As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a big fan of CitiBank credit card rewards. In fact, I’m currently carrying a Citi Dividend Platinum as well as a Citi Driver’s Edge in my wallet. The former generates cash back, whereas the latter earns credit toward automotive services and/or auto purchases. A few weeks ago I ran across a post on PFBlog that mentioned that Citi had sent out a mailing indicating that they would be improving the Driver’s Edge reward program. This past week, I was cleaning off the counter when I ran across the same mailing in a stack of mail that I hadn’t looked at closely enough. So what’s changing?

The primary improvement is that they’re increasing the annual reward cap from $500/year to $1,000/year. Likewise, the maximum redemption amount has increased from $2,500 to $5,000. On top of this, the reward rate will increase to 3% on gas, grocery, and drugstore purchases (the standard deal has been 1% on all purchases). This isn’t that big of a deal, as the Dividend Platinum card currently pays 5% for those same sorts of purchases (and 1% on all else). However, many of us got in on the ‘5% on all purchases’ promo, meaning that we can rack up this year’s $1,000 pretty easily — my promo period doesn’t end until September, and I’ve already nearly maxed out the original $500 limit. [Note: The 5%/1% reward structure has since been reduced to 3%/1%.] The mailing also mentioned that you’ll earn ‘rebates for the miles you drive,’ but provides no further details — rather, they refer you to their website or a toll-free number. I poked around on their website a bit and didn’t see any further explanation, and I haven’t had the time nor the inclination to give them a call. The only downside seems to be that your rewards will now automatically expire if you don’t use your card for twelve consecutive months. All changes are effective May 23, 2005.

So how easy is it to redeem the Driver’s Edge rewards? It’s really easy. I faxed them the receipt from a recent oil change, along with a redemption form, and sure enough a credit soon showed up on my statement. This will definitely continue to come in handy for me, as I currently drive a fourteen year old car.

Unfortunately, the 5% promo seems to have dried up. But keep your eyes open — they seem to run special offers fairly frequently.