Consumer complaint received 2023-07-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
I am a Citi prestige credit card holder. There's a benefit called " complimentary 4th night hotel benefit '', the description of this benefit can be found below : " '' '' Complimentary 4th Night Hotel Benefit Eligibility requirements The Complimentary 4th Night Benefit is eligible for any hotel when you book a minimum of 4 consecutive nights. The following restrictions apply : The reservation must be in the name of the Citi Prestige primary cardholder or authorized user. 
Use ThankYou Points, your Citi Prestige Card, or a combination of the two.

This benefit can not be used for two simultaneous bookings at the same hotel or at different hotels. 
Cardmembers are eligible for no more than two Complimentary 4th Night Benefits per card account per calendar year. 
The 4th Night Benefit is calculated based on the average nightly rate of your complete stay, excluding taxes and fees. Total cost of reservation will include the 4th night discount. 
" " '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I made a reservation and used this benefit. OnXX/XX/XXXX, I canceled this reservation without using the benefit. In normal cases, this benefit should return to my account automatically. However, it didn't happen this time. 

I made multiple phone calls and online chat with Citi, tried to resolve this issue, but it's not resolved. 

My first attempt was on XX/XX/XXXX. I called Citi travel and Citi reward. They are different departments, and they both claim that the other party should fix the issue. One of the online chat agents said they submitted a request to the back office, but it didn't fix the issue. 

The full chat history can be found below : " '' '' XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : talk to an agent Info : Well connect you as soon as a representative is available. Thanks for your patience. 
Info : You're now connected to : XXXX. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : Hi XXXX XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You :?? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Hi XXXX! Hope you are doing well! Welcome to Citi Live Chat. We appreciate you taking time in contacting us today. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : How may I help you? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : here : )? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : Yes, I have the citi prestige credit card XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : which comes with the 4th night free benefit XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : however, I can not see the benefit on the website now XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : I've called the customer service XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : They told me that it's likely because I made a reservation using the benefit, and cancelled it XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : can you please hlep fix this : ) XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : Thanks XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Thank you for sharing your concern and the credit must show even if you have cancelled the previous reservation, may I know if you did have a word with our travel team on this? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : yes, I called twice XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : they said they will transfer me to the other department to fix it XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : but both call was drop : ( XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Please allow me some time while I confirm it with my supervisor. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : sure XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : take your time XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : May I know when did you cancel it? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : XX/XX/12 XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Thank you for your patience! 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : I have confirmed it with my supervisor and would like to inform you that you can bool the hotel and made the reservation now and 4th night credit apply on next statement in case you have already cancelled a reservation. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : ok, that's one of the option the phone service told me XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : the other option is you can fix this, so that I can view the price after 4th night credit on the website XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : becuase there are fee and tax when I make bookings, so I'd like to view the actual total amount before I make a booking XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Yes, you can made the reservation and whatever amount it will show, based on the 4th night credit will be applied. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : If you still have any confusion, you can call again our Thankyou team and they will book it for you right now since it can be booked either over the phone or through Thankyou website in order to get this benefit. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : you don't understand my request XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : there's a bug on the website, so that the 4th night benefit is not available to me XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : I know I can just make a booking and ask customer service for the credit later on XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : but this is not what I need, I want you to help me fix my account issue, so that I can browse around with my 4th night benefit available, I can see what exactly the cost XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : and then make a booking XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : I see, my apologies, I can submit a request to our technical team so that they can fix the account issue since only they can fix it. Just a minute please. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : yes please... 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : I have submitted the request for you and request you to please allow XXXX hours and then try again. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : thanks! 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX You : may I get a ticket id for future reference? 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : I apologize, I do not have reference number as such however you can copy this transaction and paste it in notepad and save it with you. Also this conversations will be saved automatically for you and our team for future interactions and you can access it anytime when you login to your account. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : Please note down our Technical team contact number as well in case you need it in future. The number for our Online Technical Support team is XXXX ( For TTY : use XXXX or other Relay service ). This department is available XXXX hours a day, 7 days a week. 
" " '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I tried again, same story, multiple calls and online chat. I've made at least 5 calls, the total call time was more than 4 hours. At the very last call, the agent from citi reward said she's talked to the supervisor and submitted the request to fix my issue to the back office, but it's still not fixed.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation