Several years ago, the Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard was a great credit card to use for the spending you would have done anyway. At that time, you could earn 5% cash back on all your purchases. For a time, I was able to charge my rent payments to the credit card. That’s a dangerous proposition for some people, but if you pay the bill in full every month, all you see are benefits.
After some time earning some of the best cash back rewards available, Citi began converting many of the Dividend Platinum Select MasterCards to Dividend World MasterCards. “World” may mean nothing more that the cards have “PayPass” enabled. PayPass is a technology that includes an embedded radio transmitter (RFID) inside the plastic, so rather than scanning the strip — or even using a manual scanner to imprint the raised card number on a slip through carbon paper — users can magically wave their card in front of a reader that activates the chip and receives the card information through an encrypted radio signal.
From MasterCard’s point of view, they can charge merchants a higher interchange fee for accepting these cards. Citi, on the other hand, was paying out too much money in cash back rewards, so they eventually reduced the benefit from 5% cash back to 2% on select purchases and 1% on all other purchases.
The Great Rebate Shrink hasn’t ended. While cardholders of the Dividend World MasterCard like myself will continue to earn 1% on all purchases, 2% cash back or more will be earned from different categories every three months and will require enrollment every time the categories change.
Though you can currently request your rebate check at any time when you have accumulated at least $50 in cash back, starting July 1, 2010, checks will only be sent in increments of $50, increasing the chances you will eventually leave some cash unclaimed.
For the World MasterCard, the first categories earning extra cash back will earn 5%, undoubtedly higher than usual to encourage people to be excited about the program at first. The qualifying categories for this extra cash back are restaurants, car rentals, and hotels.
It may be worthwhile to use this card specifically for the varying categories earning the higher rate each quarter, but when the novelty wears off it may be easy to forget to enroll.
I received this bit of bad news in the mail today, but I also received some possible good news. I’ll share that notification tomorrow.
Updated May 7, 2011 and originally published June 1, 2010. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Platinum
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for explaining how PayPass works! I’ve always wondered how it works. Do you think more cards will be using this technology in the future?
It’s likely we’ll see an increasing number of consumer products using RFID, not just credit cards.
You forgot to mention that most (not all) “World MasterCard”s (like Visa Signature cards), means that the card issuer does not have to report your credit limit line. Instead, they report your actual revolving line balance each month to the credit bureau(s). That means if you charge $755 one month, that balance will appear as your revolving credit line with tat World Masterc and appears that your credit utilization for that card is 100%.
With all due respect, I didn’t forget to mention anything about credit limits or reporting. The article above is about cash back benefits for a specific card.
With all due respect Flexo, the sentence:
“World” may mean nothing more that the cards have “PayPass” enabled.
is wrong and begged the comment from Savingeverything. The fact that it is a “World” card has nothing technically to do with the availabliity of PayPass, but does change:
1) The credit limit reporting as mentioned by Savingeverything
2) The higher interchange fee you pointed out in the main article
I agree. The most important part of this conversion is that World Mastercards do not report out your credit limit to the credit bureaus. If you are carrying a balance on your other cards, the net effect is that your credit utilization will increase and your credit score will decrease. Unless the benefits of the World card mean something to you, you would probably be best served by opting out of the conversion.
You can’t opt out. Your card will be deactivated at some point whether you complete the switch or not. At least that’s what the documentation said when I got my new card.
Thanks for the heads up. I had gotten the notice in the mail, but missed the part about checks coming in increments of $50. Ever since I got the Fidelity Rewards Visa card, I only use this for grocery stores and gas stations; but even that doesn’t make sense, since the Fidelity card is 2% on everything and the Citi Dividend World card is 2% on the aforementioned categories. The 5% is interesting, but it’s not innovative and seems like a lot of work. I guess I will try to get to $50 and just cancel the card.
I recall that back when I got my second Citibank card (I got my first in college – and a frisbee!), Citibank was one of the best credit card issuers. They were frequently rated high in polls of customer satisfaction. That was a long time ago, apparently.
I called Citibank when I got the same notice about the switch to the World Mastercard and told them I would not agree to their new terms and wanted to opt out of the new agreement. They agreed and are apparently keeping the old terms for the 3 Citi Dividend Cards I have with them. Just an fyi in case anyone else wants to call and ask for the same.
Also note, it sounds like with the new cards, new account numbers will be issued so if you have direct billing with any of you current Citi Divident Cards, you’ll have to go through the hassle of informing all the recurring billers that your numbers have switched. That, alone, was enough incentive to opt out of the World card and keep the old Dividend cards.
