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Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 03-29-2005 10:55 I am considering changing credit cards to one that has "any seat any airline" in their travel program. I have 2 airline programs Delta and AA but trying to get seats are getting difficult. Capital One has changed their program and the mileage requirements seem very high for international travel. Anyone have any input on the Citibank Premier? Not sure if this is a new program or one that has been around awhile.. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Can't beat the knowledge that is on this Tug website. Thanks, Linda IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 03-29-2005 15:07 We switched our AA credit card to a Citi PremierPass Elite, which is fairly new. Don't know how well it works and was unable to find any firsthand info, but figure we'll give it a whirl and if it isn't very good, we'll switch it back to the AA card. You get a bonus of 15K points, so that's a big lump. Hope it's as easy to redeem for flights as they make it sound. Time will tell. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
dneuser TUG Member Posts: 163 From: carmel, ny Registered: Feb 2003	posted 03-30-2005 06:12 Here's what I found on their website as "samples" of points for tickets value. This is much better than Capital One's program because it still uses Miles and not $ as the basis of a purchase I couldn't line these up horizontally without playing with it a lot - but line 1 of the awards conincides with line 1 of the points level. This maps pretty closely to an airline mileage program. Quote: Citi AIRLINE TRAVEL AWARDS Restricted Ticket (Coach) - US 48 and Canada Restricted Ticket (Coach) - Mexico and Caribbean Restricted Ticket (Coach) - Central America Restricted Ticket (Coach) - Hawaii and Alaska Restricted Ticket (Coach) - Europe Unrestricted Ticket (Coach) - US 48 and Canada Restricted Ticket (Business) - US 48 and Canada Unrestricted Ticket (Coach) - Mexico and Caribbean Restricted Ticket (Business) - C. America Restricted Ticket (Business) - Mexico and Caribbean Restricted Ticket (Coach) - Asia Unrestricted Ticket (Coach) - Hawaii and Alaska Restricted Ticket (Business) - Hawaii and Alaska Restricted Ticket (Coach) - S. America Unrestricted Ticket (Business) - US 48 and Canada Restricted Ticket (Coach) - South Pacific Unrestricted Ticket (Business) - Caribbean Unrestricted Ticket (Business) - Mexico Unrestricted Ticket (Business) - Hawaii and Alaska Restricted Ticket (Business) - S. America Restricted Ticket (Business) - Asia Restricted Ticket (Business) - Europe Unrestricted Ticket (Coach) - Continental Europe Unrestricted Ticket (Business) - Continental Europe POINT LEVEL 25,000 30,000 35,000 35,000 50,000 50,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 70,000 75,000 90,000 90,000 100,000 120,000 120,000 150,000 160,000 165,000 165,000 180,000 300,000 Business and Coach Class Tickets to other destinations fulfilled through Your Wish Fulfilled. First Class Tickets to any destination fulfilled through Your Wish Fulfilled. Restricted tickets require a 14 day advance purchase and Saturday night stay." IP: Logged
Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 03-31-2005 07:30 Thanks for the info...THe mileage requirement for Citibank is so much lower than Capital One. I use these miles for Cabo and most tickets are in the $700 range ..56000 miles using Capital. OUCH!! I will try it and see how it goes!! Any ideas on how to keep my AA miles "active"?? I believe they expire if nothing goes thru this account in 3 years. I never worried before as I was alway charging with the AA citibank.. Thanks again.. Linda IP: Logged
dneuser TUG Member Posts: 163 From: carmel, ny Registered: Feb 2003	posted 03-31-2005 11:42 I don't know if this will work for you, but I plan to keep my AA Citi card and make small, occassional purchases on it to keep my miles active and until I get to an even number that I know I can hold on to for three years and still redeem. Word of caution on the Citi Premium Elite: You can only redeem flight points that are less than or equal to your purchase points. In other words, if you wanted to cash in 30,000 points for a trip to Mexico, you can't use more than 15K flight points to get it. I think that is to prevent you from using the Citi Thanks You awards like a FF account. They want you to make other purchases in addition to airline tickets and that's how they incent you. They also want to encourage people to use the card for purchases usually made with cash -- like groceries, gas and parking fees. When you think about it, that's one of the few untapped or less-tapped areas where Americans can expand their credit card usage which is Citibank's goal. Now, assuming you have good credit and can pay the card bill off every month, this isn't a bad deal for the consumer but if you're someone who barely makes his minimim payment every month, you could get into big trouble trying to gather more points than you can afford. IP: Logged
Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 03-31-2005 14:36 CASH what is that?? I charge everything!! Luckily we can pay the balance at the end of the month. Thanks about the info on the Thank you points!! I was abit confused on these. I would hope that point balances are separated on the monthly bill. Linda.... AKA the "frequent flyer mileage addict". I drive my husband NUTS!!! IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 03-31-2005 21:37 Linda, there are a gazillion ways to keep your AA miles fresh. Do you participate in their Dine Out program? All you have to do is eat one meal every 3 years in one of the restaurants listed in the quarterly guide. They send updates of new added restaurants periodically. We make a point of having a meal at one of these places everytime we're on vacation. That way, not only do we earn miles, but we can keep the AA miles from expiring. For us, it presents absolutely no problem that only half of redeemed miles for a flight can be flight miles. We follow the overwhelming pattern that most frequent flyers do, in that the vast majority of our miles are earned on the ground, not in the air. We put literally everything on our credit card (since I moved to FL, there are so many more monthly recurring expenses that can be put on our card, such as our sewer and water bill, electric bill, and cable) and it adds up really fast. I love the double points for gas stations, supermarkets, and parking. The only way this card isn't going to work is if redeeming points for flights turns out to be problematic. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 04-05-2005 07:03 Thanks everyone...I just have to wait for this Citibank Elite card to arrive and hope it is all they said it would be. Cat..thanks for your info too. I never paid much attention to the dine around program but with 200,000 miles in the AA account I do not want to forfeit them back. When my new card arrives I will sign up. One of the restaurants listed is a great pizza place we go which is close to home. I just hope that the list of restaurants provided are up to date... IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 04-05-2005 17:37 Linda, they keep them pretty much up to date on the website. Be sure to check before you go to make sure they're awarding miles on the day you go. Some of the listed restaurants don't give them on weekends, so just make certain that your visit will count. We've had good luck with almost every restaurant we've tried from the list when we go somewhere on vacation. Also, the Dining program offers extra miles sometimes. Be sure to sign up for the emails that keep you current with all the promotions. Beside keeping your miles up-to-date, it's a great way to stock up a few more painlessly. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
andrea t TUG Member Posts: 70 From: Commack, N.Y. Disney OKW Marriott Aruba Surf Club Registered: Dec 2000	posted 04-06-2005 09:16 Did I understand corectly...when you call to redeem miles accumulated for an airline ticket, if there's a ticket available, it's yours...no quotas and staying up till midnight 300 and some days out!!!! I must have something wrong here because it seems to good to be true. To get an anytime ticket on my Delta Amex, it's almost double the points. Hm....maybe it's time to get rid of the Delta card. I just hope I can use the miles before the airline goes belly up! Someone, please confirm that I understand this correctly! Thank you! IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 04-21-2005 12:37 Update on this card. The 15K bonus points for signing up never posted to my account. On the website, it says they will be put into your account 8-10 weeks after your first purchase. It's been about 12 weeks for us, and I called today. No record of any 15K bonus. I was put through to the points line, and they bounced me back to customer service. Customer service said they'll have to "look into it" and I will have to call back in 2 days. UGH!!!!! Why do these offers have to turn out to mean loads of work, aggravation and time just to get what's promised? Drives me up a tree! I'll post when the points are awarded, which better be pronto. