Jan 18, 2016, 1:12 pm
Last edit by: ianmanka
Please, everyone, always mention which exact card you're talking about when posting info about retention calls in this thread.
For older reports, see the threads for 2009-2013 and 2014-2015.
Table of Contents
What is a Retention Offer?
The Process
Tips
Reported Offers
Retention offers, generally speaking, are offers made by a card issuer when they believe you might close your card account.
The Process
In order to start the process, call the number on the back of the card and explain that you wish to cancel your card (because _________. If you provide a specific reason, AF, want to concentrate on cards with more miles, etc. they can focus on offers that meet your goals in calling).
Being vague and saying things like "I'm not sure I want this card," or "are there any offers for me to keep this card?" don't meet their threshold to make an offer until you use the "c" word in a declarative fashion. Just because you say you want to cancel does not mean that you have to.
You will generally be sent to a Retention Specialist who has a list of offers (or none) for each card based on your history with Citi, use of the card, etc. Offers may include statement credits, points, or a combination of both and are frequently linked to required spending or purchases on the card.
You can contact Citibank's Retention Department directly at 800-444-2568 and avoid the front line customer service reps. Directly calling retention appears to no longer work. Please report if you are able to get through. Update: 10/10/2016- Number still does not work.
Starting approximately 20 Jun 2016, the retention department became unavailable. Reports 26 Jul 2016 indicate that it is once again open. You must be transferred as the direct number no longer works.
Tips
Note that if there are no retention offers, the rep may just initiate the process of cancelling the card on his/her own. When I had no offers presented and no offer to transfer to retention, the rep asked 'are you aware you may not be able to open this account in the future if you close it?'. then I told him I need to use up my thank you points and to not close it today, he confirmed the account is not being closed today and offered to transfer me to the TY points dept who can help me use my points then they'd transfer me back to who would cancel my card. I told him I'd just use it online myself, he confirmed the card is not being cancelled and hung up. Then later, got a voicemail saying he was too late and that the card was already cancelled. Trying to fix this now but be very careful.
Be aware that Retention Specialists are compensated based on the number/percent of card holders they can retain and to some extent based on the offers they use. These are people with jobs who can be helpful but have little discretion in what is available although some discretion in which offers they tell you about.
Unless the Retention Specialist is being a complete &#*@%, you should probably accept an offer and then close via SM so that you don't ding the rep for something over which they have little control. You can ask the same rep about multiple cards of different varieties, even AA and HHonors, although personal and business cards are handled by different groups.
Some reps will tell you all available offers, others with offer you the one that seems to best fit what you requested, others will offer the least lucrative first and then wait. So, even if you like a specific offer, it is probably worth saying, "I like that but are there any other offers?" to see if there is something better or something that can be added. They will not waive the AF but will often give you a statement credit that covers or partially covers the fee.
For additional tips on interacting with retention representatives, see this blog post by someone who claims to have worked for Citi's retention department.
Reported Offers
Please update with your offer under the respective card with date of the offer (mm/dd/yyyy), how long you had the card, and yearly spend.
ThankYou Prestige
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
ThankYou Premier
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/17/16 Spend $3000 in 3 months, and get $95 credit
2/17/16 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus.
4/18/2016 Offered spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit. 2nd offer was 5 purchases of $10 or more in 3 months and get $50 credit.
5/12 Same offer as above (4/18) spend was a little over minimum to get bonus
5/17/2016 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus.
5/24/16 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus. Opened 13 months ago, ~$10K spend prior yr, annual fee recently posted. Chose downgrade to Preferred with bonus offer 6K TY after $300 spend.
NOTE: The $1k per month for 3 months is not based on calendar or statement months, but rather goes into effect the first business day after accepting the offer. I accepted the offer on 5/17 and the month began 5/18. If you are going to accept this offer be sure to clarify the beginning and ending dates of each month.
7/8/16 No offer of any kind, ($15k spend last 12 months) rep did not offer to transfer me to retention and sounded like he was starting the process of closing the account by asking me to confirm that I may not be able to open it again in the future. I told him that I need to use up my TY points before closing and told him to stop cancelling. He confirmed the account is not being cancelled. Will call again later but wonder if I have a note on my account already. [update: rep cancelled my card despite confirming he won't be closing the account, groan]
7/12/2016 After a week+ of no offers, no transfers, and no one picking up the phone, I gave up and took the downgrade to Preferred so as to keep TYPs associated with account. No offers associated with Preferred. Yes, I have s------ the pooch with respect to bonus clock, but with bonuses disappearing on virtually all TYP cards at moment, didn't seem worth paying more now for a hazy payoff (maybe) in future. Maybe $6-7K spend in year I had card.
7/26/16 received 3 offers:
$95 statement credit for spending $3K in the next 3 months
$50 statement credit for making 5 purchases of $10 or more over the next 3 months
$95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for spending $1K per month for the next 3 months (accepted this one)
8/5/16 - Offered 10k TYP for $3k spend in 3 months
8/5/16 - No offers on the account for AF... Received an offer several months ago for 4 bonus pts/$1 on Travel though.
8/12/16 - 5k TYP afer $1k spend in 3 months OR $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months
8/19/16 - $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months
8/24/16 - received 4 offers:
+ $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months;
+ 10,000 TYP after $3k spend over 6 months;
+ 7500 TYP after $1k spend over 3 months;
+ 2 bonus TYP/$ up to 34,000 bonus TYP
9/9/16 - first renewal - 9.3k spend in 12 months, 3 offers:
+ $95 credit for 3k spend in 3mo
+ $50 credit for 5 purchases of $10+ in 3 mos
+ 7,500 TY points for 1k spend in 3 mo (ACCEPTER)
10/14/16 - $95 and 1k TYP after 1k spend each month for 3 months or 2x extra TYP per $ spent for 6 months up to 35k points
10/18/16 - first renewal - 18K spend in 12 months 95+% in bonus categories; 1 offer: $95 credit for $200 spend in 2mo AND 16 billing cycles of 500 bonus pts for $500+ spend in the cycle.
10/25/16 - first renewal - 5K spend in 12 months; six offers: (1)$95 statement credit for $3,000 spend in 3 months, (2) $95 statement credit + 1,000 TYP for $1,000 spend each month for 3 months, (3) 10,000 TYP for $3,000 spend in 6 months, (4) 7,500 TYP for $1,000 spend in 3 months, (5) $50 statement credit for five $10+ transactions in 3 months, (6) Additional 2 TYP/$ (in addition to exisiting bonuses, max 35,000 bonus TYP) over the next six months
2/15/17 - first renewal (10k spendings); 2 offers (1) $95 + 1,000 TYP for $1000 spendings over 3 months. (2) 2 additional points over existing, max of 35k TYP over the next 6 months. I took the #2.
2/23/17 - First renewal 15-20k spend in the 12 months. Received 2 offers: 1) $95 statement credit + 1,000 TYP for $1,000 spend each month for 3 months; 2) $95 credit for $200 spend in 2 months (2 billing cycles) + 16 billing cycles of 500 bonus points for $500+ spend in the cycle (Accepted)
3/3/17 - $95 plus 1k bonus TYP after spending $1k per month for 3 months. Held card for 1 year and spent $8.5k. Paid the annual fee in Feb., and had called on 2/21 and received no offers.
3/8/17 - Had card for 1 year and 31K spend. I got 3 offers: (1)$95 statement credit for $3,000 spend in 3 months (2)10,000 TYP for $3,000 spend in 3 months (3)Additional 2 TYP/$ (in addition to existing bonuses, max 35,000 bonus TYP) over the next six months - Took the 3 offer.
3/13/17 - First renewal. 3 offers. 1) $95 statement credit + 500 TYP, $1500 spendings over 3 months. 2) 10,000TYP, $3000 spendings in 3 months. 3) +2 TYP for 6 months up to 35k TYP. Took offer #3
3/18/17 - First renewal. 2 offers 1) $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 3 months. 2) $95 statement credit for $3000 spend within 3 months. Took offer 1.
5/1/17 - Second renewal. $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 3 months. Accepted.
5/15/17 - Second AF. $95 statement credit for $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted.
5/26/17 - Second renewal. $95 statement credit for $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted.
