Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card 75K Offer: Should You Apply?

The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card offer is back where you can earn 75,000 Honors Points after making $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Here’s a look at some of the factors you want to consider before choosing to apply.

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

The Offer 

hilton-hhonors-visa-signature-card

  • No annual fee
  • Earn 75,000 HHonors bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months.
  • Silver Honors status and fast track to Honors Gold status after four stays within your first 90 days of account opening or when you make $20,000 or more in purchases each calendar year
  • Earn an annual loyalty bonus of 10,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points at the end of each calendar year in which you spend $1,000 or more on stays within the Hilton Portfolio

This card also offers bonus category earning in the following ways:

  • Earn 6 HHonors bonus points for every dollar spent within the Hilton Portfolio
  • Earn 3 HHonors bonus points for every $1 spent at supermarkets, drugstores andgas stations
  • Earn 2 HHonors bonus points for every $1 spent on all other purchases

The Perks 

Outside the sign-up bonus of 75,000 Honors points, the perks for this card aren’t too impressive. The fast track to Gold benefit is okay, but I wouldn’t want to put $20,000 on this card just to earn a mid-tier status that can easily be had with the American Express Platinum or a Hilton card with an annual fee.

As for Silver status, you’ll receive the following benefits:

  • Automatically receive a 15% bonus on all the HHonors Base Points you earn.
  • Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members
  • Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members will receive every 5th night free on Standard Room Reward stays of 5 nights or more.
  • Complimentary internet
  • Quick reservations and check-ins
  • Late Check-out
  • Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs
  • Two complimentary bottles of water per stay at certain Hilton properties

As you can see, nothing too inspiring….

Should You Apply?

A lot of people will ask if they should apply for this offer, since 75,000 Hilton Honors points bonus is a pretty sizable bonus and this card comes with no annual fee, making it even more attractive.

I think the biggest thing that people should consider is that Citi limits you to one sign-up bonus per brand per 24 months. This means that if you applied and got approved for this Citi Hilton card today you would have to wait two years until you could get approved and receive the sign-up bonus for the Citi Hilton Reserve.

The Citi Hilton Reserve comes with a $95 annual fee but offers you two free night certificates, which can present you with the oppurtunity to cash in on much more value in many instances. For example, the Conrad in the Maldives has standard room awards for 95,000 HHonors points per night. Thus, if you used your two weekend nights at this hotel you’d be getting 190,000 HHonors points worth of value out of it. In case you were wondering, the cash value for two nights would be $1,800, so you’re getting a ton in value!

Keep in mind that while the free night certificates from the Hilton Reserve will likely get you more in value, they can only be used on weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) and they expire after one year. Thus, for many people, the flexibility offered by points, makes it worth going after the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card.

Thus, you need to ask yourself:

  • Do I want to use a two free night certificate (valid only on weekends) at top tier hotels to maximize value? You’ll probably lean more towards the Reserve. 
  • Do I want more flexibility and/or want to stretch my points and book mid-tier properties for around 30,000 to 40,000 Honors points per night? You’ll probably lean more towards the no annual fee card. 

Additional Hilton Card? 

Also, worth asking is if you want to apply for an Amex Hilton card instead of a Citi card (or maybe even in addition to the card). Right now, American Express is also offering its no annual fee Hilton card known as the Hilton Honors Card from American Express with a 75,000 point sign-up bonus. 

That Amex card comes with similar benefits but offers better bonus category earning potential at the following rates:

  • Earn 7X Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a participating hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio.
  • Earn 5X Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
  • Earn 3X Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card

So if you applied for both cards you have the potential to net 150,000 Honors points with two cards that won’t even incur you a single annual fee. For reference, 150,000 points could almost get you four nights at a pretty decent hotel in some major urban areas.

For example:

  • DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago – Magnificent Mile (40,000 per night)
  • Embassy Suites Orlando – Downtown (40,000 per night)
  • Embassy Suites by Hilton Austin Downtown Town Lake (40,000 per night)

However, if you want to stay in one of the nicer hotels you’re probably going to need closer to 60,000 points per night.

Final Word 

The co-branded Hilton Honors cards from both American Express and Citi offer some real potential for maximizing value. I would only entertain these cards if I was over 5/24. After that it’s just a matter of figuring out what kind of redemptions you have in mind, and then you should be able to make an informed decision on whether or not you should apply.

