Beware: Offer of QFF Points by Citibank Ready Credit

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mick

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I have to say that with all I've read about Citibank's customer service (or lack thereof), I still braved it and took them up on the Ready Credit offer that was sent to me as a Qantas promotion for 4,000 QFF points a couple of months ago. When I called Citibank to confirm the conditions of Ready Credit, they said they could open the account over the phone instead of me submitting it by post, which I agreed to.

During the very lengthy process, "something happened" with the computers at Citibank and they couldn't process my application at that time and that I was to call back the next day and try again. Grrr... :x OK, so I do that and it all seems to be OK and I confirm that the offer was for Qantas points, even though they were pushing the 4.9% balance transfer over and over (which does not interest me at all). Yes, yes, you will get the points, they told me. When the terms and conditions were played back to me, there was mention of having to be a QFF to receive points, etc., however, I should've smelt a rat when they didn't ask for my QFF number during the application process.

I receive confirmation that my application was approved (with an extremely generous credit limit) and that I'd receive my card in the post in a few days. Well, it doesn't arrive - and neither do the QFF points. I call them back and discover they stuffed up my address and so they mail the card back out to the proper address. When asked about the points, they said they will have to investigate the matter further, but they can take 4-6 weeks to credit.

I called back several times thereafter and I discover last Friday that they didn't process the application with the Qantas promotion code and was therefore ineligible for points. I told them I wasn't interested in balance transfers (they kept pushing it) and that I'd close the account because they had mislead me. After being shuffled around explaining my story three times to different people, they then put me through to their account closures department. They just wouldn't budge. Before they closed the account, they asked me again if I wanted to take advantage of the balance transfer offer!!! At Citibank, the left hand really has no idea what the right hand is doing. It's just plain nonsense.

It was a chore dealing with them right from the start and they certainly were relentless in ensuring I wasn't satisfied. The annoying thing is that I'm heading overseas in July and really needed an instrument like RC.

The time and effort really was not worth the 4,000 points I didn't get! Make sure the promotion code (Q1QY5HYA) and your QFF number is quoted if you choose this method to apply.

Does anyone know if there is a local Citibank point of contact I can complain to (or is it just not worth it)?
 
Mick, I have had need to contact Citibank over non-credited FF points for "referral" members and I was given a Team Leader's name (based in Sydney) by a friend on Flyertalk. I contacted him by email and he credited the points (a not insignificant number, as I had referred 7 people to Gold or Platinum), after a short investigation. If you want his name, drop me a private message and I'll give you his contact details.
 
mick, also be aware that since you applied for the card and they offered it with a generous credit limit, you may find it more difficult to get credit in the future. It is my understanding that your credit reference will still show that you applied for, and were granted, a significant amount of credit. It will not show that you cancelled the credit facility soon after.

This can be a big downside of chopping and changing credit cards on a regular basis. It is also why CC companies want to offer you the largest amount of credit they can. In many cases you don't a specific amount, they just tell you what has been approved. They want to lock you in by making your credit reference look less attractive to other credit providers.
 
mick said:
I have to say that with all I've read about Citibank's customer service (or lack thereof), I still braved it and took them up on the Ready Credit offer that was sent to me as a Qantas promotion for 4,000 QFF points a couple of months ago. When I called Citibank to confirm the conditions of Ready Credit, they said they could open the account over the phone instead of me submitting it by post, which I agreed to.

During the very lengthy process, "something happened" with the computers at Citibank and they couldn't process my application at that time and that I was to call back the next day and try again. Grrr... :x OK, so I do that and it all seems to be OK and I confirm that the offer was for Qantas points, even though they were pushing the 4.9% balance transfer over and over (which does not interest me at all). Yes, yes, you will get the points, they told me. When the terms and conditions were played back to me, there was mention of having to be a QFF to receive points, etc., however, I should've smelt a rat when they didn't ask for my QFF number during the application process.

I receive confirmation that my application was approved (with an extremely generous credit limit) and that I'd receive my card in the post in a few days. Well, it doesn't arrive - and neither do the QFF points. I call them back and discover they stuffed up my address and so they mail the card back out to the proper address. When asked about the points, they said they will have to investigate the matter further, but they can take 4-6 weeks to credit.

I called back several times thereafter and I discover last Friday that they didn't process the application with the Qantas promotion code and was therefore ineligible for points. I told them I wasn't interested in balance transfers (they kept pushing it) and that I'd close the account because they had mislead me. After being shuffled around explaining my story three times to different people, they then put me through to their account closures department. They just wouldn't budge. Before they closed the account, they asked me again if I wanted to take advantage of the balance transfer offer!!! At Citibank, the left hand really has no idea what the right hand is doing. It's just plain nonsense.

