While many people are currently getting the Citi Premier Card due to the current all-time high offer, some are hitting a snag with the Citi fraud department while trying to complete the welcome bonus spend requirement. 

When Citi suspects a transaction as fraud they send a text message or email to the user to confirm the transaction by replying (or clicking) “yes”. But the issue is that even after replying yes, your transactions can still get declined.

And eventually, Citi forces you to call the Citi fraud department to unlock your account (easily 15-20 min hold time). And  that’s not it. 

After finally getting a hold of the fraud department and verifying your transactions, your transactions immediately get reflagged again as fraud and Citi forces you to call again. And you guessed it. After you call again your account will still get flagged. 

This is a Citi rut that feels impossible to ever climb out of.  

What's the solution?

The best solution would be if Citi wakes up and fixes this issue asap. But I’m not the CEO of Citi and have no plan of becoming the CEO anywhere in the near future, so for now, let’s discuss some tips and solutions that other people are reporting that worked for them. They may be worth a try.  

Open up the Citi app with location services on – Some suggest turning on location services in the Citi app and have the app open on your phone before attempting a charge.

Put a large purchase notification – Put a large purchase notification in the Citi app or online notifying Citi that you are planning on making a large purchase on your card. This will help your transaction bypass the fraud department. 

Take an extra dose of medication and wait it out – Many report that they just needed to wait a few weeks for the issue to clear. After a few weeks the issue cleared on its own.