This page will describe the benefits, drawbacks and various special considerations
relating to the Citi Driver's Edge Platinum MasterCard. Overall it is an excellent rewards
card for most people:
It has a high rebate rate of 3% to 6%
It rewards you for both purchases
and for the miles you drive
it rewards you for typical household
purchases, rather than tempting you into making purchases
that you wouldn't otherwise make.
Consumers who judge the card by its name might fall into the trap of assuming that
this card is just for heavy drivers, but dig a little deeper and you'll find it's
exceptionally rewarding for almost anyone. For example, let's say you already
spend $5,000 this year at supermarkets: you'll receive a 6% rebate
for that, amounting to $300. You'll also earn
$1 for every 100 miles you drive: if you typically drive
10,000 miles per year, you'll earn another $100 every year.
Card Summary
The Citi Driver's Edge Card is the best choice for most people. For the first year, you'll earn a full 6% rebate on
purchases at gas stations, drug stores and grocery stores. For example, let's say you already
spend $5,000 this year at those places: you'll receive
$300 for that. In later years you'll receive a full
3% rebate at those places (all other purchases earn
1% each year). So even if you don't often drive it's still an
excellent rewards card.
With the Driver's Edge Card, every year you'll also earn
$1 for every 100 miles you drive. For example if you drive
10,000 miles per year, you'll earn $100 per year. And it's
environmentally friendly because the more fuel-efficiently you drive,
the more you'll save. For example if your car gets 30 miles per gallon, you'll save 30
cents for every gallon of gas you buy. It's the best rewards
card we've seen, so consider applying for it. An offer this generous
could be taken down at any time, so don't miss out or you'll probably be kicking
yourself later.
Card Benefits
The CFA carefully investigated this card and observed the following
benefits:
The rebate isn't cash, but it can be spent on needed purchases so
it's basically equivalent to receiving cash back. You can
spend it on any automotive services, repair or maintenance. You can convert rebates into Citi's ThankYou
Points, which you can use to get gift cards at over fifty popular retailers.
You can also apply your rebate
towards the purchase of nearly any motor vehicle -- new or used, from dealers or
private parties. You'll receive the rebate in the form of a check after
you purchase the vehicle, and whoever you purchased it from will never
know you received a rebate. That means you are 100% free to negotiate
the best deal on a car from any dealer or individual seller.
The method of computing interest is average daily balance of all your
purchases. You're avoiding the "double-cycle average daily balance" which
some credit card companies use to hike your payments.
After you're approved, you can ask to have your own
picture placed on the front of your card. This
will help make your card more secure. Citi also offers 24-hour fraud
protection and guarantees you'll have zero liability for unauthorized charges.
Automatic travel insurance of up to $1,000,000 is received whenever
you buy a plane, ship, train or bus ticket with your card.
Auto rental insurance coverage is received to protect you from possible
collision or theft when you pay for the rental with your card.
A Retail Purchase Protection feature protects your card purchases
from theft or eligible damage for up to 90 days.
There is no annual fee.
How To Use It
Here are some features of this card that we recommend consumers be smart about:
The time to make your monthly payment is on the short side, a 20 day "grace period" -- we feel that
25 days would have been much more gracious. To avoid a late fee of up
to $39, pay your credit card bill promptly.
Two household members can apply for two accounts separately. This lets a two-car
family get rebates for the mileage on both cars. Some people wait a year before getting the second card,
in order to get another 6% rebate period.
Each Driver's Edge card account has a $1,000 rebate cap for any 12 month period. If you find
yourself earning more rebates, consider getting another rebate card.
Citi reserves the right to terminate your card or change the
terms of the card agreement, but they must give you 30 days notice
so you'll at least have the chance to convert your rebate points into gift cards.
Citi is fairer than most credit card companies, recently announcing that none if it's
cards would have a "universal default" clause that penalizes you for being late on
any of your payments.
Remember that you won't receive a rebate for anything you buy at a warehouse club or department
store, even if you buy food there. You'll receive a full rebate at a supermarket,
which the Citi card company defines as a "stand-alone merchant that primarily sells a complete line of food
merchandise for home consumption". Note that you'll receive a rebate for anything you buy at
a drugstore or supermarket, even if it's not drugs or food that you're buying there.
If you transfer a balance from another card to your Driver's Edge card, you'll pay
zero interest for 12 months. However, as you purchase more items, you'll find
that all your monthly payments are going towards the balance transfer. You won't start paying
down your purchases until you've paid off your transferred balance. The interest you'll pay
on those purchases is a variable rate that usually hovers between 12% and 15%. So if you want
a zero percent interest rate, you're really better off getting some other zero-percent card that you'll
use only for a balance transfer, not purchases.
Avoid these pitfalls: (1) you must use your rebate points within five years or they'll expire;
(2) if there's no transaction on your card for 12 months, your points expire;
and (3) your "drive rebate" (your rebate for the miles you've driven) must not exceed your rebate for
the purchases you made with your Driver's Edge card. For example if your drive rebate is $100 and you
have $50 worth of rebate points from purchases, your drive rebate is lowered to $50.
You can apply for a Driver's Edge card at Citi's credit card site.
After the first year your rebate returns to the normal 3% rate, so at that time you may want to add the Discover Open Road Card to your wallet, in order to get their 5% cash
rebate on gas purchases.
