Citibank Launches Spend More Pay Less Program
Citibank is launching a new spending scheme for its credit card holders, giving them an opportunity to avoid high interest rate charges by using their cards more. Under this said program, Citibank credit card users would need to meet a monthly spending requirement (up to $750 a month) to qualify for rebates on interest fees. Customers who qualify can enjoy partial or total rebates off of their total monthly interest charges. Another requirement for this program is that customers need to pay their monthly card bills on time.
Without going into details, Citibank said that it would be creating monthly spending requirements and interest fee brackets based on a cardholder's credit history. Clients can expect to generate 50% to 100% savings from interest rate rebates. The rebates will not only cover interest incurred for a specific month, but will be applied to the full balance.
Citibank currently holds the rank of the second biggest credit card issuer in the country, with their total number of credit cards issued at 92 million. Chase holds the top spot with a total number of credit card issued totalling 119.4 million. Bank of America is a rung below Citibank - firmly securing the third spot - registering a total of 80.2 million credit cards issued thus far.
The new spending program was launched in the midst of a landmark credit reform law proposal that has made credit card companies scramble to institute changes and mitigate perceived losses once this groundbreaking legislation is enforced. The CARD Act which is expected to be implemented in February 2010 would restrict a creditor's ability to hike credit rates and fees.
Citibank said that this new scheme is just one of the many they have in the pipeline, all of which are meant to keep the company competitive despite very challenging economic conditions. This year, the company reported a marked increase of unpaid loans and payment delinquencies, which was a reflection of the prevailing weak business conditions.
Another revenue stream that the company is planning to exploit using the new spending scheme is the area of interchange fees. With cardholders expected to increase spending to cash in on rebates, Citibank would in turn benefit through greater interchange fees. Merchants and stores pay interchange fees to credit card companies for purchase transactions involving credit cards.
On other news, Citibank will give a select number of cardholders an opportunity to enjoy lower interest rates provided that they agree to transfer some balances from their other credit cards to their primary Citibank credit card.
More® Card
- 0% APR on Balance Transfers for a FULL 12 months.
- 0% APR on Purchases for a FULL 6 months.
- 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants and more.
More® Card - Wildlife Collection
- 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for a full 6 months.
- 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants and more.
- Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically.
More® Card - American Flag
- 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for a full 6 months.
- 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants and more.
- Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically.
Credit Cards eZine
For the past few years, college campuses have been a very promising market for banks and credit companies. There has been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of student credit card applications. While some people believe that student credit deals are nothing but a dangerous financial weapon, the others consider credit cards for students as the integral part of financial freedom. Anyway, credit deals for students were readily available in the recent years, but things have changed greatly. And now in tough economic times, youth folks may find it more difficult to get access to credit. So, the question becomes: how to apply for a student credit card in difficult economic times?
Click here to read more...All through our lives, we move from one stage to another, and just like that we move from no credit to excellent scores in hopes of getting low interest rates and deals with good terms. When beginners apply for their first credit card, they want to get access to credit and build a solid payment history that will let them borrow money on favorable terms. But even if your FICO is almost perfect, it doesn't mean that you can sit back and relax. Good credit requires much work to be done and if you have good scores, you should know how to manage your credit responsibly without getting far into debt. Read more tips on how to maintain your good credit rating.
Click here to read more...When choosing between numerous credit card applications, we want to get the most of our new card. Even though there’s no card that is right for everyone, many credit offers present some tempting features designed to entice you to submit your application online. Whether it’s a large amount of complimentary bonus rewards points or zero interest rates for a certain period of time, you may be enticed to apply for the product that doesn’t fit your individual needs. The question is, how to choose the card that is right for you? Read more about the terms and conditions you should look at when selecting the best credit card.
Click here to read more...
