4 ms·

Somewhat of a tangent, but I never miss an opportunity to tell the story of why I will never use a credit card from Citi. Circa 2000CE: I was in college, livin

Somewhat of a tangent, but I never miss an opportunity to tell the story of why I will never use a credit card from Citi. Circa 2000CE: I was in college, living in the dorms. The person working in the mail-room at the dorms was somewhat unmotivated, leading to mail often ending up in the wrong mailbox. Sunday night, someone gives me a Citi card bill that is due on Tuesday. Monday morning, I call customer service and let them know the situation. I will mail them a check before the due date, and I would like to get a grace period on the late-fee and interest. CS rep informs me that they cannot do that, but can do an electronic funds transfer from my checking account for a $10 fee. I was rather astonished at this, and told them to do the EFT and cancel my account. I should note that Discover (my other credit card at the time) and my next major credit card (95% certain it was Chase) both encountered similar situations and handled it reasonably.

yieldcrv 3y ago
Am I understanding that you’re holding a grudge for 20 years because of a breakdown in delivery for an antiquated communication method, one that wouldn't be used in your socioeconomic class to handle finances any longer because citi was inflexible then? inflexible to a financial woe you would also never encounter in your subsequent post-college socioeconomic status for decades? I’m asking because I didn't completely understand the story
- xboxnolifes 3y ago
  You're using a lot of words to say: "They avoid Citi because they gave them bad service".
  - yieldcrv 3y ago
    They used a lot of words to say that
    - bigyikes 3y ago
      They used a lot of words to tell a story about their experience. You used a lot of words to reduce their experience and make yourself sound smart.
- oarla 3y ago
  No, it's because they charged a $10 fee to move money from a checking account(at the same bank) to credit card account. That is just ridiculous! There should be no fees to move money between your accounts at the same bank.
  - yieldcrv 3y ago
    ah, that I agree with, I'd be mad about that too on top of potential late fees and interest
abawany 3y ago
Citi is usurious. I once made a mistake in the payment by entering a slightly smaller amount than the balance - I detected the mistake after the due date and sent the remaining balance that day. I was still charged interest for 2 more payment periods, which their CS stated was in the card terms (I confirmed) so she couldn't do anything.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  > Citi is usurious I have had both good and bad experiences with them. I recall they charged a ridiculous fee for a cashier's check when I was in law school and needed to move my student loan money. I seriously considered withdrawing it all (tens of thousands) in cash and walking it down the street to WaMu. Another time, they completely refunded a several-hundred dollar charge for a hotel that misrepresented itself as a boutique luxury spot, yet lacked many basics. The hotel fought the chargeback and was going to make it a miserable process, so Citi just refunded the whole thing (we had only asked for a partial refund). What I've found with banks and others is that lower-level people will say that it's impossible to help you, and that if you speak to a supervisor they will say the same thing. But most of the time, supervisors do have more power, and are able to make things happen. There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random!
  - bombcar 3y ago
    > There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random! It comes down to being polite, persistent, and professional (and lucky) - the CSR has certain buttons they can press for you (for example, most banks/credit cards let the first-level hit the "refund one fee" button), and the higher up you get, the more discretion they have. If you're not yelling at them, you can often get what you want via some other method (which only they know) - like them reclassifying the problem to something else they have leeway for.
  - sirspacey 3y ago
    I’ve learned to play customer service roulette. Don’t get the answer I’m looking for? Hang up and call back. I suspect I’m just looking for the reps who aren’t entirely jaded yet, because they haven’t yet learned you get punished for doing the “right thing by the customer.”
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jimt1234 3y ago
I paid my college tuition with my Discover card (back in the mid-90s). I was waiting in line at the student loan office, with my stack of paperwork, when I glanced over and saw a Discover kiosk in the student center. I filled out an application, and in about 10 minutes I had covered my tuition for the semester. I just kept charging my tuition to my Discover card. When I hit the limit, I called them and they bumped it. I probably paid more, but at least I didn't have to deal with the god damn student loan process. Ugh.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Most credit card interest rates are far, far higher than student loans?
GuardianCaveman 3y ago
Citi consistently was the card who would freeze and not work when I was overseas despite me telling them I was traveling leading to many embarrassing moments. They always say, oh we're just trying to protect your account from fraud. I'm like, you already guarantee i'm not responsible for fraud so you're just making my life inconvenient to protect CITI from fraud.
- tsycho 3y ago
  This still happens consistently, and I don't even have to leave the country, I just have to buy flights to a foreign country (eg: for vacation) or buy something from a foreign website (eg: buying a gift for my family). The only reason I use them is for their 2% cash back on everything, but I have stopped using them for any non-domestic purchases.
  - dataflow 3y ago
    > The only reason I use them is for their 2% cash back on everything You can get more than that, see https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/wiki/list_of_flat_cashback_cards_with_benefits https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/wiki/list_of_flat_cashb...
    - jjav 3y ago
      I have not found any card where you can get unlimited cash back on all categories that still returns more than 2%. Is there one?
      - dataflow 3y ago
        They're literally listed in the table I linked? The first 6 rows are all > 2%. One of them even has the word "unlimited" in the name.
        zeroonetwothree 3y ago
        All of them require some additional hassle, there isn’t any card over 2% that is straightforward.
lsllc 3y ago
Yes the classic one is that you make a transfer on the checking acct instead of savings and end up using a bit of you line of credit. So you get the payoff amount and pay it, but it doesn't include the interest for today. So tomorrow, you still owe a few cents and if you don't pay it off (because you thought you did pay it off already and they don't notify you until it's actually late), you end up with another $30 late fee for a fraction of a $ in interest. Looking at you Santander. Back in the day the banks used to order your withdrawals largest first when posting them overnight to maximize the number of times you'd get overdrawn (and get an overdrawn fee). People would get hit by multiple overdrawn fees in one day. I think they outlawed that one a few years ago.
camiat 3y ago
With the announcement of Capitol One planning to buy Discover, what are the plans now? As far as I know, Discover had the best customer support experience I had with credit cards. I'm not sure if there are other cards with a similar level of support.