5/27/17 - 5th renewal. Moderate spend. 4 offers: 1) $95 statement credit after $3K spend in 3 months; 2) $95 statement credit + 1K TYP after $1K spend per month x 3 months; 3) $50 credit after 5 purchases > $10 in the next 3 months; 4) 10K TYP after $3K spend in 6 months. Took #4.
5/30/17 - First renewal, perhaps about $5k spend. 3 offers (1st two mentioned without promoting, 3rd mentioned only after I asked about offers with bonus points): 1) $95 statement credit after $1000 spend in each of the next 3 months. 2) $95 statement credit PLUS 10k TYP after $3000 spend in 3 months. 3) +2 TYP for 6 months up to 35k TYP. Took #3.
6/1/17 - Second renewal, minimal spend (<$1k). Two offers: $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP after $1000 spend in each of next 3 months, then 10,000 TYP after $3000 total spend in next 6 months. Rejected both and elected to downgrade to ThankYou Preferred.
6/12/17 - second renewal, minimal spend ($3k spend from the offer last year). 4 offers: 1. $95 credit + 1000 TYP after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month, 2. $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months, 3. $50 credit after $10 x 5 times in the next 3 months, 4. 5000 TYP after $1k spend in the next 3 months. Took #4.
6/13/17 - second renewal, paid AF for 1st yr. Minimal spend this year. 2 offers: 1. $95 credit + 1000 TYP after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month, 2. 5000 TYP after $1k spend in the next 3 months. Took #1.
6/16/17 - second renewal, (minimal spend for first renewal $1500)
Four offers:
1. $95 credit + 1000 TYPs after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month.
2. $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months.
3. $50 credit after $10 spend x 5 in the next 3 months.
4. 7500 TYPs after $1k spend in the next 3 months.
Took #4.
7/05/17: $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted it.
7/19/17: $95 credit after spending $95+ in 1 of my next 2 billing cycles. Accepted offer.
8/2/17 - Second renewal, first retention (last year opted to call for retention on Prestige only). $95 statement credit after spending $95 + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 16 months. Accepted.
12/07/17: $95 credit after spending $95 in 2 billing cycles (also have a Prestige and I wanted to close Premier) + 500 TYP for $500/month spend for 16 months. Accepted.
7/19/2018: $95 credit after $3k in 3 months. Accepted. This is the 3rd year in a row they have offered a retention bonus. ~$13 annual spend.
10/31/18: (1) $95 statement credit plus 1000 TYP for $1K purchases each month for three consecutive calendar months ($3K total) OR (2) 5000 TYP for $1K total spend in the next three months. I accepted the first offer to keep the TYP clock from resetting.
ThankYou Preferred
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
4/13/16 2x bonus points on all purchases for 35k bonus points or 15k points on $4.5k spend
AA Platinum
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
1/8/16: $95 statement credit after spending $1000 within 3 months.
2/6/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 2 billing cycles plus 1K extra miles per $1K for the next 16 cycles. Took it.
2/8/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month. Accepted.
2/18/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month or 7,500 miles after spending $1K in 3 months. Took 7,500 miles/$1k, 3 months.
2/23/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month. Accepted; didn't want to be on the phone haggling so early in the morning.
2/24/16: No offer. Last year was given 3,000 AA miles for spending $500. This year, nothing. Cancelled card.
3/2/16: No offer on card with no spend. Not even eligible for retentions.
3/14/2016: Four Platinum MCs, first (1 year old) closed by voice-response system; Second (5 years old) closed by CSR; Third (3.5 years old) offered $95 Credit for $1000 spend; then offered 1000 AA for $1000 spend in three months + $50 credit; Fourth (< 1 month old) no offer.
3/19: $95 statement credit after spending $95. Called after AF hit. Card is 1 year old, ~8k spend?
4/6/16: $95 credit after $95 spend in 1 month or 7500 bonus after $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted $95.
4/8/16: After 1yr, AF just hit. No offer (except downgrade). No use since original minimum spend. Didn't push (don't plan to churn). Canceled.
4/10/16: 4 year old card. Accepted $95 for $95 spend.
5/25/16: After 1yr, AF hit three weeks ago. No real use of card since minimum spend was met. I called twice. No offer either call, even after requesting to be transferred to retention department. Canceled card.
05/27/16: Offered $95 credit after spending $95 in one month or 7500 miles after $1k in spending in three months. Went with the former.
06/02/16 Offered $95 credit after $95 spend in 1 month, or 7500 bonus after $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted $95 credit. it actually posted the next day.
6/4/16: No offer. Closed card.
06/10/16: Offered 5,000 miles for $1,000 spend and adding an authorised user (offer finished at end of June 2016)
8/8/16: Offered $95 statement credit after $95 spend in 1 month
8/11/16:Offered $95 statement credit after $95 spend in 1 month
8/17/16: Offered 5k miles, no cash. Card opened in '09 but not much spent this year. Declined. May try later.
8/15/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 30 days.
9/2/16: CitiGold level customer, about 15k of spend in last year. Two offers were shown: $95 statement credit for spending $95 in next month, or 5000 AA miles, plus 15000 miles for spending $5k in next 3m. (given that I can use DoubleCash, that is like offering me 20k AA miles for a penny each) I have a hard time getting good redemptions nowadays so I took the statement credit and will reduce usage on this.
9/2/16: Choice - $95 stmt credit or 15,000 miles after spending $5k over the next 3 months. Took the 15,000 miles as I'm still earning 1k miles per month for spending $1k per month and I always go over. So... easy peasy.
9/7/16: Choice of $95 stmt credit after $95 spend OR 7500 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. Account open 3 years, spent $10k in past year. Took the 7500 option.
9/12/16: $95 stmt credit after $95 spend. I still have a 1k after $1k offer that expires in January, so I took it. No other offers on account.
9/13/16: 9/7/16: Choice of $95 statement credit after $95 spend OR 7500 miles after $1k spend in 3 months.
9/22/16: Choice - $95 statement credit or 15,000 miles after spending $5k over the next 3 months - Took the 95$ offer
9/29/16: $95 statement credit after spending $1,000 in three months
10/10/16: no retention offer, was offered option to convert to Double Cash or TY Preferred with no annual fee. Said I'd think about it.
10/12/16: no retention offer, had card 1 year, about $5,000 in spend on the card. Offered downgrade to no annual fee Bronze card. Said I'd think about it.
11/18/16: CitiGold account w/ $10k+ purchases in 2016, $95 credit after $95 spend. Took offer. No additional bonuses available.
11/25/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
11/30/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
12/14/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
12/15/2016: Called and converted my card to ATT Access More card. I have 3 more Citi Platinum cards and need more TYP.
1/31/17: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 2 months, 1000 bonus miles per billing cycle on spend of $1000/month for the next 12 months
2/10/17: $95 Statement Credit after spending $95 + 1000 bonus points per billing cycle on spend of $1000+ for a period of 12 billing cycles upto 12k bonus miles.
2/26/17: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 1 month, OR 7500 miles after spending $1000 in 3 months. Took the statement credit option.
3/6/17: No offer, no transfer to retention specialist. One of many Citi AA Plat cards I have had, very little spend on the card after meeting initial minimum spend one year ago.
3/11/17: One of two AA Plat cards AF due, offered Bronze or DC, I already have a DC, so asked about Costco, why yes you can. Done, took Costco.
3/31/17: 1st call: no offer. 2nd call: $95 statement credit after $95 spend w/in 2 billing cycles + 1000 bonus points per billing cycle on spend of $1000+ for 12 billing cycles.
4/6/17: No offer. No spend after meeting minimum spend.
5/7/2017: Over the last 3 weeks or so, called on four cards, two closed by phone system, other two sent me to retention and offered: $95 statement credit for spending $95+ w/i two billing cycles and 1000 bonus AA points for each month in next 12 in which I spend $1000+ in the month.
5/11/17: Over the last month, called on four or five cards. Two agents offered to close the account or convert to a no-fee card immediately, no option to be transferred to Retentions. Other agents transferred me to Retentions. No offers for any card in any call.
6/3/2017: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 1 month, OR spend $150 in 3 months and get 2 one-time-use Admirals Club passes, OR 7500 miles after spending $1000 in 3 months. Took the points.
06/09/2017: $95 off $95 in 1 month. No other offers. Second call.
8/10/2017: No fee waiver, but gave me 5,000 points with no spending requirements. Said I will see the points in a couple of days.
8/12/2017: $95 credit if spending $95 over next 2 cycles. Also got 1000 mile bonus each month i had over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles.
