Citibank Plat VISA 60 K , May 31

[robbo10]

Hey guys

I'm very interested in this - 60,000 points sounds awesome.

Just wondering if anyone has taken up the half price annual fee offer and can confirm that you can enrol in the Qantas program and get the 60,000 points (it makes no mention of being able to enrol in qantas in the half-proce offer I notice)

Cheers

 

[jukebox333]

Hey guys

I'm very interested in this - 60,000 points sounds awesome.

Just wondering if anyone has taken up the half price annual fee offer and can confirm that you can enrol in the Qantas program and get the 60,000 points (it makes no mention of being able to enrol in qantas in the half-proce offer I notice)

Cheers

I applied online on Thursday - by Friday, the Citibank call centre had phoned by home, mobile and work numbers chasing confirmation of my details. Late in the day I had an email saying I am "conditionally approved", so we'll see how that pans out - I'll post here and let you know.

I was a little surprised the online process doesn't make mention of the process to join the QFF transfer program (I know there is an extra free from the T&C's) but it did ask for additional cardholder details. For 60,000 points it's worth a few emails to sort it out once it's up and running.

 

[burmans]

I applied online on Thursday - by Friday, the Citibank call centre had phoned by home, mobile and work numbers chasing confirmation of my details. Late in the day I had an email saying I am "conditionally approved", so we'll see how that pans out - I'll post here and let you know.

I was a little surprised the online process doesn't make mention of the process to join the QFF transfer program (I know there is an extra free from the T&C's) but it did ask for additional cardholder details. For 60,000 points it's worth a few emails to sort it out once it's up and running.

Covered elsewhere (Maybe on Ozbargain), you definitely can do this but you must ring up and enroll for the QF rewards BEFORE using the card, suggest you do it on activation.

Think it's hilarious how keen the Citibank staff are to get you over the line, in my case they wanted all this info and left messages, one was for 2 years tax return. At the time my accountant had only just submitted this years so I sent one year only through and thought they would just have to wait. Next thing I know it's all approved. Similar for my wife, she hadn't sent anything through as she was working from home (even ID though she is an ex Citibank customer- previously had a silver card on another deal), anyway they had asked for ID and two pay slips and she said will have to wait until Monday. They were very insistent, next she knew they had rung her work and patched her through to get authorisation to give pay details and it was all done, no pay slips, no ID.

 

[Dantine]

Same thing happened for me for this card, sent through payslips and ID, they called and asked for proof of other income, I told them I'd send it the next day but never got around to it and the day after it was approved. Go figure!

They always call me on my work number via the public switchboard, seems to be their way of proving you work where you say you do.

 

[itsreallynotimportant]

I recently got approved for this card with the QFF program.
When I applied over the phone I specifically asked to be joined to QFF not Citi rewards.
I also asked if it included the QFF joining fee of $88. I was told that if you paid the extra $49 a year it automatically joined you if you weren't already a member.
Based on that I agreed to go into the QFF rewards program.

So work decided to send me on a trip and asked for my QFF number. As Citi had never sent anything through, I rang them up to ask about it. Turns out they enrolled me in citi rewards, but never gave me the 60k bonus points. As I'm traveling next week, I paid the $88 QFF fee myself so I could give work my number. Then they decide to book me a Virgin flight :shock:
So I now join the Velocity program as well, as it's free.

So here is my question: Do I hassle citibank and get them to transfer my points to QFF with the 50k bonus, or do I stay in Citi Rewards, get the 60k bonus, then transfer points to velocity and get the 25% extra points offer they have going on?
Is 75k Velocity points better than 50k QFF?

I'm really new to all this so any guidance on how to work it out would be sweet.

 

[ajca]

Does anyone have any tips for wrangling the Citibank bureaucracy?

I applied for this offer a couple of weeks ago, and then got a letter saying they couldn't offer me a Platinum card but would instead offer me a Silver card.

This is very strange because:
1) my credit rating (which I requested from Veda) is flawless, and
2) my income is way in excess of the income requirement for the Platinum card (like, 6x the minimum requirement)

I then called up and they said I could apply for re-assessment for the Platinum card by outlining this information in a letter and faxing it to them.

So I wrote a very clear letter explaining all of this and faxed it to them.

Now when I call them I can't get a clear answer on whether my re-assessment has been approved or declined. All they will say is that it has been received. I call the 1800 807 138 number (card application verification number) and they tell me to call 132 484 (main number), I call 132 484 and they tell me to call the other number.

Overall my impression of Citibank is that they are incredibly disorganised and hard to deal with.

