[PSA] Customer-Unfriendly Annual Fee Refund Policy for City National Bank Crystal Visa Infinite Card

Update: Reposting because this post is particularly relevant today.

Quick Summary

Per their terms, City National Bank will not refund nor prorate the annual fee on the Crystal Visa Infinite Card once it has posted to your account. If you do not intend to renew the card and to pay the annual fee, you must cancel your card before the annual fee posts.

Discussion

This is an addendum to the Crystal Visa Infinite Card credit card agreement that was sent out to cardholders in 2016.

Here is the pertinent part of the addendum:

Annual Fee – There is no annual fee for the first year your Account is opened. Thereafter, we will assess you an Annual Fee of $400.00. The Annual Fee is non-refundable except as indicated below. The Annual Fee will be posted to your Account each year in the same month in which your Account was originally opened. Subject to applicable law, we are entitled to collect the Annual Fee once it is posted to your Account even if you do not use your Account or if your Account is subsequently suspended, closed or terminated for any reason.

There’s no way of knowing yet how strict they are planning to be with this; however, on the reverse side is language for New York Residents Only mentioning that they may be able to receive a prorated refund and listing instructions on doing so. This makes me speculate that they might be enforcing this rule in every state to the extent that they can, but we can’t know for sure.

In any case, if you’re not planning on renewing your account, I recommend you cancel it before the annual fee posts. You’ve been warned.

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