was informed that the Amex in Orange,Ca only got the notice yesterday, and anyone who went there before yesterday was in fact sold the TCs
As for the Charge Cards (those are the ones where the entire balance Must be paid off by the due date). They are still good, However , its Only 1 time per month and for $1000 max. BTW thats retroactive, so if you got TCs using any of these cards after 10/7, you will be DENIED until the 30 day period has passed
IMO Amex is Stupid for ending the issuance of the TCs. If they had 1/2 a brain they would simply switch it from a "Purchase" to a "Ca$h Advance" then refund any fees and by switching after the transaction has gone thru. Of cause that wouldnt help anyone looking for Pts, but it will still allow Amex to issue the TCs against their own CCs w/o a fee, or they can reverse the %. They can limit it to a couple of grand a month. That way those who want them for their original intended reasons can still get them Fee Free and all. No one else would go get them since there wouldnt be any Pts to be gained and a hassle in having to call up to get the % reversed.
The good thing for Amex is they wont end up getting those people who are coming to them for purchasing Foreign Currency or actually using Ca$h to buy TCs and the Fees, angry any longer when they see the size of the line they need to wait on. I could tell you stories of how people felt till now. For Amex its a Win-Win for Us its a Lose-Lose
I stopped doing this deal in June when I was gearing up to buy my house. Today I decided to start it up again and I'm so sad! I could understand taking the points away but we should still be able to buy them fee free with any amex card.
I agree but, there were posts where people posted hey, get the TCs deposit them into your money market acct etc and earn some % before having to pay it off.
Citibank Real-Time Account Opening lets you open an account instantly*. It only takes four simple steps.
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Then you agree to the terms and disclosures, and certify your tax status. We'll ask questions about your finances that only you should be able to answer. This helps to prevent anyone else from opening an account in your name. You can make your initial deposit from another account — just have a blank check handy. Or use your credit or debit card.
You are applying for: The Citibank Account
w/ 6 Month CDOffer Code: CKC2
Citibank Online Credit/Debit Card Deposit Form:
Keep this in mind when using a credit or debit card to fund your account:·Your credit card issuer may regard this transaction as a cash advance or a purchase and impose a fee. Check your cardholder agreement for details. ·The amount you can deposit may be limited by the cash advance limit on your credit card·The charge to your credit or debit card won't occur until we receive this signed authorization form.·The name on the credit or debit card must match the name of the signer or co-signer on this application.
I called Citibank and was told that Citicards WOULD treat the transaction as a cash advance and charge applicible fees.
Last edited by Schutzee; Nov 7, 08 at 2:46 pm.
Reason: add potential fee info
At any rate... it's now the moment of truth, I'm going to make a trip to my local AMEX Travel Center... wish me luck!
AND....
Luck was not with me!
Went to my regular place that I've been going to every week for the better part of a year, and the TC lady who I know quite well told me that she's got 'bad news' even before I presented my cards and asked to buy the TC's.
Yup, they got a memo from AMEX telling them only charge cards can buy TC's.
She did say we were still allowed to buy 'gift cheques', but, at $2.50 per $100, no thank you.
She did suggest to drop buy every once and a while to see if they change policy on this, but, in the mean time it's a no go.
I think I will call customer service, once my current round of points post. I don't expect much to come of it, but, I'll try to play the 'I have an annual fee on this card, and now it has lost benefits' angle. Who knows, maybe I get a nice and sympathetic CSR and they offer some bonus SPG points, or waive my coming annual fee ... but, more than likely, they do nothing at all.
I have to call them anyway in the near future because they previously promised some bonus points to both HHonors and SPG but they never posted, however, I had been puttting it off as I didn't want the CSR to look at my purchases and draw attention to the fact that dollar wise about 92% my purchases have been TC's. Now, it really doesn't matter.
