May 22, 2013, 8:47 pm
Last edit by: aeneas3
- Retention offers, generally speaking, are offers made by a card issuer when they believe you might close your card account.
Often this means you have to actually say specifically you "want to cancel the card because..." before they can offer you something. Being vague 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.
- Offers may include cash, points, or a combination of both and are frequently linked to required spending on the card.
- You can contact Citibank's Retention Department directly at 800-444-2568, and avoid the front line customer service reps.
- For additional tips on interacting with retention representatives, see this blog post by someone who claims to have worked for Citi's retention department.
Current offers (update with your current offer under the respective card, date of offer, how long you had the card and yearly spend)
Thank you preferred
Thank you premier
Called Sep 7 complaining about benefit cut
Card #1 (15 years, $2K spent) - no offers, she saw offer taken in February
Card #2 (2 years, $0 spent) 5000 TYPs for $1K spend in 3 month
or $125 for $4.5 spend in 3 month
11/20/13: $125 credit for annual fee. Extra 500 points each month I spend $500 for 16 months. 2 year old card. Spend $5000 per year.
AA platinum
8/22/13: $95 credit + 500 miles each month with $500+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 12/2012, min spend)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 6 months (Opened 2 Years, no spend in last 11 months)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened 2 Years, ~$2000 spend in last year)
10/15/13: $95 statement credit and 1000 miles bonus for 1K spending for the next 16 months - (Open 2/13, 25K spend so far)
10/17/13: $95 statement credit and 500 miles bonus for $500 spend for the next 16 months - (Open 9/12, no usage after meeting bonus spend except for recent purchase for the 2K bonus from AA mall)
10/20/13: $95 statement credit and 1,000 miles bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months - (Open 2/13, $3,000 spend so far)
10/23/13 $95 statement credit and 750 miles bonus for $750 spend for next 15 cycles. (Open 3/2013, $3,000 spend so far)
11/23/13 $95 statement credit and 1,000 miles bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 11/'12 and $55K spend)
12/10/13 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 11/12 and only $5K CVS + $100 AA spend for bonus)
01/06/14 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 01/13 just made the purchases to meet the min spend)
AA gold
8/22/13: $50 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 2/2013, min spend)
AA Amex
12/10/13: $95 credit + 1k bonus miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 11/2012, approx. $1,000 per month spent over 12 months)
11/21/13: $95 credit + 1k bonus miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 11/2012, only minimum spend)
8/22/13: $95 credit + 1k miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 8/2012, only minimum spend)
8/22/13: $95 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 12/2012, min spend)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened 2 Years, ~$800 spend in last year)
10/12/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened <2 Year, $1200 / mo spend in last year). Can double dip with previous retention offer of 1000 bonus AA miles with $1000 monthly spend for 16 months
12/17/13: $95 credit + 1k miles each month with $1k+ in purchases for 16 months (opened 11/12, ~$8k spend on opening, minimal recent usage)
01/07/14 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 01/13 just made the purchases to meet the min spend)
AA executive
10/6/13 $50 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 10/2011, $60k spend)
10/6/13 2500 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 3 months - (Opened 10/2011, $60k spend)
1/3/14 $50 credit and 750 miles with $750 purchase each month for 16 months (opened 1/13 with 40k spend)
3/22/14 $100 credit and 5,000 miles with $1,500 in purchases each month for 3 months. Opened the card 2/1/14
AA business
1/3/2013: Spend $5000 in 6 months, earn 10,000 miles
7/24/14 - 1 day after AF hit - $95 credit + 1000 miles if $1000 spent per statement for 16 months - 4k spend
Hilton reserve
9/16/13: 750 HHonors Points each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months
Hilton signature
Often this means you have to actually say specifically you "want to cancel the card because..." before they can offer you something. Being vague 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.
- Offers may include cash, points, or a combination of both and are frequently linked to required spending on the card.
- You can contact Citibank's Retention Department directly at 800-444-2568, and avoid the front line customer service reps.
