Offer to Switch Citi Dividend to World Mastercard -- a Citi Scam?

Today I received in the mail a postcard from Citi welcoming me to the new Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards World Mastercard. The "offer" states that my old Dividend card will automatically switch to the new card if I do nothing by June 30, but that I can keep my old card if I want. I called the 800 number and asked the difference between the two cards. The Indian guy repeated his canned speech about 3-4 times and put me on hold twice before telling me that one is called the Dividend card and the other is called a World Mastercard! The truth, really! Eventually, he said that the sole difference was that the new card waived the $39 fee for going over the credit limit.

I am inclined to reject this "offer" from Citi. It seems fishy to me. I still have the old Dividend card that gives me 5% back in TY points for gas, groceries, pharmacy, etc., and I have been hoping that Citi does not drop my 5%. My suspicions are that Citi will "upgrade" me and then take away the 5%. The offer states that the TY points will work the same for the new card as the old (and the Indian guy confirmed the 5% would stay) but just smells like a trap.

Just wondering if others are in the same position and what you all think.

Thanks,
FATNYC

Citi doesn't offer 5% since April, if i am not mistaking. My Citi Dividend card only offers 3% on gas, 2% on cable, and 1% on the rest.

madscribe said: If you are still getting 5% on your Citi Dividend, definitely keep it, since most of us have been dropped to 2%.That's right, most people I know have had the rebate dropped. Only one I know still has the 5%.

I have the diamond rewards & get 5 percent for the last 5 years also get this postcard & called & was told my TY points will stay the same. Don't know what to do ? the world card is good to have for free as all other cards cost $ for the world card but is my TY actually going to stay the same ??

I am willing to bet money almost the only reason the OP is still getting 5% is more than likely he applied for his Dividend card last year right before they switch from 5% to 2%. If you read the master Dividend card thread it seems people continued to earn 5% till a couple of months past there first aninversary. With that being said I personally think World Mastercard and Visa Signature are junk. I personally would never get one as most World Mastercard do not report credit limit to credit agencies so it affects your credit if you always charge about the same amount on the card as it would look like you would have close to 100% utlilization on that card because they report "Hi-Balance" and "Current Balance" one way around that problem is to make out your card then let it report and pay it off.

But because I almost never charge on my Visa/Mastercard anything except when a places does not accept AMEX. I am not looking for any premium services or benfits from Visa/MC. I use them mostly for 0% balance transfers.

I received an envelope in the mail today (not postcard). I get 2% on gas, drugstores, and supermarkets - it clearly said this.
A new thing I noticed was the world mastercard's version of BVG (print ads).

HomieG said: I received the same "offer" yesterday and am going to decline it. I read elsewhere that the no pre-set spending limit gives the credit report companies to consider your account balance equal to the credit maximum limit on your card, whether you've used the allowance or not. I don't care for that, even though it won't affect me 'cause I don't use credit at all, except for the convenience of the cards. And I'm sure they hate customers like us who pay off the balance every month. Have no mortgage, no car loans, no other credit. No reason to have credit needs for us. In fact, I just think it's cool to max out my credit score, a game for me

I don't see any benefit for the change. If it wasn't for Citi's benefit, then I don't think they'd really care to make this a must-respond-to-decline offer. In other words, if it was in my best interest, they'd have sent me an offer to sign up for, not an offer I had to decline. Call me paranoid, or whatever, I just think this one smells of something rotten, if not now, then in the future...

isn't the diamond preferred rewards card different? the original dividend platinum gives you CashBack. this one gives you thankyou points. for some of us, the difference is minimal. but others like the cash.
so it's not really 5% still. it is 5 points per dollar

janwad said: I just got my conversion notice. The main thing I noticed is the new card will have 'pay pass' so it broadcasts your info and you can just tap a reader instead of swiping the card.

No thanks, no way. My dividend card is one of my oldest and I hate to lose it.

It says the 'no preset spending limit' just means that each billing cycle, you have to pay off the amount that you spend over your actual limit.

actually, it means you can go over somewhat also (how much you can go over depends)

I also received the "upgrade" letter. What a pain, I actually liked the 5 points I was receiving (3years) on the select categories. I think this lends itself to if you don't convert will they eventually drop those still receiving the 5/1 down to the lower percentage. Seems the Diamond Preferred may go the way of the Citi Dividend.

