0% APR Followup
A comment by Puzo on my original 0% APR Arbitrage post reminded me I left something out when I made the original post. While I mentioned checking and rechecking the terms, I should have shared my method of doing so.
Sure, you should read all the terms in the fine print, which I of course did. But, that's the "check" part. To do the "re-check" I had to get on the phone with a rep from Citi. This proved a bit more difficult than I would have liked.
I called the number on the credit card offer that came in the mail, but try as I might I could not get around the automated sign up. I didn't want to go this route because I preferred to sign up with the paper version for record keeping.
So, I hung up on the computer and hit the Citi website. I found the page for the card in question here and located the customer service phone number for that card. I called the number and was able to bypass all the computer options and get to a rep. The rep asked for my account number, which of course I didn't have. So, I told him I was thinking of signing up for the card but I had some questions.
He told me he could only help current card members, but gave me the number for the card sign up reps (sorry, didn't save it). So, I called that number and did my "re-check" of the terms with the operator on the phone.
She was able to confirm both no fee and 0% APR through not only Nov. 2006 like it said on the original offer, but through Dec. 2006 - another month of interest. It appears there is a total number of months they give you from date of sign up, so you might get it out further than it says on the paper offer.
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Just a followup question. I went to the website you linked for the Citi PremierPass Card. It states in the Informed Decision Making box, "The 0% APR does not apply to Purchases or Cash Advances."
Isn't what you got a "cash advance" since you asked for cash in the form of checks?
Puzo - Actually, no. A cash advance is when you use the card at an ATM. What I did was the same as a balance transfer. Basically, I told them I wanted to transfer some high interest personal debt that was not on a credit card. This could have been a car loan or some other consumer credit for example. There were two choices - either have them write me a check or wait 4-6 weeks for their balance transfer checks to arrive. I opted for the faster option so I could start earning interest faster. I did not know this was an option until the rep on the phone suggested it.
