I'm like Arun - I have a large debit balance for which I'm paying 4.9%. Even with the new $160 fee, I'm still better off with the ReadyCredit loan as opposed to drawing down on the home loan (@ about 6.5%) to pay it off. But the benefit in keeping the ReadyCredit loan is getting marginal. If I didn't have a large ReadyCredit debit balance @ 4.9% I would be cancelling my ReadyCredit asap.
Two questions for the ReadyCrediters amongst you:
1. Is the new $160 fee an "annual" fee? Citibank describe it as a "facility fee" and tell you the date on which it will be charged - Citibank don't say they will keep on charging it each year. Or am I being naive here?
2. In terms of the "cash back" arrangement, available until 31 December, where you are credited with $20 for every $500 worth of spend - does that mean we can write a cheque to ourselves (as NM suggests on another thread) for the full account limit, repay it the next day, and Citibank will pay us $20 for every $500??
For example, for a ReadyCredit account limit of $25,000 with a zero ReadyCredit balance, you pay $25,000 from ReadyCredit into another account by cheque. You BPay it back to ReadyCredit the next day (although it may take 3 days or so for the cheque to clear). You pay interest at 15.75% on $25,000 for 1 day ($10.78, or say $32.36 for 3 days). Citibank then gives you cash back equal to $20 for every $500 of spend, which for "spend" of $25,000 equals $1000 (ie 20 x 50). Surely that can't be right? :? I have never heard of a bank being that generous. Am I missing something??? Writing a cheque like that and repaying the balance a few times between now and 31 December would be significantly more advantageous then keeping a large ReadyCredit debit balance @ 4.9% for life.
NC