Citibusiness Business Card Review

Refer to the above summary for our Citibusiness Card Review. If you are a current or former customer, we’d like to hear from you. How was your experience? Are you a repeat Citibank small business customer?

Citibank is the consumer division of Citigroup, headquartered in New York, New York. The lender offers a wide variety of products for individuals including credit cards, personal loans, mortgages and lines of credit.  

But they also provide small business funding through a [somewhat limited] lineup of small business credit cards. But if your business relies on American Airlines for travel or Costco for purchases these cards might be a great financing option. Here’s a look at their Citibusiness card:

Citibusiness AAdvantage credit card benefits:

·       No annual fee (for the first year).

·       2 miles for every dollar spent on AA, wi-fi, car rentals, gas, etc.

·       1 mile for every dollar spent on other qualifying purchases.

·       Free checked bag for up to four travelers.

The Citibusiness AAdvantage card competes with the Delta SkyMiles card from American Express and the Travel Rewards Bank of America business credit card.

CitiBusiness Card Pros and Cons

In addition to the commentary above, here’s some further insight:

Main Pros:

·       Earn $50,000 bonus miles when spending just $3,000 within 3 months.

·       Accrue 2 miles for every $1 spent.

·       First checked bag is free.

·       Car rental insurance (when declining rental company’s collision coverage).

·       Penalty APR is lower than most we’ve reviewed.

 Main Cons:

·       Limited small business card offerings.

·       Can take 10 weeks for bonus miles to post after purchase.

·       Classifying what purchases qualify (how they’re “coded”) a bit confusing.

Additionally, there are rewards, thank you, cash back, travel, low interest, student, secured and balance transfer credit cards.  Of these offerings, small business, balance transfer and their secured business credit card should be of interest to our readers.

Balance transfer cards are all the rage-and rightfully so. With total credit card debt in this country surpassing $1 trillion, it’s a great way for small businesses to reduce their monthly financing costs, improving cash flow and net working capital.¹ Look for offers of 0% APR for balance transfers.

Similarly, debt consolidation loans may reduce monthly financing charges if they can take numerous loans and combine them into one, lower monthly payment. Funding Circle is a name we like in the consolidation space, as well as personal loans for business (check out our Funding Circle reviews).

While not widely followed, secured cards are a great way for newer ventures to build a credit. Borrowers hand over a security deposit (the collateral) to the lender and then borrow funds as needed. We typically see secured rates in the mod-20% realm.

Once they demonstrate the ability to repay purchases on time, their activity gets reported to the credit bureaus and their credit scores should improve. This can save thousands in financing charges going forward. While bad credit business loans are easier than ever to get today, they are typically very expensive and not the best option for some businesses.

For more information on a specific Citibank credit card, refer to their website or browse our reviews page for other business credit card offers.

¹https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/average-credit-card-debt-14863601