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While nearly a year ago we reported that some changes would be coming to the Citi Prestige® Card, it seems they are finally here, and Citi has announced changes that will be coming into effect July 23, 2017. Like all changes some are good, and some are not so good, and some things have not changed at all, so here is what is going to happen to the Prestige Card.
What Won’t Change
Quite a few benefits will not change; you will still receive the following:
- Annual $250 Air Travel Credit, which is easily maximized
- $100 Statement Credit towards TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fees
- Citi Prestige Concierge still available 24/7
- 3X points on airfares, 2X points for dining and entertainment, and 1 ThankYou Point for all other card purchases
- Still no foreign transaction fees when making purchases abroad
- The banking relationship bonus will remain in place for eligible customers
Coming Changes
There are several changes coming in; the key changes are as follows:
- The new card will be a metal card, which seems to be Citi keeping in line with most other premium Card issuers who are moving over to metal cards.
- Lounge Access: you and authorized users will still benefit from access to Priority Pass lounges with up to 2 guests. However, access will no longer be available to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges
- Increased value for cash reward redemptions of Citi ThankYou Points, with no annual limit or cap on the number of points that can be redeemed. Starting July 23, 2017, 50,000 Thank You points can be redeemed for $500 as opposed to $250 prior to that
- You will no longer receive the annual 3 complimentary rounds of golf
- You will receive 25% greater value than gift cards (Instead of the previous 33%) when redeeming points for airfares on ThankYou.com. 50,000 points will be worth $625 in airfare. The 1.6 cent per point value for AA flight redemptions will no longer be valid.
- Complimentary 4th Night free benefit can be accessed through ThankYou.com. The benefit will be processed at checkout; you will no longer need to wait for a statement credit for your fourth-night free perk.
- The fourth-night free benefit will now exclude taxes from the calculation and will be a credit for the average cost per night, not specifically the fourth night
The fourth-night free perk can still be booked by phone, and members of specific programs who are entitled to a discount when booking with a specific hotel, can still use the Citi Prestige Concierge when making a phone booking and receive their discount. However, it remains unclear what points you will earn when making bookings this way.
Overall
Overall we look at this as a significant cut in benefits — it is clear that the card benefits were too generous to sustain. Only time will tell how everyone takes the new changes, and for sure some will be disappointed, and some will be happy, those who used the 1.6 cent per point redemption for AA flights will not be happy they are gone. On the other hand, those who used the 4th-night free perk will be delighted it can now be done online, and you don’t have to call up anymore, although everyone should be happy with a new premium metal card.
Source: Frequent Miler
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I’ve heard of this, but seeing the benefits will nudge me to look into this card further. Having this card either maximizes the value of Thank You points I already have,
Most have said it… lost of AA lounge makes this a less attractive card. 4th night is the only incentive I see for this.
Oh Citi Bank, good thing you kept the 4th night free. Otherwise this card will be worth very little for its annual fee.
Problem with booking the 4th night free online is that you may not receive points/stay credits with the hotel’s rewards program
I never looked at this before. It seems worth the $450 annual fee if you use the benefits. If I get enough points from other programs, it isn’t. The link shows 40,000 sign up points, so I assume a search will show the limited time 75,000 offer, which makes it worth trying if you have enough spending to get the bonus.
It seems that a lot of premium cards are doing the metal for some reason. They are heavier and then you have to destroy it a certain wait. I believe chase has you mail it back to them. Wonder if Citi will do the same? Odd that 3 rounds of golf was a benefit. American is quickly becoming excluded from benefits on a lot of cards. Wonder what is up with American and credits cards, besides their own labeled cards. Some other benefits look to be trying to get to the level of Chases Sapphire card.
Some interesting changes on this card, I’m liking no fees on foreign transactions and fourth night free is always going to be a winner. Shame the lounge access has gone though..
Fourth night free is always good, in regards to the other benefits then it’s ok IMO but not great.
i have platinum and reserve. not a fan of citi after i was not able to get the bonus points due to a mistake made by their staff.
So disappointed with these so-called new benefits and I don’t even have the card.
I loved the prestige card as it was. The old version was better than the CSR I think. But that all changes on the 23rd. Bummer.
I’d much prefer to keep the AA Lounge access rather than get a fancy metal card!
HAHAHA. I’d happily swap my metal card for AA lounge access too!
Hmm..would never have used the golf thing anyway. Look forward to using the 4th night free at a Safari
Some good, mostly bad. The loss of AA benefits (lounge, 1.6c/point value) and free golf that set this card apart now makes the 4th night free the only reason to consider getting this card over any other.
It’s too bad that online bookings for the 4th night free benefit will be treated like other OTAs, thus negating any elite benefits or point accrual in hotel reward programs. Will likely still call in to make any such bookings.
Are the 4th night benefits treated differently when calling in?
At this point, TBD (we’ll know as of the 23rd), but signs point to yes as the booking will be treated as booked through an OTA like Expedia (where you don’t receive elite benefits/earn points) and phone bookings will remain the same.
IMHO that’s worse that losing AA lounge access…terrible!
“access will no longer be available to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges”: that’s very bad
I didn’t know about the free golf. Oh well!
I cancelled my CITI Prestige card the other day. I did not want to pay the annual fee which was due. I got the card for AA lounge access. I am very happy with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
not having to call in for the fourth night is a huge benefit, as some of the phone reps were complete idiots.
Pretty much the same for my purposes. But they’ll always find ways to tinker with things.
Not much in terms of improvement. The 4th night free is still a good benefit, however.
Maybe it’s just me but seems as if the sapphire reserve is a more popular card… I know quite a few folks who have that card but not the Prestige.