If you have a Citi Forward card, you probably already know that since 6/4, Citi Forward has gone from an amazing dining-and-bookstore card earning 5x TYP (including most Amazon purchases) to an ordinary, much less useful card earning only 2x TYP. Although Citi retention offers have become harder to get lately, recent data points suggest that retention offers on the Forward are still relatively easy to obtain. I called in to try myself, and the experience was very good.

Common Offers

Let’s first list some of the common offers:

  • Earn 7,500 ThankYou Points after spending $1,000 in 3 months
  • Earn 10,000 ThankYou Points after spending $3,000 in 6 months
  • Earn 15,000 ThankYou Points after spending $4,500 in 6 months
  • Earn an extra 2x ThankYou Points on all purchases for 6 months, capped at 35,000 ThankYou Points total bonus points (equivalent to $17,500 in spending)

How to Ask for a Retention Offer

Call the Citi customer service number on the back of your credit card. When the automated system asks what you are calling about, say "Representive". At this point, do not say that you want to close the card, otherwise the card could actually end up being closed by mistake.
After you reach a live agent, you can tell the representative that you are thinking about closing your Citi Forward card because the restaurant 5x points are gone. Be sure to use the keyword "Close Account"; otherwise, the CSR will not transfer you to the retention department. But phrase it cautiously—something like "Thinking of ..."—so the CSR does not actually close the card on the spot. After that, the representative should transfer your call to a Retention Specialist.
Possibly because many people have been calling for a Forward retention offer recently, the Retention Specialist this time directly read the offer options to me. I received the 4th offer listed above (which seems like a common one), and happily accepted it. The CSR said it may take up to two business days for the offer to be activated.

Why You Shouldn’t Close the Card

This is a no-annual-fee card, and it is also a card many people have had since their student days, so it often has a long credit history. Closing a card with a long credit history can negatively affect your average length of credit history, so we generally do not recommend closing it. This retention offer is actually quite good. If you have the Citi Prestige, then 3x ThankYou Points on everyday purchases is equivalent to a 4.8% rebate, while dining becomes 4x TYP, equivalent to 6.4%, which is also quite solid. We recommend first maximizing this retention offer, and then considering a product change to a card such as the Citi Double Cash in order to preserve your credit history.
Do you have a Citi Forward? What are your plans for this card?