Free Money from Citi Credit Protector

I'm sure everyone who has a credit card has seen the ads at one point or another. The card pitches a credit protector service that is supposed to help you if you have a life change, job less, etc. My honest opinion is that these programs are total ripoffs, as in most cases you are paying almost 1% of your closing balance for this so-called protection, and the amount is based on your closing balance so you get hit with a fee even if you pay your balance in full each month.

However, these programs make so much money for the card companies they are willing to dangle some great incentives for you to enroll. The best one right now is for Citi's Credit Protector service, which is offering $100 rebate on gas purchases when you enroll in their program (Promo Link). You can do a 30-day free trial to get your gas certificate which you then mail in with receipts to claim your rebate. After your trial is up, you can then call them up threatening to cancel to get some good retention offers. I have done this on three different cards and in each instance received an offer for $50 worth of free gift cards redeemable by mail (one per month for 5 months). It takes all of about 7 minutes from beginning to end of the call. Here is how to play it:

1. Call the number saying you would like to cancel. Say that you think the price is too expensive for the benefit the plan provides.
2. The CSR will offer a lower cost plan. DON'T BITE! Listen to their pitch and then say that you still don't think the plan is a good value.
3. The CSR will then offer to send you the materials to review with a 30-day free trial and will also offer to send $50 in certificates redeemable for gift cards. Politely accept the new terms and wait for your certificates to arrive.

The catch is that to redeem the certificates you have to be actively enrolled in the service, and each of the five certificates has a different date range. The key is to only do this on accounts you don't use. If your closing balance is zero, 49 cents per $100 still results in no charge. After all your certificates are redeemed, then call back to cancel again. Who knows: they may offer to send you more gift cards! =)