Two years ago they tried switching everybody to a World MasterCard but at the time they allowed you to opt out. I changed my Platinum Select to a Dividend Platinum Select back in 2004 and it was great. 5% on gas, groceries and drug stores. Then as the author stated, they changed to 2% but added utilities. Then I get this letter stating that the extra 2% is going away but that they are adding revolving themes for extra cash back. Then below they state that they are upgrading all accounts to World. That ticked me off because Citibank, like other World MasterCard and Visa Signature issuers, do not report the credit line. Unlike other issuers of World MasterCard and Visa Signature’s, Citibank does not even report the high balance…they report a zero.
I called two days ago to find out if I could opt out. Nope-unless I want to close the account. So, remembering how easy it used to be to switch products and or card type (MasterCard to Visa to Amex) I asked if I could switch to a Visa Dividend (still offered to college students) or an Amex Dividend (once offered along with the MasterCard). I was told that due to the CARD Act passed in February, that they no longer upgrade/downgrade products at the consumers request. Bummer. Oh and our account numbers are changing…so if you have automatic payments taken out of the account, you have to update all of those bills….I wish I had the $50 now so I could request it and close the account will it is still a Platinum Select.
Peter, you should give them another call and try again to opt-out. There’s a long thread on FatWallet that discusses this conversion, and a number of people have posted that they have heard different things when they tried to opt-out. Some CSR’s don’t seem to undrestand the problem, and say no to the opt-out; call again and the next CSR is able to process the opt-out.
Thanks Jerry, I will give it another try. I was told by a supposed supervisor (I originally got a rep from India and because I couldn’t understand him he sent me to a “supvervisor”) and he told me no. My friend also has the Dividend and she was told no as well. Doesn’t hurt to try. The changes go into effect on 7/1/10. As luck would have it,my account just cycled for June and I am $4.15 shy of the $50 check. Had it been $50 I would have considered getting the check and closing the account. Citibank has really been upsetting me lately. In February I got hit with a credit line decrease from $10,800 to $8,100, then they raised my rate to 18.99 and now this “upgrade.” I have excellent credit, always pay in full and the account is 10 years old so there was no reason for them to do that to me. It is almost like they want some of us to close the accounts…..
Jerry: thanks again for your response! I called the 604 telephone number on the back of my card and asked for an Account Manager. He was really nice and I told him that I did not want the account number changed nor did I want the World upgrade. He said that he understood and that he would opt my account out of the upgrade. I made sure to check and double check that the account would remain opened and that I would remain in the Dividend program. He assured me that the account would continue to be a Platinum Select Dividend MasterCard (although the deminished cash back would still change on 7/1/10). He mentioned that now that I have opted out, I would have to reapply for a new World MasterCard if I ever chose to have World status in the future. He also informed me that he would send a confirmation letter in the mail. Additionally, I mentioned that a week ago I had requested to opt out and was told that I could not and he apologized. So, I am very happy and I will pass the information along to my friend. I suppose enough cardholders complained so Citibank relented and they have allowed the opt out.
Very glad I read this thread…I’d totally missed the change to World Card and change of account number! I’ll be calling to opt out tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I go back and forth between Citi and Discover. Discover has different 5% cash back categories every month or so and every quarter, and I just use it for those. They also don’t have a limit on how much cash back you get per year (Citi is $300 per year), and you can use it either as cash back, credit to your account, or for various merchant orders at discount. However, the regular cashback percentage at Discover is miniscule (less than 1%) until you spend a lot…I forget the actual amount.
I just ran across this website and I am glad I did! I was able to opt out of the new “upgrade” by simply asking for an Account Manager and stating that I wanted to opt out of the new card offering. She was very nice and stated that my card will not change as I will not be upgraded to the world card. For a little piece of mind, I asked for a confirmation letter. She said that was not a problem.
I opted out. I’ve been with Citibank since I was 12 years old but now I hate them. The amount of run-around I got… Opting out means you keep your old card til it expires. It does not mean you have to shut down RIGHT away. If someone tells you that, ask to speak to a supervisor. It still stinks though: One day your life is fine, the next day you get a letter and get to choose between hurting your credit by accepting no pre-set limit card (and losing cool benefits) or hurting your credit by shutting down a credit card account (eventually, and losing those benefits). Thanks Citibank!
