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Citi CashReturns: We Got A $500+ Rewards Check
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Don’t think cashback reward credit cards are worth it? Well, a month ago I wrote about how the Citi CashReturns card was our wedding spending secret weapon because of its phenomenal 5% cash back rewards program. It was an idea my friend gave me and we’re now thankful he thought of it (and remembered to mention it to us!) because just the other day we received a check from Citi for $532.45. That’s right, in the last month we’ve spent a whopping $13,311.25 on wedding related items (mostly catering deposits, thankfully they took credit cards!) and we’re still a month out from the actual event!
While this is an extreme example, it’s the perfect case of how this CashReturns card has saved us a lot of money. That $500 is like getting our wedding cake for free… or part of our DJ for free… or a tuxedo for free. Another awesome feature of the card is that you don’t have to request the check, something I always felt was a ridiculous requirement. Of course I want my money, why would I ever “stockpile” cash? So, without any prompting, Citi sent us the check (we almost ripped it up because we thought they were convenience checks!).
The only downside to the promotional offer is that the 5% cashback is for only three months but that’s long enough for us to pay for the wedding and a honeymoon… all at an instant 5% discount!
{ 14 comments, please add your thoughts now! }Related Posts
 By Jim |
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Hmm, I always have to request a check for my Citi rewards.
Citi likes you better.
Haha, no it’s not that, this card automatically sends you the rewards.
Wow, thats impressive! I thought I knew about all of the good rewards cards – I’ve never even heard of this one… Consider submitting this article to the first Carnival of Cashback & Rewards ? This is exactly the type of post I had in mind.
That’s incredible! I get excited over a $25.00 Target gift card that covers the costs of diapers.
As long as you have the disipline to always pay them off every month, the rewards are out there to be had…but many don’t have that ability and rering debt over and overin a vicious circle.
We did a similar thing with our wedding expenses but we used an Amex Blue card. We cashed in our points for a Pottery Barn gift certificate!
Now that is an awesome use of a rewards card. I’m going to have to pass this tip along to those I know getting married!
Well at first it sounds great to get that money back. Unfortunately, nothing was said about how much interest the card will charge before it is paid off. Why not use cash, if you can’t afford it don’t buy it. The money saved in not paying interest fees will be much greater than the $500. Hopefully, newly married couples will not fall for this trap and instead listen to great financial minds like Dave Ramsey.
God bless
I paid exactly no interest because we pay off the balance in full each month.
Apparently Therman has never gotten married–a wedding ceremony and reception isn’t one of those things that “if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.” That’s like saying “get married but forget the reception.”
I have several credit cards with rewards programs, all of which have been really good. I particularly like the Citibank UPromise card–if you have a student loan serviced thru Sallie Mae, or have a 529 college savings plan for your kids, the credit card gives you 1% of your purchases, plus if you shop online thru upromise.com, a lot of companies give you anywhere from 1-10% of your purchases, and all that money can go towards your student loan payment or your kids’ 529 plan, or it can be split. So far I’ve managed to earn over $500 thru that one program. I put a majority of my necessity purchases on the card then pay it off every month. On top of that, because I’ve done such an outstanding job paying my monthly bills in full, my interest rate has gone down several times.
Yeah, that reward may be good, but the interest you are going to pay is not worth it. Might as well give it right back by putting it towards your bill.
We pay off our bill in full each month… so that’s not really an issue for us but you do have a point.
I loved the Fleet Mastercard Savings Bond program but it was dsiscontinued by Bank of America when they bought Fleet. Do you know of any similar savings bond rpogram with other credit cards? I’ve saved over a thousand dollars in savings bonds without even realizing it because Fleet sent a $50 bond the moment you spent $2500. It was a painless way to save.
Jim – wow! – but how did you get 5%?