The Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards credit card is very impressive from someone who just dumped his American Express credit card.

The biggest advantage is that I can use this card just about any place that takes credit cards. No big deal if you were not using American Express, but if you were or are an AMEX customer, this is big!!

The rewards program is amazing. 5 points for purchases in the grocery/drug store and gas station. 1 point everywhere else. The variety is quite good. There is certainly more than the preview guide that they display when you are considering applying. What I am primarily interested in is the free airline ticket at 25000 points. You get 5000 when you sign up and you won't believe how fast points add up if you charge all your purchases on this card. From my spending habits, I would say that this averages to 2.5-3 points per dollar I spend, and that is impressive! (AMEX Blue is 1 point for 1 dollar I spent anywhere *AMEX is accepted* which means 0.5 points for 1 dollar I spend with AMEX Blue!!)

Now here is a feature I have not seen before. The Virtual Account Numbers -- if Citi didn't pioneer it, they should atleast get due credit for being an early adopter. This feature empowers you -- the cardholder. You can go online and run an application on their website. It will let you generate a virtual credit card number which ties back into your account. What makes it really cool is you can put a cap on the amount and set the expiration date. I've always hated how various websites store my credit card information for my "convenience". I've not only had to risk the vendor's database being compromised giving the attacker access to my credit card but also in disputes with the vendor where you are charged an amount you don't believe you should pay -- the vendor has the upper hand because he already has charged your credit card and you're making 10 calls to customer service asking them to reverse that charge. Well guess what. With Virtual account numbers, I can set a tight bound on that number's credit limit and expiration date. Now, when I go to Amazon or pay my bills online, I always use a virtual account number that has just enough money for that charge. So I don't care if Amazon or AT&T or Comcast get hacked. The hackers won't get much using my card. There doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of such credit card numbers I generate, though I wouldn't go about generating such numbers indiscrimiately. And the number is activated immediately. I create a new number only once I see the amount I have to pay on a website and use that number. It is accepted within seconds of my generation. Also, it works if making purchases over the phone! What else could you ask for!!

Then there is a whole host of ID protection/theft related services that Citi is strongly marketing. One of them ID theft recovery -- gives you access to Citi's team of ID theft experts who will guide you through the process of restoring your credit -- from filling out forms, lodging police complaints, etc. These are supposed to be real specialists, not an FAQ. Of course, I haven't tested this since (touch wood) I haven't been a victim of ID theft. But it is reassuring to know that there are people you can call if ever you have to.

And they also proactively monitor your account for suspicious activity -- but so do many cards so this isn't necessarily the differentiator.

And the annual cost is a grand sum of zero $$.

The cons:
Apparently the APR is high. I always pay in full so I don't care if they set the APR to 100%!
Their website while having adequate functionality is clunky to look at and occasionally doesn't work. This is the only area where my old AMEX card won. Their rewards network is on another website called thankyourewards.com.

Recommended: Yes