I suggested you all get Capital One’s Platinum No Hassle card. Get 2% on groceries and gas, 1% on everything else. None of this rotating categories junk or having to re-enroll and stuff… It was actually a back-up credit card (in case I lose my wallet) that I already have! How convenient :)
We didn’t know we could opt out until it was too late. We just got the new cards the other day. First thing I did was destroy the RFID chip. Now it is on to figuring out who our new credit card company will be. Since our credit is excellent I’m sure some other company will be happy to have our business. Thanks for the lead on the Capital One Platinum No Hassle card. I’ll be looking at that one first.
Got a chance to call today. It was not too late after all. Got our Citi Platinum Select Dividend Card back with very little trouble. CSR was glad to check and the system allowed it to be reinstated. Husband had cut his up. A replacement is being sent. The new Dividend thing isn’t great but we would have gone to a no dividend/rewards card before we accepted the World Card, and at least we get to keep the card we prefer for now. We’ve also learned to not accept a change like this without first doing some research into what our real options are.
So, it should be the same as Capital One then (2% on groceries and gas, 1% on everything else. I think.) However, I’d switch to Capital One ASAP. (I assume that if your credit is good enough for the World Card, it’s good enough for Capital One.) I mean, you can do what I’m doing and HANG ON to the Citibank one until it dies, but give your patronage to someone else who deserves it better!
I still have my credit card and bank account with them but I’m just waiting for the card to die / keeping it around as my back-up (i.e. I keep it in my desk in case I lose my wallet) card, and the bank account for my day to day stuff, but I moved most of my savings to a high yield (1.4%) Sallie Mae online bank account. Sure beats the .8 or .4% Citibank was giving me! (It’s a hassle, because money can only go in and out of it slowly, but I’m making more interest, AND I get to screw over citibank by not giving them my money to hang onto!) Let’s just say it was time to re-evaluate, I guess, and though I wouldn’t stop banking with Citibank *purely* out of spite… If it ALSO turns out that I get treated better elsewhere, then hey, off I go! Let’s teach them a lesson about customer service.
Agreed. This Citibank business of pushing out World Cards without telling what, why and a clear opt out, is garbage. All of the big banks pull stuff in one way or another. I’m looking for community bank/credit union alternative. I wish they didn’t make this stuff so difficult, but obviously they don’t have any sense of fairness.
Like Gail, I received the World Dividend card in the mail yesterday. I had received no prior information from Citi, so I just thought this was a new card (possibly for security reasons). I activated the card, then started reading online about this new World designation. Looks like the World cards don’t report credit limits to the credit reporting agencies, so it will hurt your utilization ratios and lower your score.
I called CS today and asked to have my old Dividend card reinstated. Was told that new cards with the old account numbers will be sent in 7-10 days.
I, too, was confused about this “conversion”. My Platinum Select card expired at the end of July anyway, and the World Card came as the replacement. I didn’t even realize this until I called today to check on what appeared to be a duplicate charge on my online account balance. When I called, the representative informed me it was not a duplicate charge, but that they were in the process of converting my Platinum account to the World Account, and what appeared to be a second charge was the balance transfer, and that is how it would temporarily appear online.
I asked what the difference was between the Platinum Select and the World Acct. He informed me about the changes in the rewards program. I told him the new rewards (travel and restaurants) were not terribly useful to me, and I’d prefer the old rewards for groceries, gas, pharmacies. He said that was being phased out, period.
I didn’t do anything at that time, but was feeling very uneasy about these changes and started searching online. I’m very glad I found this thread. I just called Citi again, and told them I do NOT wish to convert to the World card. Since I had not yet activated my World Card (which makes me wonder how they were “in the process of converting it” online?) he said he was able to stop the conversion and keep me with the Platinum Select card. However, he repeated several times that although I could keep my old Platinum Select card, and account number, that the rewards benefits would still be the same as the new World Card (1% cash back, and the quarterly revolving 2% on select categories that are useless to me). This is incredibly disappointing, and I imagine I will decrease my use of the card, since I used it at groceries, pharmacies and gas stations specifically for the increased cash back.
I am disappointed in Citibank, both for the changes, and the lack of transparency in the change process, but cannot say I trust any other banks either! Nor do I wish to close this long-standing Citi account and open a new one with a new bank, as I think that both closing a long term account and opening a new account each ding your credit rating, no? And even if I found a better rewards card, what is to stop the next bank from changing their rewards program as well?
I do want to thank each of you that posted here. Finding this thread helped me a great deal today, both in understanding the changes in the acct, and knowing that the “conversion” can be undone! Thanks!