yieldcrv 3y ago

Am I understanding that you’re holding a grudge for 20 years because of a breakdown in delivery for an antiquated communication method, one that wouldn't be used in your socioeconomic class to handle finances any longer because citi was inflexible then? inflexible to a financial woe you would also never encounter in your subsequent post-college socioeconomic status for decades? I’m asking because I didn't completely understand the story

xboxnolifes 3y ago
You're using a lot of words to say: "They avoid Citi because they gave them bad service".
- yieldcrv 3y ago
  They used a lot of words to say that
  - bigyikes 3y ago
    They used a lot of words to tell a story about their experience. You used a lot of words to reduce their experience and make yourself sound smart.
oarla 3y ago
No, it's because they charged a $10 fee to move money from a checking account(at the same bank) to credit card account. That is just ridiculous! There should be no fees to move money between your accounts at the same bank.
- yieldcrv 3y ago
  ah, that I agree with, I'd be mad about that too on top of potential late fees and interest

abawany 3y ago

Citi is usurious. I once made a mistake in the payment by entering a slightly smaller amount than the balance - I detected the mistake after the due date and sent the remaining balance that day. I was still charged interest for 2 more payment periods, which their CS stated was in the card terms (I confirmed) so she couldn't do anything.

gnicholas 3y ago
> Citi is usurious I have had both good and bad experiences with them. I recall they charged a ridiculous fee for a cashier's check when I was in law school and needed to move my student loan money. I seriously considered withdrawing it all (tens of thousands) in cash and walking it down the street to WaMu. Another time, they completely refunded a several-hundred dollar charge for a hotel that misrepresented itself as a boutique luxury spot, yet lacked many basics. The hotel fought the chargeback and was going to make it a miserable process, so Citi just refunded the whole thing (we had only asked for a partial refund). What I've found with banks and others is that lower-level people will say that it's impossible to help you, and that if you speak to a supervisor they will say the same thing. But most of the time, supervisors do have more power, and are able to make things happen. There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random!
- bombcar 3y ago
  > There's no particular rhyme or reason for why extraordinary relief is sometimes granted though — it seems completely random! It comes down to being polite, persistent, and professional (and lucky) - the CSR has certain buttons they can press for you (for example, most banks/credit cards let the first-level hit the "refund one fee" button), and the higher up you get, the more discretion they have. If you're not yelling at them, you can often get what you want via some other method (which only they know) - like them reclassifying the problem to something else they have leeway for.
- sirspacey 3y ago
  I’ve learned to play customer service roulette. Don’t get the answer I’m looking for? Hang up and call back. I suspect I’m just looking for the reps who aren’t entirely jaded yet, because they haven’t yet learned you get punished for doing the “right thing by the customer.”

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

jimt1234 3y ago

I paid my college tuition with my Discover card (back in the mid-90s). I was waiting in line at the student loan office, with my stack of paperwork, when I glanced over and saw a Discover kiosk in the student center. I filled out an application, and in about 10 minutes I had covered my tuition for the semester. I just kept charging my tuition to my Discover card. When I hit the limit, I called them and they bumped it. I probably paid more, but at least I didn't have to deal with the god damn student loan process. Ugh.

wolverine876 3y ago
Most credit card interest rates are far, far higher than student loans?

GuardianCaveman 3y ago

Citi consistently was the card who would freeze and not work when I was overseas despite me telling them I was traveling leading to many embarrassing moments. They always say, oh we're just trying to protect your account from fraud. I'm like, you already guarantee i'm not responsible for fraud so you're just making my life inconvenient to protect CITI from fraud.

tsycho 3y ago
This still happens consistently, and I don't even have to leave the country, I just have to buy flights to a foreign country (eg: for vacation) or buy something from a foreign website (eg: buying a gift for my family). The only reason I use them is for their 2% cash back on everything, but I have stopped using them for any non-domestic purchases.
- dataflow 3y ago
  > The only reason I use them is for their 2% cash back on everything You can get more than that, see https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/wiki/list_of_flat_cashback_cards_with_benefits https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/wiki/list_of_flat_cashb...
  - jjav 3y ago
    I have not found any card where you can get unlimited cash back on all categories that still returns more than 2%. Is there one?
    - dataflow 3y ago
      They're literally listed in the table I linked? The first 6 rows are all > 2%. One of them even has the word "unlimited" in the name.
      - zeroonetwothree 3y ago
        All of them require some additional hassle, there isn’t any card over 2% that is straightforward.

lsllc 3y ago

Yes the classic one is that you make a transfer on the checking acct instead of savings and end up using a bit of you line of credit. So you get the payoff amount and pay it, but it doesn't include the interest for today. So tomorrow, you still owe a few cents and if you don't pay it off (because you thought you did pay it off already and they don't notify you until it's actually late), you end up with another $30 late fee for a fraction of a $ in interest. Looking at you Santander. Back in the day the banks used to order your withdrawals largest first when posting them overnight to maximize the number of times you'd get overdrawn (and get an overdrawn fee). People would get hit by multiple overdrawn fees in one day. I think they outlawed that one a few years ago.

camiat 3y ago

With the announcement of Capitol One planning to buy Discover, what are the plans now? As far as I know, Discover had the best customer support experience I had with credit cards. I'm not sure if there are other cards with a similar level of support.