I used to have the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card, and because there is no annual fee, I would have kept it indefinitely. But remember, Citi, took it upon themselves and canceled my card back in June. At the time, I was annoyed. But in the end this may work in my favor.
You see, I messed up again! I got so excited about the limited time 75,000 Hilton HHonors sign-up bonus offer for the card, that I applied for the card a mere 5 months after Citi closed my account. At the time, I did not even think about the fact that I had already owned the card within the last 18 months, the time frame in which you cannot get another Hilton Honors sign-up bonus for the same card. Because after all, I am not the one that canceled the card. Citi did.
After I met the minimum spend with the offer of $2,000 in three months, I awaited the bonus points. When too long of a period passed in which the points were not deposited into my account, I called Citibank to inquire. It was during this call that I was reminded of the 18 month rule. Shoot! But, it was the Citi rep who actually said to me that he was going to see if I could still get the sign-up bonus because of the unusual circumstances that Citi canceled my card. I still await the decision. I will be back to let you all know what happened. Fingers crossed!
Update-nope, I did not get the sign-up bonus because I have had this card within the last 18 months, despite the fact that Citi canceled it. Oh well. Live and Learn and hopefully save many of you from making the same mistakes as me!