Citi Credit Cards Reviews

I received a rate increase letter from Citibank. It states the following changes, which are raising all interest rates to the previous "default" rate of 29.99%:

Citibank raised my rate to 29.99%. I know they've done this to almost everyone. And a lot of us have good FICO score and have never been late. We all have to write our congressmen/women and senators. Of course they know what's going on, but if we all don't complain, they'll just sit on their ** and let those credit card companies rape us. After 9/11, all air traffic was banned for 3 days. People were stranded with no way to get home. In the middle of that national emergency, hotels that raised their rates at that time were prosecuted. How is this any different? We are now in the middle of a deep national recession - why is Citibank allowed to do this, especially since our taxes bailed them out and paid for their multimillion dollar golden parachutes?!

I have found that a few people on this and similar websites have received letters from Citibank closing their accounts due to vague reasons that are unfounded and not true. I received the same letter today, Sept 1, 2009, (letter dated Aug 27) from Citibank (South Dakota): ''As a result of a recent review, we found it necessary to close your Citi MasterCard account. Your account was reviewed by a credit scoring system that assigned a numerical value to various items on your credit report. The information did not score a sufficient number of points to keep your account open."

I'm trying to pay my balance for Citibank credit card and I’m borrowing money from my friends to pay it off because of high interest rate. I looked at my billing statement this month and saw a charge on my account from Credit Protector fee monthly for $91.92. So, I called them to find out about it. Customer service said it's a different department and transferred me there. I spoke to somebody in that department and found out that they're charging me since May ’09. I asked them who authorized these charges and they said they’re going to investigate and will let me know within 30 days.

Because of a late payment, Citibank raised the interest rate on my card to 29.99%. I believe I am a victim of unfair and unethical business practices and would appreciate your assistance. I opened a modest credit card account and transferred a card balance to Citibank because of their low interest rate. They then raised my limit (not requested or approved), although I did eventually need the additional funds to get me through a very tight financial situation. When I realized how high the interest had become, I called CitiCard and was assured the rate would be lowered. It was very temporarily. It was right after that I was one day late for a payment and they raised my interest rate again and charged huge late fees.

I have a Citibank credit card with a 4% interest rate. I accepted this rate with the belief that the percentage would not change while the balance was paid down. Citi recently informed me that the minimum payback is being changed from 5% to 20%. Although this would not affect the "rate", it would certainly affect the "payment due". Citi advised me that they would reduce the total percentage due from 20% back to 5% if I would agree to pay 7.9% interest. By the way, I never made a late payment. I am now forced to tap into my pension benefits to rid myself of this debt. I thought that Citi was obligated to honor the original contract we had agreed to. I don't recall reading anything about the aforementioned in the details. Please help.

On August 14, 2009, I called Citi Cards to ask if I could push a payment date back a few days to August 21. The reason: I had just spent 6 days in the hospital with a blood clot in my lung and I was trying to get all my finances in order. I was told that a payment on the 21st would be okay;however, it would break my payment agreement. I had no choice because I simply did not have the money, so I agreed. I was told I would have to call the payment in by phone. Usually, the money is taken out automatically. No problem, I told them. On August 18, my check card was declined at a convenience store. When I got home, my checking account had me being $498 in the red. My statement said I had $400 taken out by Citi Cards on August 17. Since I had no reason to think it would be taken out, I bought gas, food, etc.

I received a similar interest increase notice (minimum of 29.99%) after 25 years of paying my bill on time. I called and requested that the change in terms be reconsidered in light of my positive record and was flatly denied. Then they offered to "review my account" and, if I passed (what are the odds I wouldn't), they would not increase the rate and refund 10% of the interest paid if I made 8 payments on time. Sounds just like what I asked for in the first place with a bonus, doesn't it? Being very suspicious, I started researching complaints about Citi and found this same scenario. Apparently, you have a good chance of getting another interest increase notice just before they have to pay the rebate. Of course, you can opt out and forfeit.