It was a chore dealing with them right from the start and they certainly were relentless in ensuring I wasn't satisfied. The annoying thing is that I'm heading overseas in July and really needed an instrument like RC.

The time and effort really was not worth the 4,000 points I didn't get! Make sure the promotion code (Q1QY5HYA) and your QFF number is quoted if you choose this method to apply.

Does anyone know if there is a local Citibank point of contact I can complain to (or is it just not worth it)?

I am thinking of flying to the Philippines to have a look in the jungle for the Citibank call centre and maybe i will apply for a job with them to see what the problem is.
 
I applied for ready credit at the Sydney Airport. Got the card and the points without any issues. Then I called to get a bal transfer. They said they can send me a cheque. Great.

But the cheque did not arrive for a month, but I got a statement for that amount and was asked to pay the minimum amount due! I asked them to cancel the cheque, as I did not need the money at that point. They did that.

They are not the easiest bank to deal with!
 
It's a common story

The lack of response or the lack of frequent flyer points from Citibank is a all too common story.

I applied via the web, was approved, again with a very nice limit. The approval was done with some issues, mainly due to the fact there representatives didn't speak good english.

After 8 weeks there were no frequent flyer points so I called them and they said they would lodge a complaint. At the time of doing so I was told I may receive a call back in 2 weeks. I demanded this was not acceptable and expected to speak to someone now, after some pishing I did speak to someone. They were just as useless as everyone else at Citibank.

The point were credited but no follow up from them and despite me trying to get follow up from them it lead to nothing. I've just given up and ended up getting 8000 points from them, double what I should have.

I will keep the line fo credit until I get back from overseas in July, once I do I see no need for the line of credit so will cancel it and say good bye to bad customer service.

I thought some other companies had poor service, but Citibank takes the cake!
 
I opened my ReadyCredit account just before the QF points promotion so have no experience in that matter. I opened mine for two reasons:
  • Good exchange rate and no additional fees for foreign ATM cash withdrawls, so I now use it exclusively for overseas cash access
  • Cheque book with no additonal fees (only government stamp duty) and no annual fee
I use BPay to transfer funds into my ReadyCredit account before any cash or cheque withdrawls so I don't pay any interest.

Although I have a huge amonut of credit available, I still use it as a debit card. But if applying for a loan of any sort, it would have to be shown as a potential debt since it is available credit, so that might catch me out some time in the future. But my use is low and I can live without it if I need to close it later.

I have not had any need to call their customer service staff. But I have received multiple phone calls from them trying to get me to take out their credit insurance policy, which I refuse based on the way I use the card. I have not had a phone call from them for about 6 months now, but they keep including a booklet on this insurance with every statement they post me.
 
Lindsay, have sent you a pm - thanks.

NM, you're quite right about those limits - which is why I'm a little miffed that they've given me a high limit which I now can't use (because I've closed the account out of frustration and principle). A little while ago, I was given two credit cards by the bank I have a mortgage with and their limits were bumped so high, it caused issues trying to get another mortgage. I had to close one card and drastically reduce the limit on the other and provide proof of this before being approved.

It's quite a sneaky tactic they employ!

We'll see if I can have some sense derived from a local contact - here's hoping.
 
mick said:
Lindsay, have sent you a pm - thanks.

NM, you're quite right about those limits - which is why I'm a little miffed that they've given me a high limit which I now can't use (because I've closed the account out of frustration and principle). A little while ago, I was given two credit cards by the bank I have a mortgage with and their limits were bumped so high, it caused issues trying to get another mortgage. I had to close one card and drastically reduce the limit on the other and provide proof of this before being approved.

It's quite a sneaky tactic they employ!

We'll see if I can have some sense derived from a local contact - here's hoping.

I thought the maximum limit on these ready credit accounts was $25,000, do they offer more than this? How does your bank know the credit you have available on other credit cards? they have no way of finding this out unless you inform them.
 
johnsmith said:
I thought the maximum limit on these ready credit accounts was $25,000, do they offer more than this? How does your bank know the credit you have available on other credit cards? they have no way of finding this out unless you inform them.
Yes, the max limit is $25K.

They will know because the application for the other cards will be on the credit reference databases, along with every application you have made for any credit facility. And you are legally obliged to be truthful and honest when you complete the application form for any new credit facility.
 
