Consumer complaint received 2019-11-13
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NH
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:
My wife died on XX/XX/XXXX. She had XXXX ThankYou points on her Citibank credit card XXXX. I called Citibank to notify them of her passing. They told me I had to close her individual account and open a new one for myself, even though I had a card linked to her account. I asked about the remaining {$4200.00} balance due - I was told I would continue to receive monthly bills and I could pay just like I had been. I was given instructions on how to redeem the points. Within days I received correspondence from a credit collection agency notifying me that Citibank had placed the account with them. After two to three months, a second collection agency was able to restore the monthly Citibank statements, and I have paid the balance due in full. I mailed the required information about the ThankYou points. I  received a letter from Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX. They asked for an official designation that I am the administrator or executor of the estate. There is no estate, my wife did not have a will. I am the estate. In XX/XX/XXXX I called Citibank 's Customer Service Center and told them I am the estate. I was asked to send a letter stating that fact, which I faxed on XX/XX/XXXX, asking that I receive a check in lieu of the points, as stated in their letter. I received a letter on XX/XX/XXXX asking for the Citi credit card number, the name and address where the check should be mailed, a copy of the death certificate, and proof that I'm the executor or administrator of the  estate. I had mailed the death certificate and account information prior to their XX/XX/XXXX letter to me. I was forced to write to the Citibank Corporate Offices on XX/XX/XXXX, sending my letter via XXXX because their one year deadline for redemption was approaching. I received a call from XXXX XXXX of their Executive Response Unit, and a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating that I failed to provide proof of the administrator or executor of the estate, and since it had been over one year since the primary card member passed away, they are no longer able to redeem the points. I wrote to Senator XXXX XXXX 's office on XX/XX/XXXX asking her to intervene. I had received a mailing from Citibank that advertised a {$25.00} gift card in exchange for XXXX ThankYou points. Therefore I believe I'm entitled to a check for {$500.00} or twenty {$25.00} gift cards. Ms. XXXX called me on XX/XX/XXXX to let me know she had received a new inquiry and she would investigate. She wrote me on XX/XX/XXXX advising me that without the documentation that I'm the executor, and because the year had passed, they're no longer able to redeem the points. Citibank is a multi-billion dollar corporation which has systematically denied me the redemption of the ThankYou points that were legitimately earned. They dragged their feet until the year was up and now use that as a defense for not paying what they legitimately owe me. Had I been dishonest, I could have decided not to advise them of my wife 's death, paid off the amount due, redeemed the points for {$25.00} gift cards and closed the account. I face the loss of {$500.00} because I was honest. I did not mention previously that in all their correspondence prior to XX/XX/XXXX, their letters began with " Please accept our condolences on your loss. '' XXXX.

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