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Let's Talk Credit Card Retention Offers

DrSaichand

TF Buzz
VIP Lounge
This is my first ever post in this community but I have been following TechnoFino team for long time so please pardon my mistakes if any and do correct me.

Banks spend a lot to gain a customer on their credit card portfolio. A lot of work goes behind Marketing, onboarding & maintaining a trustful customer who brings good revenue to the bank and most likely pay all the dues on time. But at times when customer want to break this relationship by closing the card, banks offer retention offers to make him stay with the bank. Though this sounds odd to few this is an ultimate trump card a credit card company plays to stop a leaving customer. Banks does this because it costs banks much less to offer incentives to leaving customer for their retention rather than the cost of accruing a new customer, that too in this competitive market. This also doesn't mean banks offer these offers to each and every customer that exploits this raw nerve.

Generally these offers are not published/discussed and further they vary from customer to customer based on their relationship with the lender. So I thought of initiating a thread to accumulate various credit card retention offers for long time so here we go please share your card retention offers of various banks credit cards under this thread so that we can better our portfolio further lets find out which bank goes a extra mile to retain their customer. Here's my retention offer.

YES BANK
**************
I have been with Yes Bank since 2017 and got Yes bank Unsecured credit card in the year 2018. Initially my card was Yes Rewards Credit card offered as a pre approved bases on my savings account and I had instantly accepted the offer as I was a student at that time. Yes Bank card being my first ever credit card, I got a credit limit of 20,000 and I was ok with it as my requirements were minimum.

By the time I graduated my usage and spends gradually increased and credit limit requirement started to rise. After the devaluation following the Yes Bank crisis the card offers and reward points were reduced to so low that it didn't made any sense to hold the Yes Bank Cards. In addition to that inspite of being loyal to bank and with absolute zero late payments Yes Bank used to offer poor credit limit enhancements of 3,000 - 5000 for every 8-12 months, but they offer credit card upgrades every 6 months so I was adjusted to it. last straw that broke the camels back was in the year 2021 I got my second credit card i.e Amazon Pay ICICI Credit card with the limit of 2,50,000 and instantly I called Yes bank to close my card as credit limit on my Yes Edge CC was 32,000 at the time of closure and I was hardly able to buy even a mid range phone with it under Bank offers (knowing card closure effects my credit score in bad way) they took the request and I thought card was closed.

but after 15-20 days later I got a call from their Credit card retention team and they offered me direct upgrade from Yes Edge CC to Yes First Preferred CC with 1000 rupees worth reward points in statement with absolutely zero annual fee. I was amazed and decided to remain with them. But eventually after a year due to my other banks cards portfolio I hold by the mid of 2022 I finally closed my Yes Bank card and Yes they again called me and tried to persuaded me to at least stay on card to avail longe benefits, but as I travel near to nill I have denied their 2nd time card retention offer and closed the card. my card closure is solely regarding my poor Credit Limit offered by the bank inspite being with them for almost three years.

SBI
*****

Yes you heard it right, SBI...!!! Suprisingly I also had good retention offer experience on SBI. My father applied for SBI Cashback card via website and as he is salaried, during initial launch of Cashback card there was a glitch for salaried people so SBI agent came home to collect documents. After all formalities they issued Simply save card fraudulently and we have followed up with the SBI customer care but no action was taken.

As my father already holds SBI Elite which is 3 years old, we requested them to close this Simply save card. Immediately within 30 minutes of raising card closure request SBI Card retention team called us and reverted annual fee of 500+18%GST and told to retain card, after 30 min of persuasion I have accepted for the same but my father was unaware of this.

But the immediate next month my father has placed card closure request without my knowledge and again card retention team contacted him and enquired why did we again placed card closure request inspite of annual fee refund for which he also asked them to deduct the fees again and close the card due to bad onboarding experience and he also told about the mis-selling issue and also explained Simply save variant is not that useful in the current card portfolio which he holds, after enquiring about all cards he is holding and spend pattern (which is quite wierd from their end) immediately they have credited 20,000 reward points even without asking in SBI Elite Card rewards account on call and asked to Check the same in the app they also promised that after 6 months variant change option will be enabled for Cashback card too so that we can change the existing simplysave to Cashback.

Being infamous for their slack nature SBI Card retention team gave good offers inspite of placing back to back card closure requests.
they reverted 499+18% GST = 588 (Annual Fees) and 20000 reward points = 5000 Rupees total of 5588

It took a while to understand this is for real 😛 🙂 But this doesn't warrant that SBI does the same with every customer as my father card has spends of 12L almost every year on Elite since a couple of years so that history might have helped him getting a good retention offer for the other card of SBI.


So that it here's my experience of Card retention offer with Yes Bank and SBI do share yours if you have any in the thread below. Sorry for the long post in advance.
 
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It is in blocked state right now. I have received email from the credit card ops team stating the card is closed, but I can still see the card in the netbanking. LE offer continues to appear in my netbanking offer section. I think it will continue to appear for a month. I will update after a month.
 
Had raised yes bank card closure as I had chargeable entry level card. retention team kept saying use the card for few more months and you might get automatic offers. i said upgrade manually. they denied. card closed permanently
Your YES BANK Credit Card 8605 is closed Eff 07/02/2023 as requested.Pls destroy the plastic by cutting it across. - YES Bank Limited

anyway to activate it now?!
Which card was it ?
 
