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Citi Dividend cards have not been available for new applications for several years. They live on for card conversions.
Any Citi card I have tried, as long as it has been open for a year, can convert to Dividend. Today I converted two sock drawer ThankYou Preferred and a Hilton Visa Signature.
’24-Month Rule’ Warning: we won’t know for another year if conversions counts as open or close for Citi 24-month rule purposes. One theory is that a change within a product family, such as ThankYou, might not count, while change to a different product family may. Or all count. Or none count. Expect conversions to reset the clock and hope for them to not.
How to Convert a Citi Card
You must call in and ask to convert. You may get an account letter in a few days saying the conversion is scheduled.
If you haven’t gotten that letter within a few days, call back in to make sure the change has been scheduled. I have had them go wrong, particularly to Costco, where the agent did not enter my Costco membership number on the form.
Citi Card Conversion Speed
Conversions at Citi take 51 days (can be faster if part of the same product family, even for ThankYou to AT&T, possibly since both use ThankYou points).
Converting today, April 21, 2017, the effective date of the change is June 11, 2017. Up until June 10, 2017 you can call to undo the conversion.
Why Citi Dividend?
Citi Dividend has quarterly 5% categories like Chase Freedom and Discover It. Registration required each quarter.
Rewards are cash that can be redeemed for amounts $50 and up. The annual cap is $300 cash back which is $6,000 spend on 5% categories. The difference with the other cards is you can earn this all in one quarter.
Which leads to 2017. 2016 was a down year, no easy spend category.
2017 brings us drugstores through June 30, 2017.
Remember that June 11 date? There’s still time to convert now, receive the card, register for the quarter, and slip in $6,000 spend before the end of June.
If you time it too close. Once the card converts in your online account, you can try calling Citi to say you need a replacement card. They may agree to expedite a card overnight. If you have a Citi Prestige card, they are good about expediting any Citi card.
Registration buffer: you can register up to the end of the quarter, though the terms say your registration is effective “within 2 business days.” If you can give it that buffer so not to risk disappointment.
More than one Dividend? Yes, you can have more than one. Yes, you can earn the $300 on each.
Not quite $300. Don’t forget your time cost and cost of method to spend $6,000 and liquidate $6,000. If you don’t have a good setup, then this chase may not be worth all that much.
2018? We have no idea of 2018 categories.
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SO I changed from a TY Premier to the Prestige about 3 4 weeks ago and used the Prestige to purchase airfare last week hopeing to get the $250 reimbursement. Does that mean I won’t get the travel rebate because it has not been 51 days? I received a new Prestige card like 10 days after I called in to change and thought I am safe to get the rebate with the new card… The card number stays the same too,
That is under the same product family so can happen fast as you experienced. They should have a letter in your online account or mailed to you with the effective date for the change. Any charge from that day is under the terms of the new card and the $250 should apply.
Oh cool, I gotta go look for the agreement. Thanks. Subscribed to your blog 🙂
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I just called CITI about doing a product change from AA Plat Select to Double Cash. The rep said my account number would change. I declined to change because I am worried about Chase 5/24 implications. Stefan, do you know if it is really possible the number will change? If so, do you know if this will show as a new account opening for 5/24? Thanks!
The account number is new though on credit report shows as same account. This is like when a card is hit with fraud and they issue a new number.
“Conversions at Citi take 51 days”, can I continue to use the AA lounge for 51 days if I convert my AA Executive card to dividend?
Yes, you can. All card features and benefits stay the same until conversion. Product family changes are 51 days, they will tell you the effective date on the phone and in the letter the next day. If you change between AA cards for some reason, it may be fewer days.