Citi Making Changes to Virtual Account Numbers
Citi has sent out emails to its customers announcing that over the next several weeks, it will enhance the Virtual Account Number experience for cardholders. The credit card issuer promises to make updates to improve the experience with easier navigation and enhanced options to manage your virtual account numbers.
You will be able to set a daily budget to have better control of your expenses and limit the impact of any potential fraud for Virtual Account Numbers that you create. Another improvement is that you will be able to set up and edit virtual account numbers using the Citi Mobile App.
There are some things that customers should keep in mind as Citi implements these changes:
- You can use existing virtual account numbers until their current expiration date.
- After expiration, you’ll need to set up new numbers.
- Since you won’t be able to view your existing numbers in the new experience, you may want to make note of them for reference.
Virtual Account Numbers
This is a great feature that you should use when shopping online. Citi will generate a random card number that you can use for a limited time and soon with a limited daily budget.
When shopping online or by mail order, you can use a randomly generated Citi card Virtual Account Number instead of your real account number. Simply click Enroll in/Get here to begin using Virtual Account Numbers.
All purchases made with your temporary number will appear on your monthly statement with your other purchases. The entry will include the Virtual Account Number that was used for each transaction, which makes it easy to filter your transactions. The Virtual Account Numbers benefit is not available for all Citi cards. If you currently have a Citi card, you can view benefits for your specific card by logging in or registering for Card Benefits.
Eligible Cards
These are cards that have the Virtual Account Numbers benefit (let me know if you see it in other Citi products):
- Double Cash
- Premier
Non-eligible cards include:
- AAdvantage MileUp
- AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
I can’t find a way to cancel or turn off my virtual card. So disappointed. Going to use my Capitol one account and close Citi after my next payment.
Just disgraceful.
Portion of Cust Rep Conversation
Me:It is now working on Firefox However it is only allowing for one month
Emmalee That is the timeline for the new updated virtual account numbers.
dont undersstand You. The virtual account number system has recently been updated. You will only be able to get those now for one month.
Your answer is unacceptable. Where is it noted that an integral part of VAN was being dropped
You
It is not listed online.
disgraceful Please foward me to someone in authority.
Let me look into this further for you.
17:20 Emmalee at 17:20,
I have looked further into this for you and the new system is not supposed to be limited. This is a concern we are aware of and are working on fixing. I can submit for your account to be looked into as well since you are also experiencing this problem. Please provide your email address for verification. Once the issues is fixed you would be notified by email.
I haven’t yet been able to access the new virtual card upgrade on my DDcash card, but after seeing the comments about removing the single Vcard limits, i will be looking at Capital 1’s cards for a replacement.. I use the single card $ limit often. It only makes sense if Citi is trying to drive away customers for some reason of their own.
I just finished a chat with Citibank and they have rolled back the “new experience”, which I was never able to access anyway. There is no eta, and no information on extending the expiration of the existing application beyond this month (August). They also would not provide a ticket# for tracking status. I am also very unhappy with how this is being handled, as I am now having to give out a real card# because of this issue.
I have actually been looking forward to this upgrade since they announced it. The VAN capability is one of the main reasons I got my Doublecash card, and I use virtual numbers [i][b][color=#0000FF]all the time[/color][/b][/i]. The old UI got the job done, but it was clunky with an unprofessional design, so I really looked forward to improvements.
I used the new system yesterday, and I am shocked, not in a good way. I hoped the experience would be improved, was prepared for it to be not much better, but [i][b][color=#0000FF]never[/color][/b][/i] expected it would be [b][i][color=#0000FF]significantly worse[/color][/i][/b]. What a [b][color=#0000FF]huge[/color][/b] disappointment. Here is what got worse:
[list]You no longer can set a total spending limit on each virtual card. This was the main way I used the VANs — if I bought something for $50 from a questionable merchant, I would set the limit to $51 for the VAN I used to buy it (extra $1 to keep the number alive for possible returns), and no more worries. I suspect many customers use it in this way. The replacement “daily limit” is pretty much worthless in this regard. I’m not sure what a card with only this restriction is useful for, other than perhaps trying to reign in teenage kids[/list]
[list]I haven’t counted yet, but it seems like overall you need to get through MORE screens/clicks to create a VAN than before. Things like having to select the expiration date from scratch using 2 dropdowns is terrible design (as opposed defaulting to one month out like before). I was hoping they would restore the option for a windows client, where you could just type in your password and go, rather than having to go through a tedious web login process that usually includes having to decline promotions — but nope.[/list]
[list]They got rid of the ability to easily view previous VAN transactions, instead they suggest searching through your charges on the main account screen and looking in the notes for VAN number — what a joke.[/list]
[list]I have been trying to get onto the system all afternoon, but get a message “Looks like there was a problem. Please try again later.” [/list]
[list]Yesterday when I did get on, none of my current VANs created on the previous system were displayed — so if I want to cancel one, or see the balance, I’m SOL. This is not only laughably incompetent management of a migration, it poses a security risk since there is no ability to manage these live cards.
[/list]
Now for a list of all the improvements I’ve seen:
[list].[/list]
Yes, that’s not a mistake, I’ve seen none. I’ve heard rumors that the new system will be accessible on mobile, which would be great — but I haven’t seen it yet.
All in all, this “upgrade” has been a [b][i][color=#0000FF]disaster[/color][/i][/b], with no improvements, but rather elimination of features, in particular the card limit. The fact that it took them nearly a year to build this stripped down POS is pathetic.
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a VENMO card and moving many of my Citi transactions there. This change and the fact that Citi no longer has the VAN capability I need has pushed me over the edge to pursuing that move.
Does the daily limit apply to just the virtual number I am generating or to the total of all cards that I generate? I liked the feature on the old system where I could generate a number with a limit for that one number. For example if I was purchasing an item from a merchant for $42.28 I could generate the card with a $50 limit. When you have a daily limit if I make a one-time purchase of $42.28 with a daily limit of $50, someone could charge $50/day as long as the expiration date has not been met. Not good!
Virtual Account Numbers can also be generated with the new Citi Custom Cash card. They all expire at the end of August 2021, so looking forward to the changes launching very soon!
Which cards have this feature? I’m about to cancel my Prestige and I don’t think the AA exec mastercard has it.
I can’t find a list of Citi cards that have VAN, but I see it as an option for Citi Double Cash and Premier. Don’t see it for AA Platinum card.