Consumer complaint received 2023-12-30 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with rewards from credit card
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
I have a Sears Citibank Mastercard with Citi Thankyou Points as a rewards program for using the credit card. I have been unable to access my rewards points since XXXX to use them towards purchases at retailers such as XXXX and XXXX. In addition to the loss of access at retailers, the Citi Thankyou site does not allow me to log in to at least purchase a gift card with my points to use at a retailer. I have called both Sears Citibank Mastercard and Citi Thankyou Points and each time I waste at least one hour on the phone, only to have them blame each other for the issue. I have been calling about this issue since XXXX, with each call ending in frustration. Sears Citibank Mastercard has emailed me with bonus point offers that I activated, encouraging me to use their card for online purchases, which I did. The rewards have totaled XXXX points which is equal to {$270.00} that I have accumulated from XXXX through XXXX. I was able to speak with a US based supervisor on XX/XX/23 about the issue and she actually told be this is a Citi issue! When I pointed out that the credit card is a Citibank Mastercard issued by the company she works for there was an uncomfortable silence on the phone. I asked the representative to make a three-way call with a Citi Thankyou supervisor to help me at least log into the rewards site and she said that she would not do that because it is not allowed. I then explained that it seems highly unusual that the issuing bank will not assist the customer in resolving an issue with a rewards program that they offer to use their card. The analogy that I used was same church, different pew in that everything is under the Citi umbrella. Again, silence on the phone. I ended the call by explaining to the customer service representative that it is a bad business practice at best, if not an outright deceptive practice, to offer an incentive to charge on their card, which makes them money and then prevent me from accessing my rewards which carries a cash value. The Sears Citibank Mastercard site contained the points balance and a link to go to the Citi Rewards site prior to issuing new cards in XXXX of this year. This link is now missing and Citi Thankyou does not recognize my login. There is obviously an issue with the Sears Citibank side and they are not helping to resolve it in any way. Citi Thankyou has tried updating my info and reregistering my account to no avail. Citi Thankyou is acknowledging there is an issue and they are indicating it is with Sears Citibank Mastercard. I find it hard to believe that it would take this long ( 2 - 3 months ) to resolve an IT issue nowadays. In addition, Sears Citibank Mastercard should be taking responsibility to correct the rewards program that they offer through their credit card. I am hoping that by filing this complaint the company will correct the issue and compensate the customers for missing out on maximizing their points during the holiday sales that have now passed.

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 non-monetary relief