Who else still holds the Citibank Free For Life Premier Card?

[PLANT]

I got the email but waiting for someone here to say
If it is worse than previous....???

 

[MELso]

Changes to complimentary travel insurances on your credit card account

Here comes the slow but inevitable drip-feed of enshitification…
One after another the changes will come slow enough to not startle the horses, but added together eventually will make the card no better than any other white-label, no-name card.

Taken individually, none of the changes to come will be of any significance to any great majority. Only when the transformation is complete will card holders look back at what once was and realise what's been lost.

If you feel like a frog in a frying pan, that's not your imagination that things seem to be warming up underfoot.

This one's pretty minor though. It clarifies the delay expenses are per 24 hour period.

After 6 consecutive hours delay, and for each subsequent 24 consecutive hour period thereafter, up to $500 per person for meals and accommodation expenses up to a maximum total limit of $2,000 per cardholder or spouse. Dependants are included in the limit available to the cardholder or spouse.

EDIT - the other changes were announced in April 2025.

 

[Legoman]

To be completely honest, since the 44-day from 55-day enshitification move and the killing off of PayAll, my focus on getting value out of credit cards has moved away from points entirely. I now prioritise card choice for purchases entirely based on the day of the month, the billing date of the various cards I have and the interest free period on offer, so that I always maximise as much as possible the days of free credit before I have to pay the card statement.

Admittedly this does require some pre-planning and admin to set up, but once done is working quite well. In my case I have 6 cards and I've shifted their various statement dates so they spread out roughly evenly across the month without getting into the month transition period (excluding 28-1). Of my six, they are equally spread between 44 day and 55 day. Three of each.

55day card - statement date 04
44day card - statement date 10
55day card - statement date 15
44day card - statement date 20
55day card - statement date 24
44day card - statement date 28

I use the signature strip on the back of each card to write the statement date for ease of reference (because nobody uses it for actual signatures anymore). For instance, if I was wanting to use a card to buy something today (18), I would simply look back at the card that has the most recent statement date before that number (15th-55day) and that's the card I use. It's irrelevent whether it earns points or not. The points are so worthless these days, it's not worth the brain admin required to chase them.

In amongst that selection there are obviously some special use cases that take priority in certain circumstances. The 15 statement card is the no-foreign exchange fee travel card. Two of the 44-day cards are Amex and Amex have special cashback offers at certain retailers. That sort of thing, but the base rule before special cases is to use the card that's most recently had its latest statement issued. Points don't come into the thought process anymore at all.

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

To be completely honest, since the 44-day from 55-day enshitification move and the killing off of PayAll, my focus on getting value out of credit cards has moved away from points entirely. I now prioritise card choice for purchases entirely based on the day of the month, the billing date of the various cards I have and the interest free period on offer, so that I always maximise as much as possible the days of free credit before I have to pay the card statement.

Admittedly this does require some pre-planning and admin to set up, but once done is working quite well. In my case I have 6 cards and I've shifted their various statement dates so they spread out roughly evenly across the month without getting into the month transition period (excluding 28-1). Of my six, they are equally spread between 44 day and 55 day. Three of each.

55day card - statement date 04
44day card - statement date 10
55day card - statement date 15
44day card - statement date 20
55day card - statement date 24
44day card - statement date 28

I use the signature strip on the back of each card to write the statement date for ease of reference (because nobody uses it for actual signatures anymore). For instance, if I was wanting to use a card to buy something today (18), I would simply look back at the card that has the most recent statement date before that number (15th-55day) and that's the card I use. It's irrelevent whether it earns points or not. The points are so worthless these days, it's not worth the brain admin required to chase them.

That's a very interesting and clever approach.

 

[Chicken]

Changes to complimentary travel insurances on your credit card account

Here comes the slow but inevitable drip-feed of enshitification…
One after another

If you feel like a frog in a frying pan, that's not your imagination that things seem to be warming up underfoot.

This is old news, this is just repeating what was announced last year.

That's a very interesting and clever approach.

Life is already complicated enough in 2026, that's why we come up with six sigma and value stream mapping and etc. Imagine have to make 6 decisions before inserting a credit card. Doing Value stream mapping, but walking back in reverse. I think I would be sectioned if I try doing this.

 

[Legoman]

Life is already complicated enough

Exactly. That's why I decided to go back to basics and forget about the largely worthless points. The points chase is largely a zero-sum game, because the issuers of the points are answerable to no-one and have shown complete disregard for maintaining value in them. You can spend an inordinate amount of time chasing points and then with the swipe of a pen, the issuer devalues them for you in one single press release sent out at 6pm on the Friday before a long weekend. I simply decided I haven't got the time and energy to keep playing that game and constantly losing. Now I just use the cards as credit cards where they're of most advantage and use to me. If they happen to accumulate some points along the way, then so be it.

