I just got my 3rd Citi AA Card (1 personal, 2 business). We just made a large payment on the most recent business card. I made the payment via bank ACH and confirmed that Citi received the funds (i.e. the money has actually transferred hands), yet Citi won't credit our account for a full 14 days because it is a "first payment".

I've been a customer for nearly 15 years all told. I even had to move credit approval from 1 business card to this new one to make sure we had enough credit limit -- we buy materials on a regular basis for our business. Can anyone explain why they are essentially holding my credit limit hostage for 2 weeks even though the money is provably in their bank account? After calling the customer service line and moving up the supervisor chain, I eventually got the answer of "there is nothing I can do" -- followed by a "there is no one else to contact" after I asked to speak to someone else. Door slammed in my face, funds provably in their account. If I had waited 14 days to make payment they would have charged me an outrageous interest rate.

Any bankers out there or those who have more experience in these matters who can explain exactly what risk they are protecting against? I may need to get a different card and shift my business elsewhere but I like the AA miles.