Citibank Signature Becomes Citibank Premier Card (Is There a Loss of Benefits?)

daoople on 29/11/2019 - 13:53

Hi Ozb-er's!

I currently have a Citi Rewards Signature card and have had it since they did the fee free for life promotion all those years ago.

I have just received a letter stating that the Citi Rewards Signature card will become the "Citi Premier Card" from 19 Jan 2020. As a result, I interpret this to mean, I'll be subject to relevant fees AND lose the benefits relating to the Citi Rewards Signature.

My questions:

  • Is anyone else aware of this? Do you see it as a loss of benefits? Particularly relating to the loss of Priority Pass Lounge access?
  • Has anyone complained to Citibank? How far have you got with them?
  • If anyone is familar with the credit industry, to what extent are banks allowed to do this? Usually a product upgrade is fine, but if it means I'll be subject to future fees that I don't need to pay now + a loss of benefits, then I don't see that as an "upgrade".

Would like your thoughts on this?

Maybe I've interpreted this wrong?

Financial Credit Card

Related Stores

Citibank Australia
Citibank Australia

Comments

  • jackwilk on 29/11/2019 - 14:35
    +1

    I thought I saw a letter saying something about "you will retain all current card's benefits" or something along these lines… got me worried though, will double check.. thanks OP.

  • mick123 on 29/11/2019 - 14:39

    https://www1.citibank.com.au/credit-cards/citi-signature

    Going to the signature link above, the pic of the card shows premier, and the benefits and all the details refer to signature…

    I dont see a premier card here -

    https://www1.citibank.com.au/credit-cards?intcid=Homepage-me…

    Interested to see what people know about this

  • daoople on 29/11/2019 - 14:42

    The thing that has got me worried is the "align to Citi cards globally". I also means that the benefits would align too. So I "googled" Citi Premier and the US website came up and there is no such benefit for priority pass… in fact there are reduced benefits too.

    Agree, would like to know who else has got a view. :)

    • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2019 - 11:11

      I have both Citi Premier from Citi USA and Citi Premier Signature from Citi AU and while cards look almost identical (with notable absence of any wireless pay technology on american sibling) they're totally different products.

      Also they explicitly stated on a piece of paper that came with renewed now Citi Premier Signature card that Priority Pass number stays the same, so I'd not be worried about that.

  • bohn on 29/11/2019 - 15:25

    I just signed up to a new citibank signature - the card says premier.

  • dasher86 on 29/11/2019 - 20:01

    If they remove PP I'll probably cancel.

  • SmiTTy on 29/11/2019 - 23:31
    +1

    Reading thru the email, it sounds like it is purely a name change. The email I received couple weeks ago doesn't say anything about changing the card benefits or fees. Just that all references to the name will be changed incl all the documents:

    We would like to inform you that effective 19 January 2020, your Citi Rewards Signature Card will be known as the Citi Premier Card to align with Citi credit cards globally.

    Accordingly, all references to "Citi Rewards Signature" are replaced with "Citi Premier" in your Credit Card Terms and Conditions and Other Important Information booklet (including your Financial Table). In addition, this change will also apply to all related disclosure documents and communications, including:

    • Complimentary Insurance Terms and Conditions

    • ○ Description of Insurance Cover booklet terms and conditions*

    • Rewards Terms and Conditions

    • ○ Citibank Rewards and Citibank Qantas Rewards Program Terms and Conditions - Citibank Rewards Credit Card - Signature & Citi Prestige Credit Card*

    • Your statements, Citi Online and the Citi Mobile® App

    If you have further questions, please contact us at citibank.com.au/contactus

  • aaronaldo on 18/05/2020 - 13:13

    Key difference I see is they're switching from Visa to Mastercard.

    The one crucial thing missing is Google Pay, which unfortunately is still no where in sight.

  • TheZohan on 01/06/2020 - 17:50

    Ok just noticed this as my card is coming up for renewal and switching to MasterCard.

    For those that transitioned, is it still annual fee-free for life? Couldn't find anywhere specifically confirming it.

    • amanvell on 05/06/2020 - 16:02
      +1

      The paperwork that came with my 2nd replacement Mastercard says $0 annual fees still

  • amanvell on 05/06/2020 - 16:00

    So my VISA was expiring this month, coinciding with the switch to Mastercard. They sent me a Mastercard a couple of weeks ago, I spend hours tracking down all the direct debits and updating (including places like NRMA that you have to do over the phone). Today they send me a new Mastercard, completely different numbers, and now I have to redo all the direct debits again.

    FFS, this is ridiculous

    The paperwork that came with today's card (FFS!!) says $0 annual fees still

  • abc on 29/12/2020 - 13:01

    So having a look on their website these cards have been dropped.

    https://www1.citibank.com.au/credit-cards

    I wonder what this means for the fee free for life cards? Hoping we get transitioned to Prestige fee free for life?

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/278571

    My card is still Visa btw. No word regarding a switch to Mastercard.

    • shift6 on 29/12/2020 - 22:43

      Hmmm, it seems rather unusual…almost even a mistake to be omitting the Citibank Premier (or equivalent Mastercard 'World Mastercard' tier offering). There's now an strange gap in their credit card offerings between the Citi Rewards and the Citi Prestige.

      First off, Citibank US continues to offer the Citi Premier in the refreshed branding and Mastercard as the updated partner. This suggests that this tier should still exist in some form in bigger markets at least.

      Next, the Premier Welcome Page (which is still up), lists both the 'Citi Premier Card' and the 'Citi Premier Qantas Card' as equivalents. The latter, however was discontinued relatively recently as per Finder. I digress, but discontinuing the Citi Premier Qantas Card makes sense if they wanted to rationalise their product offerings, given Citi is the credit issuer for Qantas Money credit cards. Might be difficult to justify having both these products in the Australian market, especially in the current climate.

      Furthermore, the reward points tiering for Premier as per the Welcome Page makes too much sense to remove from their product line up. It sits neatly between the Citi Rewards and Citi Prestige. The benefits of the Prestige card seem too good to give to Fee Free for life card holders.

      My guess is that Citi Australia are still in the process of updating their website, or have made an error.

  • Homr on 30/12/2020 - 23:08

    is there any changes on the platinum card?

    I signed up for the fee free for life awhile ago when I didn't earn enough to get the signature card minimum 75k almost 9yrs ago

  • coolsteps on 01/01/2021 - 14:22

    lost my 2 signature card a couple of years ago as i had to cancel them to get homeload approved and then they wont reinstate them within 30days. lucky im still a additional card holder on wifes primer world card free for life. no differences i can see from old visa. does anyone know why what the differences for the their visa debit card upgrades to Mastercard debit. we got some branded platinum others priority, gold and world? dont know if theres any real benefits with these different type of MC debit cards?

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