Death Of The Citi Dividend Card
Aug 21, 2006, 8:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 203
Death Of The Citi Dividend Card
Here's a letter I received from Citibank:
Looks like I have to look for another "everyday purchases" card now...
Originally Posted by Citibank
Please note the following important changes to your Citi Dividend Card Reward Program.
Dear SOhp101,
With your Citi Dividend Card you can earn cash back on purchases, eligible cash advances and qualifying balance transfers. Effective October 13th, your Citi Dividend Card Reward Program is changing as follows:
- You will earn only 2% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations.
However, you will also earn 2% cash back on more purchases that may touch your everyday life, as we are adding convenience stores and utilities including cable,* to the above list.
So, as of October 13, you will earn 2% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores and utilities including cable.
Cash back is shown on your billing statement as Dividend Dollars. The following terms of the rewards program reimain the same, so you will continue to enjoy earning cash back on all types of transactions:
- 1% cash back on all other purchases... [text]
- 1% cash back on cash advances... [text]
- 5 Dividend Dollars for each balance transfer transaction of $1,500 or more... [text]
- Redeem when you've earned 50 Dividend Dollars.... [text]
- Continue to earn a maximum of 300 Dividend Dollars in a calendar year... [text]
- Earn unlimited cash back with the Dividend Merchant Network... [text]
Keep earning your current cash back on purchases until the above changes take effect. Remember, your Citi Dividend Card lets you earn cash back on all types of transactions that may touch your life every day. So, use your card to keep earning Dividend Dollars everywhere you shop.
Sincerely,
Kendall E. Stork, President and CEO
Citibank (South Dakota), N.A.
*Convenience stores are stand-alone merchants who sell a limited variety of food items. Utilities are defined as electric, gas power, water supply, refuse services, excluding telephone services. Cable is defined as satellite and other pay television and radio services.
Dear SOhp101,
With your Citi Dividend Card you can earn cash back on purchases, eligible cash advances and qualifying balance transfers. Effective October 13th, your Citi Dividend Card Reward Program is changing as follows:
- You will earn only 2% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations.
However, you will also earn 2% cash back on more purchases that may touch your everyday life, as we are adding convenience stores and utilities including cable,* to the above list.
So, as of October 13, you will earn 2% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores and utilities including cable.
Cash back is shown on your billing statement as Dividend Dollars. The following terms of the rewards program reimain the same, so you will continue to enjoy earning cash back on all types of transactions:
- 1% cash back on all other purchases... [text]
- 1% cash back on cash advances... [text]
- 5 Dividend Dollars for each balance transfer transaction of $1,500 or more... [text]
- Redeem when you've earned 50 Dividend Dollars.... [text]
- Continue to earn a maximum of 300 Dividend Dollars in a calendar year... [text]
- Earn unlimited cash back with the Dividend Merchant Network... [text]
Keep earning your current cash back on purchases until the above changes take effect. Remember, your Citi Dividend Card lets you earn cash back on all types of transactions that may touch your life every day. So, use your card to keep earning Dividend Dollars everywhere you shop.
Sincerely,
Kendall E. Stork, President and CEO
Citibank (South Dakota), N.A.
*Convenience stores are stand-alone merchants who sell a limited variety of food items. Utilities are defined as electric, gas power, water supply, refuse services, excluding telephone services. Cable is defined as satellite and other pay television and radio services.
Last edited by SOhp101; Aug 21, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Aug 22, 2006, 6:29 am
#4
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Sugar Land,Texas USA
Posts: 4,889
from WSJ.
You will have to goto http://www.wsj.com for the rest of the article.
I guess my everyday card will have be changed as well.
Originally Posted by Wall Street Journals
Citigroup Cuts Size of
Cash-Back Carrot on Card
In another sign of the rising popularity and cost of credit-card rewards programs, Citigroup Inc. is cutting back on the amount of cash some cardholders can earn on purchases made at supermarkets, gasoline stations and drugstores.