H/T: TalkWallet

United MileagePlus Explorer Card Offers for 50K and 70K!

There are two great offers out (one public and one targeted) for the United MileagePlus Explorer Card. These offers can be accessed by using the link below or by going through a “dummy booking.” A dummy booking is when you go through all the different steps online to make a booking except for the final step which would be actually buying the ticket. It’s often the case that credit card offers will appear when you get close to checking out and this is one of those times. In fact, if you go the dummy booking route or use a link below, you might be able to get one of these offers and an additional $50 credit on top off that! 

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

50K offer 

There’s a public offer out for the United Explorer Card for 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 (some also recently received the offer for only $2,000 in spend and I’ve seen this offer for as low as $1,000 in spend). You also earn an additional 5,000 miles when you add authorized user and make a purchase for a total of 55,000 miles. 

New Public offer.

The standard public offer is 30,000 miles with a lower spend of $1,000 or $2,000 but with the waived annual fee. This offer does not come with annual fee waived but if you’re willing to apply for the small business card version, you can get the annual fee waived! 

I think the 50,000 mile offer is a decent deal worth considering, but the annual fee kills a bit of my excitement for the offer since there have been offers with annual fees waived in the past. Even just recently, there were 50,000 mile offers for $2,000 spend an no annual fee. Because of that, I’d look into the no annual fee business version or try my luck with the 70K offer below that might make paying the annual fee more worth it. 

A previous no annual fee offer.

Remember this card is subject to 5/24. If you are over 5/24, then consider going in-branch and seeing if you have a pre-approval for this card. If you do, you might be able to get around 5/24 and get approved for this card.

70K Offer

There are also targeted offers going out for 70,000 miles after spending $3,000! 

With this offer, you also get the additional 5,000 miles after you add an authorized user and make a purchase. To see if you’re targeted log in using this link and see what appears. You may also try to go through the process of a “dummy booking” to see if an ad for the offer shows up or try this link here to see if you can access the offer with a $50 statement credit. 

I actually received this 70K targeted offer as pictured below but since I am well above 5/24 I will not be applying. Otherwise, I’d definitely consider applying for it since it is one of the best offers for this card ever available. 

Targeted offer.
Targeted offer with $50 statement credit.

Although the annual fee is not waived for this offer either, it might be worth it for many since that’s a lot of miles. For example, if you were to combine this offer with a 50K offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’d have more than enough United miles to get you roundtrip in business class to Europe! For just two cards and only one $95 annual fee (with a possibility of a $50 statement credit), that’s a steal! 

Getting the 70K offer with no annual fee 

You might be able to get around the $95 annual fee if you applied for a lower offer already without an annual fee. You can do this by sending a secured message or by calling Chase to try to get matched to the 70,000 mile offer. People have had mixed with success with this, so YMMV. 

The perks

If you’re not familiar with the perks of the United MileagePlus Explorer Card, it offers a host of solid benefits for a co-branded airline card that only has an annual fee of $95. Here’s a rundown of some of the major benefits: 

Annual Spend Bonus

  • The Explorer card allows you to earn an additional 10,000 miles so long as you spend $25,000 in a calendar year

Bonus categories

  • Earn two miles for each $1 spent on tickets purchased from United and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.

Priority boarding privileges

  • Primary cardmembers and their companions traveling on the same reservation can board United-operated flights prior to general boarding. To receive priority boarding, just add your MileagePlus number to your reservation.

Upgrades

  • The primary cardholder who is also a Mileage Plus Premier member traveling on an award ticket will be eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades on eligible United and Copa operated flights. (You have to be a Premier member for this benefit, but it’s something to be aware of.)

Lounge Passes

  • Two lounge passes every anniversary year that are good for at least one year (mine were good for 1.5 year from my application date). This is a $100 value as a one-time pass for one person will cost you $50. Expect to wait about 3-6 weeks for your lounge passes to arrive. 

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Free Checked Bag

  • The primary cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first standard checked bag free — calculated as a $25 value for the first checked bag, each way, per person — on United-operated flights when purchasing tickets with their United MileagePlus Explorer card.
  • This is great because unlike some other airlines this benefit works for both domestic and international flights. Also, even if you are booking an award flight you can still get this benefit so long as you use your Explorer card to pay for the fees and taxes associated with your purchase.

