There is yet another rewards card variation out there – the Citibank CashReturns MasterCard.
What’s special about this card is the promotional offer. It offers 5% back on all purchases for 3 months.(Update: as of 4/20, it only offers a 20% bonus on the standard 1% back on everything), with no caps or limits. This would be ideal for those that either regularly charge high amounts on their cards, or have any large purchases coming up. Got a home improvement project approaching? Christmas gifts? Vacation plans? Reimbursed work expenses? I know we really racked up the charges when we moved.
Doing the math, this has the potential to be better than any of the other sign-up bonuses out there. If you get 5% back on $10,000 during the intro period, that’s $500 of tax-free cash in your pocket! (Why credit card rebates are believed to be non-taxable).
The standard benefits are pretty average, but do offer more towards simplicity:
» Earn 1% cash back on all purchases
» No limits or expiration on the amount of cash back earned
» Checks sent automatically upon earning $50
» No Annual Fee
Update: Yes, there is also 0% APR on balance transfers for up to 12 months with this card, but note that it comes with a transaction fee of 3.0% of the amount of each balance transfer ($5 minimum). If this is what interest you, see this list for alternative cards with no initial balance transfer fees.
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Citi > all
It pays to have above-average credit scores and be in their target market 😀
Unlimited free money? Apparently you can get cash back on cash advances as well. From the terms and conditions: “The transaction fee for cash advances is 3.0% of each cash advance, minimum $5.” Take out a $10,000 cash advance, get charged $300, pay it all off, and get $500 back as a reward?
This is perfect to help pay for our wedding, of all things! I have to make sure they take mastercard.
You also forgot tuition for lots of people. I know my college takcredit cards.
Heck at 5% you could just pay yourself with PayPal and still make profit. Cheaper than 3% cash advances too.
I found out about this card through FW. Citi gave me a stingy line on this card but I managed to relocate lines from other Citi cards onto this one.
Legally speaking, is there anything wrong with paypal(ing) yourself with a credit card?
I would also like to know about PayPal-ing yourself. I’ve already moved my other Citi credit lines to my CashRewards card. Since I also have a Paypal account, I’d like to maximize the monthly spend and rewards on the card.
Using a Paypal calculator, http://www.ppcalc.com...
I send myself $5000,
Paypal takes ($5000 x 2.9%) + $0.30 = $145.30,
Total I would receive is $5000 – $145.30 = $4854.70
CashRewards from Citi -> $5000 x 5% = $250
Net Profit -> $250 – $145.30 = $104.70
So by this calculation you can make roughly $105 per $5000 you Paypal yourself. And of course you can transfer the payment back into your bank account free of charge.
Anyone know how to set this up? If anyone can find any fault in this thinking, please let me know.
Technically you can also “pay” yourself using Google Checkout with two accounts (one of them being a merchant account). They won’t be charging any fees until next year.
However, they might flag you for this if you have similar account information between the two accounts. They sent me a warning e-mail when i did this after 3 months.
I’ve been thinking about this pretty hard to see if there would be a catch, and this may be it 🙁 How many payments will Citi let you make a month?
Wow, no fees for Google checkout so if you “pay” yourself $5000 per month for the first 3 months, you can pocket 5% of $15,000 tax free. That comes out to $750!! Hello iPhone and Nintendo Wii…..Merry christmas to me.
Is this legal? If not, forget it.
Google might close our accounts if we try to pay ourselves with our own cards. If you want to beat the system, why don’t you pay your friend with your card through paypal or google checkout? Or perhaps form a CitiCashCard community, where each member pays the other (& vice-versa) and then gets 5% cash back for the transactions! In that case, Google should not have qualms about accounts being similar. Just a thought – we were trying to see the loopholes in the online payment systems…
This is interesting! Has anyone tried the paypal or google checkout with the Citibank CashReturns MasterCard yet?
Can anyone tell me how to relocate lines from other Citi cards onto this one? Thanks.
I think the legality of this would be in the gray area.
You’re basically avoiding the cash advance fees and getting cash back by having Google Checkout or Paypal act the the middleman in a transaction between you…and yourself ;p .
Question, guys. Hopefully someone has an idea for me to get around this…
Scenario: I applied for this Citi CashReturns card and expect to receive it soon. My biggest (and only) debt is approximately $7,000 in student loans. I plan on completely paying off this amount within 4 months.
