Continuing with Citi cards for a bit brings us to a discontinued card that used to compete with the Amex Platinum, which I have, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which really made premium credit cards mainstream. This card is the Citi Prestige card, which is no longer open to new applications. It is my understanding that it can still be gotten through a product change. This is the same method that I used to get my discontinued Ritz-Carlton Card. Like other premium credit cards, this card is not cheap to hold, as it has a $495 annual fee.
Welcome Offer
The Citi Prestige Card has no welcome offer because it is not open to new accounts. The best welcome offer available is that of the Citi Premier Card, which currently has a welcome offer of 80 000 bonus points after spending $4 000 in 3 months. This bonus is one of the best that this card has ever offered. These points are worth a minimum of $800 when redeemed for cash or they can be transferred to travel partners to increase their value.
Earnings
Like the Citi Premier Card, the Citi Prestige Card has some very lucrative bonus categories. Like many cards, the Prestige has a three-tiered earning structure: 5x points/$ at airlines, travel agencies, and restaurants; 3x points/$ at hotels and cruise lines, and 1x point/$ on everything else.
These earnings are relatively straightforward, and when combined with the Citi Double Cash, means that all purchases earn at least 2x points/$.
Citi Thankyou points are most valuable when redeemed for travel online or when transferred to partners. The points are slightly weaker than Chase UR or Amex MR points, but the larger multipliers largely make up for the difference. Airline tickets purchased by redeeming points in the travel portal earn elite status and redeemable miles, which is great for earning status and earning additional points (but in a non-flexible currency).
Benefits
This card offers 3 major benefits: 1) you get a 4th night free when booking a hotel through Citi’s travel portal. 2) The card offers a $250 travel credit each calendar year (which functions the same as the Sapphire Reserve’s credit), and 3) a Priority Pass Select Membership (the same one as on the Ritz-Carlton Card and Sapphire Reserve).
However, unlike the other premium credit cards (and even the more standard ones like the Amex Green Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred), the Prestige Card does not offer any travel insurance protections (but does have some purchase protections, unlike the Citi Premier Card).
How to use the points
The simplest way to use Citi Thankyou Points is to redeem them for a statement credit, but this method offers a poor value and is inconsistent across card products. The points can also be redeemed towards travel on Citi’s travel portal at a rate of 1¢/pt.
A more advanced technique is to transfer Citi Thankyou points to one of the transfer partners, like with Chase UR or Amex MR points. The difference, in my opinion, with Citi Thankyou points is that their transfer partners are a bit more eclectic. Specifically, one would expect that since Citi issues a few American Airlines credit cards that Citi Thankyou points would transfer to AA (like Chase/United or Amex/Delta), but that’s not the case. The list of transfer partners that Citi offers has not been very enticing to me, but that has changed slightly recently. One of Citi’s transfer partners is Qatar Airlines, which recently changed to using Avios as its rewards currency. That means that Citi points can be transferred to my preferred airline, British Airways, by way of Qatar. Though a bit roundabout, that’s a great development and has piqued my interest in Citi cards. Since I find Citi’s transfer partners a bit more limiting than Chase or Amex, I peg the value of Citi points at 1.3 ¢/pt on average, which is just my value for Avios.
Examples of using the card
These examples exclude any uses of the credit.
Spend per month
| Example A | Example B | Example C | Example D | |||||
| Groceries (1x) | $300 | 300 | $200 | 200 | $600 | 600 | $400 | 400 |
| Gas (1x) | $0 | 0 | $100 | 100 | $200 | 200 | $100 | 100 |
| Airfare (5x) | $700 | 3 500 | $200 | 1 000 | $0 | 0 | $400 | 2 000 |
| Hotels (3x) | $1 000 | 3 000 | $200 | 600 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 900 |
| Gen Travel (1x) | $400 | 400 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 300 | $100 | 100 |
| Dining (5x) | $600 | 3 000 | $300 | 1 500 | $300 | 1 500 | $0 | 0 |
| General (1x) | $1 000 | 1 000 | $500 | 500 | $500 | 500 | $400 | 400 |
| Total | $4 000 | 11 200 | $1 500 | 3 900 | $1 900 | 3 100 | $1 700 | 3 900 |
| Average points/$ (Prestige) | 2.80 | 2.60 | 1.63 | 2.29 | ||||
| Average points/$ (Premier) | 2.30 | 2.33 | 2.16 | 2.41 |
The Citi Prestige Card has some big bonus categories that can represent a lot of spend for many people. However, the categories are much less well-rounded than those on the Premier Card, which means that the Premier Card is likely to be the better choice if your budget is not as travel and dining heavy. Examples C and D actually earn more points/month with the Premier Card than with the Prestige Card.
The Citi Prestige Card’s big but specific bonus categories mean that the average points earned is quite variable, with a range of 1.63 – 2.80 points/$, which is worth 2.12 – 3.64 ¢/$, with the valuation of 1.3¢/point for Citi Thankyou points.
Specific examples
| Card | World Traveller ($750) (% return) | Marriott Hotel night ($230/night) | Points values (WT/Hotel) |
| No rewards card | 2 728 Avios (4.9%) | 2 200 MP (7.3%) | $37.10 / $17.60 |
| General 1% cashback card | 2 728 Avios + $7.50 (5.9%) | 2 200 MP + $2.30 (8.3%) | $44.60 / $19.90 |
| Citi Prestige Card | 2 728 Avios + 3 750 TY (8.8%) | 2 200 MP + 690 TY (11.2%) | $85.85 / $26.57 |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | 2 728 Avios + 2 250 UR (7.9%) | 2 200 MP + 690 UR (10.3%) | $70.85 / $27.95 |
| Amex Platinum Card | 2 728 Avios + 3 750 MR (12.4%) | 2 200 MP + 230 MR (8.8%) | $93.35 / $21.05 |
Is this credit card right for you?
This card is great for anyone who spends substantial amounts on travel and dining and values Citi’s transfer partners. Like the Citi Premier Card, this card’s main value comes more from the ability to earn lots of points very quickly, rather than trying to cover the annual fee through multiple credits.
Since this card can only be gotten through a product change from another Citi card, this card is only something to consider if you a) already have a Citi card and b) have a clear plan in mind for collecting/using the points. The clear plan is key because this card does not strictly have better earnings that the Premier card, which is not the case for its main competition: the Sapphire Preferred/Sapphire Reserve cards.
Michael's travel blog 