Use miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight

  • Primary cardmembers can use their miles to book any available seat, any time on any United-operated flight when they redeem miles at the MileagePlus Standard Award level. No limitations, no restrictions and no blackout dates on available seats if you provide your MileagePlus number before starting the award booking process. This obviously means spending more miles for your trips but the increased availability is definitely something that can come in handy at times.
  • Having this card also often provides you with additional award space so you might be able to find more open award seats on United than someone who doesn’t have this card. This is one of the biggest benefits (and not publicly stated) to this card to people who frequently use awards on United. 

No Foreign Transaction Fees

Travel Protection

  • Baggage delay insurance – reimbursement for up to essentials for up to $100 a day for 3 days
  • Lost Luggage Reimbursement – up to $3,000 per passenger for lost or damages bags.
  • Trip delay reimbursement – up to $500 per ticket for delays more than 12 hours
  • Trip cancellation/interruption insurance – up to $10,000 for pre-paid, non-refundable purchases
  • Travel accident insurance – up to $500,000
  • PRIMARY rental car insurance

Purchase Protection

  • Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
  • Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
  • If a card purchase you made in the U.S. is advertised for less in print or online within 90 days, you can be reimbursed the difference up to $500 per item, $2,500 per year.
  • You can be reimbursed for eligible items that the store won’t take back within 90 days of purchase, up to $500 per item, $1,000 per year.

Final word 

For the person under 5/24 these are two great offers that are worth jumping on. Hopefully, you can get targeted for the 70K offer but even if you can’t, a 50K offer with no annual the first year is definitely still a great deal to take advantage of. 

H/T to Reddit Churning. 

Aviator Red Sign-up Bonus Drops to 50K

As expected, Barclaycard just brought down the sign-up bonus of the AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard® from 60,000 to 50,000. This is still one of the best sign-up bonuses available due to how easy it is to obtain because all you have to do is make a single purchase on your credit card. But if you don’t have a need to jump on the card right now it’s probably best to hold off until the higher offer returns. 

AAdvantage Aviator offer

  • Earn 50,000 AAdvantage miles after your first purchase.
  • First checked bag free for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines
  • Preferred boarding for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on their reservation
  • Earn $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year
  • 25% inflight savings on food, beverages, and headsets on American Airlines-operated flights
  • 10% of your redeemed miles back on redemptions (up to 10,000 miles per calendar year)
  • $100 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $30,000 or more in Purchases on your Account during your card membership year
  • Reduced Mileage Awards — Fly to great destinations on American Airlines operated flights for up to 7,500 fewer AAdvantage® miles for flights in the US and to/from Canada
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Chip and Pin technology (great for Europe)
  • Annual fee $95 (not waived)

Sign-up bonus

Not many cards offer a sign-up bonus for simply making a purchase and for those that do, it’s rarer to find such a lucrative sign-up bonus at 50,000 miles. 

The Etihad First Class Apartment.

Annual fee

  • $95

This annual fee is not waived unlike the Citi Platinum Select which waives its $95 annual fee the first year. So you’re essentially paying $95 for 50,000 AAdvantage miles, which is a deal that I would take any day. 

Hard pull

  • Barclaycard sometimes only pulls from Transunion (although not always) so this is a great way to give your Experian and/or Equifax credit report (just remember YMMV). 

Barclaycard can combine inquiries but your second application may go to pending and you will probably have to recon on that app, so if you don’t want to deal with a reconsideration call then maybe consider waiting a few days to a week to apply for a second card and missing out on the combined hard pull. Otherwise, give it a shot. 

Final word

This is still a solid credit card offer for the Aviator Red. I would personally wait until I’m above 5/24 to apply since this offer will be around for a while and even if you miss it, it will likely be back. 

Southwest Nukes Hotel Transfers for Companion Pass

Southwest ushered in the new year by nuking the ability to transfer hotel points to Southwest Rapid Rewards in order to earn the coveted Southwest Companion Pass. According to The Points Guy, effective January 1, 2017, hotel point transfers/conversions will no longer count for the Southwest Companion Pass. This is a pretty big blow and while not completely unexpected, the lack of notice definitely has burned quite a few Companion Pass hopefuls. 