My husband and I have had a Sears credit card for more than 20 years. We paid little attention to interest rate, as the card was used approximately 1 time per year and always paid off at 1st billing. However, the card was used in 11/08 and the rate was 12.83%. The bill was paid. Apparently, there was an across-the-board increase in March, which raised our rate to 17%. The card was not used. We just received another rate increase, which is now 25.24%! We immediately called Citi and were grandfathered in to the 17% March rate due to our past business with Sears. As we consider our credit rating excellent, we cannot close this account without damaging our credit, so we must leave it open at an exorbitant rate.

I make every effort to pay my credit card on time and perhaps may have short paid by accident once or twice because I set up my internet banking to auto pay a certain amount and not realize I short paid. However, the issues have always been as soon as I find out, I pay the outrageous $35 fee(s), which should have resolved the issue with these legal extortionist. All my credit card interests have gone up due to credit report saying I owe too much not because of late fees. Well, if that is the case, why did the credit cards increase my limits without me asking for it? Instead of raising my interest, why didn't they just simply reduce my credit limit? Apparently, I was not a risk. No, they couldn't do this. What they opted for amounts is nothing more than legal extortion and legal fraud.

I have a Citibank MasterCard since 1988 that I have been transferring balances to because of better interest rate. It's currently 11.24%. They want to increase the rate to 29.99% next month, almost triple the rate on the existing balance. My only option is to close the card, which negatively impacts my credit. What other recourse do I have?

I've been a customer of CitiCard for 4 years now. Like everyone else, I was never late on payments. I always paid over the minimum. None of this matters, as you all can see. What they do nowadays is try to catch you off-guard to charge a late payment fee and APR hike. They stop sending notices and adjust your due date randomly to 2-3 days off of what it was before. I always stay on top of the due date, but what I didn't know was that if you don't pay by 5PM on the due date, it's considered "defaulting." Who does this? My APR went from 7.99% to 25.99%, and I got collection calls that same night!

I received a notice that my interest rate, currently at 15.99%, was going up to prime plus 23.99% - in other words, 29.99%! This was not on new purchases, but on the entire balance. While my balance is high, near my limit, I have never been late on payment. I was given the option to "opt out", whereby I would pay off the balance at the old rate but can never use the card again. Okay, so what? I did so, of course. I'm just stunned. Didn't we just bail these bums out? So, as a taxpayer I get stuck on both ends. In essence, as a tax payer, I'm still paying the extra interest rate through the government who bailed them out! This stinks. I smell a class-action suit. Is there one out there? I'm livid.

I received a credit card notice of change in terms and right to opt out pamphlet in the mail. Pamphlet stated that my APR was increasing from 16.99% to an APR of prime rate plus 23.99% with a minimum APR of 29.99%. The pamphlet stated, "This change is being made as a result of a combination of the economic environment and your account revolving balance and recent payments." I spoke to a customer service manager and questioned my increase. I explained I never made a late payment or missed a payment on this account. If they were increasing my rate, what were they increasing the rate to for cardholders with late and or missed payments? It was explained to me that the increase was due to the economic climate and there was nothing he could do about my rate increase. He stated, "I had the right to opt out."

Approximately 2 months ago, I was 1-2 days late on a payment for my credit card (which I opened only because I was offered a 0% rate for one year for transferring a balance) because the due date changed by a few days. I immediately paid the amount due and called customer service to ask if it would impact my 0% rate. I was informed that it could, but most likely wouldn't since I paid immediately and called right away. But they said they wouldn't know for sure until the next statement closed - after which I should call back. I called back a few weeks later when the statement closed (and interest rate raised to 29.99%) and the customer service rep that I talked to said it wouldn't be a problem and that she would put it in for the rate to be dropped back to 0% and the finance charges for the past two billing cycles would be credited to my account. She asked that I call back in a few days to make sure it went through.

I was reading a magazine article comparing specifics on affinity cards and I noticed the APR listed on the Citi HHonors Visa Signature Card was 14.24%. I have had this exact card for the past 6 years and I have paid it every month except for the past two. I hadn’t paid too much attention to the APR since I’ve been paying the card off monthly, but I noticed the rate on my card was 19.99%. After reading the article, I went online and sure enough the 14.24% APR is right there for everyone to see on the Citi website. I have never missed any payments and I certainly pay more than the minimum, so I definitely should qualify for their basic rate.

