In my last post, I said it would be easier to get my money back from Citi by taking advantage of one of their credit card offers. So here’s how it actually worked out.
I got 16,000 points for signing up and spending $700 dollars in three months. They gave me another 800 points for signing up for electronic bills and online payments. One hundred points has a maximum value of one dollar. However, to get that maximum value, you have to order certain gift cards for 10,000 points. For example, 10,000 points will get you a Home Depot or Lowes gift card worth $100. But other gift cards, especially ones that cost less than 10,000 points or any cash offers, usually end up costing more than 100 points per dollar. So for example, 10,000 points might get you $70 dollars, or you might be able to get a $50 dollar Home Depot card for 8,000 points. These numbers are hypothetical. You’ll have to check the actual amounts.
I ultimately had a total of 20,224 points (16,800 of which came free). I got $200 dollars worth of gift cards and transferred the remaining points to my parents’ card. But here’s the kicker — I called up to cancel my card, and they offered me another 10,000 points for spending $3,000 in 6 months! That will end up being a total of $268.00 worth of free gift cards. I will ultimately end up spending over $6,000 dollars on their card, however I receive the same points per dollars spent as my preferred credit card gives me anyway, so there is no loss. And I will probably end up transferring the remaining 3,000 points to my parents’ card rather than spending another $7,000 to get another $100 gift card.
My original complaint was over $60. I’ve already received almost three times that amount (free), and I’m expecting another $100. Not bad! At least, it was a lot easier than fighting with them and getting nowhere.