8/24/2017: $95 credit if spending $95 over next 2 cycles. Also got 1000 mile bonus each month i had over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles.
8/30/17. Minimal spend. Offered $95 statement credit (equal to annual fee) after spending $95 within one month. Accepted.
8/31/17. Accepted $95 credit offer. ~$6k spent this year. Card is 6+ years old.
9/2/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles. I also got 1000 mile bonus each month I have over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles. I have had this card for 4 years and spend over $20k per year. I have received a similar retention offer each year.
9/17/17: minimal spend. No offer. Downgraded to no annual fee card.
9/18/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles
10/14/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles. Accepted. Second call (no offers on first call), this was the second offer on that call. Had the card for 2-3 years. Modest spend this year (maybe $10K total) but zero spend in past 6 months.
10/19/17: No offer available. This is the second year in a row they had nothing to offer me (after a few years in a row of getting the $95 fee credit and some sort of bonus miles). Last year I tried calling a couple times and ultimately left it open and paid the fee because I planned to use the AA checked bag benefit a few times. This year I didn't have the patience to HUCA and don't plan to fly AA much, so I downgraded to Double Cash. I had zero spend this year on this card (aside from the annual fee), although I put a lot of spend on my Citi Prestige.
01/10/2018 : No offer other than downgrade to no fee AA card. PCd to Double Cash instead.
2/17/2018: Called to cancel the two AA cards I have. Was offered 7500 points after $1000 spend 90 days. Took the deal on one, closed the other. One was 2 years old, the other almost a year. Minimal spend over the bonus, but did use occasionally.
2/25/18: $95 credit OR 7500 miles if spend $1000 over next 3 months. Accepted the $95 credit offer. Have had the card 9 years, with $9K annual spend.
AA Gold
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
1/14/2016 No offer. Had accepted a 3000 mile for $500 spend offer several months ago. Instead, converted to no ann fee Double Cash card to retain age of account.
1/26/2017 No offer. No transfer to account specialist. Took no action. (Old account from '99 but little activity last year)
7/6/2017 3 calls, no offers. Converted to DoubleCash to retain age of account.
8/30/17. Minimal spend. Offered $50 statement credit (equal to annual fee) after spending $50 within one month, or 3k bonus miles after spending $500 within three months. (Took bonus miles offer.)
11/17/17: Minimal spend, first year. No offer (other than convert to Bronze), card cancelled straight away.
AA Amex
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
3/24/2016: Account from 2013, about $100 spent in 2015. Offered $95 after $95 spent. Happily accepted to keep this open for another year
3/26/2016: No offer, been card member since 2013 with every previous year offering a AF statement credit. Converted to a no-fee DoubleCash.
9/13/2016: Make 5 purchases of $20 or more in 3 months and receive $95 credit. Have had card 8 years. On numerous attempts over several weeks, told card was "not eligible to speak with the retention dept." Finally got through via spouse’s retention call.
12/15/2016: $95 credit for spending $95 on the card in the next 30 days. Accepted offer. (AF is $85 so net $10 free)
4/25/17: $95 credit for spending $95 in 1 month (fee is $85) or 7,500 AA miles if $1,000 spent in 3 months. Have had card 4 years.
5/30/2017: $95 credit for spending $95 in 1 month or 0% Fee. I had this card for 6 years.
AA Executive
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/15/16 - 2 offers: 1) $350 statement credit ($50 a month) with $1500/month spend for 7 months. Or 2) 15k aa miles for spending $5000 in 90 days.
2/25/16 - 3 offers (I didn't bother listening to the 3rd one): 1)$450 credit with 5k/month for 3 months. 2)$250 credit with 3k/month for 3 months. I took option 1. Last year, only option 2 was offered to me for the $250 credit.
3/2/16 - 4 offers:4/10/16 - $50 statement credit each cycle with $1500 in spending next 7 cycles. Accepted. I mentioned I already have Amex Plt.
[/INDENT]6/15/16 Offers: 1) $250 statement credit with 5K/month spend for 3 months, OR 2) $100 credit with $1500/month for 3 months, OR 3) 15k bonus miles with 5K spend in next 3 months (no statement credit). Last year took a $450 credit for $?? spend. Passed on these offers. Will get the card again later. Currently have the Prestige, which gets me lounge access most of the time anyway.
6/29/16 - No retention offer.
7/8/16 - No retention offer.
9/1/16 - $100 statement credit + 5,000 AAdvantage miles for $1500 spend per next 3 billing cycles. Declined and closed.
10/8/16 - First offered only $250 statement credit with $3k/Month spend for 3 months. Then asked if I would be interested in "more miles". I said no, but is there anything with lower statement credit with lower spend. Then offered $100 statement credit + 5000 miles with $1.5kMonth spend for 3 months - accepted as although I don't fly AA much anymore, I like the card/benefits and effective lounge membership for all my additional cardholders. (I already opened a Chase Sapphire Reserve card with $450 fee with the 100K UR point bonus after $4k purchases in first 3 months & Priority Pass lounge access.)
10/10/2016 - Got my choice of four offers on my Citi AA Executive MC:Took the $450 credit and will funnel some purchases through the card to get the credit.
2/26 Really wanted the $450 for $5k spend per month for three months but would only offer $250 for $3k spend per month. I'm really close to dropping the card, but I think I need the EQM, so I'll probably call back and accept.
7/16/17 - 2-year cardholder, approx. $4k spend total over last 12 months. Offered $250 statement credit for $3k spend each month for next 3 months, or 15k AA miles for $5k spend total over next 3 months. Declined both, closed card.
9/17/17 - $250 statement credit for spending $3k each month for each of the next 3 months. Accepted. Have had card 6 years.
10/7/18 - $450 statement credit for spending $5K each month for each of the next 3 months. Accepted. Have had card 7 years.
AA Business
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
4/6/16: $50 credit after $50 spend in 1 month, or 1k bonus miles for $1k purchase per month for 16 months
5/6/16: 1K bonus for 1k purchase/month for 16 months, or 2.5K bonus for 2.5K purchase/month for 16 months. They seemed desperate to keep me as a cardholder; cancelled because want to get the bonus again.
8/29/2016: 35000$ spend this year. Got 95$ off after 95$ spend.
9/29/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95
11/2/16: 1K bonus/month for 1k purchase/month for 16 months. Closed card to reset clock on getting signup bonus again.
3/1/2017: Biz Platinum - 3k spend, first renewal - $95 credit after $95 in spend within 1 month
10/3/2017: 95$ statement credit after 95$ in purchases in one month
Hilton Reserve
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/13/16: $95 statement credit after $3k in 3 months. Spent $10k on card last year
2/13/16: 5k bonus points on $1.5k spend
4/26/16: 5k points for spending $1500 in 3 months, or 750 bonus points/month that you spend $750 for the next 16 months. 1 year old, $4k spend.
7/1/2016: No offers, no nothing. Don't let the door hit you on the way out
7/30/2016: Same as prior report. No offers.
10/12/2016: no offers. Was pushed to convert to no fee cards. $11k spend
04/28/2017: No offers. Pushed to convert to no fee cards. $10k spend.
Hilton Signature - No fee
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
3/19/2016 - 5000 points for spending $1500 in 3 months or 750 points for spending $750 a month for 16 months.
11/10/2017 - 5000 points "for keeping the account open." No mention of spend. Declined.
AT&T Access More
10/21/16 - 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted. $50k spend past year
02/14/17 - 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted. $2k spend past year
05/17/17 - 5,000 TYP for $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted. $3k spend past year
06/09/17 - Extra 2 points/$, maximum of 35000 Thank you points in 6 months, 5000/month average spend
8/11/17- 75000 TYP for 1K spend in 3M or 10K TYP for 3K spend. I chose the first option
10/16/17 - 2nd renewal. Offered 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted.
For older reports, see the threads for 2009-2013 and 2014-2015.
Table of Contents
What is a Retention Offer?
The Process
Tips
Reported Offers
ThankYou Prestige
ThankYou Premier
ThankYou Preferred
AA Platinum
AA Gold
AA Amex
AA Executive
AA Business
Hilton Reserve
Hilton Signature
AT&T Access More
What is a Retention Offer?ThankYou Premier
ThankYou Preferred
AA Platinum
AA Gold
AA Amex
AA Executive
AA Business
Hilton Reserve
Hilton Signature
AT&T Access More
Retention offers, generally speaking, are offers made by a card issuer when they believe you might close your card account.
