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I made my biannual Citi retention call and got some nice offers. The standout is my Citi Prestige Card which is my primary card for air, hotel, and dining spend so I have the most activity on it of my Citi accounts.
My Citi Prestige card:
- $200 one-time statement credit for $4,000 spend in each of next 3 months – “Umm…do you have any other offers?”
- 10,000 bonus points for $3,000 spend in 3 months – I almost took this one
- Extra 4 points per dollar at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas, up to 50,000 bonus points (net 5x) – agent helpfully suggested I buy gift cards for later use
- Extra 4 points per dollar at restaurants, up to 50,000 bonus points (net 6x)- agent said I would need to eat out a lot
- Extra 4 points per dollar at airlines, hotels, travel agencies and car rental, up to 35,000 bonus points (net 7x on airlines and hotels, 5x on travel agencies and car rental) – since I have large travel expenses upcoming (West Africa), I took it figuring I will likely do at least as well as the 10k bonus offer for $3k spend
My 2 Citi Premier cards:
- 5,000 bonus points for $1,000 spend in 3 months
- 5,000 bonus points for $1,000 spend in 6 months – this longer term might delay getting a new offer, so I took the 3 months
My AT&T Access card:
- 10,000 bonus points for $3,000 spend in 6 months
- 5,000 bonus points for $1,000 spend in 3 months – I took this one, less work than $3k spend
- 1 additional point per dollar up to 15,000 bonus points for 6 months – there is a play here for those doing well with the online shopping category bonus
My 3 ThankYou Preferred, 3 Dividend cards, and 1 American Airlines card: dinner was ready and I don’t have much MS capacity in the coming 1-2 months so I did not go through these offers.
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Just get to retentions. They get a BONUS for having you taking a retention offer why would you feel bad? If they DON’T get people to take offers they lose their job!
it is always kinda weired for me to have a conversation like this? Should I be straightforward to ask for retention bonus or have to be diplomatic and dance with agents?
@Shannon – I dread the calls myself. I call the number of the highest card I have (Prestige), get to an agent, either directly say I am looking to cancel or add something about too many annual fees I am paying and looking to cut back, etc. They get you over to retention and I find Citi’s retention people to be great, especially when they get in the fun of “here’s another offer on your card.”
Hey Stefan!
Long time no comment from me. I figure since now you “belong”, I’d drop in a note. 🙂
Out of curiosity, care to share how many open accounts you currently have with each major card issuer (let’s say Amex, Chase, Citi, BOA, US Bank, Barclays)? Personal and business (not corporate)? Personal is for wondering how long your credit report is. Though then I’d have to ask about closed ones too, wouldn’t I? Business is for…why not?
Thanks!
@Ted – Amex 3 credit and 2 charge one each biz, BofA 10 personal no biz plus FIA Fidelity, Barclaycard just canceled 3 and will cancel last as well, Chase 7 personal no biz, Citi 11 personal no biz, US Bank 2 personal 1 biz, Discover 1 personal. Most of the biz cards I have had I do not keep beyond one year, and some personal have cut back.