I recently received my Citicard statement and was stunned to see that my July payment had been received two days late, my interest rate had jumped to 25.99% and I was charged a late fee. I pay my bills online and had posted a payment of $233 on July 1st. My due date was July 8th; however, the turnaround on my bill pay is 2-3 business days and I felt confident that I was in that window. My minimum payment has now increased from $233 to $532.11. I am a teacher, a single mother, and have been an excellent customer for years. I was never late, even once. I have spoken to several account managers, hung up on twice, and sent a letters of complaint and then receive a form letter implying that I deserve this treatment.

This company cancelled my credit card because I did not charge anything for a few months. However, they never told me that. I was very upset when I called and the supervisor said, "Sorry, your card has been cancelled," and offered no solutions. I'm glad they are going under. She will be out of work soon.

Citbank and Chase - steer clear of them. I think this is more of a statement and complaint about service that should not be! It’s just is not right. Let’s start with the first company Citibank. They decided to lower my limit right after I made a $2,000.00 payment so I would be able to use it on vacation. What a surprise when I went to use it and they had actually lowered it to a point that I was over my limit. When they were called, they told me that I had some stuff on my credit report that justified the decrease. I had always made my payments on time and more than the minimum amount I found out someone else had filed bankruptcy and they, not me, had screwed up the my wife’s SSI number and I had that fixed before we left. I was told that timely payments were not the way they justified raises or the way they did business. I closed the account, paid it in full that is the way I do business.

I always paid off my balance on time through their website's online payment. Recently, strange things happened. The first time is my Citi dividends card. I set up the payment date, but it disappeared from the scheduled payment site before the pay date. They charged me a finance fee and late fee. I swallowed first time. Then a month later, it happened to my Citi Shell card. Again they charged all the fees. I am 150% sure that I set up the date and recorded the payment date and can't believe it disappeared. I have many other credit cards with other companies, but had never had payment scheduling issues. I strongly believe Citicard company purposely removed my scheduled date and try to make more money from the consumer like me. It is very unethical and probably illegal. I start to set up my alert system. Next time I will have my confirmation # to prove.

I have been a credit card customer of Citibank since 1988. I have paid the card on time and even have it paid off completely in the past. This past January 2009, they increased my interest rate from 11% to 25%. I called and was told it was due to the economic situation, and it was decreased to 23%. I have called since to see about getting it lowered and was told it was increased due to late payments. I knew I haven't had any late payments, so I asked when these late payments were and was put on hold. She came back and said it's due to late payments, but she never did tell me when these late payments were and the line was disconnected. The same thing happened when I called back again. I feel since I'm paying on time, I'm being punished for those that aren't. All I want is my interest rate back down.

I too was one of the many people who have a Citicard and received the letter of a rate increase. I have two, one at 4% and one at 14%; both are to be raised to the loan shark rate of 29.99%. I have had these cards for about three years, and to the best of my ability, I have maintained a decent record with them. After talking with them, it did not make a difference; and their justification is the state of the economy.

I accidentally missed payment by 10 days - I identified it, called, apologized, made them whole immediately. I have never been late before in 8 years! They raised my interest rate from 8% to 24% for this one incident - my payment doubled with the interest alone - and I can no longer afford it! So now, at this rate, they won't get a payment? Does that make any sense to you? I may need to let this go into default as I can no longer afford. Credit card companies/banks are pushing us into recession deeper with these predatory practices.

Citi Cards recently liquidated their "Drive Card" credit card used for auto repairs at some service providers. In doing so, they have closed consumer accounts. In my case, they have posted an "Account Alert" stating "This account has been converted to a new number or was closed at your request." This is entirely false but according to an account manager I spoke with today, they reported it this way to the credit bureau to "avoid a negative impact to my credit if it stated closed by bank." So, once again, Citi Cards is screwing consumers at will. I care less the line of credit is discontinued but care deeply that Citi Cards has the ability to negatively affect my credit rating in any way putting my hard earned credit worthiness at risk. Both reports, bank closed or consumer closed, have a negative impact. Consumer closed is a false statement. I don't recall agreeing to give Citi Cards rights to affect my credit rating due to their inability to provide credit. Citi card is, at will, tampering with my credit rating. No matter how they report it, it puts my credit rating at risk of lowering and having a domino effect on my credit worthiness. I haven't established and maintained good credit so Citi Cards or any other credit can, at will, put it at risk or ruin it.

