Posts Tagged ‘Citibank’
CitiBusiness AAdvantage Visa Credit Card Review
The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® is a credit card essentially designed for businesses that have employees who need to travel regularly. The card is loaded with perks (esp for a business credit card) but almost all of them revolve around travel rewards.
With this card you’ll have the option to choose a MasterCard or Visa. The business expenses paid for with this card convert into AAdvantage bonus air miles and for every dollar you spend, an American Airlines mile is earned. If a ticket is purchased using the card, this reward is doubled. Also, if the first purchase is at least $250, the cardholder can earn an extra 20,000 points and purchases totaling at least $750 in the first four months translate to 25,000 bones miles.
CitiBusiness AAdvantage Credit Card Features:
- Earn 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after you make $750 in purchases within the first 4 months of becoming a cardmember*
- $75 annual fee waived for the first 12 months of cardmembership*
- Earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on purchases, and AAdvantage® miles may never expire*
- Earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles faster from purchases made on your employee accounts*
- No blackout dates on AAdvantage® award travel on American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® carrier*
- Get a response to your online application in as little as 60 seconds
This card ranks within BankVibe.com’s top 5 credit cards for business.
Great Balance Transfer Credit Card from CitiBank
The Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® is currently featured as the #1 option for balance transfer cards in our database. If you are looking to pay off some credit card debt and reduce your interest payments, then you may want to consider swapping the balance on your current credit card to one with a 0% APR intro period such as this offer from CitiBank.
Features of Citi’s Platinum Select MasterCard:
-0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months and 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 11.99%-19.99% based upon your creditworthiness. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate*
- Extra Cash from Citi: enjoy discounts on gift cards,travel, merchandise and more
- Citi® Identity Theft Solutions
- Secure, free online account management
Another noteworthy offer from CitiBank – If you are in the market for a 0% APR intro balance card AND one with some decent rewards, you may also want to check out the Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card. It comes with 6,000 bonus points after you sign up and spend at least $300 in the first 3 months.
Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Credit Card Review
If you’re in the market for a true rewards credit card, then you’ll want to check out Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card as it’s currently one of the best on the market. The perks you’ll receive with everyday use of this card are substantial. Perhaps the biggest advantage of having this card is the fact that you can earn an industry best 5 points for every dollar you spend at supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores (“everyday purchase items”) for the first 12 months upon receiving this card. You can also earn 1 point for every dollar you spend on other purchases and you’ll be able to earn up to 75,000 points in a year (points expire in 5 years).
Here are the noteworthy features of this card:
Sign Up Bonus! – For a limited time you’ll get 6,000 bonus points as an incentive to sign up. To receive these points you must spend $300 within the first three months.
APR – 0% APR for the first 12 months of opening this card! The APR after the 12 month promotional period will vary based on your credit. To calculate your APR this card uses the average daily balance method. Keep in mind this includes new purchases. There are also NO ANNUAL FEES with this card.
If you have decent credit and are looking for a balance transfer credit card, then this card may also be beneficial to your needs. You can use the 0% APR intro year to pay off transferred debt.
ThankYou Redemptions Network Program by CitiBank – The reward program for this card falls under Citi’s ThankYou Network reward program. Keep in mind that to redeem any rewards for travel, you’ll have to book your travel through Citi’s travel website. This should be fairly simple though as their travel website is actually powered by Expedia.com. It uses their travel planning and booking format so you can still easily shop around for the best deals and get coupons and discounts. 100 points is worth $1 off any travel expenses.
Quick Facts:
- $50 gift card – Redeem 6,000 bonus points after $300 in purchases within 3 months of account opening
- 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on creditworthiness*. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
- 5 ThankYou® Points for every $1 spent on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations for 12 months, 1 ThankYou Point thereafter**
- Redeem ThankYou Points for merchandise, travel rewards, gift cards, cash and more
- No annual fee
Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students
Here is a superb credit card designed for the younger crowd looking to establish a credit history as well as earn some decent cash back rewards. It’s called the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card and it comes with an introductory rewards offer of 5% cash back as well as an introductory APR of 0%.
The credit limit issued with this card will depend on your credit history however, as you continue to pay off debt responsibly your credit limit will rise.
This card was specifically designed for college students as it’s primary features aim to educate one on fiscal responsibility and it’s incentives reinforce this goal.
Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Credit Card Features:
- 5% introductory Reward Offer – earn cash back when you use this card at gas stations, grocery stores, etc. You can also receive cash back when paying for utilities and other regular monthly expenses. The 5% promotional period lasts for 6 months which is followed by 2% thereafter as well as 1% on all other purchases. The 5% cash back promotion is geared towards typical college expenses, therefor try and do the majority of your spending within the first 6 months of obtaining this credit card.