The Process
In order to start the process, call the number on the back of the card and explain that you wish to cancel your card (because _________. If you provide a specific reason, AF, want to concentrate on cards with more miles, etc. they can focus on offers that meet your goals in calling).
Being vague and saying things like "I'm not sure I want this card," or "are there any offers for me to keep this card?" don't meet their threshold to make an offer until you use the "c" word in a declarative fashion. Just because you say you want to cancel does not mean that you have to.
You will generally be sent to a Retention Specialist who has a list of offers (or none) for each card based on your history with Citi, use of the card, etc. Offers may include statement credits, points, or a combination of both and are frequently linked to required spending or purchases on the card.
Starting approximately 20 Jun 2016, the retention department became unavailable. Reports 26 Jul 2016 indicate that it is once again open. You must be transferred as the direct number no longer works.
Tips
Note that if there are no retention offers, the rep may just initiate the process of cancelling the card on his/her own. When I had no offers presented and no offer to transfer to retention, the rep asked 'are you aware you may not be able to open this account in the future if you close it?'. then I told him I need to use up my thank you points and to not close it today, he confirmed the account is not being closed today and offered to transfer me to the TY points dept who can help me use my points then they'd transfer me back to who would cancel my card. I told him I'd just use it online myself, he confirmed the card is not being cancelled and hung up. Then later, got a voicemail saying he was too late and that the card was already cancelled. Trying to fix this now but be very careful.
Be aware that Retention Specialists are compensated based on the number/percent of card holders they can retain and to some extent based on the offers they use. These are people with jobs who can be helpful but have little discretion in what is available although some discretion in which offers they tell you about.
Unless the Retention Specialist is being a complete &#*@%, you should probably accept an offer and then close via SM so that you don't ding the rep for something over which they have little control. You can ask the same rep about multiple cards of different varieties, even AA and HHonors, although personal and business cards are handled by different groups.
Some reps will tell you all available offers, others with offer you the one that seems to best fit what you requested, others will offer the least lucrative first and then wait. So, even if you like a specific offer, it is probably worth saying, "I like that but are there any other offers?" to see if there is something better or something that can be added. They will not waive the AF but will often give you a statement credit that covers or partially covers the fee.
For additional tips on interacting with retention representatives, see this blog post by someone who claims to have worked for Citi's retention department.
Reported Offers
Please update with your offer under the respective card with date of the offer (mm/dd/yyyy), how long you had the card, and yearly spend.
ThankYou Prestige
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
- (March 2016) 4 additional ThankYou points/$ for restaurant purchases up to 50,000 bonus points, over the next 6 months
- 3/19/2016 - Opened for 11 months with $15k in spend - Offered 10,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in 6 months or $200 Statement credit for spending $4,000 a month for the next three months
- 4/27/2016 - No real spend except for some minor Amazon purchases, was offered 10k TYP, $200 credit or 50k TYP GGD. Took the last offer.
- (June 2016) 4 additional ThankYou points/$ for restaurant purchases up to 50,000 bonus points, over the next 6 months
- (8/8/2016) $200 statement credit for spending $4000 per month for 3 months or 10,000 ThankYou points for spending $3000 over a period of next 6 months
- (24/8/2016) $200 statement credit for spending $4000 per month for 3 months, or 1 additional point per purchase for 6 months up to 50k points or 4 additional points for travel purchases for 6 months up to 35k points (~$5k spend). I took the last option.
- (9/2/16) Spent probably 30k in last year, CitiGold status, last took offer maybe 11 months ago. Mentioned fee was coming up, and letter detailing benefit cuts. Nothing was offered. Seems like the rep was suggesting to call back after the prior accept offer was 1yr. Second time we have been shot down on offers, last time was 6m ago on this card.
- (9/14/16) 4 additional ThankYou points/$ for air, hotel, car rental, travel agency, or $200 statement credit for spending $4000 per month for 3mo, or 10,000 ThankYou points for spending $3000 over a period of next 6 months.
- (9/28/16) 4 additional TU points/$ for air, hotel- upto 35000 for next 6 months, or $200 statement credit for spending $4000 per month for 3mo, or 10,000 TU points for spending $3000 over a period of next 6 months , or 1 additional points on all purchase upto 50000 for next 6 months. Took 50 k points offers.
- (10/13/16) 4 additional TYP points/$ for air, hotel, car rental up to 35000 for next 6 months, or $200 statement credit for spending $4000 per month for 3mo, or 10,000 TU points for spending $3000 over a period of next 6 months , or 1 additional points on all purchase upto 50000 for next 6 months. Took 4 additional TYP on travel since I'm set to book a number of hotels / flights and can max out the 35k bonus.
- (10/18/16) 4 additional TYP points/$ for air, hotel, or car rental up to 35k for next 6 months; or $200 statement credit for spending $4k per month for 3mo; or 10k TU points for spending $3k over a period of next 6 months; or 1 additional points on all purchase upto 50k for next 6 months. Note: Had previously accepted a retention offer from Citi 7 months ago on a different card (Exec)
- (11/4/16) $200 statement credit for spending $4k/mo for 3mo ($12k total); or 4 additional TYP points/$ for air, hotel, or car rental up to 35k for next 6 mo; or 1 additional TYP point/$ for all dining up to 10k for next 6 mo; or 1 additional TYP on all purchases upto 50k for next 6 mo.
- (11/17/16) $100 statement credit with no spend required, no other offers
- (12/29/16) $100 statement credit with no spend required, no other offers. 22k spend last year.
- (03/08/17) $200 statement credit for spending $4k/mo for 3mo ($12k total); or 4 additional TYP points/$ for air, hotel, or car rental up to 35k for next 6 mo. No statement credit was offered with no spend required. CitiGold client ATM.
- (3/2017) $200 statement credit for spending $4k/mo for 3mo ($12k total); or 4 additional TYP/$ for air, hotel, car up to 35k for next 6 mo; or 1 extra TY point on all purchases for up to 6 mos; or 1 additional TY on either dining/entertainment or travel up to 10K points for 6 mos; or 10,000 TY points for $3000 spend within 6 months
- (4/4/2017) $200 statement credit for spending $4k/mo for 3 mo; or 1 extra TYP for next 6 mo; or 10,000 TY points for $3000 within x mo (I forgot whether 3 or 6)
- (4/4/17) $200 statement credit for $4K spend for each of the next 3 months; 1 extra TYP for all spend over the next 6 months (50K max); 10K TYP for $3K spend within the next 6 months. Had card for one year, $14.5K spend, Citigold customer.
- (5/2/17) $200 statement credit for $4K spend for each of the next 3 months; 10k TYP Without spend requirements . Had card for one year, $30k spend. Not citigold
- (5/10/17) First time renewal, in the weird Citigold loophole where I had Citigold last year then downgraded to a basic checking account to get the lower annual fee of $350, but my credit limit on the card is low enough where the fee is $275. $7K spend in the past year. I had mentioned the loss of Admirals Club access, they offered to convert the card to the AA Executive, which I declined. Five actual offers: (1) $200 statement credit after spending $4,000 each month for three consecutive months, (2) 5,000 TYP for $3,000 total spend in next six months, (3) +1 TYP/$ on all purchases over the next six months, maximum of 50,000 TYP bonus, (4) +1 TYP/$ on dining/entertainment purchases over the next six months, max 10,000 TYP bonus, (5) +1 TYP/$ on travel purchases over the next six months, max 10,000 TYP. Took the extra point on all purchases over the next six months.
- (6/6/17) Offered 10K points for $3k spend in 6mos or 1 extra point on all spend for 6mos (upto 50K TYP points).
- (6/21/17) Offered $200 for $4k spend in each of next 3 months or 5000 points for $3000 spend in next 6 months-declined.
- (6/23/17) $450 AF waiver (annual spend $50K-$75K).
- (6/26/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles.
- (7/05/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted it.
- (7/13/17) $50 statement credit for $1500 spending per month for 7 months
- (7/19/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- (7/25/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted it.
- (7/29/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- (8/9/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- (8/19/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- (8/23/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles - OR - 1 extra TY point per dollar up to $50k purchases - OR 5k TY points after $3k spend within 6 months. I took first offer. Card has been open 2 years 4 months.