This is my second post in less than a week. I received a notice from Citi over the weekend that my 12% interest credit card will be moving up to 29% in two weeks. W-O-W. I am so glad I spent all that time improving my credit rating and score so that the credit card companies could ruin both in a matter of months. This increase actually makes the ridiculous increase from Chase look modest. This card will not be remaining in my wallet and I will never do business with Citi again. I simply cannot believe that this is legal in this country. Is there anyone out there protecting the public?

On July 18, I received a letter from Citi Group advising me that my APR was being increased from 10.9% to a minimum of 29.99%. Upon contacting them, they informed me it was due to the current economy and my payment history. Excuse me? I have never been late with my payments, often paid more than the minimum and I've had this card for more than 10 years. Even through a period of unemployment, I made certain that all debts were paid as agreed. Now with the economy tanking, I'm being punished for being a good customer? This practice is unfair and what I can only see as a response to the recent legislation that won't take effect in time to really help the consumers. Why wasn't this an immediate law? Why weren't companies prohibited from this underhanded practice and from charging additional finance fees on closed accounts?

I have been a Citibank customer for 10 years and have had 2 cards and my account in good standing. I got married in 2006 and called to change my name and was duped into their Credit Protector program. It is insurance to make your payments if you lose your job or are disabled. My husband was laid off in January '09 and I in June '09. We used savings and sold things to make payments, but I finally called in mid-June to activate our insurance. I spoke with a lady who told me I could not activate the insurance on my husband because he was not listed on the account.

CitiCard has been besieging me with unsolicited computer-generated calls to my cell phone day and night. Sometimes 5 times a day. In the last 7 days I've received 25 calls, and would have received more except I shut the phone off. The calls are strictly to solicit their card. I don't have a CitiCard nor a CitiBank account and never intend to. When I call the number back to tell them to put me on their 'Don't Call List', all I get is a recording requesting my account number! I don't have a damn account number.

I have been an account holder for both a ExxonMobil and Shell Gas Credit Card since 2002, and always made my payments onsite and always paid either the balance of the account, or more than the minimum amount due since having these accounts. CitGroup provides the service for both ExxonMobil and Shell. The credit lines of the accounts are small: card #1 $170, card #2 $350, and the Shell card was $550. Approximately a month ago, they closed both the ExxonMobil accounts, and then a week ago, they closed the Shell account. When I called to ask why, they said they received information from my credit report that warranted them to close these accounts. When I expressed my concerns, and indicated that I had been a customer in good standing since 2002, and never been late, they said that didn't matter. It was my overall credit score that they had to close my account. I asked, "Doesn't it matter that I have always made my payments onsite and paid off these accounts more often than minimum payments?" And they said no, that did not matter and that due to the economy and the overall banking issues, they have decided to close accounts for those that have generally been in good standing, based on their overall credit scope.

My 86-year old mother, who has Alzheimer's, and lives in another state, accepted a credit card from Citibank through AT&T. She put my name down as a user of the card without my knowledge or consent. When she fell 60 days behind in her payments in 2008, I had no knowledge of this. She was placed in a home at the end of 2008. Three days ago, I received a credit report and found that Citibank had placed a negative credit rating in my name. I have never ever been late in any payment and had always maintained one of the highest credit ratings.

I have had a CitiCard credit card for a few years now. I got it to help repair my credit by making timely payments and keeping it paid off. Well, of course, the 'keeping it paid off' lasted until we had a financial crisis in the form of a major cut in hours at work. So--to continue with my complaints--I have always been able to make my payments on time, even made larger than minimum payments. Which was at times very difficult, because the due date was constantly being changed (sometimes it was around the 20th and sometimes it was around the 10th) with the added problem of any charges made on the card were not always on the current statement like they should have been.

I called and requested a cash increase amount of two thousand dollars more than what is currently available. I've always paid my card on time and carry a low or no balance on it. I was refused the increase, and this came on the days following the news on how CitiBank increased wages so much so as to attract good employees. After Citi group gets my tax dollars to bail out their poor investors, then they tell me no on a minor increase! I also carry a 752 credit score. I told them I am saying goodbye to Citi group, and I hope they fold!