Lindsay Wilson said:
Every credit provider knows what credit cards, loans and your repayment history through subscription to Baycorp Advantage (formerly Credit Reference Association).


You credit file does not show your repayment history and it does not show the current credit that you have available to you. All it shows is that you have made an application for credit on a particular date. It does not show if you were approved or declined for the credit facility Unlike in the UK where it shows your available credit and outstanding balance and repayment history and maybe even your shoe size. If you decide not to make your repayments to your credit provider they may after several months apply to the credit reference association to put a black mark on your file.
 
I'm not sure if its the same in Australia, but in NZ you can get your own credit file from Baycorp for free.

I'm surprised at how little info is there.
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
I'm not sure if its the same in Australia, but in NZ you can get your own credit file from Baycorp for free.

I'm surprised at how little info is there.


yes you can request a copy for free which takes up to 10 days or you can pay around $20 and have one emailed to you with in 24 hours, I request a copy of my file at least twice per year just to make sure no one has stolen my identity. People have this misconception that financial institutions hold vast amounts of information on there lives when infact its companies like supermarkets that know everything, if you have any type of loyalty card they can predict your whole life from the types of things you buy.
 
For sure, Citibank is absolutely hopeless!

I had a CB Gold Visa card, with no outstanding balance, and a credit limit of $20,000.

I wanted to close this account, and open a READYCREDIT account for the same amount.

Now, should that be a problem?

"I'm sorry sir, but you do not meet our credit requirements".

Hello??? Excuse me???

Even after going over it with their so called 'credit assessors', they still didn't get the concept, that I have a $20,000. card, and all I want is to transfer to another card.

The fools assess it as I am going to have both accounts active! So, they won't offer me anything....

Just means that I use the card for a balance transfer of 6.9% (for life of the transfer amount), instead of the Readycredit rate of 4.9%.

Even after pointing this out to them....

"I'm sorry sir, we can not help you any further"

Yeah, right....
 
Gordon said:
For sure, Citibank is absolutely hopeless!

I had a CB Gold Visa card, with no outstanding balance, and a credit limit of $20,000.

I wanted to close this account, and open a READYCREDIT account for the same amount.

Now, should that be a problem?

"I'm sorry sir, but you do not meet our credit requirements".

Hello??? Excuse me???

Even after going over it with their so called 'credit assessors', they still didn't get the concept, that I have a $20,000. card, and all I want is to transfer to another card.

The fools assess it as I am going to have both accounts active! So, they won't offer me anything....

Just means that I use the card for a balance transfer of 6.9% (for life of the transfer amount), instead of the Readycredit rate of 4.9%.

Even after pointing this out to them....

"I'm sorry sir, we can not help you any further"

Yeah, right....

How did they know that you had the credit card with 20k limit, you must have told them. Why would you inform them?
 
Gordon said:
"I'm sorry sir, but you do not meet our credit requirements".

Hello??? Excuse me???

Even after going over it with their so called 'credit assessors', they still didn't get the concept, that I have a $20,000. card, and all I want is to transfer to another card.

The fools assess it as I am going to have both accounts active! So, they won't offer me anything....
This is exactly why CC companies want to give is very high credit limits, so it makes it harder for us to move away to another credit company later since we are apparently already fully committed on our existing credit limits.

Of course they know for two reasons, the application for the initial credit facility is shown on your "credit reference" held by companies like Baycorp. And they fact that you have to sign the application form declaring that you have full disclosed all information that may be relevant to the credit application. Failing to declare the current credit facility would be an illegal declaration on that application. Note that closing a credit facility does not remove or negate the application reference on your credit reference information. It is only the fact that you applied that is noted.
 
Yes, of course....

They'd know what other cards I had with them....

and besides, I was being 'honest' as to the purpose of the new card.... to close the old account, and create a new balance transfer transaction.... so, I needed to 'remind' them of my past 'good credit rating' with them.

However, all CB telephone staff are just plain 'hopeless'.

I rest my case....

regards,
 
Earn ongoing points with readycredit

Well I've just gone through my Qantas mail and noticed that citibank have seemingly made a slight addition to the existig 4,000 points for opening a ReadyCredit card.

I'll type it in verbatim...

"Open a Citibank ReadyCredit account today and the first time you use your account, you'll earn 4,000 Frequent Flyer points. Plus you'll earn 1 point for every dollar of your average daily account balance, calculated every month for an entire year.

Transfer your outstanding credit card account balances to ReadyCredit and enjoy a low introductory interest rate of just 4.9% p.a. on the life of the balances transferred wen you open an account.