Anyone with the # to decline this offer? ithrew it out allready and getting nervous about the change?

Did Citi in the past report the old account's history in the new account? I don't want to lose the credit history of the old account.

Just got this in the mail aswell. I'm going to go ahead and do the "upgrade". I've wanted paypass.

Here is mine, it is better than my current card.

Dividend Platinum to Citi Dividend World Mastercard

Same 2% on usual stuffs, 1% other

extra stuffs on top
-No preset spending limit
-Auto Insurance
-Lost Luggage Coverage
-Trip cancellation coverage
-Roadside Assistance
-Price Protection within 60 days
-Theft, fire or accidental breakage coverage
-Paypass
-Personal Concierge service
-no annual fee

I also got this offer. I may take it for the "Personal Concierge" service.

Enjoy exclusive complimentary 24/7 assistance with dinner reservations, entertainment and travel recommendations, and other helpful services around the world.

The only caveat is kind of expected:

The cost of any goods or services purchased in this program would be billed directly to the cardholder's World MasterCard card.

Does anyone have any experience with the World MasterCard concierge? How does it compare to services offered by other cards?

janwad said: I just got my conversion notice. The main thing I noticed is the new card will have 'pay pass' so it broadcasts your info and you can just tap a reader instead of swiping the card.

No thanks, no way. My dividend card is one of my oldest and I hate to lose it.

It says the 'no preset spending limit' just means that each billing cycle, you have to pay off the amount that you spend over your actual limit.

Received the letter also.

I think that this is just a ploy to get cards over to contactless payments. I've used my AMEX blue RFID 0 times, I would image this would be the same.

Lose credit line reporting like Citi Premierpass
Gain "pay pass"

Sticking with the old until forced to switch.

Got the same letter.
I've had my Diamond Preferred for about 3 years and still get the 5%, so it would definitely be a bad deal if the new card lowered it to 2% or 1%. However, the letter does specifically say that you will continue to earn TY points "at the same rate" as you do today. I suppose if they lowered it, we could point to this letter and contest it. Not sure if I will upgrade yet.
Also, the letter also explains the no preset spending limit thing. Seems like there is a limit as before, except that you can go over it up to an amount that is determined by how "good" you've been... and also the amount over the limit has to be paid back on the next due date. I.e. you can go over the limit, but you can't keep a balance over your limit. My take anyway.

Are you guys getting a new credit card number with this offer? I received the same letter for the conversion, but I also got the new credit card on the same day and it has a new number on it. Wondering if accepting the offer would affect average age and credit score- It's not clear if they are cancelling the old account and issuing a new one or just changing the existing one.

I check the Citi site and did not see the Citi Dividend World MasterCard listed. Don't really see the added benefits the way that I use my card. Looks like a lot of "available" services that are just billed to your card at high rates I presume. If the Cash Back % was higher, then maybe, but since its the same, I'll pass.

FatNYC said: I still have the old Dividend card that gives me 5% back in TY points for gas, groceries, pharmacy, etc.I assume that you mean your old Dividend card gives you 5% CashBack, not 5% back in TY points.

gizmotoy said: Although it is possible that these will not show up as another tradeline, you'd have to call Citi to confirm. It is possible to get a new account number while retaining your original account opening date, which may be important to maintain your credit score. Citi lets you jump around between cards pretty freely. My wife's switched cards 2 times now and still maintains her original account opening date even though it is a new physical account number.YMMV, but my experience was the same. I switched from Platinum Select *Visa* to Diamond Preferred Rewards *AMEX*, and still have the account history. The only thing that changed was the number on the credit report.

You can downgrade to regular Diamond Preferred Card that has a limit. I feel the no limit on card really hurts the FICO score.

IHaveACold said: Alrighty, after spending 20-minute on the phone with an oversea CSR who insisted on selling me low-interest transfer and credit-monitoring reports instead of answering my concerns with the credit limit with the world mastercard, I was put through to his account manager. The manager told me plainly that Citi don't report credit limit and highest balance for world cards. While he said he doesn't know if that'd affect my credit score, he said the only way to have those information reported is by converting to other cards. I pulled my Equifax report and indeed both categories showed $0.

I did some research and it appears that if I keep this card w/o using it, it shouldn't have a negative impact on my credit score. Of course, if I am wrong, feel free to correct me. Thanks.