What is the Companion Pass? 

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most valuable airline perks available.

It allows you and one companion (that you can change a handful of times) to fly anywhere Southwest flies, on any date with availability, for the price of one ticket for up to two years. Whether you pay for your ticket with cash or with Rapid Rewards, your companion gets to fly for free (and only has to cover the fees for a flight). 

To earn the Companion Pass, you need to earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards in one calendar year. Once you earn those 110,000 Rapid Rewards, your Companion Pass is good for the remainder of that year and the entire following calendar year. So it can be an extremely valuable thing to have and can essentially double the value of your Rapid Rewards to over 3 cents per point in many cases. I’ve used my Southwest Companion Pass heavily over the past year and have easily saved a couple of thousand bucks flying around the U.S. and the Caribbean with Brad. 

How to get the Companion Pass? 

Ultimate Rewards transferred directly from Chase to Southwest do not count towards points for the Companion Pass. So instead, a lot of people rely on earning the sign-up bonuses from two of the three Chase Southwest co-branded credit cards to earn the Companion Pass, since they often come with 50,000 point sign-up bonuses. By getting two of them and meeting the minimum spend, you usually only need around 6,000 Rapid Rewards to complete your earnings for the Companion Pass and that’s not too difficult to obtain. 

The problem with going the credit card route is that due to 5/24 many people cannot get approved for those Southwest cards. So the work-a-round was to utilize hotel points and transfer those to Southwest to earn the 110,000 Rapid Rewards needed for the Companion Pass. 

So what exactly happened? 

As stated, Southwest has always allowed points transferred or converted from hotel loyalty programs to count toward the Companion Pass. So for example, you could transfer 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points  30,000 Rapid Rewards Points. It was great because it allowed you to top off points to earn the Companion Pass or come up with Rapid Rewards when you couldn’t get another Chase Southwest card. 

For a long time, a lot of people were unaware of this way to earn the Companion Pass. However, that lack of awareness changed when the Marriott/SPG merger went through and a lot of people were introduced to the idea of converting 90,000 SPG points into 270,000 Marriott points and then converting those 270,000 points into a Hotel and Airline Marriott package where they’d receive 7 free nights at a Marriott hotel and 120,000 Rapid Rewards. 

That redemption gave you a week’s stay at Marriott and earned you the Southwest Companion Pass. Since it was such a great deal, tons of people jumped on the deal. My guess is that the huge influx of people taking advantage of this deal was probably the primary reason why Southwest decided to nuke it.

A “loophole” gone?

Southwest made an official reply to The Points Guy and stated the following: 

We’re working to protect the integrity and value of Southwest’s industry-unique Rapid Rewards® Companion Pass by closing a loophole that previously allowed Members to transfer mileage and points from other partner loyalty programs toward qualification for a Companion Pass. As we closed this loophole, we also updated our terms and conditions which now clarifies that points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, and e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions and Diners Club will no longer count toward qualification for a Companion Pass. Members will continue to earn Companion Pass benefits through paid flights flown on Southwest, points earned through spend with Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards credit cards, and base points earned through transactions with Rapid Rewards partners.

(Emphasis added). 

I love Southwest but this is a very poor move by them in my opinion. They completely overhauled a popular redemption overnight with no notice. But not only that, they did it on the most advantageous day to redeem hotel points on the Companion Pass. This caught many people off guard and many had already transferred tons of SPG/Ultimate Rewards to Marriott with hopes of redeeming these packages. While they can still redeem for packages on other airlines, their hopes of cashing in on the Companion Pass are gone. 

But it’s okay for them to do this without notice since it’s a “loophole,” right?

No. 

In its previous terms and conditions for the Companion Pass, Southwest included language explicitly stating that points from hotel partners would count toward earning the Companion Pass. How can they now say that this was a “loophole?” While it may “sound of” a loophole, I don’t think you can call something a loophole that is explicitly allowed by your company in your own terms and conditions. Loopholes are all about taking advantage of what’s there by implication or non-obvious or technical inference — not by complying with the explicit language present in the terms and conditions.

I already had the Companion Pass so this didn’t affect me personally, but it’s a shame to see airlines implement changes that affect consumers so drastically with zero notice and try to couch their changes in ways that make them appear less blameworthy. 