Obviously, if I could pay it off with my CashReturns card, I’d be golden ($7k x .05 = $350 for a debt I would be paying off anyway).
Problem: My student loan provider, Sallie Mae, does not accept credit cards for payment. In fact, they only take checks or online payments straight from a bank account.
Is there a “middle man” I can use that would allow me to use my CashReturns card to pay off my student loan debt? PayPal and Google Checkout have been mentioned in other scenarios during this comment thread, but I have little to no experience with them. Could they (or something else entirely) work, and if so what would I need to do?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, guys. I’ve resigned myself to this being a situation impossible to get around, but I’m hopeful that someone will surprise me with a helpful tip.
Thanks.
Leaving the idea of hustling the cc via the cash advance/paypal idea for a moment…
As far as using the card more in the spirit in which it’s intended (the 5% back on purchases), I think this really encourages gross overspending on things. Is it sensible to justify huge spending since one is paying “only” 95% of the price (after the rebate) instead of 100%?
And back to the cash advance/paypal hustle: I can’t imagine that Citi would put up with that for too long. They are pretty generous already, with the bonuses and 0% money…
kev – You might want to look at any BillPay options that the citi cards might have (i don’t think they have any).
I do know that while Sallie Mae does not take credit cards, American Express’ BillPay option does let you pay off Sallie Mae. AMEX is also the only one that i know of where the BillPay option counts for rewards.
Hypothetical strategies for (re)cycling your own money through cash rewards cards gets brought up regularly on fatwallet. They almost never work in practice, either because of explicit user agreement of the card, or paypal/google will shut you down.
There also must be a cap on the maximum reward, right Jonathan?
No cap on this card at all, it says so explicitly. That’s why this deal is special, most other Citi cards have an annual cap.
Ahaha I believe Citi will regret this offer by the time we readers are done with it…
Well posted
Looks like a great card! I’m going to apply… 🙂
I skipped this card and went for the Citi Platinum Amex… 5% on Gas Groceries and Drugstores, 3% on everything else for 24 months.
P.S. Yes, I know the Citi Amex rewards are in Thank you points, but I got a mountain points of them and every little bit gets me closer to a 57″ LCD 1080p TV. Also, the annual fee is waived for a year.
I called Citi and was able to convert my existing Simplicity card (with a nice big limit) over to the Cash Returns card. Kept the same card number & everything. Easy!
Evan Says:
I called Citi and was able to convert my existing Simplicity card (with a nice big limit) over to the Cash Returns card. Kept the same card number & everything. Easy!
Okay – but Citi does not usually give the promo CB unless you open a new account – are you saying you also received the 5% CB for 3 months when you converted to the new card?
I agree – You don’t get any of the intro promotions on Citi cards when you convert, just the standard benefits.
jonathan,
u know the amex business card u advertised a few weeks back? i applied and got it, charged $9,000 and amex got worried and requested all sorts of financial documents from me saying that they are doing a routine check. I told BS!! they asked for tax info for past 2 years, bla bla bla.
I told them they already approved me and i have been using it. they said this was random. I said no i cant provide all that info…they cancelled my card. Bastards!!!
The fact that there’s no annual fee makes this promotion particularly interesting.
Watch out for the rapid debt accumulation, though ; )
I used this card to pay my property taxes and quarterly estimated income taxes. Even where a 2.5% convenience fee is imposed, I netted 2.5% for every dollar paid.
Hmm… stankwell, I think you’re on to something there, I can’t believe I missed this. Even with a 2-3% fee, due to the lack of a cap, this still wouldn’t interfere with one earning 5% on all other purchases. So it’s both, not either/or, and still results in an incremental profit.
Definitely important to re-allocate what credit limits you do have on other Citi cards to this card then, as others have done above!
I called about converting an little used CitiCard to this one and was told that the 5% cashback for three months would not apply if processed by conversion. However, if I made a new application for this card on line I would be eligible. Thanks for the information all these bonuses help out.
I applied about 5 days ago and have not yet heard a response. Has anyone else heard anything?
I called the “application status” number which is 1-888-201-4523 and was congratulated on being awarded the card (with a whopping $3,600.00 line of credit). I told them they had to be joking. Maybe the lower credit line is to defer irrational spending. We were hoping to pay for a new roof which comes in at $12,000.00, then the annual property taxes, car insurance and Christmas stuff. we have had Citicards for twenty or more years and have never missed a payment, usually in full every month.