Valid for accounts first used by 1 November 2005.
Australia 13 35 35
or citibank.com.au/qantas
Quote 'Q1Q65HYA'
"
TERMS:
~ Qantas Frequent Flyer points are calculated and awarded monthly. For example, an average daily balance of $5,000 for a statement period will result in 417 Qantas Frequent Flyer points ($5,000 / 12 months = 417 points).

* 4.9% interest rate applies only to balances transferred with this offer. † Transferred balances will be repaid first. Any transactions made other than with this offer are at 15.75% p.a., which is variable, subject to change and Citibank's credit criteria. # Government charges and a late payment fee apply. Ø The credit line of $5,000 to $25,000 is subject to Citibank credit criteria. ^ Bonus and ongoing points offer expires on 1 November 2005. Bonus points are earned upon first use of the account (including balance transfers). Ongoing points are calculated based on the average balance outstanding for the period up to and including the statement date. This offer applies for the first 12 months only of the Ready Credit account.. Allow up to 8 weeks for points to be credited. An Account Holder must be a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program to earn points, for which a joining fee applies. Membership and points are subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

Existing customers are not eligible for this introductory offer. Applications may not be accepted if you have accepted another Citibank offer in the last 9 months. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request. Allow up to 10 working days to process your application.

You can see them all when you go to the web site and enter in the code.

It sounds interesting but I'm not too sure if thiis is good for people who pay off their credit card bills ASAP.

For me I have (due to work expenses) a weekly spend of about $2,000 on my Diners Card which I pay off via an ANZ credit card 'credit' transfer. I always make sure that an amount greater then the amount to be transfered is in the credit card a day or teo before I transfer the credit debt from the Diners cArd to the ANZ Visa so I essentially never 'owe' money to the bank.

Now if I do this for the Citibank card, will this mean I will not get ANY points as I pay off my debt too quickly? If this is the case, can someone please tell me when interest gets charged on the ReadyCredit card so I can at least transfer a large debt across and pay it off a day or so before any interest-free period may be over.

If interest gets charged immediately then I would not bother using this facility as it would cost me too much for little gain (although I'd be happy to get the 4,000 points).

Anyone alse care to comment?

Regards
Daniel
 
For me I have (due to work expenses) a weekly spend of about $2,000 on my Diners Card which I pay off via an ANZ credit card 'credit' transfer. I always make sure that an amount greater then the amount to be transfered is in the credit card a day or teo before I transfer the credit debt from the Diners cArd to the ANZ Visa so I essentially never 'owe' money to the bank.

Now if I do this for the Citibank card, will this mean I will not get ANY points as I pay off my debt too quickly? .

You will get the 4000 points for opening the Citibank ReadyCredit account. ReadyCredit works like an overdraft, not a credit card, so interest accrues as soon as you use the account. If you are saying that you would pay off your ReadyCredit account as soon as it is used, so that it never has a debit balance, then you would pay no interest and, consequently, earn no additional QFF points.

If this is the case, can someone please tell me when interest gets charged on the ReadyCredit card so I can at least transfer a large debt across and pay it off a day or so before any interest-free period may be over

Interest (at the initial 4.9% balance transfer rate) is charged on my ReadyCredit account on or around the 14th of each month - however Mrs NC pays interest on hers on or around the 2nd of each month - so I suspect that the date interest is charged relates to when the account was opened.

However, there is no interest free period for the ReadyCredit account (remebering that it works like an overdraft, not a credit card) - so interest accrues as soon as you use the account. To avoid paying interest, you would need to have the account in credit before you use it (so that it stays in credit after you have used it), which NM has mentioned he does in other threads on the site (eg for fee free cheques that ReadyCredit offers). Of course, if you do this, you won't pay interest, and you won't get any QFF points for useage - there's no such thing as a free lunch (except in a QP :wink: ).

Out of curiosity:

For me I have (due to work expenses) a weekly spend of about $2,000 on my Diners Card which I pay off via an ANZ credit card 'credit' transfer. I always make sure that an amount greater then the amount to be transfered is in the credit card a day or teo before I transfer the credit debt from the Diners cArd to the ANZ Visa so I essentially never 'owe' money to the bank.

I cannot see the benefit in you paying your Diners from your ANZ credit card, which you credit a day or two before your Diners payment date. Why don't you just pay off the Diners each month by direct debit from whatever account your are sourcing your payments to your ANZ credit card? At least you would not be losing interest from that account for the day or two that you pre-load your ANZ credit card for the sole purpose of paying your Diners.

Cheers

NC
 
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