Tag Archives: Citi Bank

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I Paid $4,807 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2023 – Was it Worth it?

Good evening everyone, I hope your holiday season is going well.  With the end of the year right around the corner, I decided to publish my 2023 version of credit card annual fees I paid this year.  For comparison, here are my previous credit card annual fee posts:

For this year’s post, I decided to break up the list of credit cards into 5 sections:

  • New credit cards with sign up bonuses
  • Credit cards with retention offers
  • Credit cards that have been upgraded / downgraded / product changed
  • Annual fees saved on closed credit cards
  • All other credit cards

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My 6 Credit Card App-O-Rama: Results & Reconsideration Calls

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, I applied for 6 new credit cards in my most recent App-O-Rama (which doesn’t work as well as it used to work, back in the good ol’ days), but I wanted to share my results and reconsideration calls.  Warning: I don’t recommend applying for multiple cards in the same day (“do as I say, not as I do”).  With that said, I started with the American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card that has a 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points signup bonus after spending $15,000 in 12 months.  Check out this Doctor of Credit post for more info.

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Yearly Reminder: Max Out 10% Citi ThankYou Points Rebate on Citi Rewards+ Credit Card (10K Annual Limit)

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I wrote a similar post in 2022 and thought I should publish a similar reminder post for 2023.  One of my favorite sock drawer credit cards is the Citi Rewards+ Credit Card.  This credit card has a pretty decent sign up bonus at the moment (20,000 Citi ThankYou Points after spending $1,500 in 3 months), but my favorite feature of this credit card is the 10% rebate on redeemed Citi ThankYou Points.  You can receive up to 10,000 Citi ThankYou Points rebated each calendar year, you just need to redeem at least 100,000 Citi ThankYou Points in a calendar year.

So why am I reminding you about this today?  The 10% rebate posts to your Citi ThankYou Points account when your statement closes.  If your statement closes on or after January 1, that will count toward your 2024 calendar year 10,000 Citi ThankYou Point limit.  Therefore, you probably only have 1 or 2 more statements between now and December 31, 2022.  I will show you how to calculate how many rebated Citi ThankYou Points you have already received this year.

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Which Credit & Debit Cards are in my Wallet, ApplePay Wallet, and Travel Wallet? (August 2023)

Good morning everyone.  We all know the classic Capital One line, “What’s in your wallet?” (spoiler alert: no Capital One Credit Cards are currently in my real wallet), but I thought it would be fun to do this type of post monthly or every other month, depending on which credit cards I am currently using.  At last count, I currently have 40+ personal and business credit cards, but I don’t carry or use every credit card every month.  I treat my credit cards like tools in a tool box, each credit card has a specific use and no credit card is perfect for every situation.  I also have 3 “wallets” for my credit cards: the physical cards that I carry with me in my iPhone case, the credit and debit cards in my ApplePay Wallet, and the credit cards in my travel wallet (aka backpack) that I use when I travel.  I will go through my 3 “wallets”, but the cards in my ApplePay Wallet and travel wallet (aka backpack) don’t change very often.

Credit Cards in my iPhone Case / Wallet

Last week, I was approved for the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card that currently offers a sign up bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $8,000 in 3 months.  I am meeting the minimum spend on this credit card by paying for a few home improvement projections, car insurance, and any other large purchase that will get me closer to my $8,000 minimum spending requirement.  I don’t have immediate plans for these 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, but I can always use more Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

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How to Book Hotel with Citi Premier Credit Card $100 Hotel Credit & Citi ThankYou Points

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  3 weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  When I was researching hotels in Prague, I heard many good things about Old Town Prague and wanted to stay there. There were several chain and independent hotels to choose from, so I checked TripAdvisor to see which hotels were highly rated. That is how I stumbled onto the Century Old Town Prague – MGallery Hotel Collection.  It has great reviews, is in a great location, comes with free breakfast and wifi, and the price was right.

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