Citibank stolen rewards points!

[Philosiphier]

A quick warning to all those people who have been receiving double rewards points through Citibank (getting double rewards points for no reason at all that is! - every time I enquired as to why I was receiving double points, noone could tell me why!).

I went onto the Citibank website on the weekend to make a purchase using my rewards points - only to discover that they had stolen almost 30,000 rewards points from my account!

I called them today, and the ignorant woman I spoke to had NO IDEA what had happened to them, there was no date, no information about where they had gone or been transferred to. It is now going to take 2 weeks to find out what has happened to them! Apparently, they CAN just TAKE AWAY your points without notifcation!

So be vigalent with checking your points balances between statements!

*very angry* :evil:

 

[Dave Noble]

If they removed the points which you were not entitled to , then that is fair enough and no grounds to be annoyed

Dave

 

[vilemerchant]

LOL. Reminds me of the couple that took off with the 10 million accidently deposited into their account. Lucky they took those ill-gotten points back before you committed a crime

 

[Evan]

Your sin was asking why you were getting them ! if you just used them and closed the account you would have been fine i would guess.

 

[MelUser]

AMEX have reversed points for me where they have been overgenerous in the first place!

While it is a nuisance - i always prefer errors in my favour not to be correct retrospectively but only going forward - I still accept this as completely legitimate.

 

[Philosiphier]

If they removed the points which you were not entitled to , then that is fair enough and no grounds to be annoyed

Dave

No grounds to be annoyed???

I kept asking them why I was getting double points - they said they didn't know! So I continued using my gold VISA in preference to my AMEX because I was earning 2 points/$ instead of 1.5 points/$ with AMEX.

And NOW (after 12 MONTHS of my enquiries AND giving me double points), they decide to change their minds???? I have lost out on the extra points which I could have earned through AMEX because of Citibanks stupidity!

I think I have every reason to be annoyed thank you very much!:evil:

 

[Philosiphier]

Your sin was asking why you were getting them ! if you just used them and closed the account you would have been fine i would guess.

Unfortunately it is a Gold card with no annual fee for the life of the account.. so it's too tempting to keep it! I seriously which I could tell them where to go though..

 

[gfm]

Happened to me too. I have been given 1 bonus point for every $2 spent on my (relatively new platinum visa - upgraded from a paid gold one). On the weekend I logged onto internet banking and the point balance was signifcantly below my statement point balance. Shot off an email to Citibank containing all of the detail required to correct what I considered to be an error and got the following (very uninformative) reply:

"Thank you for your email.
With reference to your enquiry, we recommend that you contact the
Citibank Rewards Service Centre directly on 13 24 84, or if overseas +61
2 8225 0615 (reverse charges through an international operator). We are
available to take your call during business hours (8:30 am-5:30 pm EST,
Monday to Friday). "

Called the plantinum phone no and spoke to a rep who said she saw an "adjustment" on my account (with no details of what it was for). She spoke to a supervisor and then said she would contact another department and get back to me in 3-5 working days as to investigate and correct it if it was in error. She was very polite.

If Citibank take back points they have allocated to my account as bonus points, I will close the account (after moving the direct debits elsewhere).
It would cost them more in lost annual fees than the points involved. This would seem to be treating its customers in bad faith allocating bonuses and then taking them away. Like the previous poster, I used the Citibank Visa in preference to other cards because of the bonus points.

 

[docjames]

Citi taking a leaf from AMEX's playbook:evil:

 

[Dave Noble]

No grounds to be annoyed???

I kept asking them why I was getting double points - they said they didn't know! So I continued using my gold VISA in preference to my AMEX because I was earning 2 points/$ instead of 1.5 points/$ with AMEX.
I think I have every reason to be annoyed thank you very much!:evil:

You kept using it knowing that you were not entitled to the extra points ; why would you not expect the correction to take place?

Dave

 

[rezok]

Where are people getting their QF points now that the Gold card doesnt offer them?

Like the other poster I dont want to get rid of a free for life card, but I only discovered last week by accident there are no QF points except for platinum, which I dont want or need....

Any ideas?