- (9/23/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- (10/6/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles - OR - $200 one-time statement credit after spending $4000 in EACH of the next 3 months - OR - 1 extra TY point per dollar up to $50k purchases - OR 10k TY points after $3k spend within 6 months. I took first offer.
- (10/20/17) $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles. Accepted.
- 1/5/2018 Option 1 $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles Option 2, 1 addition points up to 50k in 6 months. Option 3: 10k points for 3k spend in 3 months
- 1/16/18: Option 1 $50 statement credit per billing cycle when spending over $1500 for the next 7 billing cycles (didn't ask for more options)
ThankYou Premier
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/17/16 Spend $3000 in 3 months, and get $95 credit
2/17/16 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus.
4/18/2016 Offered spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit. 2nd offer was 5 purchases of $10 or more in 3 months and get $50 credit.
5/12 Same offer as above (4/18) spend was a little over minimum to get bonus
5/17/2016 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus.
5/24/16 Spend $1000 for 3 consecutive months and get $95 credit and 1000 point bonus. Opened 13 months ago, ~$10K spend prior yr, annual fee recently posted. Chose downgrade to Preferred with bonus offer 6K TY after $300 spend.
NOTE: The $1k per month for 3 months is not based on calendar or statement months, but rather goes into effect the first business day after accepting the offer. I accepted the offer on 5/17 and the month began 5/18. If you are going to accept this offer be sure to clarify the beginning and ending dates of each month.
7/8/16 No offer of any kind, ($15k spend last 12 months) rep did not offer to transfer me to retention and sounded like he was starting the process of closing the account by asking me to confirm that I may not be able to open it again in the future. I told him that I need to use up my TY points before closing and told him to stop cancelling. He confirmed the account is not being cancelled. Will call again later but wonder if I have a note on my account already. [update: rep cancelled my card despite confirming he won't be closing the account, groan]
7/12/2016 After a week+ of no offers, no transfers, and no one picking up the phone, I gave up and took the downgrade to Preferred so as to keep TYPs associated with account. No offers associated with Preferred. Yes, I have s------ the pooch with respect to bonus clock, but with bonuses disappearing on virtually all TYP cards at moment, didn't seem worth paying more now for a hazy payoff (maybe) in future. Maybe $6-7K spend in year I had card.
7/26/16 received 3 offers:
$95 statement credit for spending $3K in the next 3 months
$50 statement credit for making 5 purchases of $10 or more over the next 3 months
$95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for spending $1K per month for the next 3 months (accepted this one)
8/5/16 - Offered 10k TYP for $3k spend in 3 months
8/5/16 - No offers on the account for AF... Received an offer several months ago for 4 bonus pts/$1 on Travel though.
8/12/16 - 5k TYP afer $1k spend in 3 months OR $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months
8/19/16 - $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months
8/24/16 - received 4 offers:
+ $95 + 1k TYP after $1k spend each month for 3 months;
+ 10,000 TYP after $3k spend over 6 months;
+ 7500 TYP after $1k spend over 3 months;
+ 2 bonus TYP/$ up to 34,000 bonus TYP
9/9/16 - first renewal - 9.3k spend in 12 months, 3 offers:
+ $95 credit for 3k spend in 3mo
+ $50 credit for 5 purchases of $10+ in 3 mos
+ 7,500 TY points for 1k spend in 3 mo (ACCEPTER)
10/14/16 - $95 and 1k TYP after 1k spend each month for 3 months or 2x extra TYP per $ spent for 6 months up to 35k points
10/18/16 - first renewal - 18K spend in 12 months 95+% in bonus categories; 1 offer: $95 credit for $200 spend in 2mo AND 16 billing cycles of 500 bonus pts for $500+ spend in the cycle.
10/25/16 - first renewal - 5K spend in 12 months; six offers: (1)$95 statement credit for $3,000 spend in 3 months, (2) $95 statement credit + 1,000 TYP for $1,000 spend each month for 3 months, (3) 10,000 TYP for $3,000 spend in 6 months, (4) 7,500 TYP for $1,000 spend in 3 months, (5) $50 statement credit for five $10+ transactions in 3 months, (6) Additional 2 TYP/$ (in addition to exisiting bonuses, max 35,000 bonus TYP) over the next six months
2/15/17 - first renewal (10k spendings); 2 offers (1) $95 + 1,000 TYP for $1000 spendings over 3 months. (2) 2 additional points over existing, max of 35k TYP over the next 6 months. I took the #2.
2/23/17 - First renewal 15-20k spend in the 12 months. Received 2 offers: 1) $95 statement credit + 1,000 TYP for $1,000 spend each month for 3 months; 2) $95 credit for $200 spend in 2 months (2 billing cycles) + 16 billing cycles of 500 bonus points for $500+ spend in the cycle (Accepted)
3/3/17 - $95 plus 1k bonus TYP after spending $1k per month for 3 months. Held card for 1 year and spent $8.5k. Paid the annual fee in Feb., and had called on 2/21 and received no offers.
3/8/17 - Had card for 1 year and 31K spend. I got 3 offers: (1)$95 statement credit for $3,000 spend in 3 months (2)10,000 TYP for $3,000 spend in 3 months (3)Additional 2 TYP/$ (in addition to existing bonuses, max 35,000 bonus TYP) over the next six months - Took the 3 offer.
3/13/17 - First renewal. 3 offers. 1) $95 statement credit + 500 TYP, $1500 spendings over 3 months. 2) 10,000TYP, $3000 spendings in 3 months. 3) +2 TYP for 6 months up to 35k TYP. Took offer #3
3/18/17 - First renewal. 2 offers 1) $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 3 months. 2) $95 statement credit for $3000 spend within 3 months. Took offer 1.
5/1/17 - Second renewal. $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 3 months. Accepted.
5/15/17 - Second AF. $95 statement credit for $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted.
5/26/17 - Second renewal. $95 statement credit for $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted.
5/27/17 - 5th renewal. Moderate spend. 4 offers: 1) $95 statement credit after $3K spend in 3 months; 2) $95 statement credit + 1K TYP after $1K spend per month x 3 months; 3) $50 credit after 5 purchases > $10 in the next 3 months; 4) 10K TYP after $3K spend in 6 months. Took #4.
5/30/17 - First renewal, perhaps about $5k spend. 3 offers (1st two mentioned without promoting, 3rd mentioned only after I asked about offers with bonus points): 1) $95 statement credit after $1000 spend in each of the next 3 months. 2) $95 statement credit PLUS 10k TYP after $3000 spend in 3 months. 3) +2 TYP for 6 months up to 35k TYP. Took #3.
6/1/17 - Second renewal, minimal spend (<$1k). Two offers: $95 statement credit + 1000 TYP after $1000 spend in each of next 3 months, then 10,000 TYP after $3000 total spend in next 6 months. Rejected both and elected to downgrade to ThankYou Preferred.
6/12/17 - second renewal, minimal spend ($3k spend from the offer last year). 4 offers: 1. $95 credit + 1000 TYP after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month, 2. $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months, 3. $50 credit after $10 x 5 times in the next 3 months, 4. 5000 TYP after $1k spend in the next 3 months. Took #4.
6/13/17 - second renewal, paid AF for 1st yr. Minimal spend this year. 2 offers: 1. $95 credit + 1000 TYP after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month, 2. 5000 TYP after $1k spend in the next 3 months. Took #1.
6/16/17 - second renewal, (minimal spend for first renewal $1500)
Four offers:
1. $95 credit + 1000 TYPs after $1k spend for the next 3 months, $1k per month.
2. $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months.
3. $50 credit after $10 spend x 5 in the next 3 months.
4. 7500 TYPs after $1k spend in the next 3 months.
Took #4.
7/05/17: $95 credit after $3k spend in 3 months. Accepted it.
7/19/17: $95 credit after spending $95+ in 1 of my next 2 billing cycles. Accepted offer.
8/2/17 - Second renewal, first retention (last year opted to call for retention on Prestige only). $95 statement credit after spending $95 + 1000 TYP for $1000/month spend for 16 months. Accepted.
12/07/17: $95 credit after spending $95 in 2 billing cycles (also have a Prestige and I wanted to close Premier) + 500 TYP for $500/month spend for 16 months. Accepted.
7/19/2018: $95 credit after $3k in 3 months. Accepted. This is the 3rd year in a row they have offered a retention bonus. ~$13 annual spend.
