Citi Driver's Edge 6% card reward calculations

I hope this will help someone else, I ran these numbers to figure out what type of rewards I could receive with my new Citi Driver's Edge card.

These numbers refer to the 6% for the first 12 months, 3% thereafter.
(6% gas/grocery/drug store)
$1675 in purchases = $100 reward cash
10,000 miles drove = $100 reward cash
(You can then redeem this $200 towards car expenses or a new/used car) (12% reward)
OR, convert these into 20,000 ThankYou points. Which can get you 2 $100 gift cards. (12% reward)
OR, use 18,500 points to get $100 + $25 statement credits. (7.46% reward) (1,500 points left over)

If you're purchasing anywhere else (1%) you'll get:
$15,000 in purchases = $150 reward cash
15,000 miles drove = $150 reward cash
(You can then redeem this $300 towards car expenses or a new/used car) (2% reward)
OR, convert these into 30,000 ThankYou points. Which can get you 3 $100 gift cards. (2% reward)
OR, use 30,000 points to get $175 statement credit. (1.17% reward)

Here's an example for standard rewards:

Spend $3333.33 on everyday purchases = $100 in options rebates (3%)
Spend $5000.00 on all other purchases = $50 in options rebates (1%)
Drive 15,000 miles = $150 in drive rebates ($0.01 per mile)

You now have $300 to redeem, which is equivalent to 6% on everyday purchases and 2% on all other purchases.

($1 reward converts to 100 ThankYou network points) Convert by calling 1-800-308-4158.

Purchase/Bonus Rebates and Drive Rebates must be redeemed 1:1 for the best results.
Examples: If you have made $5000 in purchases ($50 rewards) you must have 5,000 miles to double your reward. If you have many more miles than purchase rewards (as most of us do) they deduct only as many "miles" as purchase/bonus rewards you are redeeming.

Forms to: Redeem rebates for the purchase or lease of a vehicle, Redeem rebates for service on your vehicle, Miles Submission Form and Drive Rebates Enrollment Forms can be found HERE.

From member "citifan": Fax number for submitting mileage updates is: 702-797-5151 (instead of postal mailing) (phone number updated Feb. 2008).

You may NOT redeem drive rebates without an equal or greater purchase rebate amount. (checked 7/1/09)

If anyone else has some more examples I'll edit this and add them in.

Interesting, did not know you could convert CashBack dollars into TY points. Its real easy to get rid of those gift cards on eBay for nearly their value (especially Amazon) so the TY point 12% and 2% route sounds nice

Too bad I don't drive more than 3k miles a year otherwise I'd be on top of this.

I'm not familiar with the Dividend Dollars, but the conversion is in the terms of the Driver's Edge card. Look at the "Earn Rebates" bullet point "Convert your rebates to ThankYou Points and redeem them for gift cards, merchandise and services through ThankYou Network"

The limits on drive rewards are $500, so that is up to 50,000 miles driven a year.

After that they just don't count them. And, of course you have to redeem rebates 1:1 to get double. You can't use more drive rebates than purchase rebates.

Also, the drive miles cannot be converted to the ThankYou network. If you look at the terms and conditions it explicitly states that Driver’s Edge Options Rebates (“Rebates”) can be converted to the ThankYou Network. When you get to the Drive rebates section it says "you are eligible to earn rebates for the miles you drive ("Drive Rebates"). These Drive Rebates are in addition to the standard or promotional Driver's Edge Options rebates ("Options Rebates")." See Drive rebates are separate from Options Rebates and thus only the drive rebates can be redeemed. This is what customer service as well as existing customers with the card have informed me. Thus the drive rebates become worthless if you are transferring your options rebates to the ThankYou Network.

Seems like good credit card... 6% can't be beat. I have a question. Below is quote from the credit card website. Does that mean Wal-Mart,winn-dixie, etc is out of question for 6% rebate?

"Purchases not eligible to receive the 3% rebates (6% rebates for 12 months)include, but are not limited to,purchases made at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and convenience stores."

airattack said: Seems like good credit card... 6% can't be beat. I have a question. Below is quote from the credit card website. Does that mean Wal-Mart,winn-dixie, etc is out of question for 6% rebate?

"Purchases not eligible to receive the 3% rebates (6% rebates for 12 months)include, but are not limited to,purchases made at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and convenience stores."

That is because only supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations earn 3% (6%). And, some wal marts, sam's clubs etc. sell those things (gas, drugs, etc.) and those aren't counted at that rate. Only at the 1% rate.

Argh...it's painful that I'll be using the balance transfer to make money here instead of those sorts of rewards. I want my cake and to eat it too!