- For additional tips on interacting with retention representatives, see this blog post by someone who claims to have worked for Citi's retention department.
Current offers (update with your current offer under the respective card, date of offer, how long you had the card and yearly spend)
Thank you preferred
Thank you premier
Called Sep 7 complaining about benefit cut
Card #1 (15 years, $2K spent) - no offers, she saw offer taken in February
Card #2 (2 years, $0 spent) 5000 TYPs for $1K spend in 3 month
or $125 for $4.5 spend in 3 month
11/20/13: $125 credit for annual fee. Extra 500 points each month I spend $500 for 16 months. 2 year old card. Spend $5000 per year.
AA platinum
8/22/13: $95 credit + 500 miles each month with $500+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 12/2012, min spend)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 6 months (Opened 2 Years, no spend in last 11 months)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened 2 Years, ~$2000 spend in last year)
10/15/13: $95 statement credit and 1000 miles bonus for 1K spending for the next 16 months - (Open 2/13, 25K spend so far)
10/17/13: $95 statement credit and 500 miles bonus for $500 spend for the next 16 months - (Open 9/12, no usage after meeting bonus spend except for recent purchase for the 2K bonus from AA mall)
10/20/13: $95 statement credit and 1,000 miles bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months - (Open 2/13, $3,000 spend so far)
10/23/13 $95 statement credit and 750 miles bonus for $750 spend for next 15 cycles. (Open 3/2013, $3,000 spend so far)
11/23/13 $95 statement credit and 1,000 miles bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 11/'12 and $55K spend)
12/10/13 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 11/12 and only $5K CVS + $100 AA spend for bonus)
01/06/14 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 01/13 just made the purchases to meet the min spend)
AA gold
8/22/13: $50 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 2/2013, min spend)
AA Amex
12/10/13: $95 credit + 1k bonus miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 11/2012, approx. $1,000 per month spent over 12 months)
11/21/13: $95 credit + 1k bonus miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 11/2012, only minimum spend)
8/22/13: $95 credit + 1k miles each month with $1K+ in purchases for 16 months (Opened 8/2012, only minimum spend)
8/22/13: $95 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 12/2012, min spend)
9/16/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened 2 Years, ~$800 spend in last year)
10/12/13: $95 credit after 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months (Opened <2 Year, $1200 / mo spend in last year). Can double dip with previous retention offer of 1000 bonus AA miles with $1000 monthly spend for 16 months
12/17/13: $95 credit + 1k miles each month with $1k+ in purchases for 16 months (opened 11/12, ~$8k spend on opening, minimal recent usage)
01/07/14 $95 statement credit and 1,000 mile bonus for $1,000 spend for the next 16 months (opened 01/13 just made the purchases to meet the min spend)
AA executive
10/6/13 $50 credit + 750 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months - (Opened 10/2011, $60k spend)
10/6/13 2500 miles each month with $750+ in purchases for 3 months - (Opened 10/2011, $60k spend)
1/3/14 $50 credit and 750 miles with $750 purchase each month for 16 months (opened 1/13 with 40k spend)
3/22/14 $100 credit and 5,000 miles with $1,500 in purchases each month for 3 months. Opened the card 2/1/14
AA business
1/3/2013: Spend $5000 in 6 months, earn 10,000 miles
7/24/14 - 1 day after AF hit - $95 credit + 1000 miles if $1000 spent per statement for 16 months - 4k spend
Hilton reserve
9/16/13: 750 HHonors Points each month with $750+ in purchases for 16 months
Hilton signature
Citi retention offer reports [2009-2013]
Jun 20, 2012, 10:05 pm
#1231
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Amex Platinum, SPG Platinum, HHonors Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 151
Downgrade v. Cancel - Affecting Credit Score
I'm curious. If Citi gave you the option to downgrade to a no fee card/close the account, wouldn't the smart choice here be to downgrade to the no fee card? I imagine the loss of available credit by canceling the card/the lower average age of credit accounts (in future years as a result of canceling now) would hurt your credit score pretty badly. Can people who have cancelled when given the option to downgrade provide their reasons for doing so?