I was told I was approved instantly when I applied online on the 16th, but when I called this morning to follow up (since I hadn’t received anything), I was told that my application was still being reviewed–then they tried to pitch me the Citi Professional card. After I told them I was not interested, they said OK, well, you’ll get an update on your application in 7-10 business days. They told me sometimes the website says something that isn’t totally correct because they were actually waiting for more information (apparently, they just wanted to know if I wanted the Professional card since I didn’t give them any additional information). I’ve had a Citi card for at least 5 years, and this tactic is pretty deplorable.
The exact thing happened to me. They called to verify me and to try to sell me the Citi professional card. They did the same thing to my sister who also applied.
A few things to try:
(1) You can wait a bit and then call up to see if they will grant you a larger credit line. If not, then try to merge limits from another card if they will let you. Tell them about your long history with Citi, etc. Worst case they say no. Or just try calling again until you get a different answer.
(2) Simply charge a few thousand of the bill, then pay it off a few days later, then charge a few thousand more, then pay it off, etc. Try to break up any really big charges into smaller regular payments.
Has anyone tried the google checkout/paypal thing with this card?
Re: converting an existing card and getting the promo rate. When I called to convert, the rep I got did say I would get the 5% rate. If that turns out to not be the case, I’ll be calling to raise hell…
You guys were right- they said that I wasn’t eligible for the 5% cash back even though the first rep I spoke with said that I was. I was able to squeeze a $100 credit out of them, though. Thanks for the tip!
I got my card a couple of days ago. None of the printed material included in the packet stated the intro rate (only quoted the 1% cashback on all purchases), so I called to confirm the 3-month 5% special. The customer service rep told me that the intro rate was actually only 4% on all purchases!! Anyone else??
The introductory bonus is 4%, on top of the constant 1% on everything, giving you a total of 5%.
I was wondering if the 5% only applies to purchases below the credit line or if it applies to all purchases regardless of whether they exceed the credit line. I read the “terms and conditions” and a $39 fee applies any time the credit line is exceeded. However, if they credit line is exceeded by $1000, I will qualify for a $50 rebate, which more than covers the $39 fee.
Wow, this review and all these comments have been a great help! I’m getting married next year and going to start putting down deposits on a lot of things, and it sounds like this card may be the perfect way to do it. Everyone’s suggestions have been really helpful!
After applying online, I was only given a $7500 limit. I called customer service and requested the card be cancelled. This typically throws them off and they question why. I explained that the low limit would not do me any good with my spending habits/patterns. By the end of the conversation the limit was increased to $25,000. The limit needs to be high if you are new to Citi for several reasons.
1) You can not make the first payment by internet until the first statement is actually cut from Citi.
2) After you make your first payment by internet, you cannot make another payment for 15 days. After that you can make up to 4 payments per billing period.
All that being said I have had my card for less than 40 days and have run $42,200 on it. On my way to 100K 😉
Does anyone know when they pay the 4% bonus or when it will show on your account through the internet? My account currently only shows the 1%.
Just to follow-up … Citibank is quick to pay the 5% rebate. I just received my first check for $1,166.68 just 9 days after having made my first payment electronic payment. This should be a fun 3 months.
$1,167?! Yowza.
Michael, that’s fantastic! Are you using Google Checkout or something similar?
I saw stankwell said that he used this card to pay property tax, but I called citicard customer service and I was told that paying property tax bill does NOT qualify for 5% cash rebate, because it’s not considered as purchase.
Did you actually receive the 5% rebate for the property tax bill payment?
Regarding tax payments with this card: sounds great – thought I’d pay my quarterly estimated taxes due in January, my usual taxes due April 15 (in March, a bit early), and property taxes on several rental properties due in January. 2.5%-3% fees still leave me with 2% or more cash back in my pocket. Then I came across this post in the Motley Fool:
“Perhaps the biggest question on the minds of people intrigued by the pay-by-credit-card option is, “What about freebies such as the airline miles or cash-back rewards I receive with many cards? Will these still apply?” Perhaps not. The credit card companies are likely to treat these tax payments as “cash advances” and will not attach any of your associated freebies to them. So, before you leap, contact your credit card company and ask how they specifically handle tax payments, and whether you’ll receive your airline miles and/or cash rebates on the transactions.”
THAT put a damper on my enthusiasm. Anyone have actual experience with this card and tax payments, and actually receiving 5% back on the tax payment?