3% capped at $75. stinky linky

BT fee is capped at $75. I was responding to the post above mine. I guess I should have quoted it. I think the $1000 is split 500/500 but I could be wrong.

FreeJason said: And, of course you have to redeem rebates 1:1 to get double. You can't use more drive rebates than purchase rebates.

Just a little confused about this... is this clause in place to prevent people from keeping this card just for the Drive Rebates every year? I drive ~10k miles per year and only use my DE card for car repair purchases. I do all my G/G/D purchases on my 5% citibank platnium select and everything else on my Fido 1.5% FIA card.

I think I might not be maximizing my Rebates on DE. In order to redeem 10,000 miles driven for $100 Drive Rebates, do I need to earn $100 in non Drive Rebates?? Meaning..I would have to spend $10,000 annually on this card? If this is the case, $10,000 spent on my DE card will yield a 2% rebate (factoring in Drive Rebates) whereas $10,000 spent on FIA Fido 1.5% is just that, 1.5%. Is my understanding correct?

Assuming the promo period has expired, wouldn't one need only charge $3,333.33 at the 3% merchants and drive 10,000 miles to get a $200 or 20,000 TY point rebate?

Well, this puts the non-promo rebate between 2 and 6%. I think this card is going to the top of my AOR list. With the 500/500 cap it's likely I'll never have to put it away. Then if I can just get my car to break down so I won't have to suffer any more TY points...

WalStMonky said: Well, this puts the non-promo rebate between 2 and 6%. I think this card is going to the top of my AOR list. With the 500/500 cap it's likely I'll never have to put it away. Then if I can just get my car to break down so I won't have to suffer any more TY points...
Can you use the rewards on service on more than one car? I.e. my wife's and mine?

Is Driver's Edge Platinum Select and Driver's Edge Option the same card?

Yeah, these are one in the same card.

FreeJason said: jmz668 said: WalStMonky said: Well, this puts the non-promo rebate between 2 and 6%. I think this card is going to the top of my AOR list. With the 500/500 cap it's likely I'll never have to put it away. Then if I can just get my car to break down so I won't have to suffer any more TY points...
Can you use the rewards on service on more than one car? I.e. my wife's and mine?

They only allow one car per account. So you would need to apply and use two seperate accounts.

Maybe they have changed their rules, but in the past on 2 occasions, my mom has used her DE credits to pay for a repair on my car. She calls the repair shop and puts the charge on her DE card. I get an extra receipt and fill out the form with my VIN # and all, she signs and we mail in. Credit has appeared on her statement both times. Both my mom and I each have our cars enrolled in the program. YMMV.

I would guess Citi for the most part doesn't really care. The point is to have some sort of gimmick that induces you to spend more money on the card. Similar to the PremierPass card. I'm somewhat surprised the CSR would actively suggest such a thing, but I doubt it's something they would try to check.

That is definately incorrect, maybe call back and ask someone else. Also, checkout the other thread on this topic for many, many more people who have done the conversion. 10,000 miles drove = $100 reward cash. $100 reward cash converts to 10,000 ThankYou Points.

Any dealer/shop is fine. Just needs to include the date, vehicle information, your name, etc. on a receipt. You then mail that to them for reimbursement.

CoastieRob said: Just got off the phone w/ Citibank CSR. Now I'm really curious about maximizing my DE rebates. With my existing DE card I'm earning 3% on G/G/D purchases and 1% on all other purchases. Capped at $1,000 per year. CSR confirmed that in order to redeem $100 in Drive Rebates I must have earned $100 in non-Drive Rebates, as discussed here.

When I asked her about the new cards that earn 6% on G/G/D purchases she said she could not convert my existing card, but I could apply for a new account. Nothing new so far... But then she said I could enroll the SAME car in the Drive Rebates program on BOTH cards.

This is specifically prohibited in their terms. I do not know whether they enforce it, but I would not risk my rebate ($1000 currently).

Now, I have a question. When you send service receipts for redemption, they automatically update your mileage if stated on the receipt. Will these miles be wasted if you do not have any matching spending on the card? For example, if I've driven 10000 miles since their last update, but spent only $75 on service, will the redemption of the $75 rebate "cost" me 10K miles that would turn into points if I spend 10K on the card first? In this case, you have to be very careful with the timing of your redemptions - or cross the mileage off or something...

I don't disagree with you, but I think in hindsight that my DE cards may have made me a bit too relaxed about GGD spending. Also maintenance expenses. When all else is even approximately equal, I think cash is best. And I grossed more than you in DE rebates.