I'm a CitiCard customer for years, and I never missed or have any late payment. Then within a month, I added another bank account before making an online, and it did confirmed for a payment for $1,530. After the due date, I checked the Citi account and found out I get charged $39 for a returned transaction and that the Citi online system tried to withdraw money from the old bank account that I used to pay which do not have enough funds. And it did hit with $25 charged from the old bank account.

I paid the charges by Citibank card for fuel on 06.06.09 of RS 1600 - as per Citibank IOCL petrol pump will not charge the transaction fees but on the receipt of statement on 24.06.09, I found they have taken transaction fees of RS 44.12. I have lost confidence in them.

I've had a Shell MasterCard for as long as I've had credit, and I've always paid it on time. Then they hit me with a $40 late fee for a bill they never sent me and refused to refund it. I cut up my card and have told my family and friend, who also have Shell MasterCards, to do the same. Citi's so hard up for cash these days despite the government bailout that they can't afford $40 to keep a loyal customer happy. $40 seems small compared with what others on this board have suffered at the hand of CitiCard. I have since taken my business to Chase Freedom.

CitiCard changed my due date from May 16 and then the next month June 15. I paid the card on the 16th. They charged me a late fee and raised my rate from 15 % to 29.9 %. Is this legal? They are a horrible company. Avoid them if you can.

I’m terribly unhappy with this company. I went with them as they had a high profile and were well known. They have switched my APR twice, from 0% to 25%. I was able to dispute the increase, which was a result of an accounting error on their part. The second time was because my auto-pay request was not processed in time. They would not reduce the APR even though it was their error.

I was on a cruise from NY to Canada and realized that I misplaced my CitiBank debit card. Since I also have a CitiBank credit card (the only credit card I have and it was linked to my cruise account), I called the customer service number on the back of the card from my cell phone, since it was the only phone available. I explained the reason for my call to the CitiBank representative, and he said he could help me. He asked me for my debit card number. When I told him I didn't have it, he asked me for my credit card, so he could look up my accounts. I gave it to him and instead of cancelling my debit card, he cancelled my credit card.

I have been a customer of Citibank since for at least 15 years. In Jan 2009, my interest rate went from 9.65 to 24.99%. No warning, no late payments. When I called customer service, I was told that it was because other customers have high default rate. In addition, they kept changing my due date. When I called again, reference the changing of my due date, the customer service agent hung up on me. Now I got a letter that because of my credit rating (that has nothing to do with them), my credit limit was reduced. Since I have been a customer for 15 years, I have never seen anything that says my account with them would be based on my credit report of my other creditors. They did not grant me credit with Citibank, so why should it be used against me?

CitiCard sold its Upromised credit card to Bank of America. Until that time, there was unlimited access to previous credit card statements. Now that BOA owns the Upromise card, it is charging a fee for the Citi statements. I did not switch credit cards. However, Citi claims BOA should have access to these statements. BOA claims they have to go to Citi to get the info, which is the basis of the fee. Regardless, it is inappropriate to charge a fee to the consumer for access to information previously available, but for the sale of the credit card to another company. Stop charging consumers for these fees when the info is clearly available. I truly believe this is gouging.

I have an account with Citi Card. My payment has always been due on the 4th of the month. In June it was changed to the 2nd. I made the payment as always on the 4th and it was late. My interest rate went from 5.24% to 28.99%. I have no agreement with this company since I did not agree to a rate change the beginning of the year. They closed my account and all contact with them through the internet.

I closed my Citi credit card account one year ago, but had about $1,000 left to pay on it. I was so disgusted with Citi, they got me really mad and I tore up my card. Now, I want to pay online and they refuse to let me set up my account online just because I do not have my card. When I call to just get them to help me set up the online account, they refuse.

