There's now a 50K ThankYou Premier offer, and a 75K Citi Prestige offer coming July 23. Which should you choose? Are you even eligible for either card? For example, my husband and I both closed our Citi Prestige cards within the past few months, so we're not eligible for any ThankYou card, as I'll explain below.
Here are the bonus offer details:
- 50,000 ThankYou points after $4000 spend within 3 months of account opening
- 3X on travel spend, including gas stations
- 2X on dining and entertainment
- $95 annual fee waived the first 12 months
- No foreign transaction fees
- Offer not available if you have opened or closed a Citi ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier or Citi Prestige card within the past 24 months
- 75,000 ThankYou points after $7500 spend within 3 months of account opening
- Receive a $250 air travel credit each year (December to December billing cycle)
- 3X on air travel and hotels
- 2X on dining and entertainment
- $450 annual fee is NOT waived
- Receive one $100 Global Entry application fee credit
- Priority Pass Select membership
- No foreign transaction fees
- 4th night free at hotels booked through the Citi Prestige Concierge
- Offer not available if you have opened or closed a Citi ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier or Citi Prestige card within the past 24 months
What's Changing with the Citi Prestige
As I mentioned in Cancel the Citi Prestige or AMEX Platinum Card? the Citi Prestige's current access to American Admirals Club lounges is ending July 23, 2017 (the same day this new 75K offer launches). Here are the changes that take effect on July 23, 2017:
- No More American Admirals Club Lounge Access: Effective this 7/23/17, the Citi Prestige card doesn't include access to Admirals Club lounges
- Elimination of the Golf benefit: Currently cardholders enjoy 3 free rounds of golf per calendar year. That goes away this Sunday.
- Reduced Redemption Rate for Airfare: Instead of being able to redeem ThankYou points at 1.6 cents per point for American Airlines flights or 1.33 cents per point for all other airlines, ThankYou points can only be redeemed at 1.25 cents per point toward all airfare.
- 4th Night Free Changes: The free 4th night will be an average of the 4 nights (not the 4th night, even if more expensive) and will not include taxes. For those who prefer to book online, it will be possible to book online and get the averaged 4th night free, although if you want to use AAA or other discounts or add your loyalty number, you'll still need to call in to do this, and then wait for statement credit. You will be able to pay for all or some of the stay with ThankYou points, but this is very poor value at 1 cent per point.
- Metal Card
50K ThankYou Premier or 75K Citi Prestige?
Why You Have to Choose One or the Other
If you're new to Citi ThankYou credit cards, you may be wondering–why not both? The reason, as I alluded to above, is that you cannot have opened or closed another Citi ThankYou card within the prior 24 months. You may be thinking, no problem, I'll just apply for both cards at the same time. Citi, however, does not allow this, and will reject your second application. So you do need to decide which of these cards you're applying for, that is, if you're eligible at all.
Citi Prestige If Minimum Spend Not an Issue
It's unusual for a consumer card to have a $7500 minimum spend. By now we've gotten used to seeing high minimum spend for the AMEX Business Platinum and some other business cards, but most personal credit cards, even ones such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or personal AMEX Platinum, have a minimum spend of $4000-$5000. $7500 is what one would expect as minimum spend for two or more new credit cards, so if you don't have naturally high spend, this could pose an opportunity cost in terms of earning just one bonus for the Citi Prestige vs. two or more credit card bonuses for similar minimum spend.
That said, if the $7500 is not an issue for you, the Citi Prestige's benefits and the higher 75K bonus make it a better bet than the ThankYou Premier. Yes, you have a $450 annual fee, not waived, but you can more than earn that back in the form of two $250 airfare credits, one in 2017, and one in 2018. Just remember that a December to December billing cycle (not calendar year) is used, so you shouldn't wait until December to use your 2017 credit.
The Citi Prestige has similar category bonuses to the ThankYou Premier, with 3X on airfare and hotels (although not gas, which the Premier has) and 2X on dining and entertainment. These ThankYou points can be transferred to the following ThankYou partners; I've highlighted the ones that tend to provide the best value for U.S.-based flyers:
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
- Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles
- Jet Airways
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Malaysia Airlines Enrich
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Virgin Atlantic
The Citi Prestige's 4th night free benefit is of use to some, but neither my husband nor I ever once used it, as neither of us has occasion to stay 4 nights in the same hotel. Also keep in mind that when booking through Citi Prestige you don't get to enjoy any preferred partner or Virtuoso benefits at luxury hotels such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Peninsula, Aman Resorts, Rosewood, Dorchester, Belmond, Rocco Forte, Langham, etc. hotels. The benefits my clients enjoy typically exceed the value of a free 4th night. Also see Top 10 Luxury Hotel Perks, No AMEX or Loyalty Program Needed
Anyone who has the Sapphire Reserve already receives the $100 Global Entry application fee credit and Priority Pass Select membership, so these are not distinctive benefits.
50K ThankYou Premier If Spend Is an Issue
Because you actually make money off the Citi Prestige in the first year, thanks to being able to earn two $250 airfare credits, plus the signup bonus is higher, I'd strongly recommend it over the ThankYou Premier if spend is not an issue. But if the $7500 minimum spend to earn the bonus is an issue, 50K ThankYou points for $4000 spend and no annual fee the first year is a good deal. I still rank the card lower than the 50K Chase Sapphire Reserve, 80K Ink Business Preferred, 60K Citi AAdvantage cards and 55K Chase Sapphire Preferred due to a combination of bonus for minimum spend and value of miles/points factors, but it's a solid offer if the Citi Prestige spend is too high or you'd rather earn a couple of signup bonuses with that spend.
If you're eligible to earn the signup bonus, do you plan to apply for the 75K Citi Prestige or 50K ThankYou Premier?
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