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CitiBank Discontinuing Dividend Platinum Select Cash Back Rewards Credit Card

by Flexo on August 20, 2006

in Credit

This rumor has been making the rounds: CitiBank is discontinuing your favorite cash-back rewards credit card and mine, the Citi Dividend Platinum Select. Hopefully, I’ll max out the year’s $300 limit before switching to a new cash-back rewards card. The replacement program will include 2% cash back on supermarket, drug store, and gas station purchases, in addition to certain utilities and cable bills.

Chase Platinum VisaI’m considering the Chase Platinum Visa Card as a replacement. This card offers 6% cash back on gas, groceries, and at drug stores for the first 12 months and 1% cash back on everything else. The yearly limit is $600 rather than CitiBank’s $300. At the end of the year, you can theoretically apply for a new Chase Platinum Visa Card and receive the promotion again.

There is a danger to this. As I mentioned earlier this month, there is a noticeable trend of companies discontinuing or devaluing their rewards programs. There is no guarantee that the Chase Visa will continue offering these rewards.

Another option is the HSBC Direct Rewards MasterCard, which offers 5% cash back on gas, grocery and drug store purchases, and 1% cash back on everything else.

The CitiBank Dividend rewards will change in October. There is still time to max out the $300 cash back limit. If nothing else, you can purchase (non-expiring) gift certificates for the stores you know you will visit.

Continue reading for more resources on CitiBank’s discontinuation of their Dividend Platinum Select card.

* FatWallet forums
* Search pfblogs.org for dividend platinum

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Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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  • That sucks - I knew these cards were too good to be true.
  • Tim
    Signing up for a new credit card every 12 months will be disastrous to your credit rating. The length of service for any particular line of credit is a significant factor in determining that credit line's effect on your overall score. Having a lower credit score will cost you when you get a loan for a car or a house, it will certainly cost you more than $300 probably that much within a year or two.
  • That's definitely a valid consideration, but it's hard to say if that has as big an effect as having a high debt to available credit ratio. And it reminds me that it's time to pull another free credit report.
  • "Signing up for a new credit card every 12 months will be disastrous to your credit rating."

    If that were true my credit score would be -324. :) I don't disagree that credit score is important, but it's a complex formula and some things matter much more than others. 1 card a year would be very far down the list.
  • jack
    These companies are dumb. They spend untold amounts of money to get new customers and then turn around and piss them off until they leave. CITI pulled a fast one on me with this card. I used the card at wally world to buy groceries. 6 months ago, they started to not give me the full grocery store reward. Of course I didn't catch it, having watched it closely for over a year with no problems. The bill is purosely vague (like a cell phone bill}. I guess their ace accountants have factored in the negative value of losing me as a customer vs not paying the reward....
  • Thanks for the advanced tip, Flexo.

    I will probably go with HSBC card, just to save myself from re-applying.
  • ugh! I just got my citibank rewards card 3 months ago! what a pain! thanks for the heads up though, I will be cancelling the card once the reward is discontinued and move to something else, or, just move back to cash.
  • Tim, your remarks are unfounded - a hard inquiry here and there will have little impact on your credit score.

    Flexo, I hear that with the way the points are converted to rewards on the Chase card it works out to a 5% return.
  • Gandy
    Some credit unions like Patelco in California offer 1% cashback rebates that stay forever. Costco's AMEX is another good example: 3% on travel, 2% on dining, and 1% on anything else. I applied for these two a long time ago and the programs are still around.

    Rewards are low but consistent. Good thing with credit unions: They're non-profit organizations, unlike Citi which must satisfy shareholders with huge profits.
  • ChiliPalmer
    Good luck with the HSBC Direct Rewards Card. There is no reference to it on the HSBC site. However, I did find the terms and conditions on the internet. They say the following:

    "Rewards will be accumulated monthly and paid annually. A statement check will be issued to the Primary Cardmember within one billing cycle of the Account anniversary date. Rewards must be at least $10.00 per year to be deemed accrued and payable. Rewards less than $10.00 will not be accrued and will be forfeited within one billing cycle of the Account anniversary date."

    Unlike the Citi card, you cannot request a check. So, HSBC could theoretically discontinue the program the month before your anniversary date and leave you with NOTHING.
  • Lena Gainster
    Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. If you max out at $300 per year, who cares how the percentages are set.
  • tim
    “Signing up for a new credit card every 12 months will be disastrous to your credit rating.�

    once a year will do nothing to your credit score, unless you have high debt to avail credit and if you actually accept or have open accounts. if you apply for a bunch of credit cards and only accept one, in the short term may count against you as having open credit; however, it falls off.
  • tim
    the complicated part about citi plat select rewards is that you had to register seperately, which citi didn't tell me, for the cash back rewards for all the participating companies...so i used the card a great deal before i realized i wasn't getting credit for any of the qualifying purchases.
  • john
    If citicard pisses off enough people, and they stop using their citicard, they will get that message very quickly and will be coming back with another promotion real soon. Probably even better than the present 5%, to get you back as their customer.Be Patient and go with the 6% visa plan for now.
  • The recent changes to the cash back rewards of the Citi Dividend MasterCard prompted me to do some personal analysis to find the best mix of cash back cards for my spending patterns.

    That personal analysis inspired me to build a general-purpose tool to help anyone determine the single best card or mix of N cards that will maximize their cash back rewards. You just plug in how much you spend each month (broken out by categories for best results) and you're presented with a list of recommended cards sorted from best to worst by your expected annual reward. If having more than one card and using each card to its strengths could yield a greater total reward, then each combination of the Best N cards is presented as well.

    You can see the tool at http://www.creditcardtuneup.com/ .
  • Greg
    I too am in the market to replace my citi plat card. After looking around the only other 5% card that I found was HSBC Direct Rewards card. They offer cash back only once a year which is a little discouriging. I already have the Costco AMEX (3% for dining, travel). I am looking for a MC or VISA. Is there another true 5%Card?
  • Mike
    If you look closer at HSBC, it's actually 5% on gas, groceries, and drugstores BUT 0.5% on the first $3000 of "other" and 1.0% on anything larger.
  • maddox
    "Chase Platinum Visa Card"
    A chase customer service representative confirmed that there is no program like this "This card offers 6% cash back on gas, groceries, and at drug stores for the first 12 months and 1% cash back on everything else ". It is only 2 points for travel and 1 point for everything else.
  • Mike, thanks for mentioning the HSBC Direct Rewards card. I've since added it to the calculator tool at http://www.CreditCardTuneUp.com/.

    +Joel
  • Pat
    I am going around with Citi right now. I have a late payment fee. First time ever. I called customer service and got India. The women were rude and stated that there's NO one time courtesy to credit a late fee! I have never had this happen. Told them I was cancelling. No one cares. At least Chase has American customer service!!
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