Maybe I have written one too many Fine Print posts on Frequent Miler about consumer arbitration, bank shutdowns, and eBay acting badly that my natural instinct is to file a claim. (see the Successful Fight Against a Citi Shutdown) When I was denied my 60k AA bonus after spending 5k legitimate dollar in 3 months, I thought arbitration was the only way as the customer service representative was confused about which Citi churn rule I was violating. I contacted the Office of the President and found out that my old Exec card had been cancelled within 2 years (something that I was not told when I applied) and that’s why I would not receive the bonus. I probably should keep my own records for when I applied for cards and when I cancelled but I’m lazy and rely on the agent to tell me if I’m eligible. In my experience, Amex and Chase are great at keeping these records and will send you via secure message or chat the exact dates that cards were open or closed.
In this case, I was in violation of Citi’s rules and accepted that I deserved nothing. The representative was nice enough to give me 7500 AA points for my troubles and better yet, refund the entire $450 annual fee.
Although I am a consumer arbitration attorney and will fight for the rights of my clients, I won’t fight just for the sake of fighting. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. Here, I managed to find right even though I was wrong.
Thank you Citi! (How many times does anyone say that?)
