asdf9876 said:XxXxX said:
They cancel 2 of your minimum payment in case of marriage/relocation/having a child.

Obviously if you have done this then you are more experienced then I am. However, they actually pay down your principle for you? I thought they just dropped your minimum payment to $0 and your APR to 0%. I thought your balance stayed exactly the same.

I didn't know they actually pay down your debt on your behalf.

Also Holy snikeys man! $1K! You must have some HUGE minimum payments.

Some programs just delay payments, other actually make the min payments. If my wife and I ever have a kid, I'll be signing up for "credit protector" about 2 weeks before she pops

asdf9876 said:XxXxX said:
They cancel 2 of your minimum payment in case of marriage/relocation/having a child.

Obviously if you have done this then you are more experienced then I am. However, they actually pay down your principle for you? I thought they just dropped your minimum payment to $0 and your APR to 0%. I thought your balance stayed exactly the same.

I didn't know they actually pay down your debt on your behalf.

Also Holy snikeys man! $1K! You must have some HUGE minimum payments.

Yes, the wording is that they "cancel" your minimum payment. In reality, they just pay 2 bills on your behalf. I think this is discussed somewhere else.

No go for me. The best they can do is offer 5% on purchases for x amount of time. That is a good deal if I wasn't carrying a balance where I would got socked with 12% on those purchases until paid off.

Like to hear more.

MilesHeighway said:

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Sounds legit.

BUT!

What kind of unseen repercussions do you get hit for taking this deal? Citi might put a black mark on you internally stating "BAD CUSTOMER. NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU!" and you'll never see a 0% BT deal, ever, again.

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Ironically, the note would more accurately say "Good customer, no more soup for you!". They don't like people who use debt reqponsibly.


I got this offer (same as OP) in the mail a few weeks ago, but I haven't had time to do anything with it until tonight. My situation is unique because I got the offer when my balance was 0. That's right, 0. I had a 0% offer that expired and I paid it off. Now that I have this offer, I can take it or leave it. If I take it, I have to either make purchases, use payPal to charge around 4000 (I don't think I'll do that because I use paypal for my business and I don't feel like dealing with frozen accounts) or do a cash advance. After opening the spreadsheets I calculated the greatest gain would come from doing a cash advance.


So... should I exploit this, or do people on this forum think there is some legitimacy to the above quoted threat? I can go without the money, I just want to hear some opinions.


edit: One more thing: I currently have no personal loans out from Citi. I stopped using their dividend Cash Back card when they took the 5% away, and I paid off this card. I do have one business card with citi with a CL of 4000, 3900 of which is sitting at 0%.
I think their metrics for this offer was to look at my credit report and see that I have high balances (because I did an AOR in May). I've never made a late payment, and I've acheived bumpage on my credit reports except for equifax. So all they are basing this off of, from a risk calculation standpoint is A) what my balance WAS before I paid it off, and B) knowing via soft inquiries that I had a tremendous debt load.

highmktgoods said:MilesHeighway said:

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Sounds legit.

BUT!

What kind of unseen repercussions do you get hit for taking this deal? Citi might put a black mark on you internally stating "BAD CUSTOMER. NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU!" and you'll never see a 0% BT deal, ever, again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ironically, the note would more accurately say "Good customer, no more soup for you!". They don't like people who use debt reqponsibly.


I got this offer (same as OP) in the mail a few weeks ago, but I haven't had time to do anything with it until tonight. My situation is unique because I got the offer when my balance was 0. That's right, 0. I had a 0% offer that expired and I paid it off. Now that I have this offer, I can take it or leave it. If I take it, I have to either make purchases, use payPal to charge around 4000 (I don't think I'll do that because I use paypal for my business and I don't feel like dealing with frozen accounts) or do a cash advance. After opening the spreadsheets I calculated the greatest gain would come from doing a cash advance.


So... should I exploit this, or do people on this forum think there is some legitimacy to the above quoted threat? I can go without the money, I just want to hear some opinions.


edit: One more thing: I currently have no personal loans out from Citi. I stopped using their dividend Cash Back card when they took the 5% away, and I paid off this card. I do have one business card with citi with a CL of 4000, 3900 of which is sitting at 0%.
I think their metrics for this offer was to look at my credit report and see that I have high balances (because I did an AOR in May). I've never made a late payment, and I've acheived bumpage on my credit reports except for equifax. So all they are basing this off of, from a risk calculation standpoint is A) what my balance WAS before I paid it off, and B) knowing via soft inquiries that I had a tremendous debt load.

