<p>I assume Citibank signed up to sponsor the Golden Globes before they tanked, but it certainly irritated me to think that my tax dollars were being used to sponsor a Hollywood awards show!</p>
<p>I think Citigroup signed up long ago for the sponsorship. However, having a good friend who works for Citigroup - many things bother me. He is in a very high level position, doesn’t work very hard and makes around $300,000 a year. He hopes to be transferred to Tampa next year (at his NY salary) to work a few more years and retire there. He is complaining that his bonus won’t be as big as usual. I feel sooo bad for him. I understand that the bailout was necessary, but there is absolutely no overseeing of the huge amount of money that has been handed to these greedy companies.</p>
<p>I guess if you don’t believe in the rewards of advertising, I can understand your irritation but if you do believe that advertising is worth the millions of dollars spent every year by corporations, companies, and organizations, large and small, then I can’t. :)</p>
<p>But what services, in particular, are they advertising? Are they really making loans? I wanted to increase my credit card limit by a few thousand dollars and they wanted a tax return with all schedules attached and references from two financial institutions.</p>
<p>I have no idea what loans they’re making but the reasons for advertising are well-researched and diverse, for any business. Advertising is not only to seek new customers/clients, but to retain current ones. Should these companies that are being assisted in the bailout not continue to attempt to run their businesses by seeking new clients as well as keeping their current ones? Isn’t the whole idea behind any bailout to keep the companies running and allow them to get back on their feet, so to speak?</p>
<p>But the advsertising just makes me, a current customer, hate them more. They won’t increase my credit limit despite me paying one of their other credit cards in full every month since 1985, but they want to keep their name in front of me because…They have clients of mine on pins and needles regarding financing issues…I just don’t see the good of their advertising at all at this stage of the game.</p>
<p>Missypie- My very first credit card was with Citibank back in 1979. It started out with a very small limit. After about 5 yrs it was up to a place I could have used it to buy a automobile. It frustrated my H who had a credit card from B of America. He could not get his limit increased even though he paid in full and had a good income. Citibank continued to increase my limit each year till by last yr I could pay a college tuition. About 3 yrs ago I stopped using that card. In Oct I got a letter they were changing my card number and changing it to a Citibusiness card. I had never used this card for our business it was and had always been a personal card. Last week I get a letter that as of Feb they are cancelling my credit card since I have not been using it. The clincher was that even if I began using it tomorrow they were still going to cancel it. It the 20+ yrs I had the card I never made a late payment. I always paid it full never carrying a balance. I guess I wasn’t making enough money for them.
I am considering calling them but don’t know if I will since I don’t use or need the card.</p>
<p>I have a frequent flyer account with Citibank - in October they raised my limit on that account to a ridiculously high level (as much as many school teachers make in a year). I don’t want to use that account anymore. They won’t transfer any of the limit from that Citibank card to the other and won’t raise the small limit card either.</p>
<p>I think they are saying, “We don’t value you as a customer.” We aren’t ideal customers for them, as we never pay them interest.</p>
<p>It is interesting that companies seeking bailout are spending lavishly on sponsorships while others (not yet) seeking bailouts are pulling out of them. Citing financial reasons, Home Depot just announced that they are no longer going to sponsor the 100+ Olympic athletes they used to support through employment.</p>
<p>Yeah, I heard a story about that on NPR. Bad timing for those in winter sports.</p>
<p>michone - you hit the topic that makes me nuts! When the auto companies came begging hat in hand the onus was put on the unions to make concessions. The UAW are paid too much. Make them take pay cuts, cut their pensions, cut their healthcare. Granted, there have been layoffs in the banking sector, but where are the concessions from the lucky ones who kept their jobs? Oh, right, no bonus for the CEO this year.</p>
<p>they get a bailout. they spend their money on advertising. hoooooooold on, please. i’m not certain on how they allocate their budgets, but they should lay low for a while.</p>
<p>Oh, Citigroup, who’s slogan is: “Citi Never Sleeps”. (I heard that OVER and OVER until I turned off the tube)</p>
<p>I believe it. These days, I’m surprised they can sleep at all.</p>