I just used it to pay my property tax bill. My county charges a 2.5% fee for this so I’ll make 2.5%. Citi better not treat it like a cash advance. I would think that would have to be spelled out in the Terms & Conditions though. Anyone know? I haven’t tried the Paypal yourself angle but here is an idea I had to get the 5% while I still can: Gift Cards…near the end of the billing cycle I see how much room I still have left on the limit and I buy gift cards to use myself (after the 5% promo ends) at Wal-Mart,grocery stores,restaurants, etc. Places I would be spending the money anyway. I’ll move money over from savings to pay the bill and avoid finance charges and then when the 5% ends I’ll live mainly off the gift cards and have a very low Citi bill.The money in my budget for Citi will go back to savings instead and I’ve gained the 5%. The only warning I can think of is that gift cards are basically like carrying cash around with you. Thoughts?
Ken, Michael,
I also heard somewhere that you have to be firstime citibank members to get the cash rewards. Is that true? and is there a lower credit limit on this card compared to other citi cards?
any other small print catches?
Anoni
As far as I know, Citi adds the 4% bonus on top of the 1% bonus at the end of the billing cycle. Therefore, you will more than likely not receive a check until 10-12 days after the billing date because unless you’ve spent over $5000 (to qualify for the $50 check). Great deal though, I just paid both personal property and real estate taxes with it and I hope it goes through as a purchase. I don’t see how it couldn’t. Has anyone tried filtering money through Google checkout/paypal? Thanks.
To answer the previous question, I paid my property taxes with the card and have already received the rebate check that includes that. I did get 5% back on the property taxes and it was treated just like a purchase, NOT as a cash advance.
I did call the customer service two more times and the answer that I got was the property tax payments are qualified for the 5% rebate. So the first one gave me the wrong answer.
As a matter of fact, I already saw they treated the property tax payments that I made using the card as the purchase on the statement so I will receive 5% rebate for that.
Here’s an idea on estimated income tax payments: Due Jan 15 are quarterly estimated income tax payments. Suppose one overpaid those estimated taxes by say $20,000 or so? Well then the IRS will give a refund on the amount overpaid of course. So make a payment Jan 15 and then shortly thereafter file your usual 1040 tax return, indicating that you are due a refund of $20,000. I believe the IRS will send you a check for $20,000. And after a 2.5% convenience fee for charging that $20,000 to your citi card, you end up clearing 2.5% on $20,000 or $500.
Is my logic wrong somewhere?
Citi has been good to me over the past 3 months. I have received a check for $1,168 the first month, $1, 547 for the second month, and I just finished my last day of the third billing cycle yesterday. I finally got things clicking with my charging and electronic payments to run $84,097 dollars on the card in one month which will net me a $4,204.85 check this month. No PayPal gimmicks or transaction fees involved so my net/net profit from this experience is $6,919.
I wonder if they will let my wife have a card now…because Citi is probably ready to cut me off.
I had this card for a little over 3 months now, and Citi told me, now, that I’m ineligable for the 5% rebate and they only signed me up for 1% after the CSR told me originally that I was getting 5%. After 14 phone calls they said they would in fact give me the hundreds of dollars owed to me, but I find they changed their mind again after I recieved a check for $91. In the end I’ll try calling them one more time and then head for small claims court. I could have had an amex blue cash and gotten a better return.
I applied for this credit card and got a letter today saying that I was denied because I have no revolving accounts with a balance. I have a couple of credit cards, which I pay off every month. I’m pretty upset about this, as applying for this probably did hurt my credit score and I’m been denied cause I don’t have credit card debt. My card I pay off every month, always has a balance on it. Any advice? Have others had this issue?
Nick – Perhaps the amounts aare split into 4% and 1% like someone said? I’l call Citi and ask, it seems like everyone else has been getting their money.
Anne Marie – That is kind of weird. You could call Citi for clarification, or because of the denial you get a free copy of the credit report that they used to base this decision on. Make sure it is correct.
TO: Evan Says:
September 14th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I called Citi and …..
Evan I hope you check this site, b/c i have a question for you.
Thanks
What’s up?
I called Citi recently to convert but they said they cant do it b/c of the credit act. what do you think?
Sorry, no idea. That was almost 3 years ago, a lot has changed since then. Good luck.
Do you still like the card? and whats the maximum limit (if you dont mind) Thanks
Is there anyone else who can answer about converting and the credit limit?
Thanks
Never mind, all taken care of.