Instead of cash advance you can do an online balance transfer.
Usually if you have your account online, go to the balance trasnfer option and you should have the option of getting a check instead of actually tarnsfer a balnce.
Also usually theres no fee involve and a very low rate(not that the rate matters).
As soon as you see the amount charged to your CC, pay it right away to minimize the interest.

I have done this many time using Citi to 1) get actual cash to myself and create a balance so I can use other CC to trasnfer the balance over.

I bumped this because I got the same offer but mine is a little different.
No, my offer is the same as most of you...10%, 4 months, reduce in credit line.
Its different becuase the balance transfer I got is 0% for the life of the balance...no hidden fee, no catch.

I got this offer in Aug of 2004 and I took out 15K and 2 years later, its a tad below $10K now.
Been on time every time and I thought they just wanted to get rid of me because they figure I'd make a mistake along the way and I haven't.
I find out now that alot of others are getting this offer also.

Its not a good deal for me because my 0% will not end and it will take me another 3-4 yrs paying off the rest of the $10K making only the minimum payments.
In that time, I can earn more alot more than $550.

I did take out another BT on another Citi CC but at 2.9%.
I wonder if I call them up with this invitation and see if I can get it on this card instead.

I wish I gotten the 20% becasue it would only take about $3K to get the max $550 instead of $6K

highmktgoods said:I decided not to do it.

I am not imposing a moral viewpoint on anyone, but after considering that (in my situation, where I'd have to incur a balance before I use this) this is tantamount to greed, I've decided to hold off. The main thing I fear is a reduction in trust. And I do think that Citi will mark you in their system as a risk, and place a chokehold on any future offers... Not to mention that a reduction in credit line doesn't help credit score. Their risk assesment team has identified me, and they feel that I am a big enough risk to them that they will bait me with a 20% offer. I think there is a really good chance that I'm marked if I take it.

The postive(s): 200$ (after my calculations, it would be around 200 due to fees. I do not have the ability to do a balance transfer for this card. I called and the CSR told me I can't BT onto this card, and they won't send me BT checks or convenience checks. Also, online it shows that I cannot BT. So the only way to BT is to do a cash advance for the max cash I can get.

The negatives: redux in credit line, possible choke on future offers, credit score might negativly reflect reduced credit line.

Nope. Not for me.

I received a similar offer. But no mentioning of reduction of credit limit. BTW, I have excellent credit score. I believe the reason Citi wanted me to pay off was that I had a very low interest rate for life and I was only paying minimum payment every month. With interest rate rising, Citi is losing money if I continue paying minimum. So it's not bad at all if you would like to earn some quick money.

Actually you can go and buy some gift cards in large amount, like Amazon or sunoco
no need to do any cash advance

highmktgoods said:I decided not to do it.

I am not imposing a moral viewpoint on anyone, but after considering that (in my situation, where I'd have to incur a balance before I use this) this is tantamount to greed, I've decided to hold off. The main thing I fear is a reduction in trust. And I do think that Citi will mark you in their system as a risk, and place a chokehold on any future offers... Not to mention that a reduction in credit line doesn't help credit score. Their risk assesment team has identified me, and they feel that I am a big enough risk to them that they will bait me with a 20% offer. I think there is a really good chance that I'm marked if I take it.

The postive(s): 200$ (after my calculations, it would be around 200 due to fees. I do not have the ability to do a balance transfer for this card. I called and the CSR told me I can't BT onto this card, and they won't send me BT checks or convenience checks. Also, online it shows that I cannot BT. So the only way to BT is to do a cash advance for the max cash I can get.

The negatives: redux in credit line, possible choke on future offers, credit score might negativly reflect reduced credit line.

Nope. Not for me.

SUCKISSTAPLES said:im wary about using that Citi CL reduction offer.. the $550 cash is nice, but you will be flagges as a deadbeat in their system and might not be able to get new cards from them...their new promos are worth quite a bit to someone who does repeat App-o-rama's

Do you know this for sure? My wife received the 20% over minimum ($550) offer and I was certainly going to take advantage of it. The 0% expires in 4 months anyway. However, if it will affect her chances of ever being able to apply for another Citi card, it becomes a very tough call.

When my wife and I call tonight, I will ask a specific question about 'credit deadbeat' status and her prospects as a future customer. I will post any details...