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Update: Citi further extended the flexibility of the Citi Prestige® Card $250 Travel Credit through 2022. However, this credit returned to only being valid for travel purchases as of January 1, 2023.
One of the principal benefits of the Citi Prestige® Card is its annual $250 Travel Credit. Assuming you travel a couple of times per year, this credit is easy to use and effectively lowers the card's net annual fee to $245. However, when you can't travel, using this travel credit gets a little trickier.
Due to Covid-19 surges, most travelers are still traveling less than normal. So, to help Prestige Card cardholders utilize their credits, Citi added supermarkets and restaurants as qualifying uses for the travel credit in 2020. Citi extended this policy through 2021 and has now done so through 2022.
2022 Prestige Card Travel Credit Flexibility
Now through December 2022, Prestige Card holders can continue to redeem their $250 Travel Credit for purchases made at supermarkets and restaurants.
With the new year comes a new round of travel credits for Prestige Card (review) cardmembers. Now that Citi has extended the flexibility for this benefit, cardholders can effectively receive $250 worth of “free” groceries or restaurant meals. (“Free” in quotations as in you pre-paid for it with the card's annual fee.) This includes take-out or delivery, provided the restaurant processes the charge itself.
Like any category-specific credit or purchase (like travel, office supply stores, etc.), card-issuers rely on the registered merchant category to know what qualifies. If you want to double-check that a purchase will qualify as a ‘supermarket' or ‘restaurant', use our Merchant Category Lookup Tool.
- $250 Travel Credit each calendar year
- 5X points on air travel and at restaurants; and 3X points at hotels and on cruise line purchases
- 4th Night Free when you book any eligible hotel through thankyou.com
- Complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership
- This card is no longer available to new applicants
- 5X points on air travel, travel agencies, and at restaurants
- 3X points at hotels and on cruise line purchases
- 1X point per dollar on all other purchases
Bottom Line
In 2020, Citi allowed Prestige Card cardholders to use their annual $250 Travel Credit for purchases at supermarkets and groceries. When 2021 didn't look like things would return to normal, Citi extended this policy through 2021. Now that 2022 has arrived and we still aren't traveling like normal, the card issuer has decided to extend this benefit through 2022.
While I'm glad to see Citi continue to offer this added flexibility for its premium cardholders in 2022, I'm not overly surprised. People still aren't traveling like they did pre-Covid-19, so a “travel” credit isn't nearly as valuable as it once was. This added flexibility is a good way to provide continued value to cardmembers.
Moreover, I think these added categories fit the card's customer base perfectly. The Prestige Card is already one of the best credit cards for restaurant purchases. So, even if cardmembers don't buy many groceries, they should still easily receive full value in free meals.
Will you get full value from the Prestige Card‘s $250 Travel Credit in 2022?
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