Consumer complaint received 2019-05-24
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
Complaint regards Citi AAdvantage Gold and Miles Up Cards My wife and I held AAdvantage Gold cards for 17 years. Since we were not benefiting from the annual fee, we decided to cancel these cards and apply for new AAdvantage MileUp cards. I called customer service to cancel our Gold cards. The agent asked me why and I gave the reason. He told me that I did not need to apply for the MileUp card on line that he could do it for us. He never told me that he was " converting '' our accounts, that he was not opening new accounts, or that what he was doing would mean that we would not be eligible for the miles or credit bonuses that we expected. After we satisfied the requirements for the bonuses, they did not appear on our airline accounts or monthly bills. I called customer service who forwarded our concern to a " benefits office. '' Several weeks later ( XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX ) we received notification from Citi AAdvantage po box XXXX, XXXX XXXX, SD XXXX that our accounts " were not enrolled in an offer that awards XXXX miles and {$50.00} statement credit. '' There was no further explanation. I then called customer service ( XXXX ) and learned that we were rejected because we had not opened a new account. The website for the AAdvantage MileUp Card states the bonus is earned " after spending {$500.00} within the first 3 months of account opening '' It does not specify that it had to be a new account. The website also states, Statement credit and XXXX XXXX AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had an AAdvantage MileUp card opened or closed in the past 24 months. '' We did not have such a card. There is not statement of ineligibility for any other reason. Finally, there is clear documentation that we had opened new accounts and were not transferred from previous accounts. The two additional attachments show statements from our Gold and MileUp accounts. Each specifies an Account number that is different for the two cards. There is no other " master '' account number showing both cards in the same account in either our paper statements or our online Citi statements. Therefore, we believe that Citi misrepresented the terms for their credit card bonus, rejected our bonuses for deceptive reasons, and they should grant us the miles and statement credit bonuses. 

Although not a direct subject of this complaint, I would like to comment on the poor customer service we received. When I called to find out why we were rejected, I was not satisfied with the explanation XXXX gave me so I asked to speak to a supervisor. He put me on hold and returned saying the supervisor was not available but would call me in 1-2 hours. I asked to be called on my cell phone, gave him the number and asked him to read it back for verification. I did not receive a call. I called back the next day and was told I had been called on my home number. I check my home phone and there was no verification of a missed call or message. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was connected to XXXX who returned to the line after a hold and informed me that he could not help me because the supervisor who allegedly called me was in charge of my case. He said he would personally insure that I was called. Again, I gave him my cell phone number and asked him to read it back for verification. He would not give me the name of the supervisor who was in charge of my case. I did not receive a call on my cellphone. I later checked my home phone and found that I had received a call ( despite two messages she should have received to call me on my cell phone ) and a message. The message started with her name which was unintelligible and ended abruptly in mid sentence approximately 20 seconds later. It is unlikely that my phone was at fault since an hour or so later I received an unrelated message from a friend that lasted approximately 3 minutes. I called again the next day and was told by XXXX that the supervisor was unavailable ( she wouldn't tell me her name or what 'unavailable ' meant ) but she would call me back shortly. I went through the same cell phone routine. It is now several days later and I have not received a call on either my cell or home phone. This is terrible customer service.

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