freshpoints

No - or at least not that I am aware of. I believe I either got very lucky, or very very lucky.

Thanks for all of this - here is what I've done:

I first attempted to redeem the 50K points from CitiGold to a mortgage check, however the redemption was only .08 cents per point. Apparently, TY points from banking products (checkings, savings, etc) do not have the same value as credit card TY points when redeeming for a mortgage or student loan check. I decided against that, and combined all TY accounts (there were 3 total) into one. After that, I requested a downgrade on CitiGold to CitiBasic and put $1,000 in the account at the end of May to avoid fees associated with that account. Citi Placed a one month hold on the fee for June to ensure I would not be charged for Citi Basic.

All the points are now in one account with various expiration dates, and nothing suggests they will expire anytime in the next few months. In fact, the CitiGold points show an expiration date of 12/31/2018 - I know from other posts it is wise to continue monitoring this expiration date since the T&C suggest early forfeiture of points. I will continue to monitor these dates.

freshpoints

As a follow up to my previous post above - I did want to mention that I have never had an issue with phone support from Citi and I've been a CC customer of there's for some time now - customer service has always been prompt, pleasant, and knowledgeable.

However, ever since I enrolled in CitiGold, their Customer Support lines and routing processes have been driving me absolutely insane. Any time I call them, regardless if I'm calling the number on the back of my credit card - I get routed to CitiGold banking support and they seem unable to assist with TY or credit card help.

What's interesting, is when I was addressing all of the items I discussed in my previous post with Citi last month, their phone system seemed to be having a massive glitch and at one point, after holding, my call was answered, but instead of talking to a customer service rep, I was talking with 10-15 other customers as if it were a party line!

phant0m

I know how you feel. Each one of my Citi cards has a different customer service number.

milepig

A random message from Citi led me to their account comparison page which says that in November the minimum monthy balance is changing to $200,000. This is HUGE like 4 times as high and will make me move my accounts.

See citi.com/compareaccounts

Phantom707

Yes. It's been spoken of quite a bit. If you don't keep the minimum balance, you'll automatically be downgraded to a different checking account type.

mia

Scroll back to post 596.

milepig

So I'm late to the party which only shows how well Citi has hidden this change.

slivrflyr

Being downgraded in November or even downgrading it ourselves will alter if the account earns TYP going forward but just to confirm, the product change won't affect our existing banking TYPs, will it? There's no expiry? We will still be able to use them at citi prestige 1.6c redemption rate, right ?

Thanks

Biggie Fries

My experience: Consolidated Citigold TYPs under umbrella Prestige account in early 2016. These (Citigold) points now show as expiring end of 2019. They are also the first ones used in TYP AA flight purchases.

TravelinSperry

I spoke with a Citigold rep at my local bank and he said that not many benefits are being removed the "new" tier which we are currently at (keeping $50k). He said benefits were only being added (although the comparison chart shows foreign transaction fee charges being removed... so admittedly he didn't' know all yet). Official documentation supposed to come down by the end of June. So we will see.

slivrflyr

None of the other account options participate in TYP. Does downgrading make the TYPs expire within 60d (like when closing the account) or are they still subject to the 3y expiry schedule as long as the act is open (even tho it doesn't earn TYPs any longer)

milepig

Thanks. The foreign transaction fee was a biggie.

I got a mailing via snail mail last night that touted "sign up for new expanded GOLD benefits" most of which weren't really of interest to me. The part about going up to $200,000 in November was buried in fine print on the back. The mailing said to go in and to an advisor, which is what I plan to do in the next bit.

phant0m

Man citi gold sucks. Tried to order some euros to before my trip and they wanted 1.19 dollars per euro when the going rate is 1.11. Guess I'll just pull cash out with my fidelity account when I get to the airport.

TravelinSperry

I spoke with an advisor in Citi today. They continue to claim CitiGold benefits (with $200k) will remain as is - and add'l (although as of yet to be disseminated to the branches) benefits will be added.

Those who keep $50k will be downgraded to Citi Priority and will lose some benefits. Training on which ones has yet to be provided.

The advisor made it seem that CitiGold was aimed at people who would have and use brokerage accounts although she admitted in-kind transfers from other fund families would be allowed and those balances would be accepted towards the $200k. She wondered why anyone would do that however.

Never exchange money like that. Pull money out of an ATM when abroad and you'll get the best rates. Citigold waives foreign transaction fees for doing so and reimburses ATM charges as well (at least until Nov 2016) when most of us will be swapped into Citi Priority and certain foreign fees will exist again for us.

garykung

Unfortunately, my estimate is Citi Priority clients will lose many (or I should say most) benefits that are provided to Citigold.

Citibank has been in-progress to realign its products worldwide. If you look at locations where Citi Priority has been introduced, you will see Citi Priority is basically a basic package with some perks.

My conclusion - I will downgrade my account and pull everything I can to HSBC Premier instead.