 

[gregff]

Just checked and same has happened here. Seems to me that they have issued bonus points and are now taking them away. I am not happy.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Where are people getting their QF points now that the Gold card doesnt offer them?

Like the other poster I dont want to get rid of a free for life card, but I only discovered last week by accident there are no QF points except for platinum, which I dont want or need....

Any ideas?

Will keep the Card..as it is free for life...and who knows what will be best in future years..

I will just put through the occassional small token tx to stop Citibank cancelling it through inactivity.

I have stopped using it in favour of the Westapc KrisflyerAmex/VISA Combo.

 

[Philosiphier]

You kept using it knowing that you were not entitled to the extra points ; why would you not expect the correction to take place?

Dave

After contacting Citibank at LEAST half a dozen times, they did NOT tell me I was not entitled to the points - they could not, however, explain why I was getting them - they did not stop this from happening, despite my telling them it was occurring! If I were not entitled to them - should they not have stopped them the first time they were notified? I kept asking them about this situation for over 12 MONTHS!!!!!! I would expect Citibank, a major international corporation, not to make such a major stuff up and continue doing so for 12 months!

Customers should NOT be falsely mislead, enticing us to use their facilities in preference to other cards and then penalised for Citibanks stupidity, lazyness and considerable lack of follow-up to customer enquiries.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I would expect Citibank, a major international corporation, not to make such a major stuff up and continue doing so for 12 months!

i love how under your post showed a citibank platinum card banner

 

[skybolt_]

I'm glad I bailed out of Citibank. For 6 months I was getting 3.5 points per dollar & rattled up 60,000 QFF points. (as I prev posted last yr)

The Plat card is a rip off !! $250 + $90(sup) + $19(QF opt in)= $359 to get 1 miserable point per dollar. There kidding.

Amex Plat is $395 & you get 1.5 points (but no QF) but at least a free flight/nights accom.

WBC $250 to get 1.5 QF points.

NAB Plat $290 to get 1.5 QF points.

You get the point.

Bye bye Citibank. I've ceased ALL banking with them as the 'customer service' borders on Basil Fawlty Towers.

ps: I got to keep the points. Thanks Citi

 

[basso]

Just checked on my points. They seem to have stopped paying the bonus at the start of May. They have not taken any points back from me, though.

 

[gfm]

Did they eventually take them away? Mine got taken away on my last statement and I received a letter stating that the earn rate was 1.0 per dollar.
But they had been clearly marked as "Bonus Points" every statement and they had been giving me them for probably about 6 months.
It seems a bit like your boss saying "we gave you Christmas bonuses for the past 5 years but now we find them not in accordance with policy, so we are asking for you to repay them back"!!!!!!!!

 

[Nat the cat]

I'm glad I bailed out of Citibank. For 6 months I was getting 3.5 points per dollar & rattled up 60,000 QFF points. (as I prev posted last yr)

The Plat card is a rip off !! $250 + $90(sup) + $19(QF opt in)= $359 to get 1 miserable point per dollar. There kidding.

Amex Plat is $395 & you get 1.5 points (but no QF) but at least a free flight/nights accom.

WBC $250 to get 1.5 QF points.

NAB Plat $290 to get 1.5 QF points.

You get the point.

Bye bye Citibank. I've ceased ALL banking with them as the 'customer service' borders on Basil Fawlty Towers.

ps: I got to keep the points. Thanks Citi

Sorry for the newbie question but what is the best value points plan, I have to admit I finding this all a little confusing.I travel about 4 times a year domestic and once every two years international (or there abouts)

 

[skybolt_]

Sorry for the newbie question but what is the best value points plan, I have to admit I finding this all a little confusing.I travel about 4 times a year domestic and once every two years international (or there abouts)

The AMEX QF cards are ok with either 1,1.25 or 1.5 points plus Travel Insurances. CBA has 1 point up to 150,000 per annum.It depends how much your prepared to spend on a card.

If your doing a bit of travel & appears you are the AMEX Premium with 1.25 points & Insurances is OK. You also get 2 passes a year to the Qantas Club.
Thats what I do. Its $249 per year but I consider it value....it suits me.

But asking what is the best card is like asking how long is a piece of string !!