Mach5

My card anniversary year ended 9/26. I just had my statement period close 10/22. My TYP relationship bonus did not post (50% for private bank). What is your experience seeing the TYP relationship post? I assumed it would post at the close of the billing statement. The T&Cs don't say, either. Thanks.

Blueskyheaven

What is "relationship bonus" ?

mia

Click HERE

Blueskyheaven

You get 15% bonus on all points earned for using the Prestige card and for having a Citi Gold checking account? The 15% bonus is posted at the end of the year?

Seems like some might have to keep their Gold checking until at least early next year to receive the 15% bonus points?

wvvm

My annual fee hit a few days before yours and since there was no relationship bonus posted to my account, I called to inquire. Apparently it will hit in another 2-3 billing cycles.

Note: I believe that the relationship bonus for private bank is 25%, not 50%.

(Does anyone know if the bonus is only on the standard 1 point per dollar, or also includes bonus points like the 2 extra points per dollar on airfare/hotels? Also, only Prestige-related points get a relationship bonus, right? Not the points earned by my Citi Forward and TY Premier?)

FallenPlat

Right, private bank is 25%, not 50%. (First-year Prestige fee is 100% reimbursed, too, without any special pleading or ultrahigh status.)

I understand from the only published source -- here -- that the bonus is on base points only, i.e., the 2x or 3x category bonuses are ignored. I haven't gotten that far in myself yet.

I've been told the relationship bonus is just on Prestige spending. Again, I haven't gotten that far myself.

Mach5

Actually, according to the T&Cs the private bank relationship bonus is 50% if you obtained the card before the changes went into effect on 10/19/14. I saved the information just in case Citi awards 25% instead.

My fee and AU fee are waived for life. Just checked on line and confirmed the fee was waived again for each.

Thanks for sharing what the CSR told you!

Mach5

Just to be clear, it is not 50% forever. It is 50% for the card year that began before 10/19/14. The bonus is now 25%. Still not bad at 1x/2x/3x points, that is worth 2/3.6/5.2 cents on AA (1.25, 2.25 and 3.25 x .016).

FallenPlat

Yes, it really does kill me that there are better grandfathered deals out there than what the private bank people are currently giving out. There are also targeted 100K offers out there that I didn't get either. So posts like your last one make me feel like, well, someone who has to sit at the back of the bus . . . .

xu3jo6p

Always thought that the 15% bonus is based off the entire points earned, but today when I logged on to thank you points site and saw that the 15% bonus points finally came in, and its actually the base points + 15%... such a disappointment.....

MapleLeafss

I am entitled to Citi private banking through my employer, and (my own fault) I didn't realize that there was a relationship bonus until after I had applied for the card a few weeks ago. I contacted the private bank to inquire about switching over from Chase, and they told me that "the Private Bank benefits for the credit card are not transferable to an existing account. The only way for you to get the benefits would be to apply for a new card through the Private Bank." I've pushed back and asked them to look into it further, still waiting to hear back, but this can't possibly be the case. I can't be the first person who has started a banking relationship after already having the card and then trying to link accounts for the benefits; if they want me as a banking customer, which this bonus is meant to incentivize, I need to be given the benefits.

Any advice on how to proceed here? Should I just go ahead and open the Citi private bank account (it is free with no account minimum, so I just need to do the paperwork) and then fight it out with the credit card side? Or would it be something that the private bank side needs to set up?

Needless to say, I would be extremely pissed off if I wasn't able to link these accounts. I'm definitely not about to cancel the card and re-apply.

akr1970akr

Has anyone else had any issues getting their Prestige relationship bonus?

• We are CitiGold customers and are getting the CG annual fee rate.
• We got the card in Jan 15, and sometime in February asked over the phone when we could expect to see the 15% TYP bonus, and how it would be calculated. Were advised that it would be 2 statements from the annual fee posting.
• Called back in the Spring, since it had yet to post. Told to hang tight that it was coming.
• Called back in the Summer, as it had still not posted, and was told this time that there were some technology issues related to calculating it, and that we were not the only people affected, and we should expect it within 60 days. I asked for this in writing/email but they refused.

Our fee is coming up again in Jan and given the diminishing value in Prestige and the attractiveness of CSR I'm considering not renewing. But I'd like to get the TYP before doing so.

Has anyone else had issues getting the relationship bonus to post?

Any color/commentary/advice?

mangoMan

Yes. Bonus was due in June, and 3 billing cycles later it has not posted. Called in and the Citi rep first had to get a TYP agent on the line, who confirmed it did not post, and then a bank rep, who said this is a known problem and they are working on a fix. They had no idea when it would be fixed.

cloudybw

My relationship bonus was posted in October 2016 statement, a few days earlier than my exact anniversary date.

I did the calculation myself (shame on Citi for not providing spending breakdown/total in any customized period, learn from Amex!), the best guess is it is calculated using raw spending from October 2015 statement to October 2016 (13 statements), minus $350.00. The raw spending does NOT include $350.00 annual fees, but does include $250.00 air reimbursement, as well as $200+ 4th hotel night reimbursement (which were both considered payment not credit in corresponding statements, so they did not deduct TYP).

A couple points that puzzle me:

• All $3000+ transactions in October 2015 statement were spent/posted before my anniversary date in 2015, so was the October 2015 statement date. They were also before 10/18/2015 when the relationship bonus formula changed. Why should they be included in calculating relationship bonus for 2015-2016?
  
• $350 annual fee was NOT calculated in raw spending. Why do I need to subtract $350 again for calculating base spending in relationship bonus? My best guess is $350 is composed of $250 air reimbursement and $100 annual fee discount. Anyone can confirm?

dw

My bonus for 2015-2016 spending was due in February 2016 and finally posted with my February 2017 statement. (I can tell based on the amount that it is not for the 2016-2017 period.). TBH I haven't been particularly proactive about following up with Citi on this but at least it finally posted, albeit a year late.