Yesterday we covered that the Citi Prestige card is no longer accepting new applications. My understanding is that this card is currently being revamped and will be relaunched with new benefits in the future. Given this premise reader Norm asked if it was worth making future fourth night free reservations now in case the revamp changes this benefit.
My answer is that if your travel plans are set in stone, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to make those bookings now as I can’t see that particular benefit or associated benefits getting any better. If you don’t have concrete plans then I guess making speculative bookings might make sense if they are refundable, but again I wouldn’t be doing this unless you were relatively certain that you’ll actually complete the stays.
I have heard some rumors from unreliable sources regarding product changes to the Citi Prestige, Citi has categorically denied that these changes are remotely accurate and their media team has generally be forthright when it comes to this type of think so I am taking their word for it for now. Hopefully we learn more about how the card will be change before those changes go into effect in any case, this would also give you time to make fourth night free bookings as appropriate.
I have PP from 4 cards. GE from the same 4. I’d be fine with those benefits disappearing but Prestige is the most valuable card in my wallet because of the 4th night free.
Please don’t become Shi**ybank.
I’d even keep the card with 1x points on hotels.
I save $5000 per year with this card
This card has been in a weird position since the last changes. The only people that it makes sense for to hang on to this card are those who can use 4th night free a lot (and are costing Citi a lot of money). But if it didn’t have or you weren’t using the 4th night free benefit, it’s surpassed by any other card with a ~$450 AF and travel credit. It’s either a horrible deal or a great deal for consumers.
Guessing that Citi wants to make it more competitive for the average person and cut down on their losses from the big utilizers. Hoping that means the return of some past benefits, like golf, higher OTA point redemption rates, and Admiral access.
I must admit, I have this card and I very rarely even find the 4th night free as being valuable. This is because in several cases it was comparable or even cheaper to buy the four nights elsewhere. I believe it only worked in my favor once! Therefore, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I assumed the 4th night would be cheaper until I began to look around at other sites. So don’t just assume it’s actually worthwhile!
Amen! +1
Thanks for the post! I have a couple of pretty firm trips that I need to book the hotel for, so I’ll just go ahead and do this now. If they cancel 4th night free benefit, I’ll be cancelling the card immediately. Already have AmEx Platinum and CSR for the Priority Pass. Can’t imagine anybody keeping the card if the 4th night free benefit is gone.
I think right now it’s a good idea to use the $250 airline credit as well?
I haven’t used it yet, thinking I may get the chance to use it to buy real ticket. Now I plan to buy some AA GC just to use it before it goes away?
Any Idea of how to know whether you used your TSA precheck or global entry fee credit in the last 5 years? I’ve had several cards w/ this feature, but haven’t always used it.
Maybe, if anything that benefit would be improved though
Do you think Citi will devalue TYP for airfare? (1 pt = 1.25 towards flights). Currently sitting on 86k between my Prestige and TY Preferred cards.
unlikely. this is on-par with CSP, and less than CSR already. i doubt any change to this piece.
if anything, it would be a cap on how much or how frequent 4th night free can be used.
Doubtful
well if they drop the 4th night I m canceling it. I assume most ppl would do the same
+1
As long as they keep Priority Pass (even if it’s just primary card member with a $5 entry fee per visit) and Global Entry credit — and some sort of flight delay insurance for flights delayed more than 96 hours — I would be fine with it! Maybe they can add a free Sherry’s Berries credit every year, as a bonus!
I mean, just the fact that they call their points Thank You Points makes me feel the LOVE!
This has to be sarcasm, right? Priority Pass is a dime a dozen with no entry fee, Global Entry is too, and flights delayed >96hr… that’s gotta be a joke. Actually, free strawberries every year and the rest of your post.. yea I’m convinced this is sarcasm. The only reason people have this card still is because it’s metal.
It’s not metal. The Rtiz card is metal. This card is garbage now.
I don’t agree that it’s garbage. I’s not as good as it used to be, however, for those of us who pay $350 AF, having the $250 airline credit and fourth night free pretty much pays for the card.
The $250 can be used to buy a gift card at American Airlines; I did that for two years and recently used my gift cards towards a first class ticket. This year’s credit covered the high fees for an emergency trip booked with points.
My card renewal is due now; I have another month to figure out whether to keep it. If it does get devalued during that time I will probably drop it.
Agreed. Thank You sounds more exciting than Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards.
previously Citi has been okay in giving advance notice of benefit changes. Like when the golf & AA lounge benefit was going to be taken away, they gave a full year notice. hopefully they’ll continue this if any changes were to be made for 25% off 4 nights room rate.
Johnny come lately to the butter makers union and milking persons union – homage to Churning history
last time it was: if you got the card before X date, you will enjoy the benefit for 1 full year from date of terms changes. If you got the card after the date of change, you don’t get the benefit.
obviously past results do not guarantee future performance, but hopefully they continue to honor this.
CARD Act says they can’t change the card terms in a negative way for a year from opening (which is why you can’t even PC most cards for a year), so that will apply. This only applies to new accounts, though, and there’s no requirement to grandfather existing ones that are older than that.
Wow, Great point. I hadn’t thought about the possibility they change that benefit again, but you guys are absolutely right we should be thinking about making bookings now if the plans are firm. Thank you Norm for sharing the foresight and thanks to DOC for highlighting it!
If they take the 4th night free benefit away, I’m ditching the card. It’s already been so devalued that if this perk is gone, so am I.