If anyone has any tips on what I can do to get my application approved (and more to the point, the 60k points!), I would be most grateful.

 

[Dantine]

Two questions, firstly are you self employed? Anecdotally they don't seem to like them much.

Also what credit limit did you ask for? With this Platinum card, others have mentioned that if you do not specify a high enough amount they will offer you a lesser card with a limit that doesn't meet the minimum limit for Platinum. Others have said earlier in this thread that this minimum limit is $8k, I asked for $10k to be safe and am awaiting the letter in the post to see what I was approved for.

As an aside, when I originally applied for a Gold card with them a couple of years back, I told them I had other cards and that I was barely above the minimum income, they gave me a $13k limit straight up, and preapproved to about 60% of my gross annual income. Go figure!

 

[ajca]

Two questions, firstly are you self employed? Anecdotally they don't seem to like them much.

Also what credit limit did you ask for? With this Platinum card, others have mentioned that if you do not specify a high enough amount they will offer you a lesser card with a limit that doesn't meet the minimum limit for Platinum. Others have said earlier in this thread that this minimum limit is $8k, I asked for $10k to be safe and am awaiting the letter in the post to see what I was approved for.

As an aside, when I originally applied for a Gold card with them a couple of years back, I told them I had other cards and that I was barely above the minimum income, they gave me a $13k limit straight up, and preapproved to about 60% of my gross annual income. Go figure!

Thanks bunza. I'm not self-employed - I'm employed by a $400 million public company!

Also the credit limit I applied for was $12k which from reading this thread seemed to be sufficient.

 

[Moopere]

If anyone has any tips on what I can do to get my application approved (and more to the point, the 60k points!), I would be most grateful.

Sorry, cant help. I had a similar experience. Got a Gold instead of the Plat. Very long winded and frustrating experience talking to Citi CSR's including what you found, multiple calls telling me to call other numbers which in turn tell you to call the previous number.

In amongst the bouncing of telephone calls I got so much conflicting and just outright false information that I gave up. I cancelled the gold card of course as it comes with no points (despite being told by more than one CSR that the deal was the same as the plat - 60K QFF points!!).

Time has passed now and frankly, I'm sort of glad it ended this way. Financial institutions really need to have their ducks in a row for me to feel comfortable. If it was this hard to even start a relationship imagine the drama if things went horribly wrong ... how would one have a hope of getting a speedy and reasonable resolution?

 

[ajca]

Thanks mate. I've just put in another application and worded up payroll to make sure they communicate the right information. Hopefully second time lucky!

 

[Dantine]

So here is my question: Do I hassle citibank and get them to transfer my points to QFF with the 50k bonus, or do I stay in Citi Rewards, get the 60k bonus, then transfer points to velocity and get the 25% extra points offer they have going on?
Is 75k Velocity points better than 50k QFF?

I'm really new to all this so any guidance on how to work it out would be sweet.

Its really up to your personal interpretation of value, how many points you can earn and what you hope to get out of the scheme. 50k QFF is a long way towards a 140k Oneworld round the world award, but you'd need to then find another 90k points from other sources.

On the flipside, 75k Velocity could get you two all inclusive return east coast to NZ trips straight up.

 

[Deleted User]

Time has passed now and frankly, I'm sort of glad it ended this way.

Being self employed, I am on citi's most hated list... fair enough. But I do think that if they are not interested in self employed people like myself then they should make that clear at the application process.

I'm actually surprised that I had several calls requesting information, when in fact I failed at the first test....BEING SELF EMPLOYED...!

I have no problems If they do not wish to give credit to self employed people, after all this is a deficiency in their business model not mine... Still the HSBC QEDRCC does me fine for the moment, Will easily put $100k through this year, and as for credit limit, $20k "no questions asked" or "no jumping through silly hoops" process.

 

[jukebox333]

Financial institutions really need to have their ducks in a row for me to feel comfortable. If it was this hard to even start a relationship imagine the drama if things went horribly wrong ... how would one have a hope of getting a speedy and reasonable resolution?

Agreed!

Had a call from a CSR this morning, questioning the income I declared from a share portfolio on my application; when I explained the dividends were re-invested and the return was notional, she was umming and ahhing, so I told her as far as I was concerned, she could discount it as income if that helped the process. She then said, "Oh good, because your salary is sufficient to cover the application..." If so, why the hell was she bothering to ask for the extra information in the first place?????

At least it appears to have ended well - this afternoon there was an email advising my app had been approved and new cards and PIN are on their way.

That's step one sorted in my plan to tell the CBA where they can shove their banking!