But anyway…. 

Lesson learned 

This is another reason why it’s so important to act expediently when dealing with anything related to transferable points and when pursuing extremely lucrative deals. The fact that this deal got axed came as no surprise to many, but you still can’t blame those who got burned by it since you would’ve expected some kind of notice from Southwest. It’s too bad that 2017 started off on such a sour note with Southwest, but at least the possibility to earn the Companion Pass via Southwest credit cards is still possible. 

Cover photo by Pieter van Marion via Flickr. 

New Changes to the 5/24 Rule (Both Good and Bad)

The Chase 5/24 rule states that you cannot be approved for certain Chase cards if you have opened up 5 or more credit cards within the past 24 months, subject to certain exceptions. But like just about any other rule, there are expecting for getting around this rule. This article will look at two exceptions to this rule: one that appears to be expanding and another that appears to be going away.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

The pre-approval exception   

The main exception that people rely on to bypass this rule is getting an in-branch pre-approval. This requires you to go into a Chase branch and inquire with a banker if you are pre-approved for any cards. If the answer is yes, then typically you will be able to bypass the 5/24 rule and usually will be approved for a credit card.

Now, there’s another emerging exception that seems to stem from this. It appears that if you have a pre-approval offer show up on your personal Chase account when you log-in online, you can get around 5/24 when you apply for that credit card. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be approved so a rejection is still a possibility. 

There appear to be two ways to see these offers. Check out this article by the Doctor of Credit and this one by Miles to Memories to see exactly where these pre-approvals might show up on your interface. 

If you have your business credit cards linked to your personal accounts then you will need to contact Chase and ask them to set you up a separate personal account. It’s possible to have a log-in that just shows personal accounts or business accounts and then also have a log-in that shows personal accounts and business accounts. In order to see if you qualify for any of these pre-approvals, you will need a log-in that only pulls up your personal accounts, as far as I know.

So that’s the good news. 

Another change 

The bad news is that there’s a rumor reported by the Doctor of Credit that another change is coming into effect for the 5/24 rule. This new change will do away with the exception that allowed Chase/JP Morgan Private Client (CPC) members to bypass the 5/24 rule. CPC members are those who have moved a high amount of assets into Chase.

The formal requirement has always been $250,000 of assets but a fact that more people were recently made aware of was that you could get CPC by depositing far less (in some cases even a good-faith commitment could get you in). I’m wondering if more people learned about how easy it could be to get CPC and started joining CPC simply to get around 5/24. If so, Chase might have caught on to that and decided to put an end to it just by putting an end to the 5/24 exception. That’s just conjecture on my part, though. 

It’s hard to read into these changes by Chase since they send conflicting messages. Chase is making it easier for some to obtain cards that would otherwise not be obtainable due to the 5/24 rule but at the same time making it more difficult/impossible to get approved for cards for mostly nigh net worth individuals (truly valued customers). It would seem that “churners” would fall disproportionally into the former category than the latter, so I’m not sure what Chase’s goal is with these moves. Could there really have been that many CPC members bypassing 5/24 that it became a bigger problem than people bypassing 5/24 with pre-approvals?

HT: The Travel Sisters; Miles to Memories; Doctor of Credit. 

The Citigold Promotion For 50K AA/40K Thankyou Points: Dealing With Customer Service

[Offers contained within this article are no longer be available]

The Citigold account offer to earn 50,000 AAdvantage miles and 40,000 Thankyou points is one of the best bank bonuses that repeatedly rolls around in some form. It’s a great bonus not only because you cashout with 50K/40K miles/points but it offers you great opportunities to easily meet your minimum spend through funding checking and savings accounts and allows you to rack up miles or points with those credit cards. Finally, the requirements for obtaining the bonuses are pretty easy to meet: a couple of bill payments and debits totaling $1,000.

You can find some great step-by-step information on opening up these accounts here, but what I wanted to talk about is dealing with the Citi customer service when trying to get a bonus. While I love Citi, some of the representatives can be, to put it lightly, quite misinformed so here are some tips for dealing with them based largely on my own experience.

citi-logo

Screenshot everything

From the beginning screen shot everything. After you open up your account verify via chat and/or secure message that you are enrolled for your specific bonus. Then, after you meet the requirements, message and/or chat with them once again to verify that you have met the requirements for your specific bonus. Capturing these communications helped me through the process of getting my Citigold bonus, as representatives seemed to take me a bit more seriously when I referenced my screen shots.

