More bad news for people that like to sign up for multiple different credit cards. Via Doctor of Credit, Citi has now changed the terms and conditions on all (most?) of their cards limiting bonuses to only people that have not opened or closed ANY card within that product family in the past 24 months.
I have updated the current credit card rules and best practices page to indicate this new change. Previously you were limited to only being eligible for a bonus if you hadn’t opened or closed the SPECIFIC PRODUCT in the past 24 months. Now, you’ll be ineligible if you’ve had ANY card in that product family
An example of the Citi crackdown
Previously, the language of the Citi Hilton HHonors card said
Hilton HHonors Bonus Points offer not available if you have had a Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card account that was opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Now, that same Citi Hilton card has the following language
Bonus Hilton HHonors points are not available if you have had any Citi®Hilton HHonors™ card opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Similar language appears on the other Citi cards. The Citi American Airlines card says (emphasis mine)
American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi® / AAdvantage® card (other than a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.
Any loopholes?
It looks like there may be some loopholes for business cards, and in my looking through some of the links out there, not all of them had the language. So if you are looking to apply for a new Citi card, check the fine print and make sure to document (screenshots, etc) what you apply for, in case you have to fight for your benefit.
Over on the Points With a Crew miles and points Slack channel, someone joked about “wanting a recession again”. And while I am not sure I’d go quite THAT far, it is true that when the economy was worse off, it seemed like banks were much more interested in getting new customers vs. now that the economy is a bit stronger, they are really starting to crack down on people!
Does this change to Citibank’s rules affect any cards you were planning on signing up for? Find any links that still have the old language? Leave a note in the comments
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What if you currently HAVE an existing card, but haven’t opened or closed the account in the last 24 months? Are you able to get another card with the sign-up bonus?
That is my understanding. At least under the old rules, I was able to get another Hilton HHonors card with the 75K bonus (affiliate link) even though I already had one that hadn’t been opened or closed within 24 months.