Obtaining new Citi Prestige Card and Citi ThankYou Premier Card designs

Citi has updated the design of the Citi Prestige Card and Citi ThankYou Premier Card to put the magstripe on the back where it belongs

I blogged late last year about how Citi had finally updated the design of both the Citi Prestige Card and the Citi ThankYou Premier Card. I had intended to call ASAP and request replacement cards with the new designs. ASAP turned into three-plus months later.

I generally hate calling companies and negotiating their automated voice prompt systems. Since I don't frequently use either credit card at the moment - I only put my travel and entertainment expenses on the Citi ThankYou Premier Card - the pain of having to tell cashiers how to swipe a credit card was outweighed by the potential pain of dealing with the voice prompt system. Fortunately, Citi's system is very customer friendly.

Upon calling the number on the back of the card, I only had to enter the last four digits of my card number for the system to recognize me since I had called from my cell phone. When prompted to describe my question, I simply said "agent" and was promptly taken to a friendly customer service representative. I explained to him that I would like to get the new card designs for both the Prestige and Premier cards since using them was frustrating because cashiers invariably could not figure out how to swipe the cards. He had me confirm my address and promised the cards would arrive within 24-48 hours. Very easy. I liked that they were sent via priority shipping though I was in no hurry. Of course, when you spend $450 on an annual, this type of customer service is to be expected.

I have not always had good experiences with Citibank, but in the last year since I have gotten serious about travel points and miles, all my experiences with the bank have been first rate! Today was no exception and I look forward to the next time I use the card with no puzzled look from a cashier.