Another twist in my love-hate relationship with CitiBank: two weeks ago I tried to cancel my Credit Protector program for Citi Dividend Card (which I signed up by taking a $15 bait), I was promised $100 rebate coupons. Interestingly, in the last two weeks, I received $150 rebate coupons in two batches (one batch includes five coupons worth a total of $50; the other batch includes six coupons worth a total of $100).
The coupons are designed as follows: the five coupons are for $10 each, and the six coupons are for $10 + $15 + $15 + $15 + $20 + $25. One can only redeem one coupon per month, as the eligible period is clearly marked on each coupon. According to the instructions, one may send any receipt (not necessarily receipt for the Citi credit card for which you enroll in the Credit Protector program) to request the rebate, and it may take 4-8 weeks for payment. One needs to stay in the Credit Protector program at the time of each rebate request to be eligible for the rebate check.
Apparently, Citi wants to use these rebate checks to keep customers in the Credit Protector program for six months or longer, and bets that after six months, customers may forget to cancel the program. Also, a not-so-vigilant customer may forget to take advantage of all coupons, making it less costly to Citi.
My coupons will last until December, and I have marked my calender to make full use of each and every coupon I received. After all, $150 is a good amount of money for a couple of hours I may need to send out the rebate requests and keep track of status.
I will need to buy a book of stamps now :-)