It is in blocked state right now. I have received email from the credit card ops team stating the card is closed, but I can still see the card in the netbanking. LE offer continues to appear in my netbanking offer section. I think it will continue to appear for a month. I will update after a month.
Hope you got the reward points converted from Regalia to Infinia in the mentioned ratio
 
Standard Chartered - Applied for Card (via third party) <2022) & was promised LTF. Upon receiving realized, it is not LTF. Put closure request, retention team offered FYF and Amazon voucher worth the card fee. Closed card anyhow, as I didn't need a basic card as paid. Usage : Zero, Card Age : < 1 month

Flipkart Axis - Got it FYF (At launch), put closure request at end of year. Retention team offered alternate NEO Card as LTF. Declined and card was closed.
Usage : Around 1.25 L Age: < 1 Year

SBI BPCL - Called up CC (2022) and ask them convert to LTF, as I have paid Cashback. Converted LTF. Usage : Around 1L / year Age: 4 Year

Citi Rewards: Put Closure request (2021). Was offered fee reversal by retention team. Accepted offer. Usage: 50K/year Age: 3 Year
 
I had closed my simplysave card just a week after i received. I was told that it's FYF. But when i called customer care they said it's charged from 1st year.
2000 points as welcome Benifit.

I requested for card closure. They agreed and the fees also was reversed.


After few weeks. I saw offer in Amazon 10% disc on SBI card and i wanted to buy a phone. I was regretting for card closure. Buy paying around 160-170 i would get upto 1500 discount.So i send email requesting to re issue the card.

In 2 - 3 days i got card
What you wrote when you asked for re-issue?
 
Standard Chartered - Applied for Card (via third party) <2022) & was promised LTF. Upon receiving realized, it is not LTF. Put closure request, retention team offered FYF and Amazon voucher worth the card fee. Closed card anyhow, as I didn't need a basic card as paid. Usage : Zero, Card Age : < 1 month

Flipkart Axis - Got it FYF (At launch), put closure request at end of year. Retention team offered alternate NEO Card as LTF. Declined and card was closed.
Usage : Around 1.25 L Age: < 1 Year

SBI BPCL - Called up CC (2022) and ask them convert to LTF, as I have paid Cashback. Converted LTF. Usage : Around 1L / year Age: 4 Year

Citi Rewards: Put Closure request (2021). Was offered fee reversal by retention team. Accepted offer. Usage: 50K/year Age: 3 Year
So easily SBI got converted to LTF. Great.
 
I had closed my simplysave card just a week after i received. I was told that it's FYF. But when i called customer care they said it's charged from 1st year.
2000 points as welcome Benifit.

I requested for card closure. They agreed and the fees also was reversed.


After few weeks. I saw offer in Amazon 10% disc on SBI card and i wanted to buy a phone. I was regretting for card closure. Buy paying around 160-170 i would get upto 1500 discount.So i send email requesting to re issue the card.

In 2 - 3 days i got card
Does HDFC Does same? reissue the card?
 
Yes ,they do.
But they might not issue on same limit. Limit might be same or upper or lower
How does this reactivation thing work with respect to CIBIL.

Once a card is closed the respective card account entry in CIBIL is also marked as closed.

So once the same card is reactivated again what exactly happens in CIBIL, will the same old account entry again get activated, or a new account entry will be created in CIBIL.

I am talking for the cases where the card is reactivated after 6 months or 1 year after closing.
 
How does this reactivation thing work with respect to CIBIL.

Once a card is closed the respective card account entry in CIBIL is also marked as closed.

So once the same card is reactivated again what exactly happens in CIBIL, will the same old account entry again get activated, or a new account entry will be created in CIBIL.

I am talking for the cases where the card is reactivated after 6 months or 1 year after closing.
Yes. Cibil would definitely impact. As there is closure involved.

And there might/or not be enquiry also (soft enquiry) but as bank already has all necessary details so.

even limit is not guaranteed.
 
Yes. Cibil would definitely impact. As there is closure involved.

And there might/or not be enquiry also (soft enquiry) but as bank already has all necessary details so.

even limit is not guaranteed.
So once the same card is reactivated again what exactly happens in CIBIL, will the same old account entry again get activated in CIBIL, or a new account entry will be created in CIBIL.
 
Standard Chartered - Applied for Card (via third party) <2022) & was promised LTF. Upon receiving realized, it is not LTF. Put closure request, retention team offered FYF and Amazon voucher worth the card fee. Closed card anyhow, as I didn't need a basic card as paid. Usage : Zero, Card Age : < 1 month

Flipkart Axis - Got it FYF (At launch), put closure request at end of year. Retention team offered alternate NEO Card as LTF. Declined and card was closed.
Usage : Around 1.25 L Age: < 1 Year

SBI BPCL - Called up CC (2022) and ask them convert to LTF, as I have paid Cashback. Converted LTF. Usage : Around 1L / year Age: 4 Year

Citi Rewards: Put Closure request (2021). Was offered fee reversal by retention team. Accepted offer. Usage: 50K/year Age: 3 Year
Doesn't Citi Rewards fee waiver happen at 30K only?
You'd have got fee waiver anyway

SBI BPCL also, annual fee waiver at 50K.
Hence effectively was free of cost for you.
That's why they offered LTF so easily.
 
SBI: I put card closure request for Simply CLICK on 5th Feb., immediately they called within 1 minute. Told already have CASHBACK and BPCL, my requirements are getting fulfilled.
Spends: 2L done already before the renewal, renewal is in March 2023.
Age: 2 years, Verdict: Converted to LTF.
 
Recently I decided to upgrade my HDFC credit card from Regalia to Infinia. After Infinia was allotted, I received it in the blocked status. I was advised by my RM to put closure request for my Regalia and post that request my Infinia was activated. Post my closure request I received call for retention. After I confirmed closure, to date I continue to receive the limit enhancement offer for my Regalia card in netbanking. Well I cant increase my limit of Infinia btw 😀
Are you getting an increased amount of limit offer every day?
How much LE were you getting?
 
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