Get your progress notated in your file

Try to convince a representative to make notation on your file when you meet the requirements for the bonus (and when you’re enrolled, too). I found this made things much easier for me to navigate through Citi’s customer service. I spoke to a supervisor and requested him to notate on my file that I have met X and Y requirements and that I should receive the bonus by a certain date. Later on, these notes allowed me to get Citi representatives on board for my cause much quicker.

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HUCA (Hang up Call Again)

Some people go through this process smoothly and others have to find their way through an obstacle course to get to the end. I don’t know why, but it’s very common to receive completely contradicting responses from Citi reps for this bonus. If you don’t hear what you think you should be hearing then hang up and call again and speak to a different representative.

I’ll give you an example of how this worked for me.

Last year, I initially enrolled in my promotion before I even had the AAdvantage Platinum card. At the time, I didn’t realize this was a targeted offer only available to Platinum Select cardholders. In fact, I didn’t even realize that until I called to check on the status of my bonus.

When I called up Citi one time I actually got chewed out by a really rude representative who was going off on how I would never get the bonus because I wasn’t targeted. (She was by far the worst employee I’ve ever encountered on the phone and just miserable to talk to.) So I replied and told her that I understood that was her position but if I was going to be rejected for this promotion I wanted it to come from someone who “acted professionally” on the job.

She then gave me a snarky “Okay, but they’re just going to tell you the same thing I’m telling you” and then supposedly attempted to transfer me out to a supervisor but the  call actually just ended. I was pretty annoyed but I decided to give it another shot. So I called back.

I got a hold of a much nicer rep who was a supervisor and then I explained the situation. I told her that I had messed up and didn’t realize this was a targeted promotion but that I had screenshots of chats and messages with reps who had verified me that I would be receiving the bonus. I’d thus invested time into meeting the minimum debit requirements and bill pays. The supervisor was great and understanding. She stated that she would notate on my account that I was due for the bonus and apologized for the confusion.

So within an hour Citi did a complete reversal (in both service and results) and it seemed to be largely because of my screen shots. Now, to be honest I thought the first rep I spoke to was correct and that I would be denied the bonus. It’s completely understandable that they wouldn’t honor a non-targeted offer. However, because I called back and spoke with someone else, I was able to finally sort it all out. It was a great gesture by Citi to honor the bonus and one reason that I think it’s worth it to just stick it out when dealing with customer service.

Getting the bonus points and miles put into your account

Now, remember that the bonus does not come into effect until 90 days after the closing date of the month in which you met the requirements. So if you did your second-month bill pay and minimum debit purchases on March 15 and your statement closed at the end of the month, then you wouldn’t be eligible to get it until July 1. Some reps told me the wrong info on this so make sure that whoever you are speaking with really knows what they are talking about.

After that 90 day period you then need to call into Citi. I don’t know of any people who actually had the promo just appear in their AA account without contacting Citi.

When I called Citi I had to kind of go through the entire purchase over again.

First, the rep told me I hadn’t met the minimum debit purchase required. I knew I had so I asked to be sent to a supervisor. Then, to my surprise, the supervisor told me the same thing! That’s when I had to take the reigns and refer the supervisor to the transaction and then to the notes in my file. It took a long time of “please hold while I check on something” but then finally she got on the line and said yes I’d get the points in my account. I said great and then hung up.

But that didn’t actually work and the miles never showed up. That was because the rep never initiated a proper transfer for the miles….

Be sure you’re getting your miles

For you to be sure that you will receive your miles, what needs to happen is this: the rep should tell you that they have initiated the transfer of miles and then the rep should give you a password that you will use to open up a document in a message from Citi that tells you that you have been approved for the miles. Then they will show up in your account very soon (took a day or two for me). If you’re waiting for your miles to show up and have not been given a password then call and inquire about it!

This whole process took about 5 months to earn and receive my miles. In some instances it was an absolute headache dealing with Citi to get things done but in the end, these are free (or nearly free) miles that can you earn with this promotion and it is really worth it to jump on these promotions.

 

 

 

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