I received a promotional offer from citi for a credit card with 25000 bonus miles (after spending $250) and a companion certificate. I signed up for this thinking I could use the companion ticket for my honeymoon tickets. After numerous calls to customer service I finally got ALL my miles. The certificate... Well I did eventually get it but was not able to use it.
I was APPROVED for the card November 11th. The fee for the card was processed Dec 15th. The certificate was supposed to be mailed with in 4-6 (6-8 depending who you talk to or which offer you reference) weeks.in January I called and was told it was 6-10 weeks from when the fee is processed not when you are approved for the account (different from what the offer said).in February I called again to check the status. I explained to her I needed it to buy my honeymoon tickets to St Lucia. The lady guaranteed me I'd have it in my hands by March 21st. I waited patiently but not really believing it was coming. The evening of March 21st I called back and told the rep I still didn't have it. I was told they were done in batches and there had been a mistake on my batch so they were all being redone. I again explained why I needed the ticket to buy honeymoon tickets to St Lucia and every day I waited the prices were going up. She said I'd get it soon.By this point I've spoken to 6 different reps and 3 supervisors. I finally ask the supervisor who I can talk to to actually get answers and I was put through to the office of the president. I spoke with a lady there and she was sympathetic but headed out for the day. She promised to review the case and call me back. I asked for her number so if she forgot I could call her. She gave it to me. Several hours later she called me back and told me she would have the certificate over nighted to me. I did get it the next day.
When I saw the actual certificate my heart sank. It was only good for domestic travel. I called Stacey at the office of the president and explained that was not what was advertised. Nowhere in the literature did it state that it was good for domestic travel only. The way Stacey remedied this was to give me enough air miles to "buy" the ticket myself. She was the only helpful person in this whole process. It still cost me several hundred more dollars than it should with fees and having to wait so long to purchase the tickets. Citi showed no remorse, admitted no fault. Several reps were rude and abrasive. I have written to the complaints department several times and not gotten a response.
There are enough consumers that we should be the ones dictating policy and how these companies do business. However, we allow ourselves to be pushed around, beaten down and cheated out of what we are owed until we've got no more fight left. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
Cassie
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
U.S.A.
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