Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card - (still) making me money $$$$
Written: Nov 13 '05 (Updated Jan 03 '08)
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Pros: Dividends are CASH. Customer Service has been very helpful. Full-service Website.
Cons: $300 annual limit on earnings. Delays in online bill paying are frustrating.
The Bottom Line: I've done the research, and for me this card has the greatest rewards.
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| peachjam's Full Review: Citibank |
I only use dividend Credit Cards and as of 1/1/08 still Citi Bank's Dividend MasterCard earns me that money the fastest. With 5% earnings on all Gasoline, Grocery, and Drug Store purchases -- and 1% on all other purchases -- this card adds up the cash fast. I only wish there were unlimited dividends like my American Express Cash Rebate card.
DISCLAIMER: (Don't you get one with each Credit Card you obtain?) As with any kind of credit, when used improperly, credit can lead to unmanageable debt and financial stress. Always use credit wisely and safely, and don't use a dividend card as an excuse to run up credit or purchase more than you can afford.
How the Citi Bank Dividend MasterCard works
Each purchase at a Gas Station, Grocery Store, or Drug Store results in 5% of that purchase accumulating in a rebate account in your name. 1% of purchases anywhere else also accumulate in the rebate account. Whenever your rebate account has a balance of $50 or more, you can request a check.
$88 earned the first month
I earned $88 in the first month while taking a 1,200 mile trip to Louisiana to volunteer with hurricane relief. Over $2,000 in gas and food purchases for our group were a little easier to swallow after seeing the rebates accumulating. I requested a rebate check for the $88 when I returned, and I received the check less than a week later.
My first surprise
My first surprise with my new Citi card was when I went to pay the first month’s bill. My Credit Card philosophy is that I pay off each card in full each month. This avoids all finance charges, interest, and late fees and allows me to enjoy the full benefit of the dividends that I receive. It also keeps me from abusing the credit by purchasing more than I can really afford (see disclaimer above). My wife and I agreed early in our marriage that if there was a month that we could not fully pay for our credit card each month, then we would quit using it right then. I also happen to like using online payment for my credit card statements because I can schedule my payment as soon as my bill arrives instead of setting the statement in a pile on my desk and then somehow forgetting the due date when it arrives. My surprise came when I went to the Citi Bank website 14 days before the due date to schedule the payment. After entering my bank statement information from my checking account I was informed that I would have to wait for 7 days for my account to be verified before I could make the first payment. Well, that was fine because I would still have 7 days left to pay it -- as long as I didn’t forget to actually do it.
My second surprise
My second surprise came after the 7 day (probation) was over. I went back to the website with 5 days left before the due date. I entered the information to pay the $2,000. When I clicked the button to confirm the payment I was horrified to discover that on your first payment you can only pay up to $1,000 online. Who knows why, this must be some type of security feature or something. Now I was worried that I would incur interest charges on the remaining balance. So I called customer service.
A decent ending to the two surprises
Fortunately, a kind lady informed me that if I placed the remaining balance in the mail, that she would make a note of my call and that I would not be charged any finance charges on the remaining balance even if the snail mail payment was a bit late. I really did not appreciate the two surprises, but it all turned out OK in the end. I give customer service a plus for working this out for me. I have found in the past that reputable credit card companies will often waive late fees and finance charges at least once per year if an account is in good standing.
Other details about this card
My biggest disappointment about this card is that there is a $300 annual (calendar year) limit on the cash rebates you can receive. Fortunately my wife also has a Citi Bank Dividend card in her name, so we will be able to receive a total of $600 in rebates this year. I estimate we will max out our limits before the end of the year. In that case I will go back to my American Express card with gives me 1% or 2% depending on my annual usage. Historically I have earned between $280 and $420 with the American Express rebate card over the years, so the $300 limit is not too bad. I’ll just reach that limit a lot sooner because of the higher rate of earnings on some of my large purchases (gasoline).
