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The Citi Simplicity Card was last reviewed on 8th December 2005.
Summary - The Citi Simplicity Card is Citibank's latest credit card offer with a unique twist. This card will waive any late fees if a purchases or cash advance is made within the same billing period. Aside from this unique feature, it has an excellent 0% introductory apr offer for 12 months on both purchases and balance transfer. The apr is very low too. Read on....
No late fees? - The unique features of the Citi Simplicity Card is that if you make a late payment, your fees will be waived if you have made a purchase or cash advance during the same billing period. Balance transfers do not apply. (Note that late payment is often reported to the credit bureaus and hence you do not ever want to be late if you can avoid it).
Fees - The Citi Simplicity Card has no annual fee. You get an introductory apr of 0% for both purchases and balance transfer for 12 months. For purchases, 0% apr applies from the date of account opening. However, for the 0% apr on balance transfers, it applies from the date of the transfer. And you also have 12 months to make the first balance transfer. The apr is very low at prime rate plus 2.99%. The average daily balance method (including new purchase) is used to calculate monthly balance.
Other Features - The Citi Simplicity Card has features that cardholders should be taking advantage of. You can set up automatic payments so that payments can be taken from your bank account automatically. If you do this, you do not have to worry about late fees. You can also choose to receive email alerts on your bills and set up online payments. Citi also offers a free Identity Theft Solutions benefit to all cardholders. This service involves monitoring your card activities for fraudulent uses and also working with the credit bureaus if you become a victim of identity theft.
Conclusion - The late fee waiver is an excellent feature. To avoid late fees, the best thing to do is to actually set up an automatic payment with Citibank so that your credit card payment is automatically deducted from your bank account each month (you can never be accused to late payment). However, for those who insist on sending a check or to pay bills online manually, this is a very useful feature. (Please note however, that a late payment will still be reported to the credit bureaus).
However, even without the late fee waiver feature, we would recommend the Citi Simplicity Card to those looking for a low interest rate credit card. It is a low apr, a very good 0% apr introductory offer for 12 months for both purchases and balance transfer.
Update - The Citi Simplicity card has been discontinued. As an alternative, we recommend the Citi® Platinum Select® Card instead. With the exception of the late payment waiver fee, it has identical features as the Simplicity card.
Verdict : Highly recommended.
Positives
Late fee waiverNo annual feeLow apr0% apr for 12 months (both purchase and balance transfer)
| Introductory rate |
0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months from date of transfer. Transfers can be made within 12 months.
0% apr on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening |
| Annual Fees |
No annual fee |
| Purchase APR |
Prime Rate plus 2.99% |
| Balance Transfer APR |
Prime Rate plus 2.99% |
| Cash Advance APR |
Prime Rate plus 14.99%, min 19.99% |
| Penalty/Default Rate |
Prime Rate plus 23.99% |
| Min Finance Charge |
$0.50 |
| Grace Period |
20 days |
| Balance Calculation Method |
Average Daily Balance (including new purchases) |
| Balance Transfer Fee |
3%, min $5.00, max $75.00
No balance transfer fee for introductory offer |
| Cash Advance fee |
3% ,min $5.00 |
| Over-the-credit-limit fee |
$35.00 |
| Late Payment fee |
No late fee if a purchase or cash advance is made within the same billing cycle. Balance transfers are not counted.
$15.00 - less than $100
$29.00 - $100 to $1000
$39.00 - $1000 and above |
The Citi Simplicity card has been discontinued. Apply for the Citi® Platinum Select® Card instead.
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