CitiBusiness® Card with Thank You Network^SM

The CitiBusiness® Card with Thank You Network^SM was last reviewed on 10th May 2008

Summary - The CitiBusiness® Card with Thank You Network^SM is a small business credit card that will appeal to the those would like to have a reward credit card with Citi's ThankYou Redemption Network reward program. This cards allows you to earn 3 points on various business expenses...find out more

Reward Formula - You will earn 3 points for every dollar spent on certain business items like office supplies at standalone stationary outlets and also for business services. (Office supply merchants are defined as stand-alone merchants that primarily sell stationery and office supplies for business consumption. Professional services are defined as stand-alone tax preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and legal services providers that provide their respective services to businesses. Purchases not eligible to receive the three points include, but are not limited to, purchases made at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and convenience stores. In addition, online, catalog, mail order and telephone purchases are not eligible to receive three ThankYou Points unless the merchants identify the transactions as being made at an office supply, tax preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, or legal service provider). You earn 1 point for every dollar spent on other purchases. You can earn up to 100,000 in one calendar year. Reward points expire in 3 years. New cardholders get 10,000 reward points after $250 in purchase.

Annual Fee and APR - The CitiBusiness® Card with ThankYou Network^SM has no annual fee and no additional card fee. Credit limits on additional cards are set by you. Additional cardholders can also earn reward points, which accrues to the business. Cardholders get a 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. The APR after that is Prime Rate plus 4.99%.

Account Management and Credit Lines - Cardholders will get access to business credit lines (which will depend on your business and credit history). Like other Citicards, you can manage your account online by Managing payments, viewing statements, tracking activity, requesting a credit line increase and adding employees.

Deals and Discounts - You will also get periodic deals and discounts from various merchants like AETNA, Avis, Cingular Wireless and DHL.

Personal Business Assistant - Cardholders will be given a toll-free number access to a personal business assistant who can answer requests 24/7 online or by phone for business information, travel reservations, as well as referrals for marketing and administrative needs.

ThankYou Redemptions Network Program - The CitiBusiness Card's reward program is the ThankYou program, which is a great all round reward program. It has a unique travel rewards program for airlines. Cardholders have two choices. Firstly, you have a variable flight option plan where they can book any ticket or itinerary online through expedia. The number of points required to redeem for your ticket purchases will depend on the price. But you will have the flexibility to book any tickets you want.

The other options is the fixed flight option whereby the number of points for a particular destination is fixed. At this moment, the ThankYou Redemptions have one of the best deals in the market. For example, you only need 20,000 points for an airline ticket within the continental US or Alaska versus 25,000 points for most program (In this example, 20,000 is good for up to a $400 value ticket). If the ticket cost more, then you can use points to make up the difference. For example, if it cost $450, then you need an additional 5,000 points. With this program, you need to book your tickets through a thankyou specialist over the phone. There are also no seat limits, blackout dates, advance booking requirements or saturday night stays requirements.

However, to qualify for the fixed flight option, you either have to a Salomon Smith Barney FMA client, have a citibank account or have an eligible citicard. The CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network is an eligible card for the fixed flight option.

Reports to Credit Bureaus - Unlike many small business credit cards, Citibank reports your credit card activities to business credit bureaus like D&B. This will help you build a business credit history, which may enable you to get business financing in the future without using any personal guarantees.

Verdict - The CitiBusiness® Card with ThankYou Network^SM is a card that will appeal to the small business owner who wants credit card with an all-round reward program. You get a good 0% apr offer on purchases and a reasonably low APR. For those who like the ThankYou Redemptions Network reward program, we would recommend this card.

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