I should have mentioned this in my post from earlier today, but one thing to keep in mind with that new 2% card is that Citi’s credit card unit has not been a tightly run ship. They had the Cash Returns unlimited 5% fiasco a while back, the very generous Citi Amex Platinum, unlimited AA card churning, unlimited 5% ThankYou Points, applications mistakenly left open for years after the fact, and so forth.
In short: Citi is pretty stupid.
Maybe that’s changed. Maybe they’ve got new management in there that’s cleaned things up and inspired the troops. I have no idea. But given what we know about Citi’s history, would it be more surprising to you if (a) this product was a pedestrian mainstay of Citi’s lineup for many years and never generated much buzz, or (b) Citi screwed up somehow and a few folks generated significant cashback?
Well, I don’t know if that’s a fair assessment. After all, the 5x Thank You points card for Citi has been successfully pulled. I can think of at least 4 other banks with similar uncapped 5x categories, either limited time or unlimited time still alive today.
Or the evil factor. My best guess is that Citi is incentivizing customers to leave a balance on the CC and calculations suggest that many will forget to it pay in full.
I actually think the prize for most stupid card was the Chase AARP which was 5% unlimited cashback EVERYWHERE for 6 months, no categories. And it was churnable!!! On the downside Chase did end up closing a lot of accounts. I am going to side with PFD that Citi is more stupid though as the 12 month 5x card came after the Chase AARP fiasco so you’d think they’d have learned a lesson. The other ones you are alluding too are all smaller, regional opportunities. I do think Citibank is one of the dumbest banks on the street, and it is no coincidence that in all reality they should no longer exist and are only around because everyone got spooked after the fed let Lehman go to the dogs.
My understanding is Visa/MC issuers net less than 2% on purchases, so presumably the issuers that offer 2%+ rewards would make their money from those who carry balances. If so, I would say stupid.