please ^_^
On 3rd Dec 2012, I was approved by 2 browser trick with
Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage Visa Signature (50k bonus)
Citi Select / AAdvantage American Express card (50k bonus)

On Feb 10 2013, I was approved for this card:
CitiBusiness / AAdvantage card Visa (50k bonus)

Today is 07/13/13, I was approved for Citi AA platinum Personal Visa, 50k after $3000 spend in 3 months.

So in the next 2 weeks (to be safe), which AA cards should I apply to get another bonus?

Thank you very much for your help!
happy9zz is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 5:15 am
  #650  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Originally Posted by aeneas3
do you usually try to move over the credit limit when you close so your utilization percentage does not change your credit score? I know citi will not merge cards anymore but a call asking to move credit limit from 1 citi honors card to another must be amusing
No, I don't bother. Part of the point of reducing cards is reducing total CL so that they don't have to manually reduce total CL and can approve you automatically. I have never had a problem getting a Citi card unless it was because of their rules on application frequency.
IkeEsq is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 5:16 am
  #651  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Originally Posted by happy9zz
Today is 07/13/13, I was approved for Citi AA platinum Personal Visa, 50k after $3000 spend in 3 months.

So in the next 2 weeks (to be safe), which AA cards should I apply to get another bonus?

Thank you very much for your help!
Same card and link if it is still live. Wait 8 days.
IkeEsq is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 1:45 pm
  #652  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 299
Thanks guys took the plunge today. Approvals:

Citi AA Plat Visa 1/30/13
Citi Gold MC 5/3/13
Citi AA Plat Visa 7/14/13 (today)

Approved via chat today! Yay! This is exciting since I missed out on the 2BM method by just a few days Not sure if I will push my luck and try again in a week...

Last edited by waingro; Jul 14, 2013 at 2:28 pm
waingro is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 3:37 pm
  #653  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Hilton, Hyatt, Priority, SPG - AA, Hawaiian Airline, United, US Airline
Posts: 608
Originally Posted by IkeEsq
Same card and link if it is still live. Wait 8 days.
Are you sure for same card same link again? It is my first time to know about this!!!! What about the master version?
happy9zz is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 5:16 pm
  #654  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Live large.

Originally Posted by waingro
Thanks guys took the plunge today. Approvals:

Citi AA Plat Visa 1/30/13
Citi Gold MC 5/3/13
Citi AA Plat Visa 7/14/13 (today)

Approved via chat today! Yay! This is exciting since I missed out on the 2BM method by just a few days Not sure if I will push my luck and try again in a week...
IkeEsq is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 5:17 pm
  #655  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Originally Posted by happy9zz
Are you sure for same card same link again? It is my first time to know about this!!!! What about the master version?
If you don't want another 50K points then feel free to go for some other card.
IkeEsq is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 5:28 pm
  #656  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by IkeEsq
That is fine when you have only a couple, but after a while they start piling up. My wife and I had 3-4 HHonors cards each before I started clearing out the most recent ones. Plus, we currently have 5 AA personal cards each (with my wife having a sixth showing up this week).

We never had a problem getting new Business cards with open Business cards so we just cancelled them before the AF came due as they don't do retention offers on Business cards AFAIK. Others have had problems so it makes sense to close them after the bonus posts.
So I should start pruning the herd of Citi cards with no annual fees? The AF isn't due on both till December, but would it still be a good idea to cancel one of them?

Citi gave me a HUGE CL on my most recent AAdvantage Biz card, double what they normally give me.
Superorb is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 6:35 pm
  #657  
KPT
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: HND
Programs: JAL Sapphire
Posts: 542
Can these still be downgraded to Bronze?
KPT is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2013, 10:52 pm
  #658  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: FL
Posts: 57
Originally Posted by CFFrost
Thanks for the reply and info. Sounds like they just expedited a "replacement" card for you (which, I can see from a security perspective why they might not want to expedite a new card but might be willing to expedite a card on an existing account). Maybe if I wait until Monday they will be able to expedite a card for me? I'm just trying to make sure I have the card by Thursday at the latest as I will be heading out of town.

Edit to Add: I tried to call and ask for the card to be expedited, but once again was rebuffed. It strikes me as very odd that Citi is so unwilling to do this when Amex does it automatically on most cards, and other issuers do it on request. The initial rep I chatted with online told me I would have the card "no later then this time next week." However, the phone rep told me 7-10 days.
I suppose that is possible. Although the rep who finally said he would rush it for me didnt mention anything like that. And i did also have other reps tell me it wasnt possible because i was a first time card holder. And when I asked further was told they can do that only if you already have some kind of account with Citi.. So that fits your security theory.. I dont really know, but I guess I got away with something that usually doesnt happen. So maybe you could just request a replacement card?! But i remember the 7-10 days time frame quote and know i got BOTH cards before then. I hope you get it soon!
hnf8705 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2013, 12:19 am
  #659  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4
Wanna share my experience.

Applied for 50k VISA 7/6/2013, instant approval;
Re-applied for the same one 7/14/2013, get pending message. And then approved via chat.

I have a fairly thin credit history. So if the first one gets approved, don't hesitate to apply again the following week. It should be fairly easy
lwang138 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2013, 12:21 am
  #660  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 249
A family member asked a question that I am hoping someone knows the answer too. He would like to apply for the 50K visa for his wife but she is a stay at home mom and has no income of her own. They don't live in a community property state but would he be able to put his income in the application ? Otherwise her separate income would be zero ? They do own a home jointly as we'll as bank account and money market and stock.

TIA
felicity5 is offline  

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