- 0% introductory APR – on all purchases for 7 months. In order to qualify for this benefit you must have established somewhat of a decent credit history. Although this is a great bonus feature for a credit card, it doesn’t exactly fit with the college target market as many students have not yet established any credit worthiness.
- Fiscal Responsibility and Credit Education – Visit CitiBank’s “Use Credit Wisely” page to use valuable credit tools and plan monthly budgets.
- Applying for this credit card – If you’re under the age of 21 obtaining this credit card may be difficult to the recent CARD ACT which was established last February. However, there are no co-signer or minimum income obligations with this card as it is primarily aimed at building a foundation for an optimum credit score.
- Any Fees? – No annual fee, however, there are some rather high APRs (ranging 16%-20%) as well as late fees (set up in tiers based on number of days late). Be sure to pay your bill on time and in full! This is not an ideal card for carrying a monthly balance!
Top 5 Least Trusted Banks in the United States
An interesting poll was conducted by The New York Times and reiterated on Yahoo’s Finance section yesterday regarding the level of trust consumers place in their current bank. Perhaps not surprisingly, the larger banks fared much worse than the smaller institutions.
The Report: (As seen in Yahoo’s Financial Section)
Forrester’s annual Customer Advocacy rankings, ranks nearly 50 financial services firms in the United States by the percentage of each firm’s customers who agree with the statement: “My financial provider does what’s best for me, not just its own bottom line.” The results are based on a survey of about 4,500 consumers.
The Results:
As we mentioned above, the largest institutions performed terribly in this study and have apparently been performing poorly in these regards for the last seven years (even before the bank collapse of 2008).
“…large banks have generally been at the bottom of the list since the survey was initiated seven years ago, and many of the banks have alternated between the bottom spots year to year…”
Top 5 Least Trusted Banks in the Country:
1) HSBC – Among HSBC customers, only 16 percent said they agreed with the statement.
2) CitiBank – Among CitiBank customers, 26 percent said they agreed with the statement.
3) Fifth Third – Among Fifth Third customers, 27 percent said they agreed with the statement.
4) TD/Commerce – Among TD/Commerce customers, 28 percent said they agreed with the statement.
5) Capital One – Among Capital One customers, 29 percent said they agreed with the statement.
These results coincidentally came out only a couple of weeks after President Obama’s proposal to send the repaid TARP money to small banks.
0% APR for 9 months with CitiBank credit card
Below is a fairly nice credit card deal offered by CitiBank. Thanks to BankVibe reader Jeff for submitting us this offer! Currently, if you are approved for a new Citi Platinum Select Mastercard you can expect the following benefits…
- 0% APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for up to 9 months (note that this is based on your application and credit history)
- Purchase APR as low as variable 11.99%, based on your application and credit history.
- $0 Liability on unauthorized purchases
- Online Discounts with Extra Cash from Citi
- No Annual Fee
- The 0% APR does not apply to Cash Advances
- The 0% APR may increase if you default under any cardmember agreement you have with us because you pay us late, go over your credit limit or have a returned check
- Balance Transfer fee applies with this offer
- Your payments will be applied to low APR balances before higher ones
- Length of your introductory period will be either 0% for 9 months from the date of account opening on purchases and balance transfers, or 7 months from the date of account opening on purchases and balance transfers based on our review of your application and credit history.
- After the promotional period ends, the standard purchase APR will be applied to all balances.
- The standard variable APR for purchases is either 11.99% Rate 1, 15.99% Rate 2 or 19.99% Rate 3 in that order based on our review of your application and credit history, standard APR for cash advances – 21.99%. However, all your APRs (including any promotional APRs) may increase as permitted by law to the 29.99% variable default rate if you pay us late, go over the credit line, or make a payment to us that is not honored.
- Minimum finance charge – $0.50. Fee for Foreign Purchases — 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase made outside the U.S. Cash advance fee — 3.0% of cash advance amount, $5 minimum. Balance transfer fee — 3.0% of balance transfer amount, $5 minimum.
Citibank CD rates and review
Citi is organized into two major segments, CitiCorp and Citi Holdings. CitiCorp is responsible for the consumer banking products in which the US population can purchase. These include mortgages, credit cards, savings products, auto loans, as well as other financial vehicles. Citi Holdings has a 49% stake in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which offers a variety of “retail alternative investments.”
Citi claims to be today’s pre-eminent financial services company, with some 200 million customer accounts in more than 100 countries. Their history dates back to the founding of Citibank in 1812, Bank Handlowy in 1870, Smith Barney in 1873, Banamex in 1884, and Salomon Brothers in 1910.
