FreakingFlyer

Here ya go! Sorry for the delay there.

2020 history is here:

2020 Shutdown Thread

Let the games begin!

Jetsfan27

Two of my Citi credit cards were shut down. The Citi premier card and the American airlines business platinum card. I'm very disappointed.

I used mostly the citi premier card about 900k spend over the course of 2 years, and only about 30k spend on the American airlines card over 1 year. I got a call from citi 1 year ago that my card was flagged for review and answered their questions very honestly, I really did not think I was in violation of any of their terms or conditions. Then recently received another call about 3 months ago. This time around got some weird questions which I also answered honestly. They asked me where my credit card payments were coming from, and I told them they were coming from my personal bank account (which they were). Then they asked me why I was making my payment in pieces and not just paying the whole balance at the end of the statement. I told them and this is true that I don't want a large debt to build up so usually make payments as I use it (ie 2-3 payments a week). Apparently they don't like that and prefer you just make one payment at the end of your cycle. In any case on 1/7/2021 both cards were shut down and I received 60 days to use or lose my Citi premier points.

Please also note that I couldn't ransfer the points to any partners after credit card shutdown. Hope this helps someone in the future. Also i wanted to mention that I manufactured spend through gambling websites and I don't actually think its even MS because I really did use the websites as gambling websites require 1x rollover (meaning you have to bet your funds that you deposit).

bbriscoe34

Not really a gambler, but if you place both sides of a bet on two different gambling websites/ or two different accounts, you come out pretty close to break-even risk-free, after the house fees? Is that a feasible strategy excluding the shutdown issues?

radonc1

I guess this depends on the house percentage for the bet being made.

For sports betting, I found this site that describes the house edge.

If 7% is really the edge, I think that you can do better elsewhere for MSing activities. For example, just using the IRS payment site with a credit card costs between 1.5-2.5% and doesn't require gambling anything

radonc1

I believe betting sites are one of the areas that is excluded from earning TYPs.

The fact that you got away with it for 2 years and that Citi allowed you to keep your points without a fight is a big plus (although I know that Citi has lost the confiscation fight before). Furthermore, it wasn't as if Citi didn't fire a shot across your bow (twice !!) with phone calls about the account.

However, this is just another DP which shows that cycling your CL is one way to perk up the rats ears. This also shows you that when you get a personal phone call from a bank or CC company about your activities, there is something they don't like and you need to desist if you want to keep the account open.

chaser123

Much luckier than me. They took all my TY points and double cash back. Several $K worth.
Was your gambeling site a domestic site? I like your method. I don't know what the vig is but you can always bet both ways and just pay the vig. It's like playing the Pass and don't pass at the same time. You will loose but only if a twelve is rolled (I think) and make points along the way.

CerealCardSpender

Thanks for the DP. Sucks that you can no longer cycle Citi cards safely. and can only get a CLI once every 6 months.

littlewinglet

Save your Citi cards though, after they're closed, they can still be a convenient BP dumpster and you'll just call them to get a refund once or twice a month. This way you'll have BP bandwidth without actually having to spend money to generate the charges.

ogg

That works for a while, but then Citi stops accepting payments to a closed card and reverses the attempts. I don't know how long before that happens--it could be years--but be careful using this method.

littlewinglet

I'm aware it's a possibility. Cap1 did this within 2 months of shutdown. All that happened was CFP said I had to go back to WM and pick up a refund. At that point it's just a minor hassle and you can stop doing it.

Jetsfan27

I have a method (which I won’t disclose publicly), it’s incredibly simple and far better than gift cards at least for me. The cost to manufacture through gambling sites is about 1 percent. My return is probably Around 2.1 percent depending on the card I use. There’s a lot of nuances but once you get the hang of it it’s simple you just can’t get too greedy as there will be issues if you do.

Jetsfan27

I’m not too sure I understand this. When you say BP, do you mean the gas station?

CerealCardSpender

Billpay

economyfly

can you suggest a gambling site you reccomend?

CerealCardSpender

Which CC issuers don't frown massively on gambling? From an issuers perspective, large amount of gambling transactions on a credit card is going to draw attention. I would image even more so than grocery store transactions. Grocery transactions just imply gaming. Gambling implies something else entirely in this economic climate.