For those who are curious about the Annual Percentage Rate on this card, it is 12.240% for standard purchases and 21.990% for cash advances. I did receive an introductory rate of 0% on cash advances for one year. Also, a $5 rebate is given for each balance transfer or cash advance (paper) check over $1,500. I took advantage of the 0% introductory rate on our alternate Citi Card by writing a check into my savings account. I am earning interest on the cash I received for the next year and use the balance in the savings account to pay back on the minimum payment. An important note here: if you have are making purchases on the same card that you use for a balance transfer, you will end up paying interest on your purchases. This is because each payment you make will go on the lower interest portion of your bill first. Thus, your payment will be paying off the 0% balance transfer, while your standard purchase will accumulate interest at the 12% rate. So again, watch yourself and use your credit wisely. I am using the balance transfer on my card while using my wife’s card for our purchases. Once the $300 limit is reached on my wife’s card, then we may clear the balance on both cards and switch them around. This brings me to my next point: the online interface with Quicken software.
Online Services
These days it is very important that a credit card company have not only online access, but integration into financial management software. I use Quicken 2005 Premier Home & Business software to manage my finances. I have found that some credit card companies have better or worse interfaces to Quicken. American Express and Citi Bank have fairly good interfaces. Chase Visa has no interface at all -- you have to download a data file to import to Quicken. GM is also mediocre. The Citi Card on the other had allows direct downloading of transactions into Quicken and Microsoft Money software. This allows me to get daily transactions if desired without having to enter the transaction by hand. I have a much better grasp on my upcoming credit card bills this way.
The Citi website is adequate. Statements are available online. You can pay your bill online for free, and as long as you request it before 1 p.m. Eastern Time it will post the same day. Other credit card companies charge a hefty fee for same-day payments. You can also request your rebate check online once the balance accumulates more than $50. There is a FAQ section on the website. You can change personal account information, bank accounts for bill pay, request a credit line increase, transfer balances from other creditors, and set up account alerts. Account alerts described on the website: You can now receive specific, account-related information in the form of email alerts on computers and text-enabled phones. You have the flexibility to customize the type of alerts you receive, utilizing as many as 2 email and 2 mobile addresses.
Payment Options
Aside from the traditional paper check, there are several other ways to make payments on your account. As I have already mentioned, you can pay your account electronically through the website. One caution here that I have already alluded to; there is a 7 day waiting time EVERY time you change or add an account from which you will pay. The nice thing is that once verified, you can utilize a number of accounts from which to pay, and you are allowed 4 online payments per billing cycle. The payments can only happen one per day, however.
Another payment option that I may try one day is called "AutoPay". With this method you set up an automatic payment that is automatically deducted from the account you designate.
SPEEDPAY is a pay by phone option. There is a charge of $14.95 to use this separate payment service. You still have to pay by 1 p.m. Eastern time to have your payment credited as of that day.
EXPRESS PAYMENTS by courier and express mail can be sent to a specific address for faster mail service. Once again, there is a 1 p.m. deadline for same-day service.
Summary
Look at www.citibank.com to find out more about Citi Bank's various credit card options. You can easily compare the 19 different Citi rebate cards online. There are specialized cards for college students, drivers, frequent fliers, home buyers, and just the average Joe. Below I have listed the other Terms and Conditions that you may find important.
Annual percentage rate (APR) for purchases 12.49%.
Other APRs Balance transfer APR: As long as first balance transfer is completed within 12 months from date of account opening, 0.00% for 12 months from date of first balance transfer. After that, 12.49%.
Cash advance APR: 21.99%.
Default APR: 30.99%. See explanation below.* Variable rate information Your APRs may vary each billing period.
The purchases and balance transfer rate equals the U.S. Prime Rate** plus 5.49%.
The cash advance rate equals the U.S. Prime Rate plus 14.99%, with a minimum cash advance rate of 19.99%. The default rate equals the U.S. Prime Rate plus up to 23.99%.***
Grace period for repayment of balances for purchases Not less than 20 days if you pay your total new balance in full each billing period by the due date. Method of computing the balance for purchases Average daily balance (including new purchases) Annual fees None. Minimum finance charge $0.50 Transaction Fee for Purchases made in a Foreign Currency 3% of the amount of foreign currency purchase after its conversion into U.S. dollars. Transaction fee for cash advances: 3% of the amount of each cash advance, $5 minimum. Transaction fee for balance transfers: 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, $5 minimum, $75 maximum. However, there is no fee with the 0.00% APR balance transfer offer described above. Late fee: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $1000; and $39 on balances of $1000 and over. Over the credit-line fee: $35
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
peachjam
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Member: Troy Funte
Location: Titusville, PA
Reviews written: 84
Trusted by: 112 members
About Me:
I'm a family man, which actually keeps me off epinions more than I would like.
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