Good morning. Today, Strata Elite cardholders say they were shut out of their accounts without explanation for weeks; Brian Baumgartner processes expenses while people stare; and it’s the end of an era for TiVo and its fans.

Customers of Citi’s new Strata Elite credit card across the country say they have been locked out of their accounts for weeks, unable to make purchases or redeem rewards that cost an annual fee of $595, Imani Moise reports.

To unlock the cards and rewards, the bank is requiring customers to submit an income-verification form from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Strata Elite was supposed to mark Citi’s re-entry into the premium-card market, giving it a foothold to compete for high spenders against American Express’s Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Instead the lockouts are agitating cardholders who fear they won’t meet the spending minimum in the first three months to earn the advertised sign-up bonus. Some say Citi so far has declined to extend that bonus window or to prorate its fee to account for the weeks they were unable to use their cards.

Citi said it regretted “the inconvenience some of our cardmembers have experienced” and that protecting accounts was its top priority. It declined to say what prompted the freezes or how many customers were affected.

Related: Big banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are cashing in on well-heeled borrowers. [WSJ]

Actor Brian Baumgartner reprised his role as Kevin from NBC’s “The Office” on Wednesday, not on screen but in an enclosed box in the middle of a New York City park, Megan Graham writes for the CMO Today newsletter.

Baumgartner spent about seven hours Wednesday in a glassed-off office on a plaza in New York’s Flatiron neighborhood, dramatizing traditional expense-report chores for passersby in a promotion for Ramp, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to automate corporate finance tasks.

The stunt, titled “Brian’s Office,” included a live counter comparing Baumgartner’s progress with the number of receipts that Ramp says it automates in the same amount of time. An ever-growing loop of printed receipts snaked around the office as he sat at a desk.

“Part comedy, part cautionary tale, Brian’s Office shows what happens when a task long past its expiration date refuses to die,” Ramp said in a blog post.

The stunt comes months after stars of the Apple TV+ show “Severance” brought the show to life in New York’s Grand Central Station by sitting at desks while commuters gawked. Which show lead is destined for a day inside a fishbowl next?

TiVo this month stopped selling its physical DVRs, moving on from a consumer product that revolutionized how people watched TV when it arrived in 1999, Ann-Marie Alcántara reports.

People could record shows, customize their program guide to see only the channels they liked and skip commercials—much to the disdain of advertisers and network TV.

Cordcutting eventually took a toll on the devices, with fewer customers needing a way to record live cable programming. Streaming services also meant that consumers could fast-forward and rewind TV shows or tap in to libraries of content on demand.

The company behind TiVo has changed hands multiple times, eventually evolving to focus on its operating system and smart TVs, video service for cars and an advertising platform.

This Nov. 18 and 19, CMOs will gather in New York for The WSJ CMO Summit, featuring marketing leaders such as Vanessa Broadhurst of Johnson & Johnson, Cheryl Krauss of Chubb, Alicia Tillman of Delta Air Lines, Laura Jones of Instacart and Taylor Montgomery of Taco Bell. Together, they’ll explore fan-fueled growth, AI in marketing and the evolving CMO-CEO partnership. Join the CMO Council and be part of the conversation shaping the future of marketing leadership.

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Creeping inflation in grocery aisles is driving consumers to cut back on purchases, stockpile certain foods or explore more-affordable stores. [WSJ]

President Trump’s tariffs are forcing IKEA to raise some prices after years of cuts to draw in shoppers. [WSJ]

Paramount Pictures named former Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures marketer Josh Goldstine its president for global marketing and distribution. [The Wrap]

Dozens of reporters turned in their press badges and left the Pentagon after nearly every news outlet rejected new government policies that would prevent them from covering even unclassified material unless approved by Defense Department officials. [AP] 

NBC News is laying off around 150 workers, or about 7% of its workforce as challenges continue for the traditional TV business. [NYT]

At-home manicure brand Olive & June is introducing press-on nails for kids and tweens. [Glossy] 

YouTube star MrBeast appears to be eyeing an expansion into financial services. [BI]

Take the quiz: Which of these social media posts attacking brands were written by humans and which came from outrage bots? [Ad Age]