Up to 40k AAdvantage Miles -- Citibank Checking for Citi AA cardholders
#151
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PHX
Posts: 380
Considering this is a bank card linked to a bank account, it makes no sense for it to be a credit trans. It's stated in the offers T&C as well. The CR has no idea what he or she is talking about.
1. To qualify for 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles, open a new regular checking account in The Citibank Account or Citigold account package by 10/31/10. You must then begin performing at least 1 direct deposit to, or at least 2 electronic bill payments from, or 5 or more debit card purchases from, the checking account each month for 2 consecutive months. You must begin performing these qualifying account activities within 60 days of account opening.
1. To qualify for 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles, open a new regular checking account in The Citibank Account or Citigold account package by 10/31/10. You must then begin performing at least 1 direct deposit to, or at least 2 electronic bill payments from, or 5 or more debit card purchases from, the checking account each month for 2 consecutive months. You must begin performing these qualifying account activities within 60 days of account opening.
Agreed but why chance it. I would just do credit.
#152
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 1,028
#153
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 317
If make credit purchases late in the month, and they don't post until the next month, for which month do they count?
And by "month" do they mean calendar month or statement month?
Thanks. I've messaged Citi with this questions but am still waiting for a response.
And by "month" do they mean calendar month or statement month?
Thanks. I've messaged Citi with this questions but am still waiting for a response.
#154
Join Date: Oct 2010
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 4
Citi / AAdvantage credit card required or not required...that is the question.
I recently signed up for a Citibank Basic Checking account so I could earn AAdvantage miles with purchases from my debit card, but recently upgraded my account to a Citigold account. Now I found out about this promotion, so I contacted Citibank whether I still qualify or not and received this response:
I put the important sentences in bold. So from the sound of it, I can go ahead and try to complete the requirements, but I won't be sure whether or not I'll get the miles because I don't have a Citi / AAdvantage credit card. In other words, because I wasn't targeted and I'm not being tracked in the system.
So my question for the rest of you from your experiences is: will I have to have been targeted or own a Citi / AAdvantage credit card to get the miles?
Thank you for your recent message regarding eligibility to earn the 20,000 AAdvantage miles plus an additional 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles.
I will be happy to assist you with your message today. If you received this promotion ( assuming that you have an existing Citi/AAdvantage Credit Card,) then your opening of a Citigold account is being tracked in the system. To qualify for 20,000 AAdvantage miles, you must within 60 days of account opening complete at least one direct deposit to, or at least two electronic bill payments from, the checking account, or five or more debit card purchases for two consecutive months to earn the first 20,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles.
To qualify for another 20,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles, you must deposit a minimum of $25,000 by 10/31/10 in new money (funds that are not from another account at Citi or affiliate of Citi) to a new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account and complete one of the above qualifying activities from the checking account for an additional third month.
The 20,000 AAdvantage miles increments will be credited to customer's AAdvantage account within 90 days from the end of the statement period in which you met all qualifying requirements stated in this offer. Customer's Citibank regular checking account in the Citibank Account or Citigold account package and Citi /AAdvantage credit card account must be open and in good standing at the time the AAdvantage bonus miles are posted to customer's AAdvantage account.
Thank you for banking with Citigold. We appreciate your business and the opportunity to serve you.
I will be happy to assist you with your message today. If you received this promotion ( assuming that you have an existing Citi/AAdvantage Credit Card,) then your opening of a Citigold account is being tracked in the system. To qualify for 20,000 AAdvantage miles, you must within 60 days of account opening complete at least one direct deposit to, or at least two electronic bill payments from, the checking account, or five or more debit card purchases for two consecutive months to earn the first 20,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles.
To qualify for another 20,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles, you must deposit a minimum of $25,000 by 10/31/10 in new money (funds that are not from another account at Citi or affiliate of Citi) to a new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account and complete one of the above qualifying activities from the checking account for an additional third month.
The 20,000 AAdvantage miles increments will be credited to customer's AAdvantage account within 90 days from the end of the statement period in which you met all qualifying requirements stated in this offer. Customer's Citibank regular checking account in the Citibank Account or Citigold account package and Citi /AAdvantage credit card account must be open and in good standing at the time the AAdvantage bonus miles are posted to customer's AAdvantage account.
Thank you for banking with Citigold. We appreciate your business and the opportunity to serve you.
So my question for the rest of you from your experiences is: will I have to have been targeted or own a Citi / AAdvantage credit card to get the miles?
#155
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
based on my past experience with citi promos, just save your receipts and the date of the transaction is what counts. Later, you will see these on your monthly statement and that same date should appear. Thus, if you did the transaction say, today, it will count. Again, always save your receipts
#156
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 317
based on my past experience with citi promos, just save your receipts and the date of the transaction is what counts. Later, you will see these on your monthly statement and that same date should appear. Thus, if you did the transaction say, today, it will count. Again, always save your receipts
#157
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
I'm not saying citi asks for receipts, but if you do transactions that give one, keep it and use it if needed to prove when something took place if you have to do that later on.
#158
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 317
Thanks. I actually just got a message from a CSR too, and updated the first post with the information. I never thought about keeping receipts but that seems wise whenever you're trying to fulfill an offer's terms.
#159
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
my rule of thumb with ANY promo ANYWHERE is to keep EVERYTHING until your miles or points or whatever you are doing actually comes to fruition. I have been known to even keep a photocopy of the very envelope I might send out in the mail when doing some sort of rebate. The theory is that not only will you have things to back you up in case of error, but also, at the end of the day, the guy with the most paperwork wins.
then it makes for good fire starter material later.
