Citibank upgrading fee free Gold to fee free Platinum

[BJReplay]

My points transferred across. Interestingly I can now access both the old (closed) gold card and new platinum online - both balances are the same. The only odd thing is that the points accrued for the month only shows 78 (which is probably the two transactions made on the new card since the conversion).

They even notified me on the same e-mail I'd set up for the Gold for statement notifications - so that went smoothly. All the old direct debits are coming through on the new card, so that is going well as well.

(Yet another Citibank userid: that's 5 now... Platinum Fee Free for 1st year special offer, then downgraded to gold with fee waived for next year (wouldn't waive fee on platinum), then new "company" mastercard to make it easier to track business expenses, then new gold fee free for life when they refused to waive the gold fee for a third year, then finally upgraded platinum).

Dunno whether or not I got the upgrade offer because I'd opted into promotions or not - I don't really recall. Was putting around $60k per annum through the card, tho.

 

[Holly]

By the way, the sticker on the card (Reminder to activate) was so hard to peel off, I tried to use the hair dryer to heat the card up, hope to make it easier to come off, but melted the card, LOL...... not sure still usable.

I decided to activate mine afterall, but am still waiting on my new PIN to arrive so I can set up my new login. My old one still works but the reward points are no longer accessible, so hoping they've all been transferred across to the new Platinum account as promised!!

anyway, I had the same problem with the URGENT sticker on the card- they must have used the wrong type of adhesive on this batch of cards or something. I was scratching the label off to no avail and it ended up looking rather tattered & cruddy before I'd even used it. You know what works though- eucalyptus oil on some cotton wool dissolves away the adhesive like magic- thanks mum for the tip!

 

[sparoy]

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 daughter got her fee free Gold just over 6 months ago (since 27 Feb 08) and she got her fee free Platinum just over a week ago.
She's only been in her first full time job for only 2 weeks when she applied for the card.
She must have just scraped in .

 

[arinko]

I applied for my fee-free silver in Feb 2008 and it was upgraded to platinum last week. So I don't think the 9 months rule applies. My average spending on the card is about $1000/month.

 

[PaulZ]

I reckon I have put through $35,000 in the last 18months... I rang up to see if I was going to receive an upgrade, seeing as two family members living in the home had already received theirs.

Was told that because of my fantastic repayment history, good spending habits, while she couldn't guarantee it, she felt that I would be eligible... I just had to wait for the system to get to my batch.

Time will tell...

 

[beardoc]

I reckon I have put through $35,000 in the last 18months... I rang up to see if I was going to receive an upgrade, seeing as two family members living in the home had already received theirs.

Was told that because of my fantastic repayment history, good spending habits, while she couldn't guarantee it, she felt that I would be eligible... I just had to wait for the system to get to my batch.

Time will tell...

Ah, so it's a batching thing - they're still not completed with the promotion. I'm in basically the same situation as you - I will continue to wait.

 

[diesmile]

Was told that because of my fantastic repayment history, good spending habits, while she couldn't guarantee it, she felt that I would be eligible.

Time will tell...

lol the girl i talked to on the phone told me the exact words, but i didn't get the upgrade. oh well...

 

[netjock]

...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.

Read up on the RBA website and there is nothing re: increase charges to premium mastercards/visas.

I do know foreign cards attract a slightly higher merchant fees.

Also I really doubt the terminal would know whether your card was a premium card or not as the authorization only happens after you enter your PIN or receipt is printed.

I think we're the only country that pays crazy prices for travel insurance. If you check in the UK some bank accounts offer free travel insurance, even phone insurance in case you loose your mobile.

 

[one9]

Also I really doubt the terminal would know whether your card was a premium card or not as the authorization only happens after you enter your PIN or receipt is printed.

This opinion is in conflict with the news in the NAB Merchant Newsletter when they announced they were switching to different rates for standard vs platinum/business/international cards. they advised that they were shortly going to upgrade the newer terminals to be able to distinguish between standard and premium cards.

 

[bazzam]

This opinion is in conflict with the news in the NAB Merchant Newsletter when they announced they were switching to different rates for standard vs platinum/business/international cards. they advised that they were shortly going to upgrade the newer terminals to be able to distinguish between standard and premium cards.

Could you let us know which version of the newsletter this was printed in? NAB - Talking Shop - a publication designed for merchants
It only seems to be published six monthly and the Dec 2007 mentioned introducing surcharges for "premium" transactions, but in that context premium transactions were all credit cards (as opposed to "standard" transactions using debit cards). There was no mention of charging different credit card fees for different types of credit cards.