10/31/18: (1) $95 statement credit plus 1000 TYP for $1K purchases each month for three consecutive calendar months ($3K total) OR (2) 5000 TYP for $1K total spend in the next three months. I accepted the first offer to keep the TYP clock from resetting.
ThankYou Preferred
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
4/13/16 2x bonus points on all purchases for 35k bonus points or 15k points on $4.5k spend
AA Platinum
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
1/8/16: $95 statement credit after spending $1000 within 3 months.
2/6/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 2 billing cycles plus 1K extra miles per $1K for the next 16 cycles. Took it.
2/8/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month. Accepted.
2/18/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month or 7,500 miles after spending $1K in 3 months. Took 7,500 miles/$1k, 3 months.
2/23/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 1 month. Accepted; didn't want to be on the phone haggling so early in the morning.
2/24/16: No offer. Last year was given 3,000 AA miles for spending $500. This year, nothing. Cancelled card.
3/2/16: No offer on card with no spend. Not even eligible for retentions.
3/14/2016: Four Platinum MCs, first (1 year old) closed by voice-response system; Second (5 years old) closed by CSR; Third (3.5 years old) offered $95 Credit for $1000 spend; then offered 1000 AA for $1000 spend in three months + $50 credit; Fourth (< 1 month old) no offer.
3/19: $95 statement credit after spending $95. Called after AF hit. Card is 1 year old, ~8k spend?
4/6/16: $95 credit after $95 spend in 1 month or 7500 bonus after $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted $95.
4/8/16: After 1yr, AF just hit. No offer (except downgrade). No use since original minimum spend. Didn't push (don't plan to churn). Canceled.
4/10/16: 4 year old card. Accepted $95 for $95 spend.
5/25/16: After 1yr, AF hit three weeks ago. No real use of card since minimum spend was met. I called twice. No offer either call, even after requesting to be transferred to retention department. Canceled card.
05/27/16: Offered $95 credit after spending $95 in one month or 7500 miles after $1k in spending in three months. Went with the former.
06/02/16 Offered $95 credit after $95 spend in 1 month, or 7500 bonus after $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted $95 credit. it actually posted the next day.
6/4/16: No offer. Closed card.
06/10/16: Offered 5,000 miles for $1,000 spend and adding an authorised user (offer finished at end of June 2016)
8/8/16: Offered $95 statement credit after $95 spend in 1 month
8/11/16:Offered $95 statement credit after $95 spend in 1 month
8/17/16: Offered 5k miles, no cash. Card opened in '09 but not much spent this year. Declined. May try later.
8/15/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95 within 30 days.
9/2/16: CitiGold level customer, about 15k of spend in last year. Two offers were shown: $95 statement credit for spending $95 in next month, or 5000 AA miles, plus 15000 miles for spending $5k in next 3m. (given that I can use DoubleCash, that is like offering me 20k AA miles for a penny each) I have a hard time getting good redemptions nowadays so I took the statement credit and will reduce usage on this.
9/2/16: Choice - $95 stmt credit or 15,000 miles after spending $5k over the next 3 months. Took the 15,000 miles as I'm still earning 1k miles per month for spending $1k per month and I always go over. So... easy peasy.
9/7/16: Choice of $95 stmt credit after $95 spend OR 7500 miles after $1k spend in 3 months. Account open 3 years, spent $10k in past year. Took the 7500 option.
9/12/16: $95 stmt credit after $95 spend. I still have a 1k after $1k offer that expires in January, so I took it. No other offers on account.
9/13/16: 9/7/16: Choice of $95 statement credit after $95 spend OR 7500 miles after $1k spend in 3 months.
9/22/16: Choice - $95 statement credit or 15,000 miles after spending $5k over the next 3 months - Took the 95$ offer
9/29/16: $95 statement credit after spending $1,000 in three months
10/10/16: no retention offer, was offered option to convert to Double Cash or TY Preferred with no annual fee. Said I'd think about it.
10/12/16: no retention offer, had card 1 year, about $5,000 in spend on the card. Offered downgrade to no annual fee Bronze card. Said I'd think about it.
11/18/16: CitiGold account w/ $10k+ purchases in 2016, $95 credit after $95 spend. Took offer. No additional bonuses available.
11/25/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
11/30/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
12/14/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95.
12/15/2016: Called and converted my card to ATT Access More card. I have 3 more Citi Platinum cards and need more TYP.
1/31/17: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 2 months, 1000 bonus miles per billing cycle on spend of $1000/month for the next 12 months
2/10/17: $95 Statement Credit after spending $95 + 1000 bonus points per billing cycle on spend of $1000+ for a period of 12 billing cycles upto 12k bonus miles.
2/26/17: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 1 month, OR 7500 miles after spending $1000 in 3 months. Took the statement credit option.
3/6/17: No offer, no transfer to retention specialist. One of many Citi AA Plat cards I have had, very little spend on the card after meeting initial minimum spend one year ago.
3/11/17: One of two AA Plat cards AF due, offered Bronze or DC, I already have a DC, so asked about Costco, why yes you can. Done, took Costco.
3/31/17: 1st call: no offer. 2nd call: $95 statement credit after $95 spend w/in 2 billing cycles + 1000 bonus points per billing cycle on spend of $1000+ for 12 billing cycles.
4/6/17: No offer. No spend after meeting minimum spend.
5/7/2017: Over the last 3 weeks or so, called on four cards, two closed by phone system, other two sent me to retention and offered: $95 statement credit for spending $95+ w/i two billing cycles and 1000 bonus AA points for each month in next 12 in which I spend $1000+ in the month.
5/11/17: Over the last month, called on four or five cards. Two agents offered to close the account or convert to a no-fee card immediately, no option to be transferred to Retentions. Other agents transferred me to Retentions. No offers for any card in any call.
6/3/2017: $95 statement credit after spending $95 in 1 month, OR spend $150 in 3 months and get 2 one-time-use Admirals Club passes, OR 7500 miles after spending $1000 in 3 months. Took the points.
06/09/2017: $95 off $95 in 1 month. No other offers. Second call.
8/10/2017: No fee waiver, but gave me 5,000 points with no spending requirements. Said I will see the points in a couple of days.
8/12/2017: $95 credit if spending $95 over next 2 cycles. Also got 1000 mile bonus each month i had over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles.
8/24/2017: $95 credit if spending $95 over next 2 cycles. Also got 1000 mile bonus each month i had over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles.
8/30/17. Minimal spend. Offered $95 statement credit (equal to annual fee) after spending $95 within one month. Accepted.
8/31/17. Accepted $95 credit offer. ~$6k spent this year. Card is 6+ years old.
9/2/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles. I also got 1000 mile bonus each month I have over $1000 in spend over next 12 cycles. I have had this card for 4 years and spend over $20k per year. I have received a similar retention offer each year.
9/17/17: minimal spend. No offer. Downgraded to no annual fee card.
9/18/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles
10/14/17: $95 credit if I spend $95 over next 2 cycles. Accepted. Second call (no offers on first call), this was the second offer on that call. Had the card for 2-3 years. Modest spend this year (maybe $10K total) but zero spend in past 6 months.
10/19/17: No offer available. This is the second year in a row they had nothing to offer me (after a few years in a row of getting the $95 fee credit and some sort of bonus miles). Last year I tried calling a couple times and ultimately left it open and paid the fee because I planned to use the AA checked bag benefit a few times. This year I didn't have the patience to HUCA and don't plan to fly AA much, so I downgraded to Double Cash. I had zero spend this year on this card (aside from the annual fee), although I put a lot of spend on my Citi Prestige.
01/10/2018 : No offer other than downgrade to no fee AA card. PCd to Double Cash instead.
2/17/2018: Called to cancel the two AA cards I have. Was offered 7500 points after $1000 spend 90 days. Took the deal on one, closed the other. One was 2 years old, the other almost a year. Minimal spend over the bonus, but did use occasionally.
2/25/18: $95 credit OR 7500 miles if spend $1000 over next 3 months. Accepted the $95 credit offer. Have had the card 9 years, with $9K annual spend.
AA Gold
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
1/14/2016 No offer. Had accepted a 3000 mile for $500 spend offer several months ago. Instead, converted to no ann fee Double Cash card to retain age of account.
