Citibank upgrading fee free Gold to fee free Platinum

[kpc]

oh well ...there goes that theory

 

[one9]

The first 6 digits of your credit card number is the credit card BIN number. This number identifies the Bank and type of card. eg. Commonwealth Bank have different BIN numbers for:
Visa Standard
Visa Gold
Visa Platinum

Small banks/credit unions may only have 1 BIN number for multiple types of cards.

When NAB sent out a letter to merchants advising them that they would be charging merchants higher rates to charge Platinum/Overseas & Business cards, NAB also advised in the newsletter that they were working on upgrading their EFTPOS machines so that merchants could choose to charge a higher surcharge for Platinum/Overseas & Business cards if they choose. My business changed banks for merchant facilities away from NAB after they started charging different merchant rates for different types of cards. So I do not know whether or not NAB have updated their terminals to allow merchants to charge different rates depending on type of card.

 

[kpc]

I'm starting to regret my hasty decision to activate my Plat card, and hence deactivating my Gold card, if indeed I could face the possibilty that I would be charged a higher surcharge for using the Plat card over the Gold card

 

[arinko]

Just wanted to add that I received a Platinum Visa in place of my fee-free Silver Visa but no credit increase offered.

Just wondering if those who received just Gold or Silver replacements cards, were they Visa or Mastercard?

 

[JonnoP]

So i activated my cards today, and the woman tried to push every one of their products to me over the 10 minute phone call..

You need credit shield? No.. You know its free, yes but I dont want it.. Why dont you want it, because I dont..
Do you want a 6.9% balance transfer, No
You want a cheque for the balance, No

Sighs.. As long as it works I couldnt care..

JP

 

[oz_mark]

So i activated my cards today, and the woman tried to push every one of their products to me over the 10 minute phone call..

I take it, then, that their automated activation facility still doesn't work. Some things never change...

 

[netjock]

Counter staff have absolutely no way to tell what type of Visa/MC you have unless they have the card themselves or ask the customer.

If you have Visa/MC/Amex/Dinners it is easy to tell by the logo. In fact unless you know it is a citibank platinum it would be quite easy for some unknowing 16/18 yo at the local small busy to not notice the difference.

Platinum sounds good with the higher level of purchase protection and travel insurance but who would use credit card travel insurance exclusively (it is a fall back of last resort if you were serious about being insured) and the purchase protection? There is quite a few hoops to jump through there I'm afraid.

Still tossing up whether to activate. I might wait until the very end of the offer period to see if any issues pop up.

 

[power71]

Hi all. I've read the forum for some months now and finally decided to join in the discussion. What I haven't noticed in everyones comments is what happens to any QFF points which you've already earnt on the Gold card. The T&C clearly state that the points will remain active whilst the Gold Card is active/open. Given that you can also only transfer QFF points in 10,000 point blocks, I'm currently sitting on 9,200 points. If I accept the upgrade to Platinum (received card today, but not yet activated), that potentially means that my Gold Card account is closed and the points will go into the abyss? Any thoughts?!

 

[kpc]

If I accept the upgrade to Platinum (received card today, but not yet activated), that potentially means that my Gold Card account is closed and the points will go into the abyss? Any thoughts?!

The points will transfer to your Plat account....(I was told this when I activated my Plat card)

 

[austrider]

I take it, then, that their automated activation facility still doesn't work. Some things never change...

I suspect they are doing this deliberately as part of the up-selling, as oppose to system not working.

Platinum sounds good with the higher level of purchase protection and travel insurance but who would use credit card travel insurance exclusively (it is a fall back of last resort if you were serious about being insured) and the purchase protection? There is quite a few hoops to jump through there I'm afraid.

Not sure about your experience, but I found the Zurich credit card insurance claim process works quite well.

Purchased a laptop (factory 2yrs warranty) with CBA Gold which has extended warranty. It broke down after 2 years and the repair was quoted to be $600+. Downloaded the claim form from Zurich, filled in all the details and send it in. The cheque (minus the excess) then arrived a few weeks later.

When I compare the Pt insurance policy versus something commercial like CoverMore, I found it to be quite comparable. This is even better when it comes free with a fee-free card.

As usual, YMMV given your travel needs and circumstances.

Btw, if you know of any other good travel insurance please do share, as I only know of CoverMore and therefore may not be the best example to compare it with the Pt travel insurance.

 

[SIA1A]

Counter staff have absolutely no way to tell what type of Visa/MC you have unless they have the card themselves or ask the customer.

...they don't know (or care) about the colour of the plastic or the text/logos on it. What matters is what they find out after they swipe the card - and get presented with the option to surcharge your 'premium' card.

Platinum sounds good with the higher level of purchase protection and travel insurance but who would use credit card travel insurance exclusively.

I do. To tell you the truth, I've been travelling abroad for much of my life (mostly biz) and if I had bothered to have travel insurance I would be much poorer than I am now. Fact is that most travel is uneventful and does not involve enduring a 'claimable' event.