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 04-28-2005 21:42 Another update: When no one called me back and the points were still not there, I called and spoke to a supervisor, who said that since we used the same acct number as when we had an American AAdvantage card, it was considered "a conversion," and as such, was not eligible to receive the bonus points. "No conversions are ever eligible for new account bonus points." I read to him the line that says that all "new Citibank PremierPass Elite accounts" will receive the 15K bonus points. Since we had to get new cards, and since we had to pay $75, and since the statement shows the start date of this account as February, it was indeed a new Citibank PremierPass Elite account. There is no indication that if you keep the same account number, it's not considered a new account. THEY were the ones who advised me to keep it! Also told him that today was the very first time anyone had mentioned the term "conversion" to me. That I have had this card for almost 3 months, and no one ever said that I was not eligible for the bonus. He initiated "a dispute" regarding the bonus points, and I'm supposed to hear within 10 days about whether or not they'll deign to give me what they owe me. If not, I'll just keep going over the naysayer's head to the next person, and tell them I'm initiating a complaint with the Attorney General of the state in which the main office is located about their bait-and-switch tactics. Stay tuned... ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 04-30-2005 07:13 Hi Cat.... Thanks for the update. What account number do you mean remained the same?? I opened the elite citibank closed out the old AA citibank and now have a new citibank number. Are they going to consider this a conversion?? I am really getting too old to go to battle but I will if I do not see those bonus miles posted within a few weeks. Thanks... Linda IP: Logged
sandi TUG Member Posts: 58 From: so.glastonbury, ct usa Registered: Dec 2000	posted 04-30-2005 16:58 I had exactly the same problem with my Continental frequent flyer card. After 6 months I did not get the "bonus" points promised for changing to the card from another card at the same bank, even though it was initially promised. I wish you luck ------------------ pueblo bonito mazatlan and sunset beach; westin regina pv IP: Logged
Andi TUG Member Posts: 81 From: Foley, Alabama, USA Registered: Jan 2001	posted 05-04-2005 20:05 Cat was the $75 fee an annual fee or a one time thing. If it is a one time fee do they have an annual fee? IP: Logged
dneuser TUG Member Posts: 163 From: carmel, ny Registered: Feb 2003	posted 05-05-2005 06:46 Cat: I'm curious. Was your previous CitiBank card a Visa or a MasterCard? I think that's where they get you. I have held on to my original AA Citibank Visa card despite their constant barrage of calls and offers insisting the MC was a better deal for me. I won't give up my only remaining Visa card since it is still the most widely accepted card in Europe. Last month I opened a Citibank Premier Platinum Master Card. I hope they don't try to tell me it's the same account and try to deny me the extra points when they have been bombarding me with offers to take this new card and touting the bonus benefit. IP: Logged
Linda711 TUG Member Posts: 95 From: New England/owner Playa Grande,Cabo San Lucas,Mexico Registered: Jul 2002	posted 05-05-2005 21:12 I just received my first statement for my Premier Elite card and it reflects the 15000 bonus credits. Am I happy.... Linda IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 05-16-2005 18:44 Linda, glad it turned out for you. If you got an entirely different card number, you shouldn't have had a problem. An update: The 15K miles did finally post to my account on Friday. I'm happy that it did, although it should not have taken as much as it did to get them to give what was promised. So the next thing that remains to be seen is how easy it's going to be to redeem the points for airline tix. BTW, for the poster who asked, the fee is $75 annually, not one time only. They charge it again on the anniversary date of the account. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 05-17-2005 22:22 Diane - both the AA credit card and the Citibank PremierPass Elite cards are MasterCards. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged
dneuser TUG Member Posts: 163 From: carmel, ny Registered: Feb 2003	posted 05-18-2005 06:16 deleted by dneuser - [This message has been edited by dneuser (edited 05-18-2005).] IP: Logged
scotlass TUG Member Posts: 336 From: MA Registered: Apr 2001	posted 05-19-2005 10:04 Has anyone applied for and received AA points for BankDirect? They are offering 1000 miles for signing up for a checking account, and 5000 for direct deposit? Wondered if they are legit. IP: Logged
Cat Moderator TUG Volunteer Posts: 3362 From: Now in sunny Florida! Registered: Dec 2000	posted 05-20-2005 15:31 Nancy, I'd be inclined to research it through the American website (www.aa.com) and if it appears there, it's legit. From experience, such as the one above, when it comes to miles or points, on occasion you have to bug them. But usually, they come through without any problem. ------------------ --Cat IP: Logged

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