This is a nice benefit we just came across, associated with the Citi Forward Credit Card:
Use your Citi Forward card to pay your cell phone bill and get free protection (up to $250) from damage and theft. All phones (including iPhones and smartphones) from all telecom providers are covered.
If you don’t want to spend $5 a month for cell phone insurance, but still want some coverage, this might be an easy way to do it.
This is a very attractive credit card, especially if you pay off most or all of your balance each month. It has a 0% intro APR, no annual fee and a generous rewards program. See the card offer for full terms and conditions.
To apply for the Citi Forward Card, click here.
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This sounds great but I cannot find this information on the Citi site? How can I verify this?
While Citi told us about the benefit, they don’t include the information on the landing pages they’ve given us to use. (No that doesn’t make any sense). Anyway, here is some info they provided us:
Cellular Telephone Protection: If you pay your monthly cell phone bills with your Citi Forward Card and your cell phone is damaged or stolen, you have supplemental insurance coverage that reimburses you for a replacement phone. Certain conditions, restrictions and exclusions apply. Coverage is subject to a maximum reimbursement amount of $250 in excess of the $50 co-payment you are required to pay. Citi will provide full details upon card membership.
I just attempted to use this ‘protection’
The Cellular Telephone Protection plan that is offered as part of your use of the card is valid when you pay your cell phone bill with this card.
The worrying part – I have the claim form in front of me and I don’t think I’m going to use it.
This is a third party service, there is no sharing of information from Citi to this service so the claim form demands the following information to be mailed to them for review.
Date of Birth
If I Own or mortgage a residence
If I rent a residence
If I live with a relative
If I’m a full time student
My Occupation
The name and location of my Employer
My work Phone
My Fax Number
My spouses name
My full credit card number
A full copy of my credit card statement
A full copy of my cell phone statement
This service is a benefit for me using my card, yet I have to release all this private data to a third party to use it. If Its integrated in my bill then Citi should have some safe secure way to transfer only the required information to their business partner instead of me releasing phone records, full statement and more.
Interesting. It doesn’t surprise me that Citi uses a 3rd party for this kind of thing. I’m guessing the company is looking out for its interests….trying to prevent fraud rather than causing it, but it does seem like some of that stuff is unnecessary. I doubt we’ll get a substantive reply, but I’ll forward the concerns along to our Citi relationship contact.
Wow thank you Administrator
I had already tried to speak to Citi as listed above, then an email that details my phone conversation. The email support team said to call the phone line. They didn’t even read that I had already done that.
I have the forms in PDF, glad to share them. I had hoped Citi and the third party could minimize the amount of data being spread around. That’s what my call into Citi was to bring to their attention and it failed.
Btw, I’m not going to use the service and now asking Citi what they are going to do to make it right, they bribed me to make changes to my spending habit in exchange for a protection service I cannot trust.
Details on Citi web site:
Cellular Telephone Protection
Visa Cellular Telephone Protection is supplemental reimbursement and is underwritten by Indemnity Insurance Company of North America. Certain conditions, restrictions and exclusions apply. Coverage is subject to a maximum reimbursement amount of $250 in excess of the $50 co-payment you are required to pay. Details of coverage will be provided upon cardmembership.
RX: Yup, that part is known
however, they didn’t say that I had to give all that detail – in fact it’s sad that a Credit Card company is encouraging their card members to release that level of detail to a company not under their control.
If I wanted that $50 credit, I had to release more information to the insurance company than I did to open my original credit card! (other than SS#).