Jun 21, 2012, 4:25 am
#1232
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 413
I'm curious. If Citi gave you the option to downgrade to a no fee card/close the account, wouldn't the smart choice here be to downgrade to the no fee card? I imagine the loss of available credit by canceling the card/the lower average age of credit accounts (in future years as a result of canceling now) would hurt your credit score pretty badly. Can people who have cancelled when given the option to downgrade provide their reasons for doing so?
In my situation, the one Citi card was only about 4% of my available credit so it would make no difference to me.
I knew I was never going to use the card, so I had no desire to keep it open and I knew it would not impact my score.
Jun 21, 2012, 7:40 am
#1233
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: BOS
Posts: 588
"Badly" all depends on how much other available credit you have and your average age of accounts.
In my situation, the one Citi card was only about 4% of my available credit so it would make no difference to me.
I knew I was never going to use the card, so I had no desire to keep it open and I knew it would not impact my score.
In my situation, the one Citi card was only about 4% of my available credit so it would make no difference to me.
I knew I was never going to use the card, so I had no desire to keep it open and I knew it would not impact my score.
Jun 21, 2012, 12:03 pm
#1234
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,957
I'm curious. If Citi gave you the option to downgrade to a no fee card/close the account, wouldn't the smart choice here be to downgrade to the no fee card? I imagine the loss of available credit by canceling the card/the lower average age of credit accounts (in future years as a result of canceling now) would hurt your credit score pretty badly. Can people who have cancelled when given the option to downgrade provide their reasons for doing so?
Most people keep some no-annual-fee-ever cards as their longterm history ones. For example, I've had a Discover card for 20ish years. I hardly ever actually use it for purchases (just enough to keep it from being cancelled due to inactivity), but it doesn't cost anything to keep it. I've also had a Citi AT&T Universal Card for almost that long, and keep it for the same reason (and use it just as little). I have a Chase Amtrak card that inherited history from some previous cards and thus "looks" like a card I've had over a decade though I've only had it half a decade, and I need to keep it (and probably have occasional activity) to keep my Amtrak Guest Rewards points alive (since I don't actually ride Amtrak for years at a time).
With that in mind, taking a one-or-two-year old Citi card with an annual fee and downgrading it would not help my history much, plus it's not a technique I can repeat over and over and over (while applying for cards to get bonuses is something I do over and over and over).
So that's another reason to not downgrade: It's not an infinitely-repeatable sollution, and most churners are more interested in infinitely-repeatable solutions than one-time-only solutions.
Last edited by sdsearch; Jun 27, 2012 at 2:43 pm Reason: fixed typo (missing "not"!)
Jun 21, 2012, 3:15 pm
#1235
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Amex Platinum, SPG Platinum, HHonors Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 151
Thanks for thoughts. Didn't think of it that way, but certainly churning would be a good reason.
Jun 22, 2012, 11:38 am
#1236
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 5
Data point:
Annual fee was about to hit next month, called the retention dept and was giving 2 options:
3.000 miles after $500 spent in 3 months
Downgrade to Bronze card - which i took
I was very disappointed, my wife spent between 20-30k on this card on the last 12 months
Annual fee was about to hit next month, called the retention dept and was giving 2 options:
3.000 miles after $500 spent in 3 months
Downgrade to Bronze card - which i took
I was very disappointed, my wife spent between 20-30k on this card on the last 12 months
Jun 22, 2012, 1:20 pm
#1237
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: Grounded
Posts: 669
Annual fee posted for the Citi AAdvantage Amex today.
Last week I was successful in having them give me a $85 credit for the Visa.
Called today about getting the same with Amex, but no luck. I flat out told them I will keep the card open if they waive the fee, otherwise close it.
She came back with they can convert me to a no fee card, I said no thanks and told her to close it. Was not even offered the $25 credit others received.