 

[spa]

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?

Hi, yeah my credit limit is only $7000, so it's not that either! (which I only recently increased from $5000, the minumum limit you can have on gold - does anyone know the minimum on platinum?)

Also, in answer to your question, I have the offer letter, no mention in the my offers section though.

 

[gregff]

I had read that the min credit limit for CB platinum was $12000.

 

[netjock]

Can't post the link but here is what the RBA considers premium products:

In addition, credit card issuing institutions have expanded the range of ‘premium’ products, such as silver, gold and platinum cards and, in some cases, have marketed these cards extensively. According to survey data from Roy Morgan Research, in the 12 months to March 2007, 27 per cent of credit card holders had a silver, gold or platinum card, up from 17 per cent four years earlier.

So we're all stuffed except for plain vanilla cards

 

[Zippy7]

I'm reading this thread with some interest, as I had signed up previously for the same Fee-free-for-life Citibank Gold card as many others.

What I am wondering is if anyone here that has been upgraded had taken up the Ugly-mug-on-yer-card option (your photo on the top right corner).

 

[oz_mark]

Can't post the link but here is what the RBA considers premium products:

In addition, credit card issuing institutions have expanded the range of ‘premium’ products, such as silver, gold and platinum cards and, in some cases, have marketed these cards extensively. According to survey data from Roy Morgan Research, in the 12 months to March 2007, 27 per cent of credit card holders had a silver, gold or platinum card, up from 17 per cent four years earlier.

So we're all stuffed except for plain vanilla cards

What matters is not so much what the RBA considers to be premium products, but the products that the schemes decide are worthy of higher fees. I certainly don't think silver fits into that!

 

[Yma]

To those who didn't receive upgrade up yet.

I got my fee-free for life gold in May and only spend 2k (3 purchases, as used as a back up card) during these five month. Anyway, I got an upgrade offer on last Friday.
Activated on Monday and went to Mac's yesterday, however, the card was declined. *Sigh*.... Any1 hving same prob as me??

Cheers

 

[oz_mark]

To those who didn't receive upgrade up yet.

I got my fee-free for life gold in May and only spend 2k (3 purchases, as used as a back up card) during these five month. Anyway, I got an upgrade offer on last Friday.
Activated on Monday and went to Mac's yesterday, however, the card was declines. *Sigh*.... Any1 hving same prob as me??

Call Citibank and make sure it was activated. My experience of Citibank is that it sometimes takes a couple of goes.

 

[asdfghjkl32]

My sister finally got her Platinum card also, she has been upgraded from Silver though.

 

[serfty]

My sister finally got her Platinum card also, she has been upgraded from Silver though.

Just noticed I got a plat card visa in the mail on Friday to replace my silver visa, both appear to be free for life - the new one has a chip.

I'm considering my options here and will thoroughly analyse my options ... one thing is ticking through my head "Free for the life of the card". Hmmm ...

To quote the offer letter:

...
As a highly valued customer, we have taken this opportunity to upgrade you to our exclusive Citibank Platinum Credit Card with no change to your annual fee, currently $0.00 per year*.

The means you'll enjoy the benefits of Platinum at no extra cost. ...

*The annual fee you will pay on your new Platinum Card is the same as you paid on your silver card, currently $0.00 for the primary card and $0.00 for each additional card. ...

 

[netjock]

What matters is not so much what the RBA considers to be premium products, but the products that the schemes decide are worthy of higher fees. I certainly don't think silver fits into that!

It matters what the RBA called premium products because quoted on this forum is members saying banks are allowed to charge higher merchant fees on "premium" cards.

Therefore banks like NAB are proposing to charge platinum/business/foreign cards increased surcharges. If they are doing that then it might be a matter of time before they broaden it to all cards that fit under the "premium" cards as defined by the RBA.

Also I don't understand what "schemes" you are talking about?

I believe the platinum/business cards are no different to standard credit cards in fact most gold/platinum card holders pay higher annual fee (incl those on professional packages with the banks) to cover the cost of providing additional services (travel insurance under an umbrella policy).

So really it is another way for banks (ie NAB) to rip off the merchants by making them think Platinum is any different and for merchants to pass it onto the card holders.

It is like when the government put in the GST. Sure it increased the tax base and made taxes fairer but they just made every counter staff de facto employees of the ATO.