AAExPlat

Did you apply over the phone or the link?

onthego15

I used the link, but it makes no difference which way you apply.

AAExPlat

Awesome, onthego15. I had originally called Citi and the agent refused to let me apply for the offer. After I saw your post, I then applied via link and was instantly approved. Good stuff. Thanks for the help.

onthego15

^

sdnativeboy

I applied and was approved for the personal Visa and personal AMEX last week. I just pulled my credit report, and there are two separate inquiries, one for CITI and the other for CITIBANK.

Is it others' experience that the two inquiries are combined at a later point? Having two inquiries isn't a big deal for me, but posts in this thread indicated they would be consolidated into one pull.

Happy

It can happen. Ours almost always are this way. They will NOT merge because the entities / addresses are different, despite the IDs are the same.

The PO box numbers almost look like a tranposed one on the 2 entities we got.

I know of an FTer whose experiences were identical to ours and yours - i.e. he always got 2 pulls from 2 entities.

FWIW, ours are Experian reports.

When they pulled Equifax, they were always from the same entity and so they merged.

vhc

Did anyone take a screenshot or have documentation of the following offer page for either the AMEX or CitiBusiness Visa? I applied through the links but was changed to the $4,000 for 75,000 mile offer with no companion certificate when I received the card. They've asked for documentation for the offer I applied through....

75k Offer Page NOT FUNCTIONING
75k, Visa EXPIRED, BUT WORKS
75k, Visa Business EXPIRED, BUT WORKS
75k, AMEX NOT FUNCTIONING

Call 800-408-4311 to register for this promotion over the phone. CONFIRMED TO WORK

As a cardmember, you’ll benefit from:
• 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $1500 in purchases within the first 6 months of cardmembership
• $85 annual fee ($75 for the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® card) waived for the first 12 months of cardmembership*
• Receive a Companion Certificate after you become a cardmember when a minimum coach fare of $299 per passenger is purchased with your Citi® / AAdvantage® card (restrictions apply)

Happy

It so happened that we were coinless at the time.

However I was able to put $5K on the SPG card, because I used the AMEX program which guaranteed the dealer must accept AMEX card for down payment. Regardless the dealership said they allowed maximum 5K on AMEX card.

There was another customer also put $5K on his AMEX on that same day, because the back office lady initially was confused whether she gave the right receipt to us.

OT:

You still need to bargain of course. At the end we got the out the door price $90 above Edmunds TMV + tax. So it is reasonable because Edmund's TMV already factors in all the factory incentives. We also got a smallish dealer-installed option package for free - a nicely fit molded soft plastic lining in the trunk, locks for 4 wheels, and installed hard plastic mud guards on all 4 wheels with one spare. The pin-stripe decoration came with the AMEX program being free.

What the dealer earns may be the $750 dealer destination fee but it also eats the 4 or 5% processing fee on the $5K put on SPG. The first offer was $1,260 higher.

The bargaining process though, is a lot simpler than without using the program - there is no hard sell, they just make you wait and wait and wait more for decision. Between the first offer and the final offer we were made to wait almost an hour but nobody bothered us, and they even have a terminal connected to net in the service dept customer waiting area. So I just went online to check with our state's DMV site for some info I was told about title transfer and such that I forgot to research at home.

The whole service shop area is indoor and airconditioned btw, with a door separate from the main area of the dealership.

All in all, this is an experience I can recommend.

Happy

It wont do you any good because the $1500 offer EXPIRED on Oct 31 as you clearly see it on Post 2 info you quoted below.

How can you argue if they tell you, but Sir, the offer has already expired.

achuang24

Under the "only for first time cardholders" promotion right?

elshagon

I just applied for the amex card over the phone and the offer read back to me was for the $1500, exactly as indicated in the benefits posted above.

onthego15

Yes, many of us who have had Citi cards for a long time (almost always more than year) were approved under this promo.

jbdk

My wife got this in the mail in October 2010. She applied for it on Oct 30, 2010 online with the invitation code. There was no immediate response as far as yes or no. A few days later, she received a letter in the mail that she got the card and the card came in about a week later. The letter was dated Nov 4.

Spent $1600 on the card for Christmas shopping. Paid is off at the first statement. She called last week in regards to the miles as it has been about 8 weeks.

She was told no. Because the account was not opened before October 31, although reapplied by October 31. It was opened on November 4. The card states it is valid from 11/10 to 03/12.

She escalated to a supervisor who told her the same thing. She canceled the card. She complained to AA about this, but they did not care.

Another reason to avoid the big C

thehawk75

Wow... this is the first I've heard Citi actually not award the miles, even on an expired link. But, in this case you even applied before it expired, I'm still shocked. I used the expired Business 100K link and already confirmed that I'm getting the bonus.

That said, you can clearly fight this. You applied on the 31st, go and dig up your application ID. The first 8 digits are the YYYYMMDD you applied (maybe not in that order, I don't have one in front of me to be certain, but, it is nonetheless the date). Also, they should have the date you applied for the card anyway, but, it helps if you've got the application number.

The T&C's of the offer couldn't be clearer:

Key word being 'apply'. They do not say 'approved for' or 'opened'.

Again, I remain skeptical that this is in fact the reason for not awarding the bonus miles, but, I do believe you may were been told that by a CSR, or even the supervisor. I would hung up and called back later. Citi is notorious for having CSR's and even supervisors assert absolutely incorrect and contradictory information, and, what they say varies depending on which CSR you get. Thus calling back and getting a different CSR often gains far better results than taking action with an unruly CSR or supervisor, in other words, I don't think immediately canceling in protest will help get the miles you are owed.

At any rate, if you do have the application ID, and the copy of the offer, you should be able to get these bonus miles without too much stress.

thtsapaddlin

I have, in fact, read post 2, so I apologize to those who may be irritated that I'm asking this question.

I applied for the 75k personal Visa well before I knew about the "apply for 2 cards on the same day" rule. So I'm ineligible, but I want to share the wealth with my parents, two retired teachers who need to travel more.

Let me just confirm the protocol and rationale for getting 2 personal cards simultaneously.

1. Call the number listed in post #2 and apply for the 75k/$1,500 AmEx. Confirm the offer with the CSR.
2. Minutes later, apply online (using link in post #2) for the 75k/$4,000 Visa.

A few questions:
1. What's the rationale for applying for the AmEx vs. the Visa by phone? I imagine it's because it's been done successfully in the past. Just out of curiosity, have many folks been unsuccessful when applying for the Visa by phone first?

2. Aside from the issues of meeting minimum spend (which we all know aren't actually issues giving the widely-publicized strategy), is it okay to just apply simultaneously for the personal Visa and personal Amex online?

3. Is it advisable to apply for the Chase Continental OnePass (50k after 1st purchase) on the same day? They likely won't be applying for home loans or auto loans any time soon, so the 3 (or 2 -- depending on luck) inquiries won't be an issue long-term, but I want them to be able to get the Chase card without hassle.

Thanks for your replies, folks.