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Update: Via a reliable source I’ve learned that the category bonus changes won’t take effect until January 2019 (I previously published Nov 9, 2018). Also, I previously speculated that the current 3X rewards for most travel agencies will drop to 1X, but I’ve since learned that most travel agencies will earn 5X!
Exciting news about upcoming changes to the Citi Prestige card have dribbled out from multiple sources (here, here, and here, for example). The headline news is that the Prestige card will soon offer 5X points for dining and airfare, but will also limit the 4th Night Free benefit to two uses per year. Here’s a full summary of the expected changes including dates we expect to see each change. Note that since we haven’t seen an official report from Citibank yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that some of the stated dates are incorrect. I’ll update this post when official information is released.
| Old | New | Date Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $450 ($350 with CitiGold Checking) | $495 ($350 with CitiGold Checking) | January 2019 |
| Bonus Categories | 3X airfare, hotels, and most travel agencies 2X dining and entertainment |
5X airfare, dining, and most travel agencies 3X hotels and cruise lines Entertainment drops to 1X next September (9/2019) |
January 2019 |
| ThankYou Point Value | 1 cent per point for cash 1.25 cents per point for airfare booked through the ThankYou portal |
1 cent per point | September 2019 |
| 4th Night Free Benefit | Uncapped | Limited to twice per calendar year | September 2019 |
| $250 Travel Credit | Airfare Only | All Travel | January 2019 |
| Cell Phone Protection | N/A | Covers damage & theft | May 2019 |
| Lounge Access | Citi Proprietary Lounges & Priority Pass Select | Unchanged | |
| Global Entry Fee Credit | $100 | Unchanged | |
| Missed Event Ticket Protection | Reimburses event tickets, up to $500 per year if you miss the event due to a covered reason (tickets lost or stolen, weather conditions, etc.) | Unchanged |
My initial reactions
I’ll analyze this in full in future posts, but here are my initial thoughts…
Overall, I think that these changes make the Citi ThankYou program more relevant than ever before. By combining the Prestige card with the Premier card, you can get fantastic earning power: 5X dining + airfare, 3X all other travel & gas, 2X entertainment. Plus, you can get good per point value (1.25 cents per point) with the Premier card. Better yet, you can transfer points to Citi’s growing list of transfer partners including JetBlue, Air France & Virgin Atlantic which can be used to book Delta flights, Avianca & Singapore which can be used to book United flights, and Cathay & Etihad which can be used to book AA flights.
Now for some point by point reactions…
- $495 annual fee is a bummer. Even if you give full value to the $250 travel credit, the net annual fee comes to $245. Compared to the Sapphire Reserve ($450 – $300 travel credit = $150), the Prestige will be considerably more expensive for those who pay the full annual fee. In my case, I once had Citi Gold checking and ever since then I seem to be locked into the lower $350 annual fee. It’s worth watching for CitiGold signup promotions to get this lower fee.
- 5X dining is huge. I realize it is only 1X more than the Amex Gold Card, but this one will work outside of the US. Going back to using just one card for all dining purchases everywhere is great, especially since some restaurants don’t accept American Express.
- 5X airfare is big too. Yes, Amex Platinum cards already offer 5X airfare, but Amex cards offer minimal travel protections. While the Citi Prestige travel protections aren’t as good as those offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve, they’re still pretty good. The main disadvantages are with trip cancellation & interruption where you get full coverage only if you use the card to pay in-full, and with trip delay where missed connections aren’t covered.
- Loss of 1.25 airfare redemption is merely an inconvenience. If you want to get that value from ThankYou points and you don’t have a Citi Premier card, you just need a friend with the Premier card who’s willing to book the flight for you. You can transfer points to them and they can book the flight. You can also get 1.25 cents value for hotel, car, and cruise bookings the same way.
- 4th Night Free limit doesn’t hurt me, but… Personally, I’ve never used the 4th Night Free benefit more than twice a year, so this change doesn’t bother me at all. Obviously those who use it more frequently will see this as a major devaluation. More about this benefit can be found here: Complete Guide to Citi Prestige 4th Night Free.