 

[RAM]

This is old news, this is just repeating what was announced last year.



Life is already complicated enough in 2026, that's why we come up with six sigma and value stream mapping and etc. Imagine have to make 6 decisions before inserting a credit card. Doing Value stream mapping, but walking back in reverse. I think I would be sectioned if I try doing this.

Given the large number of 'points' maximisers on AFF, interest earnings maximisation seems logical. Not that people create spreadsheets to track their interest earnings through playing the statement date game of course...

 

[jimmywise]

Has anyone being charged annual fee? Not sure if I want to activate the new card yet (Citi Premier card just expired)

 

[Chicken]

Has anyone being charged annual fee? Not sure if I want to activate the new card yet (Citi Premier card just expired)

Nope. It's still good value, no annual fee, insurance, Priority Pass. Plenty of things for nothing. Sick deal!

 

[Legoman]

Nope. It's still good value, no annual fee, insurance, Priority Pass. Plenty of things for nothing. Sick deal!

Fully sik moite!

 

[aikman]

Has anyone being charged annual fee? Not sure if I want to activate the new card yet (Citi Premier card just expired)

Nope. Still free. As expected. I am still alive after all.

 

[tinkybelle]

I still have mine great to be able to have insurance for a $500 charge

 

[Johnxx]

Has anyone being charged annual fee? Not sure if I want to activate the new card yet (Citi Premier card just expired)

was advised by MyCard in December my anniversary is in January - no fee in January or since. I wonder why some people have been charged a fee

 

[aikman]

was advised by MyCard in December my anniversary is in January - no fee in January or since. I wonder why some people have been charged a fee

I don't think anyone has been charged a fee. A handful of people believed they would be a charged a fee so they closed their card.

 

[Johnxx]

I don't think anyone has been charged a fee. A handful of people believed they would be a charged a fee so they closed their card.

Wasn’t a litigious guy in another MyCard thread charged a fee but he negotiated 2 years credit for the fee? Either way so far so good

 

[Happy Dude]

Wasn’t a litigious guy in another MyCard thread charged a fee but he negotiated 2 years credit for the fee? Either way so far so good

I'm not sure if that guy was on the FFFL version. I suspect that he wasn't and failed to get on it and went to AFCA. If he was, it is not clear why he got a fee when the rest of us didn't/haven't.

 

[JohnGlav]

Has anyone being charged annual fee? Not sure if I want to activate the new card yet (Citi Premier card just expired)

Have not been charged an annual fee.
Not expecting to be charged an annual fee in the near future but who knows what the medium to long term holds in this day and age.
In the meantime I am still holding the FFFL card and am several hundreds of dollars to the good thanks to NAB's unsolicited decision to deposit into the FFFL card account without first asking.

 

[JohnGlav]

Wasn’t a litigious guy in another MyCard thread charged a fee but he negotiated 2 years credit for the fee? Either way so far so good

Did you mean the following?

Update - In response to my AFCA complaint MyCard called me and said they could not offer the 'Free for life' promotion for my card but as a gesture of good will for being a loyal customer since 2006 they offerred me a $700 credit which is 2 years worth of annual fees, I also had my annual fee waived for this past renewal by Citi.

To get the $700 I have to accept the resolution to my AFCA case in the system, which I am planning to do,

@hueofwind did you get a similar response/offer?

x4521's circumstances may be different. Note the references to dates in 2024 (as opposed to 2025).

Yes I did, I received the below email on 10/10/2024.

---

Dear ABC,

We want to let you know about upcoming changes to your Citi Premier Card account ending in 1234.

A summary of the changes are outlined below, however, the variation notice provides full details of the changes, as they apply to your:

• Financial Table.

What are the changes

Effective 28 November 2024, the following changes will apply:

• The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) that applies to your Retail Purchases will increase from 21.49% to 22.49% p.a. Any unpaid Retail Purchase Balance (including fees and charges) as well as any new Retail Purchases will incur interest at the new rate.

• The APR that applies to your Cash Advances will increase from 22.24% to 22.99% p.a. Any unpaid Cash Advance balance (including fees and charges) as well as any new Cash Advance transactions will incur interest at the new rate.

If you are on a promotional rate, your rate will remain unchanged until your offer has expired.

Effective 28 November 2024, the following change will apply:

• The Annual Primary Cardholder Fee, as set out in your Financial Table, will increase to $350. The fee will apply the next time your Annual Primary Cardholder Fee is due.

The variation notice provides full details of the change, as they apply to your Citi Premier Card.