 

[itsreallynotimportant]

Its really up to your personal interpretation of value, how many points you can earn and what you hope to get out of the scheme. 50k QFF is a long way towards a 140k Oneworld round the world award, but you'd need to then find another 90k points from other sources.

On the flipside, 75k Velocity could get you two all inclusive return east coast to NZ trips straight up.

I have about 28,500 amex points and 20,000 citibank points (that really should have been QFF points).

I forgot about the 1.5 to 1 conversion ratio, so 60k points is really only 50k velocity with the 25% bonus.

If I convert amex and citi to Velocity and get the 25% bonus, that about 102k velocity points.
I dunno if that's better than 70k QFF points, but it's a much higher number
I might have to go look this up now.

Is there any way to convert amex points to QFF? I can't see Qantas listed on their frequent travel partners site.

 

[Moopere]

If I convert amex and citi to Velocity and get the 25% bonus, that about 102k velocity points.
I dunno if that's better than 70k QFF points, but it's a much higher number
I might have to go look this up now.

This is different for everyone of course. I am now using a self made excel based and easy to update 'yardstick' of indicative fares to places that interest me. This helps me to keep a bit of a grip of what points are worth to me. I use the same rules for both QF and DJ, time, place, destinations and seating.

This has led me to find that QF Y = 1c / point, QF J = 3.5c / point with somewhat careful choice, DJ all classes and flights pretty much 0.7c / point. I'm expecting the DJ numbers to move when J class starts to seriously hit their sales books.

Is there any way to convert amex points to QFF? I can't see Qantas listed on their frequent travel partners site.

I do not believe their is a direct conversion available unless you are part of Amex MR Ascent Premium.

You could work out if its worth your while to transfer indirectly. I see the MR Ascent (std, not Premium) will allow transfer of points at 1:1 to HHonors (for example) and Hhonors allows transfer of its points to QFF at about 6.67:1 from memory, not very enticing.

100K MR rewards in velocity would be worth about $700 to me at 0.7c / point
100K pushed into Hhonors then on to QFF at 6.67:1 = about 15000 QFF points at up to 3.5c / point = $525 if I chose flights particularly carefully, otherwise only $150

 

[jingles]

Those who applied, what is the citibank turn around time to get the card?

I want to pass this deal on to someone else however do not want them to get the card/pin and other stuff after may 31 and have wasted money on the annual fee for no points.

Edit

Actually looking at the terms and conditions there is no expiry mentioned on the offer, it is only the TV offer which ends on may 31
http://citibank.com.au/cardsoffer/offers/DM_PDW3B2CA.htm

 

[burmans]

Those who applied, what is the citibank turn around time to get the card?

I want to pass this deal on to someone else however do not want them to get the card/pin and other stuff after may 31 and have wasted money on the annual fee for no points.

Edit

Actually looking at the terms and conditions there is no expiry mentioned on the offer, it is only the TV offer which ends on may 31
Citibank Australia

Not sure about that particular offer but in general the deal is apply by May 31, you don't need to apply AND get the card. You have until Oct 31 to actually use to get the points.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

3 times Citi have knocked me back for this Visa card but this morning received an application form for a CitiBusiness Gold Credit Card with 40,000pt bonus from the fockers.

Will apply and see their response - if I can get foot in the door will upgrade to Citibank Select in 6 months if they allow after seeing consistent 30K spend/pay/month.

 

[burmans]

3 times Citi have knocked me back for this Visa card but this morning received an application form for a CitiBusiness Gold Credit Card with 40,000pt bonus from the fockers.

Will apply and see their response - if I can get foot in the door will upgrade to Citibank Select in 6 months if they allow after seeing consistent 30K spend/pay/month.

While I have both the Citibusiness and the Cit Plat (largely for the 60K bonus) in my wallet the CitiGold is the one I use because it has better points eran rate and with a 40K bonus this is a good deal I think.

 

[Deleted User]

3 times Citi have knocked me back for this Visa card but this morning received an application form for a CitiBusiness Gold Credit Card with 40,000pt bonus from the fockers.

Will apply and see their response - if I can get foot in the door will upgrade to Citibank Select in 6 months if they allow after seeing consistent 30K spend/pay/month.

So from memory, you were knocked back for the citi plat card 3 times now...? Also self employed like me...

So I wonder what's changed for Citi to send you an offer for the Gold card...? Was the offer emailed / snail mail...? and was it targeted or just random...

Wonder if I will get an offer since I am self employed, hence on their hated list...? Would love the FF points and another shiny plastic card would be good, however I am not sure I really need to hoop jumping Shiite that this mob generally make you do when applying...