I have also, in attempts to save paper, printed things to PDF or scanned them in. There are even apps out there that let you upload such pdf files or scans so that you can simply provide a link to someone in an email instead of having to attach the file. That way, if dealing with some agency that might not accept attachments, you can show them what you need to without having to worry.
This one does ok: http://issuu.com/
It can change fonts in PDFs but if you scan to image, that should work instead. If you do that, however, not all smart phones can see the image.
I know this veers off base a bit, but the idea with these promos--especially from Citi--is to be as thorough as possible. If you miss a beat, they WILL screw up and you will lose because of it. It's kinda like how if I'm driving my car up the highway and for a moment I do NOT think of the police. It is in that moment that one appears on the side of the road and I get nervous if I was speeding. Then it's all about stepping on the break in time.
So you gotta always look... and be extra prepared in promo land until you get where you are going.
MM
#160
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
I would also print out the transaction activity in my checking acct to show the debit charges there.
#161
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: fort worth, texas
Posts: 945
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I know the safe thing to do would be to park the $25k in the savings account until the bonus posts.
However, having re-read the T&Cs and comments, I don't see how they can deny the extra 20k if the funds are deposited and stay until 10/31 before being yanked out.
The opportunity cost of keeping $25k in a low-interest account for 2 months+, vs. moving it back to a 4% reward checking account seems too high to me, and something Citibank shouldn't be able to reneg on if I dispute later.
On another note: those sweating the definition of a debit card purchase-- I think you'll be fine either way on whether it's processed as a debit or credit, but you can always try 5 of each in a month if you're that paranoid. Go to a grocery store self check-out for some small transactions or pay a bill/donate online in a few $1 increments if you need to.
However, having re-read the T&Cs and comments, I don't see how they can deny the extra 20k if the funds are deposited and stay until 10/31 before being yanked out.
The opportunity cost of keeping $25k in a low-interest account for 2 months+, vs. moving it back to a 4% reward checking account seems too high to me, and something Citibank shouldn't be able to reneg on if I dispute later.
On another note: those sweating the definition of a debit card purchase-- I think you'll be fine either way on whether it's processed as a debit or credit, but you can always try 5 of each in a month if you're that paranoid. Go to a grocery store self check-out for some small transactions or pay a bill/donate online in a few $1 increments if you need to.
#162
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: IAD, TPE
Posts: 465
I am in for the initial 20k miles but there are conflicting reports in this thread as to whether there is or is not a monthly fee, is there a consensus here?
#163
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 317
There IS a minimum of $6,000 to avoid fees. However, fees MAY be waived. In my case, my first month's fees were waived even though I did not meet the minimum holding requirement. I do not know if which, if any, of my future fees will be waived.
#164
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 327
I am surprised with CITI customer service rep. I called to figure out how should I make the transfer of 25k in my savings. So, she said you can go to branch and do that. So far so good. Now comes the funny part, I asked her since I opened this account last month with promotion C22D, I want to make sure when and where my miles would go. Now, she has no idea where the AAdvantage number will be. She kept saying, it won't show up until you make the 25k deposit and I keep explaining that deposit is only required for 20k miles.
She then said, she needs to "enroll" me in the advantage program, I was like I already have advantage account. So, she goes I'll transfer you to advantage department and then can link your accounts. huh?
The only good thing I've done is linked my AA citi visa card with this accounts and it has my advantage number. Hope this will go smooth.
Does any one know how they figure out the advantage number ? I read earlier posts which says they will match by SSN (how? I don't think I gave my ssn to advatage program)
She then said, she needs to "enroll" me in the advantage program, I was like I already have advantage account. So, she goes I'll transfer you to advantage department and then can link your accounts. huh?
The only good thing I've done is linked my AA citi visa card with this accounts and it has my advantage number. Hope this will go smooth.
Does any one know how they figure out the advantage number ? I read earlier posts which says they will match by SSN (how? I don't think I gave my ssn to advatage program)
#165
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: BKK
Programs: AA Plat, HH Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,395
Not sure about the fuss over the SSN being used to find the AAdvantage number. It has nothing to do with AA having your SSN, and everything to do with having a Citi AAdvantage credit card.
I.e., Citi has your SSN on file (tied to cc); Citi has your AA number on file (tied to same cc); Citi uses your SSN to look up the Citi cc account where your AA number is on file. Pretty straightforward stuff.
Regarding the $25k savings deposit: I've carefully read the available supporting documentation at least three times, and AFAIK, the is no mention anywhere regarding a minimum deposit period. Based on my reading, there should be no consequence to depositing the $25k on 10/31 and withdrawing it on 11/1... personally, I'd be prepared to take that chance and do major battle with them if they tried to weasel out. (Disclaimer: not a lawyer, not a Citi employee, just experienced with this kind of stuff)
I.e., Citi has your SSN on file (tied to cc); Citi has your AA number on file (tied to same cc); Citi uses your SSN to look up the Citi cc account where your AA number is on file. Pretty straightforward stuff.
Regarding the $25k savings deposit: I've carefully read the available supporting documentation at least three times, and AFAIK, the is no mention anywhere regarding a minimum deposit period. Based on my reading, there should be no consequence to depositing the $25k on 10/31 and withdrawing it on 11/1... personally, I'd be prepared to take that chance and do major battle with them if they tried to weasel out. (Disclaimer: not a lawyer, not a Citi employee, just experienced with this kind of stuff)