Holders of Citigroup's Citi Dividend MasterCard have begun receiving 30-day notices that as soon as October they will receive 2% cash back, rather than the current 5%, on purchases they make at those locations using their credit card.
The change comes following a similar move by American Express Co., which recently announced it would no longer offer double rewards when customers use their card for "everyday spending" at locations similar to those covered by the Citigroup move.
Citigroup, however, while cutting back the amount of its cash-back rewards, is offering Citi Dividend MasterCard cardholders more types of businesses where they can receive cash back. Purchases made at convenience stores and utilities, including cable operators, will be eligible for 2% cash-back rewards when the card is used. Cardholders are eligible to receive an annual maximum of $300 cash back.
The cardholders will receive an average of 5% back on purchases they make through Citigroup's Dividend Merchant Network, a group of more than 300 participating retailers. The cash earned back through the network doesn't apply to the annual maximum.
In the past few years, card companies have encouraged customers to use plastic for purchases that previously were made with cash. By reducing the benefits associated with some types of purchases, card issuers appear to be betting that customers no longer need incentives to use their cards for everyday purchases like gasoline.
Cash-Back Carrot on Card
In another sign of the rising popularity and cost of credit-card rewards programs, Citigroup Inc. is cutting back on the amount of cash some cardholders can earn on purchases made at supermarkets, gasoline stations and drugstores.
Holders of Citigroup's Citi Dividend MasterCard have begun receiving 30-day notices that as soon as October they will receive 2% cash back, rather than the current 5%, on purchases they make at those locations using their credit card.
The change comes following a similar move by American Express Co., which recently announced it would no longer offer double rewards when customers use their card for "everyday spending" at locations similar to those covered by the Citigroup move.
Citigroup, however, while cutting back the amount of its cash-back rewards, is offering Citi Dividend MasterCard cardholders more types of businesses where they can receive cash back. Purchases made at convenience stores and utilities, including cable operators, will be eligible for 2% cash-back rewards when the card is used. Cardholders are eligible to receive an annual maximum of $300 cash back.
The cardholders will receive an average of 5% back on purchases they make through Citigroup's Dividend Merchant Network, a group of more than 300 participating retailers. The cash earned back through the network doesn't apply to the annual maximum.
In the past few years, card companies have encouraged customers to use plastic for purchases that previously were made with cash. By reducing the benefits associated with some types of purchases, card issuers appear to be betting that customers no longer need incentives to use their cards for everyday purchases like gasoline.
I guess my everyday card will have be changed as well.
Aug 22, 2006, 7:41 am
#5
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA Plat, HH Gold, SPG Gold, HH Gold, Marriott Silver, Amex Plat, GlobalEntry, SW A-List Preferred
Posts: 866
Originally Posted by afang
I guess my everyday card will have be changed as well.
My cable company (RCN) stopped taking credit cards for payment 4 months ago so the new benefit is useless for me. I lost $2500/year in charges (I have all the channels, internet, and multiple phone lines).
I still have my Chase Cash Plus Rewards and a Citi Chairman. Someone posted a link to 5% cash back HSBC card in another thread.
Aug 22, 2006, 7:59 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Philadelphia
Programs: AA (Exec Plat), ANA (Plat), Club Carlson (Gld), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Plat), SPG (Gld)
Posts: 447
Also, the drivers edge card really stands out as it has no annual fee and earns 6% cashback for the 1st year on everyday purchases and then 3% after the first year. Plus these rebates can be matched to your drive rebates which effectively makes it worth 12% and 6% respectively if you drive enough. Also, the annual cap is $1000 with a max of $500 dollars coming from drive rebates. The only downside is you can only use the points for car related services, to purchase/lease a new car, or transfer the purchase points to the thankyou network but you can't transfer the drive rebates to the thankyou network so premier pass elite and chairman are better if you do a lot of flying.
Aug 23, 2006, 3:00 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: DCA
Posts: 291
Alternate cards?
I, too, received my letter yesterday and am seriously contemplating cancelling. Any other suggestions for a good everyday, no-annual-fee Visa/Mastercard to replace it? I'd prefer cash over points (unless they introduce a Starwood Visa/MC!).
