Citi Changing Rules on Card Bonuses… Once per 48 Months?
Citi has a rule that limits credit card signup bonuses to one every 24 months. They tweaked that rule a bit earlier this year, and now it looks like they are changing it once again.
DansDeals reports that now Citi AA Platinum, Citi AA Executive, and Citi AA Business card applications on AA.com show a new restriction for signup bonuses. You will not be eligible for a bonus on these cards if you have received a bonus within the past 48 months.
Old rules:
American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi® / AAdvantage® card (other than a MileUp℠or CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.
New rules on Citi AA Platinum:
American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select account in the past 48 months.
Analysis
Moving for 24 months to 48 is certainly bad news for those who rely on American Airlines credit cards for AAdvantage points. But there’s also some positive pieces of information in the new wording.
First, card are no longer grouped together by family. The new 48 month rule only applies to that specific card, not all AA cards in Citi’s portfolio.
The other good news is that closing a card will not reset the clock.
Conclusion
For now the new language is not showing on all applications available, but they could be just testing it at first. It’s very possible that this could become the new rule for AA cards and others.
Let us know what you think.
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Is the 48 month clock starts from when I received the bonus or when I closed the previous account?
Confusing for sure.
It sounds like I’m now eligible to get the bonus for the Platinum card again, even though I closed it less than two years ago, as I originally got the bonus more than four years ago….
Citi currently, has the most confusing set of rules leaving lots of doubt as to whether an applicant could possibly apply, get approved, complete the minimum spend and then be denied the bonus. Even if it extends the time from 24 to 48 months before one could apply for the exact same card. I would much prefer that to the current system which denies you an bonus on any card in that card family with card closures or some product changes resetting the 24 month restriction. I find Chase 5/24 rule very harsh and strict but at least it’s more straightforward and clear.
I agree 100% it is frustrating to have to constantly figure out what will work and what will not. And Amex is the same way these days making it up as they go along. Chase is harsh for sure but at least you know where you stand.
I still think the Marriott cards — both Amex AND Chase — take first prize for “Most Confusing Application Rules EVER” 😀
No kidding 😉
But, now B of A is going sideways too…
I think you’re right about Marriott cards taking most confusing rules. You need a good lawyer to review Marriott’s rules and exclusions before daring to thing you might actually expect to earn their bonus. I miss the good old days when all you needed was a great credit score to get any cards and bonuses you wanted.