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Like many credit card issuers, Citibank has fairly strict policies for when someone is eligible for the welcome offer on a new card application. Many of Citi’s rules are based on “families” of cards (ie, American co-branded cards and Thank You Points-earning cards).
The most common restriction is the “24-month rule”, which means that a new applicant isn’t eligible for a welcome offer on a card if they’ve either received a welcome bonus or closed that card (or a card in that family) within the preceding 24 months before the application. This is noted in application terms and conditions with the following language
Bonus ThankYou Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+, Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi ThankYou Premier/Citi Premier or Citi Prestige, or if you have closed any of these accounts, in the past 24 months.
Today, Doctor of Credit reported that this 24-month language is no longer on the terms and conditions for the Citi Rewards+ card. A quick check showed that the language is still present on the T&C of the Thank You Premier card (new applications aren’t open for the Preferred and Prestige cards).
No one knows whether or not this omission is accidental or if it’s a permanent shift in the application rules for the Citi Rewards+. But it should mean that, as of now, cardholders who have either closed or received a welcome bonus on a Thank You card within the last 24 months are now eligible for the welcome offer on the Citi Reward+.
Offer and Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
20K points ⓘ Non-Affiliate 20K points after $1.5K spend in 3 months No Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: The fact that you can get 10% Points Back when you redeem, up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year, makes this a great choice to pool with ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and/or Double Cash Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 5x on travel booked through Citi Travel℠ Portal through December 31, 2025 (excludes air travel) ✦ 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 per year ✦ Round up to nearest 10 TY points on all purchases Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases with no cap. ✦ Get 10% Points Back when you redeem, up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year. See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
Quick Thoughts
Let’s first say that the Citi Premier (and its 80,000 point welcome offer) should be the clear frontrunner for anyone who is eligible for the welcome bonus. The Rewards+’ bonus of 20,000 points is paltry by comparison. But, just to be clear, even though it seems like opening the Citi Premier no longer affects your eligibility for the Rewards+ welcome bonus, the reverse is NOT TRUE. Opening the Rewards+ will still restart the 24 month clock on one’s eligibility for a new Premier (or Preferred or Prestige if they ever re-open those). So go for the Premier first, if you are eligible.
That said, if you have the Premier already, the Rewards+ can be a nice companion card, primarily due to the 10% rebate on Thank You Points redemptions annually (up to 10,000 pts rebate). Combine the two welcome offers, along with the 10% rebate, and you effectively get 110,000 Thank You points in the first year after 5.5K in spend.
It does have the additional benefit of rounding each transaction up to the next 10 points, ie, any transaction under $10 will earn 10 points or any transaction between $10.01 and $20 will earn 20 points. On the surface, this sounds great (“I earn 10x on $1 transactions!), but in practice, you need a LOT of those $1 transaction for it to be more than a drop in the bucket. You can get 10x on 100 $1 transactions, but you will still only have 1,000 points in the end.
I’d love to think that this might herald a coming change in policy for the Premier, but I think it’s unlikely. Given the modest size of the bonus, I tend to agree with DOC that it’s probably an attempt to encourage and streamline new applications (assuming it’s intentional).
There’s a chance that this might be just a temporary glitch. If you do decide to apply for the card, but wouldn’t be eligible under the 24-month rule, I’d take screenshots of everything just in case issues arise with the bonus.
(h/t: DOC)
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We got denied for the Citi Premier but we are getting offers for other Citi cards every week. I don’t think I’ll want to try and get their cards again.
An offer means Nothing they send them out to Dead Peeople too.
If u need the points post what u did in the last 25 months I’m sure FM can help u..As in 1,2,3,4 keep it simple..I may apply for Citi now but got the BA card (100K) like 6 months ago..
Push Forward !!
ALOHA
Remember the Banks are setting aside money for defaults so it will be harder to get a card.But if ur above 800 and low limit $5K on every card it helps.Plus pick ur Deals before u apply no need for points u will never use.
I was denied for the Rewards + card last week with a 760+ so they’re definitely hard pull sensitive.
while the 24 month rule may not be present in T&C, citi has become much more hard pull inquiry sensitive when approving the premier. i’ve been rejected already twice for this reason, with recon dept unable to overturn.
Just curious, how long did you wait between reapplying? And how many hard pulls did you have in the last 6 (or 12) months when applying?
I know on r/churning the current thinking is you should be 0-1/6 for hard pulls. I was denied last year when it was at 80k, for too much unused credit, hard pulls, etc. I think I had 1 hard pull & 1 new account in the 6 months prior. I am debating about applying again this year since its back up to 80k, or if it is a given that I will receive the same result. I applied (and was denied) for the Venture X at the beginning of March, so I have HP from that. I may wait until just before they pull the offer, and then give it a go.
at least 6 months between apps.
total hard pulls less then 6 in 12 months, maybe 1-2 new accounts opened.
Is your credit score above 700?
yes