1/26/2017 No offer. No transfer to account specialist. Took no action. (Old account from '99 but little activity last year)
7/6/2017 3 calls, no offers. Converted to DoubleCash to retain age of account.
8/30/17. Minimal spend. Offered $50 statement credit (equal to annual fee) after spending $50 within one month, or 3k bonus miles after spending $500 within three months. (Took bonus miles offer.)
11/17/17: Minimal spend, first year. No offer (other than convert to Bronze), card cancelled straight away.
AA Amex
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
3/24/2016: Account from 2013, about $100 spent in 2015. Offered $95 after $95 spent. Happily accepted to keep this open for another year
3/26/2016: No offer, been card member since 2013 with every previous year offering a AF statement credit. Converted to a no-fee DoubleCash.
9/13/2016: Make 5 purchases of $20 or more in 3 months and receive $95 credit. Have had card 8 years. On numerous attempts over several weeks, told card was "not eligible to speak with the retention dept." Finally got through via spouse’s retention call.
12/15/2016: $95 credit for spending $95 on the card in the next 30 days. Accepted offer. (AF is $85 so net $10 free)
4/25/17: $95 credit for spending $95 in 1 month (fee is $85) or 7,500 AA miles if $1,000 spent in 3 months. Have had card 4 years.
5/30/2017: $95 credit for spending $95 in 1 month or 0% Fee. I had this card for 6 years.
AA Executive
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/15/16 - 2 offers: 1) $350 statement credit ($50 a month) with $1500/month spend for 7 months. Or 2) 15k aa miles for spending $5000 in 90 days.
2/25/16 - 3 offers (I didn't bother listening to the 3rd one): 1)$450 credit with 5k/month for 3 months. 2)$250 credit with 3k/month for 3 months. I took option 1. Last year, only option 2 was offered to me for the $250 credit.
3/2/16 - 4 offers:
- 15k miles after $3k spend within 3 cycles
- 1k miles each cycle with $1k spend for next 16 cycles
- $50 statement credit each cycle with $1500 in spending next 7 cycles
- $100 statement credit plus 1k miles after spending $1500 each cycle for next 3 cycles (must hit spend each of 3 cycles)
[/INDENT]6/15/16 Offers: 1) $250 statement credit with 5K/month spend for 3 months, OR 2) $100 credit with $1500/month for 3 months, OR 3) 15k bonus miles with 5K spend in next 3 months (no statement credit). Last year took a $450 credit for $?? spend. Passed on these offers. Will get the card again later. Currently have the Prestige, which gets me lounge access most of the time anyway.
6/29/16 - No retention offer.
7/8/16 - No retention offer.
9/1/16 - $100 statement credit + 5,000 AAdvantage miles for $1500 spend per next 3 billing cycles. Declined and closed.
10/8/16 - First offered only $250 statement credit with $3k/Month spend for 3 months. Then asked if I would be interested in "more miles". I said no, but is there anything with lower statement credit with lower spend. Then offered $100 statement credit + 5000 miles with $1.5kMonth spend for 3 months - accepted as although I don't fly AA much anymore, I like the card/benefits and effective lounge membership for all my additional cardholders. (I already opened a Chase Sapphire Reserve card with $450 fee with the 100K UR point bonus after $4k purchases in first 3 months & Priority Pass lounge access.)
10/10/2016 - Got my choice of four offers on my Citi AA Executive MC:
- 15k bonus miles for spending $5k total within the next 3 months
- $450 statement credit for spending $5k each month for each of the next 3 months
- $250 statement credit for spending $3k each month for each of the next 3 months
- 1k bonus miles per month for next 16 months for spending at least $1k each month.
2/26 Really wanted the $450 for $5k spend per month for three months but would only offer $250 for $3k spend per month. I'm really close to dropping the card, but I think I need the EQM, so I'll probably call back and accept.
7/16/17 - 2-year cardholder, approx. $4k spend total over last 12 months. Offered $250 statement credit for $3k spend each month for next 3 months, or 15k AA miles for $5k spend total over next 3 months. Declined both, closed card.
9/17/17 - $250 statement credit for spending $3k each month for each of the next 3 months. Accepted. Have had card 6 years.
10/7/18 - $450 statement credit for spending $5K each month for each of the next 3 months. Accepted. Have had card 7 years.
AA Business
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
4/6/16: $50 credit after $50 spend in 1 month, or 1k bonus miles for $1k purchase per month for 16 months
5/6/16: 1K bonus for 1k purchase/month for 16 months, or 2.5K bonus for 2.5K purchase/month for 16 months. They seemed desperate to keep me as a cardholder; cancelled because want to get the bonus again.
8/29/2016: 35000$ spend this year. Got 95$ off after 95$ spend.
9/29/16: $95 statement credit after spending $95
11/2/16: 1K bonus/month for 1k purchase/month for 16 months. Closed card to reset clock on getting signup bonus again.
3/1/2017: Biz Platinum - 3k spend, first renewal - $95 credit after $95 in spend within 1 month
10/3/2017: 95$ statement credit after 95$ in purchases in one month
Hilton Reserve
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
2/13/16: $95 statement credit after $3k in 3 months. Spent $10k on card last year
2/13/16: 5k bonus points on $1.5k spend
4/26/16: 5k points for spending $1500 in 3 months, or 750 bonus points/month that you spend $750 for the next 16 months. 1 year old, $4k spend.
7/1/2016: No offers, no nothing. Don't let the door hit you on the way out
7/30/2016: Same as prior report. No offers.
10/12/2016: no offers. Was pushed to convert to no fee cards. $11k spend
04/28/2017: No offers. Pushed to convert to no fee cards. $10k spend.
Hilton Signature - No fee
For data points from 2015 and earlier, please see post #1235
3/19/2016 - 5000 points for spending $1500 in 3 months or 750 points for spending $750 a month for 16 months.
11/10/2017 - 5000 points "for keeping the account open." No mention of spend. Declined.
AT&T Access More
10/21/16 - 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted. $50k spend past year
02/14/17 - 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted. $2k spend past year
05/17/17 - 5,000 TYP for $1k spend in 3 months. Accepted. $3k spend past year
06/09/17 - Extra 2 points/$, maximum of 35000 Thank you points in 6 months, 5000/month average spend
8/11/17- 75000 TYP for 1K spend in 3M or 10K TYP for 3K spend. I chose the first option
10/16/17 - 2nd renewal. Offered 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months. Accepted.
- 7/19/2018: $95 credit after $3k in 3 months. Accepted. This is the 3rd year in a row they have offered a retention bonus. ~$13 annual spend.
Citi retention offer reports (All cards) [2016-2017]
Oct 14, 2017, 9:43 pm
#1681
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 66
Seems to me like you should take the spend $3k offer. Since you're up for renewal, that means you've had the card for 12 months. Assuming you didn't open or close any other ThankYou points card in the last 12 months, that means that in another year, at your next renewal (plus some fudge time to account for Citi's counting of 24 months), you could open ANY ThankYou point card for a bonus so long as this current card is still open. Once you get approved for the new card, close this current card.
It means I'm already eligible for another bonus points.
However...
Why would I apply for another TY card and close the current Premier, if they are offering me to change it to Preferred (no annual fee)... isn't it best to accept this offer? If the account number doesn't change, I'll be still eligible to apply to another card immediately. If it changes, then yes, I'll have to wait another 24 months.
I didn't understand where your logic is better than what I plan to do (above).
Oct 15, 2017, 3:49 am
#1682
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: HNL,HI,USA
Posts: 256
However...
Why would I apply for another TY card and close the current Premier, if they are offering me to change it to Preferred (no annual fee)... isn't it best to accept this offer? If the account number doesn't change, I'll be still eligible to apply to another card immediately. If it changes, then yes, I'll have to wait another 24 months.
I didn't understand where your logic is better than what I plan to do (above).
Why would I apply for another TY card and close the current Premier, if they are offering me to change it to Preferred (no annual fee)... isn't it best to accept this offer? If the account number doesn't change, I'll be still eligible to apply to another card immediately. If it changes, then yes, I'll have to wait another 24 months.
I didn't understand where your logic is better than what I plan to do (above).
Last edited by hi-guy; Oct 15, 2017 at 4:00 am
Oct 15, 2017, 7:38 am
#1683
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,934
Ok, but since the bulk of those points came from the sign up bonus nearly a year ago, and we are talking about closing the card a year from now, and there is a 60 day grace period as well after closing, the best advice is that points that are over 2 years old are best used by then anyway. Points get devalued, transfer partners get dropped, availability dries up. 
