A Review of the Citi Diamond Preferred Card with Pros and Cons
When people think of credit cards, they tend to divide them into two categories. The first category is the reward cards with lots of bonuses. The second category is a plain no-frills card with low-interest rates. However, what if you wanted to combine the categories into one card? Citibank has done this with their MasterCard, the Citi Diamond Preferred. This article will talk exclusively about this particular Citi card. We’ll list the benefits, the drawbacks, and a final verdict. This will give you a good idea if this brand of Citi cards is right for your lifestyle.
Citi Diamond Preferred Pros
1. Diamond Citi Card Introductory Perks
This Citi card comes with a few introductory perks that can be excellent saving opportunities for new cardholders. For the first 21 months, Citi card members will get 0% interest on balance transfers. This is an excellent way to pay off your existing high-interest credit cards. Simply transfer them to your new MasterCard and pay them off before the introductory period ends. Additionally, Citi cards come with a 21 month 0% purchase APR. So this means you won’t have to worry about additional fees for the first 21 months on everything you buy.
2. Special Event Access or Discounts
Citi Diamond Preferred offers its members exclusive access to events and discounts. You’ll get Citi’s Private Pass just for having a Citi card. You’ll be able to get access to presale pricing for music and sporting tickets. Also, you’ll be the first to get special discounts or sale offers.
3. No Annual Fee
When you get a credit card, you want to make the rewards outweigh the annual fee. This can be stressful, and you want to justify having the card. However, with Citi Diamond Preferred, you don’t have to worry. Citibank has no annual fees, and this saves cardholders money. You can use your card and much or as little as you want. All of your rewards will be ‘profit’ because you won’t be paying an annual fee.
4. Personal Concierge Service
If you travel a lot, you know how helpful a personal concierge can be. Citi cards offer their cardholders personal concierge services. Also, they’ll help with directions, travel planning, restaurant reservations, and more. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All you have to do is call, and they do this at no extra cost. This is just one of many Citi® Card Benefits offered by Citibank credit cards.
5. Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty With Citi Cards
You can use Citibank online to check your statements and check for any fraudulent activity. This MasterCard offers retail purchase protection, and they insure any purchase against damage or theft. Additionally, they offer extended warranties on factory warranties. If the factory warranty is five years or less, Citi will extend it an additional year.
6. Citi Price Rewind
The Citi Diamond Preferred has the Price Rewind Program. This program tracks what you purchase and searches for lower prices online. Once you buy an item, Citi will search for a lower price for 60 days. If they find it, they’ll refund you the difference up to $500 per item. This does has a cap of $2,500 per year.
7. Emergency Assistance and Insurance
This Citi card offers emergency assistance along with a variety of insurance options. You can get insurance against lost luggage, emergency transportation, medical or legal referrals, trip cancellation, and more. Any cardholder will also get the option to have auto insurance on their car rentals.
Citi Diamond Preferred Cons
1. Balance Transfer Fee
Although you get a 0% interest on balance transfers, you’ll pay a fee. This fee is 3%, and it can add up quickly. For example, say you transfer $8,000 to your Citi credit card from other credit cards. Citi will apply a 3% balance transfer fee to this amount. For an $8,000 balance transfer, you’ll have to pay around $240. So if you do multiple balance transfers, this could easily add hundreds on to your balance amount.
2. Credit Score
The Citi Diamond Preferred card is for people with excellent credit. This can potentially shut out a lot of applicants. Ideally, you want a FICO credit score over 700 to apply for this card. Your credit score will also play a large role in your APR. The lower your credit score is, the higher your APR will be.
3. High APR
Once the 21-month introductory period is up, the APR kicks in. Your regular APR could be as high as 23.99%. This all depends on what credit score you have when you apply and get your card. So if you plan to carry a balance with a high APR, you will end up paying quite a bit extra. Again, this all depends on your credit score, but the lowest APR is 13.99%.
4. Foreign Transaction Fee
If you plan to travel abroad and use this card, be aware of the foreign transaction fee. Citi cards have a foreign transaction fee of 3%. This 3% adds on to your balance each time you use your card through a non-US bank. If you plan to travel, look for a card with no foreign transaction fee. Additionally, Citi takes currency conversion rates into account when they total you 3% fee. So if you purchase something for £25, the lender will base the 3% fee on the total of $29.50 US dollars.
5. The Citi Diamond Preferred Card Does not offer Reward Points
If you are looking for a reward credit card earning reward points or cash back rewards the Citi Diamond Preferred credit card is not for you. So consider these two popular reward Citibank credit card offers. The Citi® Double Cash Card offers 1% cash back when you charge and 1% cash back when you pay your statement balance. Another great Citibank card offer is the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card. The Costco Citi credit card is right for you only if you are a Costco member.
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card – The Final Verdict on This Citibank Credit Card
Citi cards are excellent alternatives for people with high credit. Also, if you want to transfer balances from high-interest cards to the Citi Diamond Preferred, it’s a good choice. The 0% introductory offer is one of the longest ones currently available. With a little careful planning, this card can help pay down your debt. Overall, the Citi Diamond Preferred card is a solid choice for many people.
Advertiser Disclosure for the CreditFast website – CreditFast.com, provides information about the best credit card applications, as well as other financial products and services. Our goal is to provide you with fair, balanced reviews. Some credit offers that appear on our website are from companies from which CreditFast receives compensation, and some are not.
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