I have been with CitiCards for over 2 years now. I am also an active duty military so I don't always have the ability to go online and make payments super early, etc. I have a credit limit of $1,400. My account was at $1,390. I made a web payment of $57 at the time. The system took 5 days to process a payment. By the time the payment was processed, the bank account no longer had the funds available. So their system tried the same transaction twice. So all in all, I received fees from my bank account totaling $60.00 for returned fees. Then a $39 fee from CitiCards, then a $39 over credit fee. On top of this, when I tried to contact customer service by email, their website comes up with "This feature is not available to this account". When I try to make a payment online again, it no longer allows me to do so. So I called them.

Consumer should protest against Citibank/Citicards on how they take care of customer. After the bailout from the federal (tax payers money), they say thank you by raising interest rate because of economic situation which is not logical in their part. If you opt out from their terms, they will close your account! Violation of Fair Credit Act. Report them to the FTC and the OCC asap. They are better off bankrupt!

I paid CitiCard $4,068.40 and they conveniently lost the check and didn't apply it. All the other checks mailed were received by the various parties and applied but not CitiCard. Now, they charged me late fees, very high interest rate and do not want to change anything. They take advantage of people and get away with it.

I opened a Gordon’s account with Citibank to pay for my ring in June 2008. At the time, I was 18 years old. Therefore, my credit was very new. I received a $300 credit limit. I used the $300 credit and paid it off in 3 months. Then I went back to trade in my ring and they gave me more credit. I received $750 credit limit around December 2008. I was never late on any payments and actually I always overpaid by $50 on each payment.

I was sent a settlement statement for my Citibank account, because I had fallen behind on payment. I called and made the agreement on 10/08/08. My outstanding balance was $1961.88. They reduced it to $843.61 as a settlement offer. It was agreed I pay $100 on that day; the next payment was $67.61, and $67.60 thereafter. I even made payments for more than the amount I needed to--on February, $100; March, $70; April, $70.

On March 12th, 2009, I received a phone call from Ryan at Citi, claiming I missed a payment and asking if I wanted to pay over the phone. I agreed, stating I had not received my bill, but I would go ahead and pay it off and asked if he could send me confirmation via mail that I had paid off and closed the account. He agreed and said he needed my address, which I gave. I never received anything by mail. I cut up my card.

My Sears account has been nothing but problems for me ever since being taken over by Citigroup. It seems that just about every month or so, they change the due date, which is probably so they can try to add late charges. I have always been on time and even paid off my balance whenever I can, so they don't really make extra money off me. When I disputed the added charges, they began sending me more letters and calling my home 2-3 times a day. On one occasion, they had Bank of America try to chase me down by calling me at work. Now I screen all calls at home and at work. These people are ruthless! I have no idea what else can be done--even my state's attorney general has told me there's nothing else they can do. I guess maybe this negative publicity is all that's left. No damages yet, but I do not trust these devious Citigroup predators! I will no longer shop at Sears or Kmart, either. I just hope I can outlast these criminals.

I was shocked today when I realized that my daughter's credit card interest rate on a balance of $2,900 was a whopping 29.90% and $69.90 for the month. This is what we get for bailing out Citi Corp and voting a president to power that has no clue on what he is doing. I hope that in four years, we all remember who was in power and those abusive interest rate charged by a company that was bailed out with tax payers' money. Where is the American spirit? Freeze your credit cards and let the credit card business suffer the consequences.

I paid my bill online on Friday, May 15th, and unfortunately did not write down the confirmation number and did not receive an e-mail confirming payment. I noticed it did not post to my checking account. I went back in on May 21 and paid it again hoping it was not late, and that it did not come out of my account twice. However, the only PMT that posted was the one that was late. My interest rate went from 6.99% to 25.99%. I am charged a late fee and finance charges that are higher than my payment was. I called and of course they could only verify that there was no problem with their system on May 15 and that there was nothing they could do about it unless I made payments on time for a year, then they could lower my rate. The only other option they offered was to make payment arrangements and maybe change the interest rate.

I have been a valued client for twenty years and because I missed a payment (totally by computer error) and asked for a credit on a late payment fee, they raised my interest rate in one month from 6.99% to 25%. Normally, you can have a discussion with customer service and they used to readjust the rate. Not anymore! The new economy is all about what can we get. My recommendation would be: If you are a CitiCard customer, shop, compare, get another card, but do not believe that they really care about a valued customer. I suggest change to a smaller bank.