Aug 24, 2006, 4:53 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: BOS
Posts: 3,534
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/hspr-H102; Blazer/4.0) 16;320x320)
There are not a lot of choices left. Most of the 5% cards are being phased out. Chase had an equivalent card to the Citi card that you can no longer apply for even over the phone.
There is a long thread on the Fatwallet finance forum about other options but I doubt any of them will be around for long. Credit card incentives are like airfares. Without competitive pressure they tend to get worse.
There are not a lot of choices left. Most of the 5% cards are being phased out. Chase had an equivalent card to the Citi card that you can no longer apply for even over the phone.
There is a long thread on the Fatwallet finance forum about other options but I doubt any of them will be around for long. Credit card incentives are like airfares. Without competitive pressure they tend to get worse.
Aug 24, 2006, 5:38 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,495
Best replacements right now appear to be:
http://chasecashback.com (Edit: no longer appears to be a 5% link)
http://directrewardscard.com
Some have intimated the latter is a scam and not a real cc site, but it appears on fatwallet people have been getting the actual card. It's not clear how much longer Chase will offer their 5% back card now that Citi is dumping Dividend Rewards.
http://chasecashback.com (Edit: no longer appears to be a 5% link)
http://directrewardscard.com
Some have intimated the latter is a scam and not a real cc site, but it appears on fatwallet people have been getting the actual card. It's not clear how much longer Chase will offer their 5% back card now that Citi is dumping Dividend Rewards.
Last edited by themicah; Sep 28, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Aug 25, 2006, 9:57 am
#11
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 587
Originally Posted by Lurker1999
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/hspr-H102; Blazer/4.0) 16;320x320)
There are not a lot of choices left. Most of the 5% cards are being phased out. Chase had an equivalent card to the Citi card that you can no longer apply for even over the phone.
There is a long thread on the Fatwallet finance forum about other options but I doubt any of them will be around for long. Credit card incentives are like airfares. Without competitive pressure they tend to get worse.
There are not a lot of choices left. Most of the 5% cards are being phased out. Chase had an equivalent card to the Citi card that you can no longer apply for even over the phone.
There is a long thread on the Fatwallet finance forum about other options but I doubt any of them will be around for long. Credit card incentives are like airfares. Without competitive pressure they tend to get worse.
Does anyone know if the Citi AMEX Dividend card is also being phased out ??? I saw an ad for it in the paper recently and it has the same terms as the 5% Dividend card. I might try switching over to this if Citi is not going to change it.
Aug 25, 2006, 10:13 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,495
Originally Posted by steve4
Does anyone know if the Citi AMEX Dividend card is also being phased out ??? I saw an ad for it in the paper recently and it has the same terms as the 5% Dividend card. I might try switching over to this if Citi is not going to change it.
Also note that many grocery stores and gas stations don't accept Amex. If the ones you frequent do accept Amex, however, Amex has its own 5% card: Amex Blue Cash.
Note that this card requires you to spend $6500 BEFORE the 5% benefit kicks in. But they then give 5% on groceries/gas/drugstores and 1.5% on everything else until you get to $50k spending in a year, so it's a great choice for cash back if you spend enough.
Aug 25, 2006, 11:10 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,404
Originally Posted by afang
i've decided just to use my Amex Starwood on everything, and use AA business on merchants who don't accept Amex, this certainly makes my wife's life a lot easier 
A Starwood point is, without question, currently worth at least 2 cents, and you can often get much more value than that out of them. They're also a lot of fun to spend (I've used them in California and Florida resorts, and in luxury hotels in Asia and Europe). So to accept an alternative credit-card bribe, it has to be very lucrative. The 5% cash back from Citi was an offer too-good-to-refuse (and I limited my purchases to gas, groceries and drug stores, using AMEX everywhere else it was accepted).
I'm skeptical that anyone is going to still offer 5% cash, but you never know. And, of course, there's always a chance the SPG program or its credit card will also be devalued.
Aug 25, 2006, 11:19 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,855
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