Annual fees have just hit my account for two Citibank credit cards: the Platinum American Airlines Visa and the Thank You Premier Mastercard. The fee on each card is $95. I’ve called Citibank a few times, and here are the results:
The Platinum AA Visa: In prior years, I always received some offer, be it a spend or a statement credit, or some combination. This year, there is no offer on my file. I have the AA American Express card and right now I do not need more AA miles, so I will cancel the card.
Thank You Premier Mastercard: I received my choice of two similar offers.
- First offer: spend $3000 within 3 months and they’ll give me a statement credit of $95.
- Second offer: spend $1000 per month for the next 3 months, and they’ll give me a statement credit of $95 and 1,000 thank you points.
I chose the first offer, as I usually like to get my spend over with as quickly as possible, and the 1000 thank you points wasn’t enough of an incentive to sway me to the second offer.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Do you have advice on when the best time to call and ask for a retention offer is? Before or after the annual fee hits? Thanks in advance!
I’m pretty sure that Dr. of Credit wrote a post on this.