Consumer complaint received 2016-07-23 00:00:00
Product: Bank account or service — Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management — 
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
Citi performed what I can only describe as a bait-and-switch. I signed up for a CitiGold checking account at the end of XXXX XXXX using a promotion ( code : XXXX ) that offered XXXX AAdvantage Miles within 90 days of completing the following requirements : perform a bill payment in 2 consecutive months and make {$1000.00} in debit card purchases. I finished meeting those requirements on XXXX XXXX, XXXX and verified with a Citi representative over the phone, while taking care of other business, that I met all of the requirements and would be receiving my miles. Not only did I not receive the miles, but now Citi has told me that I was never eligible for the promotion even though the terms ( attached ) specifically say " you provided the special offer code XXXX to be eligible to receive ... XXXX AAdvantage miles '' and a representative later told me I was eligible, completed the terms, and would be receiving the miles. 

To elaborate, I waited until XXXX XXXX, 2 weeks after the latest date I was supposed to receive the miles, to send a secure message about the issue. At which point an investigation was opened and I was promised a response within 3-5 business days. I contacted Citi through their online chat after 5 days had passed without a response and a second request was placed, this time I was promised a response within 2 business days. After another 5 business days with no response, I contacted Citi over chat again and was this time basically told that I 'd hear back from the investigation when I hear back from the investigation. When I expressed my dissatisfaction I was given a phone number and told it was for the promotional department. The next day I called that number only to discover that it was Citi 's normal customer service number. After going through the prompts I was able to talk to a general customer service representative about the issue and was told she would personally contact the person assigned to my investigation and call me the next day. She did in fact call me the next day, making it the first time Citi ever followed through on their word, and that is when I found out the investigation team in the promotional department denied my claim while citing that I was never targeted for the promotion. After pushing even further, I was told I was indeed not eligible and there was no evidence of misinformation so I will never be seeing the miles. I completely disagree on all accounts and feel that Citi is simply trying to avoid honoring their side of the agreed upon terms. 

So, in short, Citi baited me into signing up for a CitiGold account with a promotion and then made up an excuse to deny me the bonus I earned through the promotion. After some research it is clear that Citi has a history of doing this very thing to their customers and it should not be tolerated.

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