Retention bonus
 

I called over the weekend to find out about a potential retention bonus this year. Since the retention department was closed, the agent gave me their direct # -- 800-753-5577.

I'm not sure if she was supposed to do that, but I called today and spoke with someone immediately.

The offer wasn't really great -- 1500 points in one lump sum, although there was no spending requirement. Better than nothing.

Greg

Greg, thanks for the telephone number! I had a very unsatisfying call to what is now a standard CSR at DC and she was very nice and extremely clueless. If you had not posted the retention department's number I would have not renewed my membership. Oh, I was offered 5000 points as 625 points/month over eight months with a mimimum spend of $200/month.
John

GregL: Thanks for the direct line phone #, I called and asked what they could do for me - they brought my info up on the screen and immediately offered 1K points/month for 5 months, only one charge per month is required for the 1K bonus. Exactly what I was wanting, I didn't need to beg and didn't have to threaten to cancel - a totally painless and pleasant experience.

By the way, as soon as I locked in the retention bonus I called back and dished out an additional $35 for a second card on my account (for my spouse), now that it's a MasterCard and can be used anywhere it's finally worth it to me to spend a little extra to have another card.

I called the direct line recently and asked for a retention bonus. Without telling me I was or was not eligible for the bonus, the agent transferred me to customer service where they asked if I wanted to cancel my card. They have always offered a bonus in the past. Not this time I guess. It was strange how the retention specialist just looked at my account and then said they needed to transfer me to customer service, not even a yes or no answer to my question about the bonus.

Beerman: I'm curious as to whether your account was up for annual renewal or not when you called - it happened to be annual fee time for me when I called a week or two ago and maybe that's why they didn't blink about giving me the retention bonus

Beerman's experience is typical of what several of us have experienced (and discussed in other threads). I'm guessing that process is typical of the other Citi bankcards, so that as more and more of the DC CS is provided by the Citi reps, they are degrading the DC process to that used for the other cards.

I just received my statement with my annual fee about two weeks ago. My statement due date is in about a week. The last two years I called around the 10th of August and no problem getting a bonus. No luck this time.

You should call again. Odds are, with a different CS rep or retention desk rep, you will get your bonus.

The recent reports, including mine, of wildly inconsistent CS reps are not a good sign the longer it continues. The rapid descent from the best and most consistent customer service in the business to the current situation where whether you get good service depends completely on who picks up the phone on the other end is very disappointing.

I called back per your suggestion and this time was offered a bonus of 500 points per month for 5 months (total 2500 points) for $100 spend per month. This wasn't the 5000 points I was hoping for but better than nothing. I was probably offered less since I didn't use the card as much as in the past. Still wonder why the first time I called, I was offered nothing and just transferred back to customer service where they were ready to cancel my card, and this time I received an offer. I really think it matters which person you talk to in the retention department.

Yes! you are right. It really matters which person you talk to. Some CSR's public relations skills are not up to the mark. Some just had a bad day or what ever. Bottom line is do not give up and like any other bussines do not take it personally. If the relationship benefits you, keep going.

Just called, phone was answered on the first ring by an extremely pleasant and helpful agent. Offered 5k points without any hassle. Certainly made made me feel good about extending my membership by another year.

Lets hope this is indicative of the service we get in the future.

That would be nice; but your experience, for now, simply underscores the wildly inconsistent state of DC customer service. Once again, how you are treated by CS depends entirely on who answers the phone. You were lucky. Beerman was not. Months ago, I dealt with a retention rep who treated me just as you were treated; pleasantly and helpfully. But judging by this thread and others, many DC holders have had to deal with incompetent CS reps who apparently had little or no DC training, and without a clue as to the high level of customer service most of us have come to expect from DC over the years. By the way, as to your bonus offer, you may or may not get a confirmation letter, and the bonus may or may not post, based on other threads. You should check your statement to make sure the bonus posts properly.

I called today to find out what my annual retention offer would be. The agent seemed to have all of my account details in front of him -- mentioning I had been a cardholder for eight years.

Interestingly, he asked me what I wanted. I was taken back a bit by this and stated that typically there was some offer of free points in exchange for renewal, at which point he offered 1000 points/month for five months as long as I made one charge.

At 1 cent/mile, that brings me $50 back of the $95 yearly fee. Not bad, but not great.

Greg

Seeing as points can be directly converted to a credit against any travel charge on your statement at the rate of 1.25 cents per point (plus a $5.00 flat fee), I'm not sure why on earth anyone would value Club Rewards points at 1 cent each, 5,000 of them have a value of, at an absolute minimum, $57.50 (5,000 points x 1.25 cents/point = $62.50 - $5.00 fee = $57.50). Of course, I think using the points to top off frequent flyer and frequent guest points can usually result in a much greater value than that, especially with the transfer bonsues they offer on occasion, but even if you disagree, I'm not sure how you would justify discounting their true cash value from this option.

Fair enough -- I haven't looked into the travel credit option. I was basing each point as one frequent flyer mile which I value (conservatively) at 1 cent.

Greg