That said, claims on Citi's credit card insurance (run by Zurich I think) work well. I've had a couple of minor claims - lost a pair of as-new, expensive sunglasses about 3 years ago and a mid-priced digital camera last year, both less than 3 months old. The claims were both processed smoothly and I received the money within a few weeks. Technically (according to the policy) I was required to furnish police reports, which I did not have - the losses occurred in 3rd world countries where police are either hard to find or corrupt. Zurich, however, did not even ask me for these. I guess the trip wire is there though and probably used if the claim is more substantial or you establish a track record of making frequent claims.

I would never separately insure for the loss of personal effects - that's just too expensive compared with the value of claims that I would likely make over the long term. However, if the cover is complimentary, of course I'll claim!

I have also heard of a couple of people who had medical-related claims via the Citi Platinum. Their claims were smoothly handled.

As always with this stuff, it's wise to read the policy and in particular the exclusions. If you realise that it doesn't cover your situation adequately, then get supplementary insurance elsewhere.

The important point is that Zurich, on behalf of Citi, seems to run a smooth claims operation.

 

[SIA1A]

If I accept the upgrade to Platinum (received card today, but not yet activated), that potentially means that my Gold Card account is closed and the points will go into the abyss?

No, nobody's going to rob you.

I did the upgrade alomost a month ago and my points (all 400,000 of them) are still safe and sound, according to my paper and online statements, though now sitting under a different (Citi Plat) umbrella.

 

[NM]

Has anyone checked that there are no hidden extra fees or such that may affect this "upgrade" such as what I found with the Citibank offer to "upgrade" my Ready Credit card to a Visa Debit linked card? Hidden behind that "enhancement" was an additional 3.3% foreign currency conversion fee. Of course there was no mention of this extra fee in the letter that came with the new card. It just highlighted all the benefits of accepting their generous upgrade offer and the chance to win $10,000 if I activated the new card.

Needless to say, I did not accept their offer and lodged a complaint about the offer being misleading since there was no mention of the additional fee I would be charged (all the transactions on that card are overseas).

 

[Jacques Vert]

I did the upgrade alomost a month ago and my points (all 400,000 of them) are still safe and sound, according to my paper and online statements, though now sitting under a different (Citi Plat) umbrella.[/quote]

I have also received my statement for the new platinum and all my points cayyied over.

BTW: as I noted on another thread, I also received the offer on almost the same day that I received a statement from Earth+ including my annual fee and a notice to say that they were introducing FX fees.

I had chosen the Earth+ due to its lack of fx fees, unlimited points (AMEX), 15,000 point introductory offer and a low annual fee. However, with the Citi Platinum I get most of what I want (120,000 points max which will cover my spending & o/s travel insurance) and save money on fees. (I know that Citi charge high foreign exchange fees but I am not heading o/s anytime soon.)

Unfortunately I did not get the fee free for life offer:evil: (wasn't a member of AFF back then so didn't know about it). But at $119 per year it will do for now (and I save 2 x $79 on Earth+ for Mrs JV & I.)

 

[diesmile]

well, i didn't get the upgrade. the reason they gave to me is because i wasn't with them long enough.

you need to be with them for more than 9 months for this upgrade and i am was them for 6 months only. >.<

 

[kpc]

well, i didn't get the upgrade. the reason they gave to me is because i wasn't with them long enough.

you need to be with them for more than 9 months for this upgrade and i am was them for 6 months only. >.<

My SO did get the Plat upgrade as well, and I'm sure she has been with them less than 9 months:shock:. Will ask her later...Edit: she got hers late Nov 07/early Dec 07, so she must have just ticked over the 9 month cut off

 

[beardoc]

Well, it seems that I'm not offered an upgrade (just called up and asked - they said that there is no such offer on my account). Not sure why - I've had the card since the fee-free deal came out, paid it off in full each month (by direct debit) and run around $20,000 through the card each year.

One thing I did when I got the card was to drop my credit limit to $10,000 when I got the card - would this have precluded me from the offered upgrade?

Those that had this offer, did anything appear in the "my offers" section of your gold card internet banking at all?

 

[kamchatsky]

Well, it seems that I'm not offered an upgrade (just called up and asked - they said that there is no such offer on my account). Not sure why - I've had the card since the fee-free deal came out, paid it off in full each month (by direct debit) and run around $20,000 through the card each year.

One thing I did when I got the card was to drop my credit limit to $10,000 when I got the card - would this have precluded me from the offered upgrade?

Those that had this offer, did anything appear in the "my offers" section of your gold card internet banking at all?

I am not yet offered to upgrade to Platinum, in fact, my wife just got her Gold supplementary card renewed with the chip on it. I have more than 10K in limit and we do spend quite a bit in it (anywhere where Amex not accepted). So I guess we are not privileged enough

 

[beardoc]

I am not yet offered to upgrade to Platinum, in fact, my wife just got her Gold supplementary card renewed with the chip on it. I have more than 10K in limit and we do spend quite a bit in it (anywhere where Amex not accepted). So I guess we are not privileged enough

The other thing is that I have promotional offers refused on my Citibank card - has this possibly prevented me from getting the offer? Anyone who refuses promotions actually get the upgrade?

 

[ellein]

hmm.. checked my mailbox thesedays. Got nothing from CB. I joined in Apr 08, maybe I am not with them long enough to get the upgrade