I was also glad to find this site/thread on this issue. I followed everyone’s advice and the customer service reps seemed to know exactly what we’re all trying to do. Just make sure you get sent to account services or the credit card division. Unequivocally tell them you want to keep the Platinum Dividend Visa, and you should be all set. It was a surprisingly easy and almost pleasant experience. It was completely painless as of August 13, 2010 when I called. Good luck.
I called today, and they reversed the conversion back to my Platinum Select Dividend MC, no problem. However, check your bank statements, because the two months (September and October) after they converted my account originally, my bank account was debited twice for my auto payment amount…once for each account I guess! And the balance each time on the old account shows $0.00, but the money is gone from my bank account. I asked about this and he said only one payment was taken each month and to check with my bank for bank error. I’m willing to bet that after I check with my bank, I’ll be calling back and telling Citi to reverse a payment for each month so I can get my money back that has basically just disappeared from my bank account.
I am so disappointed with Citi Cards. I received the new cards a while ago but did not activate it due to 2 reasons. 1.new card number – have to change my automatic billing information plus memorize the 16 digits all over again. 2.annual membership fee – $60 per year and credited back only if I purchase more than $2400 per year? Since 2 years ago, I don’t even use this card enough to get the $50 dividend dollars per year. I thought I can ignore the new card and still use my old one, but Citi kept calling me to remind me to activate the new card. I finally had it with the long recordings on the answering machine and called them on November 15th to ask if I can keep my old Citi Platinum Select Dividen MC. CS said NOPE. I paid off remaining balance, closed the account, and asked would they send me the check for $26.89 dividend dollars I accumulated. Normally they don’t issue checks less than $50 but my CS tallked to his supervisor and promised me it would be done. Today (November 27th), I receive a letter from S. Larson of Customer Service that he regrets to inform me that they are unable to issue rebate check less than $50. So, who’s the liar and who is taking responsibility?
Is this how they earn more profits? After 11 years of being a good customer, I am sad to say I honestly hope they go out of business. I am writing a letter to S. Larson, whoever you are. I may have closed my account but I am not going away easily.
S. Larson has been signing the letters for eons. I am sure she is real, maybe the senior vice president or something. I have letters from 1998 with her name on it. Part of Citibank’s problem; people like that have been in charge too long and they get stale.
I was able to opt out of the World “upgrade” but I have stopped using my card. To thank me for my 10 years of cardmembership, they jacked my rate to 18.99%, lowered my credit line (I am convinced that this was due to profiling-I started grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and suddently they lower the limit, yet they increased my AT&T MasterCard limit a few months later, go figure) and then tried to force me into a World product. I have since opened a Chase Freedom and I am very happy with it and the free $100 that came with it. Citibank should realize that there are far superior cash back cards out there and better banks/credit unions. They have ticked off enough people they won’t be left with many.
PS Sophie..one of the better parts of CARD Act that was passed is that card companies can no longer charge an annual fee if you don’t spend a certain dollar amount or become inactive anymore. So nobody should be trying that. They can charge an annual fee if they change the terms, but they cannot state that an annual dollar amount has to be spent or the account used throughout the year.
The NEW Citi Thank you World Mastercard does not include a photo on the card … a GREAT feature for added security. Obviously, Citi does not care about security OR they would have included the photo option! No thank you Citi!
I just received the new card and wondered why CITI was replacing them so soon as my expiry is in 2014 and noticed my current card is a Platimum Select Dividend and the new card was a Dividend World but had the same number, expiry, and 3 digit code. The CSM and the account manager tried to assure me that they were the same card but the account manager was able to change my account back.
Hi everyone I just call the customer service rep in the Philippines told me she can’t opt me out of the conversion, I told her BS get me a supervisor and someone who knows how to honor my request. She transferred me to a Maryland svc center to an account mgr and I was able to opt out of the conversion. It’s true the world mc does not report credit limits don’t accept the new cards.
I accumulated $124 in dividend dollars. I stopped using the card after citi decided to lower their 5% down to 2%. Out of no where I received a letter informing me that my account was closed due to inactivity. I called to reactivate the card and was denied! They claimed my income was too low? I had been a member since 2002 and my income had not changed by more than 10%? I spoke to the highest levels in their company and no one agreed what to do to get my $124. I have been on their case now for over 2 years trying to get my $124 that I earned. I will continue to do this for as long as it takes to get my $124 I earned.