- $250 Travel Credit change is a nice to have. Previously it was necessary to spend the money on airfare in order to receive the annual credit. Now, all travel purchases will be reimbursed up to $250 per year. That’s nice for those who don’t book airfare often. Personally, I think that the Prestige will become my go-to card for most airfare purchases (especially when I’m paying in full and I don’t have a connection that I might miss) so I’ll easily earn the $250 without much thought.
- Cell phone protection is probably a gimmick. We don’t know the details of the cell phone coverage yet, but it will probably have at least a $100 deductible and will require having paid your cell phone bill with the Prestige card. Personally I’m not willing to give up 5X earning with my Ink Business Cash card, so I won’t take advantage of this.
What do you think about these changes? Please comment below.
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This is an upgrade for most people. Only the power flyers, 3+ week long hotel stays per year, and those who spend a lot on entertainment would have a problem with it.
The new benefits tempt me to get it, but I spend too much on car gas and on Marvel movies with the Citi Thankyou Premier. Also getting 3x on parking garages, rental cars, and Airbnb for only $95 per year is too practical to give up.
Well, I just received an official e-mail from Citi with the official changes. Starting 01/04/19 5X for air fare, dining and travel agencies (had to find travel agencies in the fine print), 3X for cruises and hotels, 2X on entertainment until 08/31/19 then 1X, and 1X for everything else. Travel center redemptions reduced from 1.25% to 1.00%. No further relationship bonuses after 2019. 4th night free limited to 2 times per calendar year for bookings made after 08/31/18. $250 airline credit expanded to include all travel expenses (similar to the CSR travel credit). Annual fee increase from $450 to $495 and AU fee increase from $50 to $75 for renewals after 08/31/19. $350 annual fee continues for Citigold customers only. Citi Priority customers no longer receive the $350 annual fee.
Post scheduled for 3 minutes from now….the 4th night free took another huge hit.
Yes. Upon further review of the new benefits 4th night free reservations after 08/31/19 can only be made through the Thank You portal. Concierge bookings will no longer be allowed. The is a huge hit to the 4th night free benefit. Portal bookings limit the available hotels eligible for the 4th night free benefit and must be prepaid. You will not receive elite status recognition or hotel points with portal bookings. I will cancel the card.
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For me this talk of how amex is now better than chase is silly… In fact I really hope chase doesn’t touch CSR. If they reduce the 1.5 and match 5x it will be a disaster.
Unless you are redeeming for business/first CSR is unmatched with it’s 1.5c economy value. Plus when you are a family with kids – you don’t need to find award space when doing 1.5 through portal. Combined with ink 5x it is in a league of its own – especially when that mean 5x in 85% of my spend though gc… I hold a nice stash of MR, don’t get me wrong, especially though their offers and on some specific things but in general…. If you are looking to redeem for econ… CSR all the way.
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I absolutely love this! Open market competition baby! This should put the #1 (Chase) and #2 (Amex) on notice. I have grown sick of how our points community has barricaded itself into laying down for Chase….5/24 from any card is absolutely absurd, but almost everyone confirmed to this because nothing else came close to the UR program and Chase’s stranglehold on having arguably the best co-branded cards on the market!
Even my ‘beloved’ AMEX followed suit with ‘lifetime language’ and the RAT.
Hopefully CP ONE, Wells Fargo, and B of A decide to fully commit to this hobby……#churnandAndBurnrenaissanceRidesAgain
Crying here about the 4th night free devaluation. Although it was a pain to use…it could save me when I didn’t have enough points to use at my favorite overpriced Conrad’s in HK and Tokyo. I’m like some others here too..I would rather have membership rewards and chase ur…I’m in Houston so I’m a United and Southwest captive. Ugh. Plus their price rewind thing is getting so restrictive…I bought a bunch of overpriced Supreme stuff and they won’t let me match it to any auction sites even if there is a buy it now price. I can’t find any non auction sites to match that stuff to. I’m thinking of using my husbands old presidential plus united card to earn flexible elite qualifying miles and calling it a day! I see they have price protection for 90 days…wonder if they will match to a buy it now price on an auction site?????