Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
Members who trust:170
This company is something of a nonentity in the credit card market, it doesn’t advertise widely but does, as I’ve discovered, have some hidden depths.
Their offering is restricted to the world renowned Visa, and their card range has three offerings in the UK:
• The Citi / AAdvantage VISA Gold Card that holders points toward American Airline flights for every £1 you spend. These points can be used against offerings from all members of the oneworld alliance of which AA are a member, as are British Airways, Iberia and Qantas. However, if you are not a frequent flyer particularly in the transatlantic market and you run a balance on your cards, with a standard APR or 18.3%, then this card probably won’t be that appealing.
• The Citi Visa Plus, this is their standard offering, giving 6 months interest free credit on balance transfers, and then a reasonably competitive 13.9% APR on purchases, and 15.3% on cash withdrawals
• The Citi Platinum Visa card offers the same interest rates as the Visa Plus, both have a maximum credit limit of £25,000 and left me wondering for a few minutes what were the advantages, other than the status symbol. A closer look showed they provide free legal and medical cover while abroad, if using the
card to pay for your travel arrangements. They also provide 12 months extra warranty on electrical items, and aim to get free replacement cards out to holders within 24 hours if theirs is lost or stolen. I didn’t know about this feature, until, losing my card, my replacement arrived within 2 days of me telling them I had mislaid mine. Impressive, what more can I say?
The card also offers reasonable discounts on RAC membership should you wish to jump ship from the AA. I made a substantial saving of £60 on my annual membership, and although I do err towards using the AA, £60 is a reasonable saving at the end of the day.
The rest of this op covers my experience with the Citi Platinum Visa card.
I had a Citi Platinum card quite a few years ago, but lack of on-line facilities, no reward scheme and just being ordinary in the great scheme of things saw them sent to the great credit card heaven in the sky.
But then, one day, while reorganising the old finances (again) a 0% APR on balance transfers for 6 months saw me decide to save myself some money and apply. Having on-line applications for financial services just makes life too easy.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS This was on-line, and, no surprises here, I had to wait for my answer. To be fair contact was swift, and conducted by e-mail, and I was notified swiftly by e-mail when my card was approved.
The forms were quickly received for signature, as the law doesn’t yet recognise the idea of digital signatures in this area, and the credit card received. Now it is not often I read the small print on the credit card paperwork, but for some reason, this time I did.
As well as the industry standard charge of £25 for doing anything wrong with your card such as late payments and exceeding credit limits, I was stunned to discover that if you do not use your card over a 12-month period, then you will receive a £10 charge for the privilege of holding it. This charge also applies if you do not pay any interest on your balance over the same 12-month period. I wasn’t too impressed with this, and vowed that when my balance was cleared, this card would be redespatched to the great big credit card heaven in the sky.
INTEREST FREE PERIOD Should you choose to clear your balance monthly, you will enjoy UP TO 8 weeks interest free credit, but don’t forget that £10 charge. On this basis, there are better deals on the market, such as Goldfish, who, despite devaluing their points value in recent years, still provide achievable goals unlike many other reward cards.
CUSTOMER SERVICE Once the application process has been completed, there is no on-line facility with this card, I must admit I do find this an inconvenience. Their customer service facility is through a national rate 0870 number, although they do answer fairly quickly, once you have worked your way through their cumbersome, yet irritatingly common automated identification system. If you do not wish to speak to a human, you can get computerised balances and pay through their automated system. Staff are friendly and helpful and phones are answered quickly.
BALANCE PAYMENTS These can be made through on-line banking (with your own bank), by post, debit card on the phone, direct debit, at a bank. What a novel idea. I recently tried to clear a £1 balance on my Marbles card to close it. Not one of the high street banks, including HouseHold bank (their issuers) would take a cash payment, and all charged 4 times as much for it.
CREDIT LIMIT The credit limit supplied is generous, despite being 50% of what they gave me last time I held their card.
Some people use this is a measure of how good or bad a company is, but don’t forget, every organisation will have their own lending criteria, and they will consider many things in the process. I earn a reasonable salary, yet someone earning more than me may be offered a lower limit because they don’t have a traceable credit history. Likewise, someone earning less may get more because they do have a good credit history but less financial commitments.
Unlike MBNA, they are not regulars in raising your credit limit without request, indicating I believe, a modicum of concern over sensible lending.
USING THE CARD This is simple, anywhere you see the Visa sign. This is not a card I use regularly, and the first time I did was in a hotel in Preston. Interestingly, the company referred the card and I spent some 20 minutes authenticating myself at the front of a long hotel check-in queue. As the card was issued in Manchester, and hadn’t been touched in over a month, I suppose I should be grateful for their security measures, even if it was embarrassing.
WHAT MADE ME STAY? The balance was dwindling, and the card was quickly considered for removal from my portfolio, until….. I received a letter from them offering me a balance transfer rate of 3.9% APR for the life of the balance, an offer I willingly took them up on. The deadline was short, and their computers crashed, but they extended the offer just for me, this for me, is enough to say, we value your business, and will see them keeping my custom for the foreseeable future.
UPDATED: 11/04 Subsequent statements from CitiCard showed that they did not honour the 3.9% balance transfer, however, a swift call to their customer services department saw all my interest refunded in my next statement. I have also had a number of subsequent balance transfer invitations on the same terms and conditions as previous ones, so am hoping once this has cleared, I can do it again.
What I would say, is that if you do already have a large balance on this card, then like most of the competition, taking advantage of the balance transfer rate might not be a good idea. Any excess payments made each month will be deducted from the balance transfer amount rather than what is on your card already, possibly making a new card such as Egg or Capital One a better bet.
CHIP AND PIN Citi, like, in my experience, most of their competitors, are not quite there yet, although my new card is only valid for 4 months, so I am guessing that it won’t be long.
You may or may not be aware that if you have a chip on your card, that by the end of 2004, you will be unable to use the card unless you have a PIN number. The new machines are springing up all over the place, and I suggest all the banks get their backsides in gear quickly. Otherwise, the Bank of England’s wish to stop people spending on credit will quickly become a reality, as there are bound to be teething problems.
SUMMARY Until recently, there was nothing that made them stand out from the crowd, until 3.9% APR for the life of the balance came around. If they wanted to keep my loyalty a little longer, they succeeded. What more can I say apart from remember that £10 annual fee for not using the card or avoiding interest.
Want one? Run along to https://www.citicards.co.uk/index.htm and check them out for yourself.
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Well I have to say I think you have well surpassed the amount of info on credit cards I could ever have expected...Brilliant, packed full of all the hidden info!
christina44 25.01.2005 19:52
we are still paying off our 2 grand debt. customer services have been appalling and the interest shocking! Nice helpful and well researched review though and congrats on the diamond. Chrissie xx
sylviesinc 10.01.2005 19:33
It was fortunate that I read this as I have recently opened a Citibank current account to hold my survey dosh, and was contemplating taking up their 0% credit card offer. I'll be blowed if I'mpaying £10 for the priviledge though! Thanks for reading the small print for me. An excellent review.
Advantages: free £500 overdraft, able to draw money from all ATMs without charge,free internet banking Disadvantages: no high street presence apart from London
sivam 08.04.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Citibank
Jun 19th, 2004
(Dec 31st, 2004)
exceptional by (6%):
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helpful by (2%):