"I think I will call customer service, once my current round of points post. I don't expect much to come of it, but, I'll try to play the 'I have an annual fee on this card, and now it has lost benefits' angle. Who knows, maybe I get a nice and sympathetic CSR and they offer some bonus SPG points, or waive my coming annual fee ... but, more than likely, they do nothing at all."
I would not call them on TC cancellation unless you are looking to get a credit review or a reduction of your credit line. This was a clitch in their system and they finally realized it. Based on my previous history with AMEX and the 100+ entries on this blog, you are risking a whole lot of grief questioning this corporate decision.
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David Cooper
"I think I will call customer service, once my current round of points post. I don't expect much to come of it, but, I'll try to play the 'I have an annual fee on this card, and now it has lost benefits' angle. Who knows, maybe I get a nice and sympathetic CSR and they offer some bonus SPG points, or waive my coming annual fee ... but, more than likely, they do nothing at all."
I would not call them on TC cancellation unless you are looking to get a credit review or a reduction of your credit line. This was a clitch in their system and they finally realized it. Based on my previous history with AMEX and the 100+ entries on this blog, you are risking a whole lot of grief questioning this corporate decision.
I refrained from calling CSR in the past for 'any' reason while the deal was alive, as of course to avoid hassle. But, there's not much use for
'me' to have the AMEX cards any more. A financial review from AMEX doesn't mean much to me as they're not my primary cards anyway. From what I read the only thing to do is 'if' they give you a financial review either a) comply, if you want to keep your accounts or b) cancel your accounts before 'they' cancel them in order to keep your FICO score higher.
Correct me if I'm wrong, if you don't 'care' about keeping the AMEX cards any more, do you need to fear a financial review?
Oh... and just to be clear, I'm not going to call and ask 'why they're not letting me earn points on TC purchases any more'. I'm a little more tactful than that. As mentioned previously the goal is not to get the 'deal' back on -- that's impossible, it's to see if there's any sympathy points for causing me to 'waste' gas and go drive to the AMEX store, 100 miles away to buy fee free TC's for a coming trip and I knew it was a benefit of the card, and now that benefit isn't there any more...
I called Citibank and was told that Citicards WOULD treat the transaction as a cash advance and charge applicible fees.
I just called and opened one up; asked several times if it'd be treated as a purchase, and the answer is YES. I'll watch my statement to see if it's indeed treated as purchase. You can use either Visa, MC or AMEX.
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Posts: 244
NO to being able to use AMEX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mul
I just called and opened one up; asked several times if it'd be treated as a purchase, and the answer is YES. I'll watch my statement to see if it's indeed treated as purchase. You can use either Visa, MC or AMEX.
From my experience you absolutely cannot use AMEX for this purpose. If you could, it would be some quick Starpoints, but no one has ever posted being able to do so...
From my experience you absolutely cannot use AMEX for this purpose. If you could, it would be some quick Starpoints, but no one has ever posted being able to do so...
It's supposed to work only w/ Citibank's credit card...
From my experience you absolutely cannot use AMEX for this purpose. If you could, it would be some quick Starpoints, but no one has ever posted being able to do so...
There is a Citibank AMEX from AA. I got it recently w/ 25K bonus AA miles & no annual fee the 1st year. but I was told that AMEX TC purchases would be treated as cash advances.
Programs: AA Plat Delta Gold Hilton Gold Hyatt Gold Marriott Plat SPG Plat US Gold
Posts: 244
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mul
It's supposed to work only w/ Citibank's credit card...
Sorry Just to clarify... The only credit cards I have successfully completed this sort of "deal" with Citibank, were the Citi AAdvantage Mastercard & the Citi AAdvantage Visa Signature.
However, the Citi select AMEX AAdvantage card (or any AMEX CARD) cannot be used for this purpose.
Furthermore, I have been told multiple times by Citi Customer Reps that it can be any Visa or Mastercard, not just specifically Citi cards.
AA citi Amex
but I was told that AMEX TC purchases would be treated as cash advances.
