Citi changed the rules to combine all credit cards within the same family of cards to be considered together for the purposes of signup bonuses.
Going forward, you can only get one bonus each 24-months on all ThankYou cards combined, one bonus each 24-months on all Citi American Airlines cards combined, one bonus each 24-months on all Expedia cards combined, and one bonus each 24-months on all Hilton cards combined.
Always remember that the 24-months resets even when you close a card. Whether a product change is considered ‘closing’ a card is a gray area, and we haven’t been successful at getting an official reply from Citi to that question.
These new terms go into effect on August 28th, according to Citi’s media team. That leaves us three days (25th, 26th, and 27th) to apply for Citi cards under the old rules.
If you recently opened or closed a Citi card, it could be a good idea to try getting in on another bonus for a card in the same family even if it’s not at its best, e.g. get the Prestige at 40k bonus if you recently closed your Premier. However, if it’s been a long while since you’ve opened or closed a Citi card, it might be a better idea to wait some time until you’re in the clear and get the best bonus.
For a more detailed look at the available bonus options, see Best Citi Sign Up Bonuses & Strategy To Use Before New Rules Go Into Place. Also see Strategies For Dealing With Citi’s New Application Rule for a look at how to strategically apply for Citi cards going forward.
Prestige Benefits
On another note, you may recall that the benefits on Citi Prestige are diminishing starting July 23, 2017, including Admirals Club access, free golf, the 1.6 cent point redemption, and some changes to the 4th night benefit.
Most of these changes go into effect on July 23, 2017, irrespective of when you apply for the Prestige card. The one exception is Admirals Club access: those who apply before September 1, 2016, will get the benefit until July 23, 2017. But those who apply from September 1, 2016 and on won’t get club access at all from the get-go.
- Apply now through August 31 and get all benefits that existing cardholders get. All benefit changes will take place on 7/23/17.
- Apply from September 1, 2016 onward and get all the old benefits until July 23, 2017, with the exception of Admirals access. You won’t have Admirals access at all on the card.
