Citi retention offer: A quick call got me 3X ThankYou points everywhere (up to 35K)
I’ve written how everyone with a Citi card should call at least once a year and check for a Citi retention offer – particularly if the card has an annual fee.
My Citi Prestige annual fee recently posted. I called, and no joy. This week, the fee on my beloved AT&T Access More card posted, so I called again.
This time, I got my favorite retention offer so far: an extra 2X Citi ThankYou points on all spending, with a max of 35,000 points.
That breaks down to 3X points per $1 spent on up to $17,500 spent in non-bonus categories. And 5X points per $1 spent for online purchases (which are a bonus category with this card). Wow.
Gosh I love this card
I immediately queued up mortgage, HOA, and car payments with Plastiq (because it’s a MasterCard, which you can use for those payments) and moved the card into my wallet – a place it hasn’t been for a looong time.
3X Citi ThankYou points for everyday spending is an awesome return. I value that at 6% assuming each point is worth 2 cents each.
Morever, earning an extra 35,000 ThankYou points is worth $700 to me by that same metric. AND this card earns an extra 10,000 Citi ThankYou points when you spend at least $10,000 in a cardmember year. Because this offer will also trigger that bonus, I value it for an additional $200.
So yes, this quick call recouped the card’s $95 annual fee nearly 10 times over. And is a great reminder why you should always always call Citi about retention offers.
Note: The Citi AT&T Access More card is no longer available. Nope, not even for product changes.
Citi retention offer details
I noticed a few new things with this call, which was very similar to Middle Age Miles’ call on their Citi Premier card.
For one, I’d heard you could accidentally close a card through the automated system if you say “close card” so I said “representative” and got an agent pretty fast.
I explained the fee had just posted on my card and I wasn’t using it as much (which is true now that I’m using the Citi Double Cash for mortgage payments through Plastiq). The agent asked, “Do you want to close it?”
So I said, “Well, I’m thinking about it… do you have any bonus offers available if I keep it?”
She replied, “I can only transfer you to check if you say YES, you want to cancel.”
That kinda gave me pause. My thought is too many cards were canceled through the automated system so now they need verbal confirmation before they do it. I didn’t want to say it. But I did. “Yes, close the card.” 