Current CD (certificate of deposit) rates offered by CitiBank:
(rates as of December 7, 2009)
- 3 month CD yields interest rate of 0.25%, and 0.25% APY
- 6 month CD yields interest rate of 0.50%, and 0.50% APY
- 9 month CD yields interest rate of 0.50%, and 0.50% APY
- 12 month CD yields interest rate of 1.04%, and 1.05% APY
- 18 month CD yields interest rate of 1.19%, and 1.20% APY
- 2 year CD yields interest rate of 1.49%, and 1.50% APY
- 3 year CD yields interest rate of 1.73%, and 1.75% APY
- 4 year CD yields interest rate of 1.98%, and 2.00% APY
- 5 year CD yields interest rate of 2.47%, and 2.50% APY
Rates apply only to accounts opened online or by calling 1-800-374-9500. A penalty will be imposed for early withdrawal of principal. Fees may reduce earnings. APY assumes interest earned is kept in the CD for the full term. Minimum opening deposit is $500.
To receive a premium rate for your Certificate of Deposit, you must have a linked checking account in the Citigold® Account Package, and the checking account must be your primary account.
Contact:
Phone: (800) 374-9500
Website: CitiBank.com
Address: Citibank Client Services. Citi Inquiries. 100 Citibank Drive. San Antonio, TX 78245
Tags: Citibank
Best 5 year CD rates paying 3.80% APY
The best 5 year CD’s (certificates of deposit) which are nationally available are currently paying 3.80% APY. However, depending on where you live you may be able to find slightly better interest rates.
The top 5 year CD (nationally available) currently goes to Melrose Credit Union. Since Melrose Credit Union has an open New York State charter there are no geographic or group affiliation field of membership restrictions. So, regardless of where you live or how you earn a living, you may qualify for membership.
Membership Requirements for Melrose Credit Union:
There is a $1.00 one time membership fee and a minimum opening deposit of $25.00. The minimum deposit required to open their certificates of deposit is $5000. Individuals must provide:
- Valid Photo ID (Driver’s License, Non-Driver ID, Passport)
- Proof of Address (Utility Bill)
- Social Security Number
Rebuilding credit with CitiBank’s Secured MasterCard
For those in the credit building phase and whom perhaps also would like open a high yield savings account, CitiBanks’s new secured MasterCard + 18 month CD (certificate of deposit) offer may be just the right tool. This offer gives you the opportunity to knock down both of these birds with one stone.
Review BankVibe.com’s Top 3 Credit Cards for Rebuilding Credit!
Here is what you get… You open a CD account with an amount of between $200 to $25,000 and you will then be issued a secured credit card through CitiBank with that amount as your spending limit. They report your account performance to major credit bureaus, and after 18 months, you could become eligible for an unsecured Citi Platinum Select credit card. Meanwhile, you’ll earn a competitive annual interest rate on your CD. Here is what we particularly like about this account, the 18 month CD you purchase comes with an unheard of interest rate of 4.17% APY. To put this offer in perspective the current national average for 24 month CD’s sits at roughly half this rate.
Build Your Credit History
With no minimum income or co-signer required, it’s simple to qualify for this credit card, so you can start building a record of account performance for future borrowing purposes.
Important Credit Card statistics:
- $29 annual fee
- 13.24% APR variable credit limit
CitiBank checking account: $100 sign up bonus!
Here is another great checking account bonus, this time offered through CitiBank. Many thanks to BankVibe reader Sean for submitting this one to us!
Offer Code: CE1Q
Currently Citibank is offering new customers whom open a checking account and complete a few “qualifying activities” a $100 sign up bonus! This is one of the better bank deals we have seen lately. I guess they (CitiBank) felt they needed to compete with Chase Bank’s checking account bonus offer which has been plastered on billboards and television commercials throughout the country over the last few months.
Here are the “Qualifying Activities” one must complete:
- Open a Citibank regular checking account in a qualifying package by 09/30/2009 and deposit a minimum of $1,000.
- Within the first month of opening your account, start making: at least one (1) monthly direct deposit into your checking account; or at least two (2) electronic bill payments each month from your account; or five (5) or more qualifying non-PIN debit card purchase transactions each month using your Citibank debit card and continue doing so for three (3) consecutive months and get $100 deposited into your new account.
- Use the offer code: CE1Q
Benefits of Checking through CitiBank:
-Citibank offers “fee free use” ATM use in over 23,000 ATM’s nationwide. This includes the 5,700 ATMs CitiBank occupies in 7-Elevens.
- Free online bill pay
- Free mobile banking with “Citi-Mobile”
- Free identity theft solutions
