Citi Forward Review

Citibank has just released a new credit card called Citi Forward. The card is unique in that it offers a variety of credit card features designed to reward cardholders who use their credit wisely. From actually reducing the regular APR to awarding redeemable points, Citi Foward rewards cardholders for paying on time and staying within their credit limit. The card is also eco-friendly, rewarding points to those who agree to receive paperless statements. Let’s look at the details.

Citi Forward Features

The Forward card by Citi comes with a number of features that reward those who use their credit wisely:

Lower your APR: Citi Forward lowers a cardholder’s regular APR if they make a purchase, pay on time, and stay under their credit limit for three billing periods in a row. The starting APR is 12.24% and can be lowered by up to 2% over a two year period. This reduced APR does not apply to balance transfers or cash advance transactions.
Earn Points: The Forward card rewards cardholders with points based on purchases and using credit wisely. Up to 75,000 points may be earned each calendar year. Citi Forward’s points, called ThankYou Points, post to cardholder’s accounts at the close of each billing cycle and are transferred to a linked ThankYou Member Account. Here are the various ways points are earned:
1. Purchases: Five (5) points are earned for every $1 spent on books, movies, music and restaurants. One (1) point is earned for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
2. Pay on time: Pay on time and stay under the credit limit and Citi will pay the cardholder 100 points each month.
3. 6,000 bonus points: After $50 in purchases are made in the first six months, Citi Forward will pay out a bonus of 6,000 points.
4. 5,000 bonus points: Agree to receive paperless statements, and Citi will also award 5,000 bonus points.

Balance Transfers & Zero APR on Purchases

The Citi Forward card comes with a no interest balance transfer offer and no interest on purchases for six months. As with most balance transfer offers today, Citi charges a 3% balance transfer fee. Because the zero interest lasts just six months, this card is not ideal if you are looking for a balance transfer credit card. If a balance transfer offer is the primary goal, the Discover More Card, which comes with a 12-month interest free transfer offer, is the better deal.

The no interest on purchases for six months, however, in conjunction with the ThankYou points earned, represents the card’s top feature. Unlike the balance transfer offer, the 0% on purchases does not come with any associated fees.

Citi Forward Fees

The Forward card comes with no annual fee. As for various penalty and transaction fees, they are fairly standard in the industry. The card charges 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase made outside the U.S. whether made in U.S. dollars or in a foreign currency. As noted above, there is a 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) and a 3% cash advance fee ($5 minimum). The late fee is charged in tiers: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $250, and $39 on balances of $250 and over. There is also an Over-the-credit-line fee of $39.

Spend Tracker

In an effort to help cardholders control spending, Citi has design a tool called Spend Tracker to help monitor spending. The tool helps cardholders estimate how much the are spending and compare the totals to how much their peers are spending.

Verdict

Citibank Forward offers competitive points rewards for those looking to earn points for purchases. The card is particularly suited for those who spend money in the categories that earn 5X reward points: books, movies, music and restaurants. And the 0% APR on purchases for six months will help defer interest charges to put a little extra money in your pocket.