Earn em and burn em....
Earn em and burn em....
Anyway, using them up requires knowing how to use them up (with decent value), and that's no simple for the average person with Citi TYP due to the types of partners they have.
I think the problem is that many people sign up for a Premier or Prestige card thinking it's more or less like Chase UR or Amex MR but from Citi (and not checking until they're ready to cancel!). But both on how the points expiration works and the redemption partners it's nothing close, and that's a "rude surprise" to people who didn't research TYP before applying for a TYP card.
It's easy to say "earn and burn" when you have plenty of vacation time and no particular places to go (or easy places that every airline flies to). It's not so easy when you can only take one overseas trip a year and the place you want to go next is only served by one alliance (at least for flights that are anywhere near reasonable for you), and you already have the miles for that flight in that alliance from some other card, and you thought you were getting this TYP card to "replenish", but now you find it can't do that (but it doesn't transfer to any of your "regular" partners and because [almost] all the partners it transfers to have "hard" expirations and because TYP points themselves have per-card expirations).
Last edited by sdsearch; Oct 15, 2017 at 7:45 am
Oct 15, 2017, 10:41 am
#1684
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Northwest, United
Posts: 3,256
Citi Platinum AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard...
Wife's card, she had me do the talking (both times).
First call: not transferred to Retention. CS agent only offered to downgrade card to no-AF version that earns 1/2 mile/dollar spent. HUCA next day...
Second call: CS agent transferred to Retention. First offer: $95 statement credit for spending $95 in next 30 days. Asked if there were any other offers. Next offer was one-time 7000 bonus miles for spending $1000 in next 3 months, no credit for AF. Asked if there were other offers. Last offer was 2 one-time passes for Admirals Club for spending $150.
I would have been tempted by the 7000 mile bonus offer, but wife preferred the $95 dollar statement credit instead, so we accepted that.
She has had this card for 2-3 years. Only modest spend earlier this year when she was geting a spend bonus, zero use in recent months with no spend bonus. On previous years' retention calls she got the $95 statement credit plus the extra 1000 miles for each month she put $1000 on the card for 16 months (what seems like it had been the standard retention offer). Seems that offer either is no longer easily available, or you can only get it for 1-2 times (or both).
With the AF effectively waived, she will keep the card open for a while; her "last" Citi AA card has the AF due in a few months. If she can't get that fee waived/offset, she will close both her remaining Citi AA cards to reset the 24 month clock and will open a Barclay's AAviator to keep her AA miles from expiring while she waits for the Citi clock to reset.
Wife's card, she had me do the talking (both times).
First call: not transferred to Retention. CS agent only offered to downgrade card to no-AF version that earns 1/2 mile/dollar spent. HUCA next day...
Second call: CS agent transferred to Retention. First offer: $95 statement credit for spending $95 in next 30 days. Asked if there were any other offers. Next offer was one-time 7000 bonus miles for spending $1000 in next 3 months, no credit for AF. Asked if there were other offers. Last offer was 2 one-time passes for Admirals Club for spending $150.
I would have been tempted by the 7000 mile bonus offer, but wife preferred the $95 dollar statement credit instead, so we accepted that.
She has had this card for 2-3 years. Only modest spend earlier this year when she was geting a spend bonus, zero use in recent months with no spend bonus. On previous years' retention calls she got the $95 statement credit plus the extra 1000 miles for each month she put $1000 on the card for 16 months (what seems like it had been the standard retention offer). Seems that offer either is no longer easily available, or you can only get it for 1-2 times (or both).
With the AF effectively waived, she will keep the card open for a while; her "last" Citi AA card has the AF due in a few months. If she can't get that fee waived/offset, she will close both her remaining Citi AA cards to reset the 24 month clock and will open a Barclay's AAviator to keep her AA miles from expiring while she waits for the Citi clock to reset.
Oct 15, 2017, 12:11 pm
#1685
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: Marriott: Platinum/LT Silver, AS: MVP
Posts: 67
Citi AAdvantage Executive
Was transferred to retention. Offered the $250 credit for spending $3000/month for the next 3 months. Declined and closed the card. Was not offered anything else.
Had the card for a year and did not put any spend on it beyond the signup bonus. Used for Admirals Club access only.
Was transferred to retention. Offered the $250 credit for spending $3000/month for the next 3 months. Declined and closed the card. Was not offered anything else.
Had the card for a year and did not put any spend on it beyond the signup bonus. Used for Admirals Club access only.
Oct 15, 2017, 1:29 pm
#1686
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 91
Citi Prestige.
Offered $50 statement after spending $1500/mo for 7 months (max ~$350). He mentioned something about additional TY points and extra percentages for all purchases for 6 months, but he said "not a good value."
Offered $50 statement after spending $1500/mo for 7 months (max ~$350). He mentioned something about additional TY points and extra percentages for all purchases for 6 months, but he said "not a good value."
Oct 15, 2017, 1:36 pm
#1687
Join Date: Apr 2008
Programs: AA EXPLT, Marriott Titanium (LT PLT), HHonors Gold, AMEX PLT, UA Silver, National EXC
Posts: 1,059
AA Platinum - $95 Credit for $95 spend in ONE Month period.
Good reminder that my other account went inactive - so gotta set up some auto pays to get that eligible (or I'm just going to close it)
Good reminder that my other account went inactive - so gotta set up some auto pays to get that eligible (or I'm just going to close it)
Oct 16, 2017, 10:55 am
#1688
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 286
Just called in about the AF on my Access More card. This was my 2nd AF. Received and accepted the same offer as last year. 10,000 TYP for $3k spend in 6 months.
Oct 16, 2017, 3:54 pm
#1689
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: Hilton-Diamond, IHG-Spire Elite, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 29
AA Platinum-had card 2 years, not much spend, no offer so transferred to specialist. Specialist rep acknowledged I'm current Citi Priority bank account holder and also have Prestige. He voluteered that fee on Prestige is high and paying for AA card might feel like "too many fees". Offered me 1) $95 statement credit if spend $95 within next 2 billing cycles and and additional 1000 miles every cycle I spend $1000 for the next 12 months
2) no credit but 7,500 miles if I spend $1000 took first offer.
2) no credit but 7,500 miles if I spend $1000 took first offer.
Oct 18, 2017, 1:13 pm
#1690
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,546
$50 credit per mo for $1500 spend on Prestige
Oct 18, 2017, 1:16 pm
#1691
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,012
AA Executive card: One year old, only spent enough for the new account bonus (5k). Offered $50 each statement period for $1500 spend (for 7 months). I accepted this but I think I'll probably cancel. While we could do this and offset all by $100 of the annual fee, it would divert spend from cards with better earning.
Oct 18, 2017, 10:41 pm
#1692
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 157
at&t access more card....second year with this card,...no offer...rep was happy to close/downgrade to no fee preferred card.
I have ~125k card linked to this card, so need to think through how to spend the points...the annual fee just posted, so i have ~30 days to come up with a plan....
Worst case, downgrade to no fee version to retain the points.....any suggestions on how to use the points appreciated!
I have ~125k card linked to this card, so need to think through how to spend the points...the annual fee just posted, so i have ~30 days to come up with a plan....
Worst case, downgrade to no fee version to retain the points.....any suggestions on how to use the points appreciated!
Oct 19, 2017, 8:53 am
#1693
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 286
at&t access more card....second year with this card,...no offer...rep was happy to close/downgrade to no fee preferred card.
I have ~125k card linked to this card, so need to think through how to spend the points...the annual fee just posted, so i have ~30 days to come up with a plan....
Worst case, downgrade to no fee version to retain the points.....any suggestions on how to use the points appreciated!
I have ~125k card linked to this card, so need to think through how to spend the points...the annual fee just posted, so i have ~30 days to come up with a plan....
Worst case, downgrade to no fee version to retain the points.....any suggestions on how to use the points appreciated!
Oct 20, 2017, 12:58 pm
#1695
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 157
i setup recurring payments on plastiq for 1.75% fee, but that offer is no longer available....with the standard fee of 2.5% i am not sure if this card still makes sense....
I would spend $25 to earn 3000 TY points....not sure if that makes sense...since there are hardly any decent xfer partners....any suggestions on using TY points for East Asia/Australia would be appreciated,...