Not a big deal though, I didn't need the card anyways and I was fine with them closing it so I didn't try to argue.
Last week I was successful in having them give me a $85 credit for the Visa.
Called today about getting the same with Amex, but no luck. I flat out told them I will keep the card open if they waive the fee, otherwise close it.
She came back with they can convert me to a no fee card, I said no thanks and told her to close it. Was not even offered the $25 credit others received.
Not a big deal though, I didn't need the card anyways and I was fine with them closing it so I didn't try to argue.
I hope that isn't a new trend, as mine will be up in October and the $95 fee starts soon if not already.
Jun 22, 2012, 1:39 pm
#1238
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
I have called retention twice in last two months and each time was not offered any deal at all. My annual fee is coming due next month and if I don't get it waived shall need to cancel the card :-(
Jun 22, 2012, 2:08 pm
#1239
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
I called a few days ago for my Citi AA Visa and was offered nothing. I was surprised, until the rep mentioned that I had another active promotion going on from a call I made to Citi back in January. I totally forgot about it since the promo was only for the first $5K spend and I maxed that out a couple months back. It doesn't expire for a few weeks, so he said to call in a month (fee will post in about 3 weeks).
He also said that the AF would be prorated 10% for every 37 days if I cancel during the year .... that seems new.
He also said that the AF would be prorated 10% for every 37 days if I cancel during the year .... that seems new.
Jun 22, 2012, 2:10 pm
#1240
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 85
I received a similar offer as others for both Visa and AMEX.
3000 miles for $500 spent within 3 months
2x miles up to maximum of 5,000 miles for next 6 months
$25 statement credit for $500 spent.
I took the 3000 miles for the Visa and cancelled the AMEX. I have a trip on AA coming up that have one card will help reduce baggage fees.
3000 miles for $500 spent within 3 months
2x miles up to maximum of 5,000 miles for next 6 months
$25 statement credit for $500 spent.
I took the 3000 miles for the Visa and cancelled the AMEX. I have a trip on AA coming up that have one card will help reduce baggage fees.
Jun 25, 2012, 9:26 pm
#1241
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Seattle
Programs: Delta Silver
Posts: 147
I just got got the annual fee waived for both AA Visa and AA Visa Biz.
Jun 26, 2012, 12:13 pm
#1242
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 39
Just converted my AA Amex card to Dividend preferred (5% back in airlines spend starting july for the quarter) which is much more beneficial to me than getting an annual fee credit since I don't fly AA anymore (first they offered $95 statement credit with any 5 purchases, then offered to convert it to a Thankyou card + 7000 points), since I already have a few ThankYou cards, I figured to try Dividend preferred for the 5% airline cashback. Not convinced if I made a good "deal" in the end
http://www.creditcardwatcher.com/cas...calendar-2012/
http://www.creditcardwatcher.com/cas...calendar-2012/
Jun 26, 2012, 3:39 pm
#1243
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Posts: 20
AA American express- rep could not waive the $85 fee on this but they offered 3 miles/$ for 6 months, up to 10K bonus miles,
AA Visa they waived the $85 fee and offered 2mi/$ for $750/month purchases for up to 16 months.
Kept both cards as it seemed like a good deal.
AA Visa they waived the $85 fee and offered 2mi/$ for $750/month purchases for up to 16 months.
Kept both cards as it seemed like a good deal.
Jun 26, 2012, 4:36 pm
#1244
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, British
Posts: 53
AA VISA - fee is due in October. $85 credit plus for the next 16 billing cycles if spend $1000 get a bonus of 1000 miles in addition to the regular 1000.
Jul 4, 2012, 6:50 am
#1245
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DME
Programs: LH SEN, AA Plat, SPG Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 294
AA Mastercard: fee waived + 2 miles/$1 up to $750 per cycle for the next 12 billing cycles.
AA Amex: $95 statement credit for 5 purchases in 3 month
AA Amex: $95 statement credit for 5 purchases in 3 month
Last edited by pvs001d; Jul 4, 2012 at 1:34 pm