The Citi Prestige Card now has an offer: 50,000 bonus ThankYou points once you make at least $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.
When you redeem your points for flights reserved with Citi would be the best way to redeem your points. These points will be worth about 1.25 cents for each point or $625. Once September 2019 was over, the points that you used for Citi’s travel portal will only be worth about 1 cent for each point.
If you want to make time to work out a better value for your points, then you should use their transfer partners and get an average of 1.7 cents for each point. Then you can receive a value of about $850 or 50,000 ThankYou Points using this way.
The Citi Prestige Card is one of the premium travel credit card options and gets a massive $495 annual fee. This won’t be waived for the first year though. However, a lot of people won’t even think about getting this card just cause of the annual fees. But this credit card does fit with people who travel often and likes to have their premium travel perks.
There are a lot of travel perks that are special for this premium travel card. The ones that are the most attention grabbing for Citi Prestige will be:
- Free access to about 1,200 airport lounges with Priority Pass Select.
- There is a $250 Air Travel Credit.
- This rewards rate will be for: 5x for Air Travel & Restaurants, 3x points for Hotels & Cruise Lines, and 1x for other expenses.
- Get a complimentary 4th night at a hotel you’ve chosen. *Starting on September 1,2019, this perk is capped at 2 times every year.*
- You can also get the 50,000 bonus point offer it comes with.
Citi Prestige Card Quick Facts
| Bonus Available | Receive 50,000 bonus points once you make at least $4,000 in the first 3 months of having your account open. |
| Bonus Value | $850 |
| Travel Credit | Gain $250 travel credit every calendar year |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Receive 5 points for each $1 used for Air Travel and Restaurants. Earn 3 points for every $1 used for Hotels and Cruise Lines. Get 1 point for each $1 used on other expenses. Get a complimentary 4th hotel night after a minimum 4 consecutive night booking through ThankYou.com |
| Foreign Transaction Fees? | No |
| Airport Lounge Access | There are over 1,200 lounges worldwide with a free Priority Pass Select membership. |
| Annual Fee | $495 |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
*If interested see our list of Citi Bank bonuses for Checking & Savings accounts.*
Priority Pass Airport Lounges With Citi Prestige Card
The Priority Pass program would be the best offer to have for airport lounge access, there are more than 1,200 locations available globally. This high end membership is also complimentary with the Citi Prestige credit card and is the Priority Pass Select. This will be the same as the Prestige membership level when you buy it directly with the Priority Pass. There is a $429 value (see the discounted rate), this will make up for the $495 annual fee.
With the large amount of major airports in the United States, they have lounges in this program (e.g. JFK, LAX, ATL, ORD, etc.), there are a lot of airports that don’t. But, their global footprint is humongous, there are relaxation lounges overseas that you’d benefit from.
Go to their website or mobile app to see all of their current locations.
Get $250 in Air Travel Credit Annually
When you travel a lot throughout the year, then you should most likely use this perk and basically cut out more than half of this annual fee. Each year, you’ll be able to get $250 in Air Travel Credit that would immediately put onto any flight related purchases on your card.
This benefit will be put onto a large variety of travel purchases. This would also have the airline purchases, hotels, car rental agencies, travel agencies/travel aggegators/ tour operators, computer transportation, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, cruise lines, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, and bus lines.
With people who travel often and make use of this lounge access and air travel credits gains, the $495 annual fee will be made up for.
4th Hotel Night Complimentary
When you make a reservation with Citi Prestige Concierge, then you can get a 4th night for free at a hotel you picked with at least a 4 consecutive night reservation. This perk will then be calculated with the average night rate for your stay altogether, not with taxes.
It’s a good benefit to have if you travel frequently and often stay at high end hotels. But, the variety you’re presented with when you book with concierge, you’d have to either call or email them. There aren’t any streamlined web service for any cost comparisons rather than booking with the hotel themselves, or with travel websites like Priceline or Agoda.
Whether if you stay somewhere that is more than $300 each night, you should look at the cost with concierge to see if it’s the best option for you.
*Beginning September 1, 2019, this benefit will be capped at 2 times, each year. Bookings made prior to 9/01/19 will not count towards the two-stay cap in 2019.
Getting the 50,000 Bonus Points
You have to spend at least $4,000 in expenses in the first 3 months of opening your account to be able to qualify for this bonus offer. This bonus is great for a starting first year, even with the $495 annual fee.
There shouldn’t be any issues with meeting their spending requirements for this bonus. But, if you need some more spending choices, there are some well known ones such as:
(Visit Citi Prestige for more information)
What’s the Competition?
There are some of Citi Prestige credit card’s top competitors listed below.
 The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase TravelSM. You'll earn • 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. • 3x points on other travel and dining • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel. This card does carry a $550 annual fee and there are no foreign transaction fees. However, you're able to earn a $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year & up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®. Member FDIC |
 The Platinum Card® from American Express offers 125,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. You'll earn: • 5X Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. • 5X Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. • $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts(R) or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card(R). The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay. • $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required. • With American Express Global Lounge Collection you can enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally, including The Centurion Lounge, Unlimited Delta Sky Club® Access when flying an eligible Delta flight, Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass Select Lounges, & Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges subject to visit limitations. Lounges may have their own rules, like additional access rules and guest fees, and for Priority Pass Select, you need to enroll and there are unlimited airport lounge visits for Card Members. With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year. To find a lounge, visit the membership section in the American Express App or visit http://www.americanexpress.com/findalounge#/loungefinder. • $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month. • $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card. • $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. • $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues. • Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost. • Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required. This card comes with a $695 annual fee.¤ (See Rates & Fees), but you cardholders can enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member and Additional Centurion Cards only. Terms Apply. |
