Citibank Scammed me !?

[sun365]

I applied for a Citibank visa last year,  first week of December. It was approved on 12/11 and I received the card in the last week of December.
The deal was that after spending $2000 during the first four months they give me 50K miles with AA.
I made that amount by April 14.
I checked with them in May and they said amount was met. Then I put the card away.
Well they never applied the miles.
I called them a few times and they said the records show it was applied.

A few weeks ago I got a more senior  person on the line and they said that my $2000 purchases wasn’t met in time, as my card was approved on December 11, and I only made the $2000 by April 14!

Sounds like a complete fraud to me –how can I make purchases when I didn’t even have the card, how can they count them time the card was sitting in their hands toward the four months?

Anyone else have a similar problem?
Any recourse?

[sky121]

According to what you are saying it should have been spent by April 11.  ...Or am I missing something?

And they can decide that because they can decide anything they want. If that's the rule, that's the rule.

What you could do is try calling back and telling them it was within 4 months of activation and be nice and see what they can do for you. If you get someone friendly maybe they can help you out.

[sun365]

Yes, they are saying since it was approved on December 11 it had to be spent by April 11. The agreed that they mailed it on or after December 11. This is outrageous!!

[good sam]

I'm pretty sure this is standard for these deals.  Always begins from the date approved.

[myb821]

That's always how it is

[sky121]

Most deals I know of are like that. I think your best bet is to tell them you misunderstood and ask them to honor it. Try calling.  Anyone know any numbers good for reaching for the right people in this case?

[sun365]

I did. And they said they would look into it. And just sent me a letter stating the same thing.

[sky121]

Good Luck! Hopefully they will honor it!!

[Avid Reader]

I applied for a Citibank visa last year,  first week of December. It was approved on 12/11 and I received the card in the last week of December.
The deal was that after spending $2000 during the first four months they give me 50K miles with AA.
I made that amount by April 14.
I checked with them in May and they said amount was met. Then I put the card away.
Well they never applied the miles.
I called them a few times and they said the records show it was applied.

A few weeks ago I got a more senior  person on the line and they said that my $2000 purchases wasn’t met in time, as my card was approved on December 11, and I only made the $2000 by April 14!

Sounds like a complete fraud to me –how can I make purchases when I didn’t even have the card, how can they count them time the card was sitting in their hands toward the four months?

Anyone else have a similar problem?
Any recourse?

If all else fails, you might want to open a case at the BBB with your side of the story. Some gentle prodding on the BBB's part can often convince them to change their mind. Even if you were technically wrong, they will most likely honor it being that you were so close to the correct time frame.

[good sam]

Here is an angle:

I called amex last night to activate a new card and the rep read me the kitchen sink about the card.  She also made it extremely clear that the starting date to reach the spending threshold is the date of approval. 

Maybe tell them that because you activated your card online, you were not privy to this information.

[sun365]

I called last night to cancel card.
They pass me on to the retention dept. I told the guy why. He said he is going to look into it and get back to me. He is suppose to call me Monday. I don't hold much hope.

[Avid Reader]

I called last night to cancel card.
They pass me on to the retention dept. I told the guy why. He said he is going to look into it and get back to me. He is suppose to call me Monday. I don't hold much hope.

Don't give up so fast. It doesn't take much to file a claim with the BBB, and you'll very likely hear a different tone of voice form Citi using that venue. The specifics of the 4 month rule should be made clear by iti, and apparently it wasn't. Being that you just missed it by a few days, you stand a very good chance that they'll in fact give you the miles.