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The Dwindling Appeal of the Citi Prestige Card: Why Other Premium Cards Are Better
Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
June 25, 2019 • 19 min read
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Quick summary
A once-premium travel rewards card is undergoing significant devaluations, with many travel and shopping protections being eliminated as of September 2019.
Key perks like the fourth night free hotel benefit are now capped at two uses per year and must be booked through specific channels, limiting flexibility and elite status earnings.
The annual fee is increasing, though a substantial travel credit remains to offset costs for many users.
Comparisons show the card now lags behind competitors in travel protections and overall value, especially for frequent travelers seeking robust coverage.
What to consider
The fourth night free benefit is now limited to two uses per calendar year and excludes elite status credits or loyalty points when booked through required channels.
Most travel and shopping protections, including trip delay, baggage, and car rental insurance, will be discontinued after September 22, 2019.
Coverage for purchases made before the cutoff remains, but new purchases will not be eligible for the removed benefits.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of premium travel cards and an in-depth analysis of how these changes affect the card's competitiveness in the current market.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
In the early years, the Citi Prestige card was one of the most valuable around, offering perks ranging from the 4th Night Free on all paid hotel bookings and unlimited Admirals Club access to free rounds of golf, industry-leading travel and shopping protections and more. However, it's gradually lost significant value in the past few years, with many of those perks being either discontinued or significantly devalued.
In January, Citi unveiled a revamped Prestige card, including a cap on the 4th Night Free benefit, raising the annual fee from $450 to $495 starting in September and 5x earning on airfare and dining. But the changes to the card's shopping and travel protections announced June 24 are undoubtedly all negative no matter how you look at it.
With so many other lucrative options out there and yet another devaluation, is the Citi Prestige card still worth its $495 annual fee? To find out, let's take a closer look at all of the upcoming changes to the card and see how the card will stack up after they take effect.
What Changes Are Being Made?
Effective Sept. 1, 2019, Citi will implement the following changes to the Citi Prestige:
4th Night Free will be limited to twice per calendar year, and this cap includes both the main card member and any authorized users.
No more 4th Night Free bookings through the concierge. You’ll only be able to book these stays through thankyou.com or by calling Citi. In doing so you won’t earn any credit toward hotel elite status, any hotel loyalty points or enjoy any elite status benefits. This means you’ll have to weigh the value of elite credits and benefits against what you’ll save by booking a 4th Night Free stay on a case-by-case basis -- which to be fair, you’ll want to do anyway now that you’ll be capped at two stays per year. With the elimination of concierge bookings, you’ll also no longer have access to as many rate options, such as AAA and other discounted rates.
No more 25% bonus for air travel when you redeem points directly through Citi. You’ll now get 1 cent per point on airfare when redeeming through the Citi travel portal.
2x points on entertainment going away. Starting in September you’ll earn just 1 point per dollar on entertainment purchases.
Annual fee increasing to $495, from $450. The increased annual fee won’t affect Citigold and Private Bank clients, who will still pay $350 a year.
Then, on Sept. 22, 2019, Citi will completely discontinue the following perks:
Worldwide Car Rental Insurance
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection
Worldwide Travel Accident Insurance
Trip Delay Protection
Baggage Delay Protection
Lost Baggage Protection
Medical Evacuation
Citi Price Rewind
90 Day Return Protection
Missed Event Ticket Protection
Roadside Assistance Dispatch Service
Travel & Emergency Assistance
With the exception of Roadside Assistance Dispatch Service and Travel & Emergency Assistance, coverage for purchases made before that date will continue to be available, and you may continue to file for benefits in accordance with the current benefit terms. The changes will apply to all card holders, including those who were just recently approved.
What Benefits Will Continue to Be Offered?
Although it is being devalued, the card's most valuable perk, 4th Night Free, is here to stay. Also remaining untouched is the$250 travel credit that can be applied to any purchases made within the travel category, including purchases from airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, cruise lines, online travel agencies, parking garages, bus lines, subways, taxis, limousines, car services and road tolls.
In the initial message that Citi sent card holders about the changes, it said that it was making these changes so that it can continue providing the key benefits that its customers use at no additional cost. In reality, that doesn't seem entirely right, since the card's annual fee was recently increased and these benefits were still slashed.
How Does the Citi Prestige Stack Up?
The premium travel rewards credit cards segment is a competitive one, with American Express, Chase and Citi all offering credit cards in the $450 to $695 per year price point. The Citi Prestige's most natural competitors are other premium cards that aren’t tied to a specific brand, like the The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve, though it's important to not overlook co-branded cards such as the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express and United Club Card either, as they, too, offer valuable everyday perks.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Here's a side-by-side look at how the top seven premium cards compare:
Benefit
Amex Platinum
Sapphire Reserve
Citi Prestige
Hilton Amex Aspire
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Delta Reserve
United Club
Annual Fee
$695 (see rates & fees) plus $175 for up to three additional card holders (see rates & fees)
$550, $75 for each additional card holder
$495 (in September 2019) , plus $75 for each additional card holder
$450 (see rates & fees), $0 for each additional card holder (see rates & fees)
$450 (see rates & fees), $0 for each additional card holder (see rates & fees)
$450 ($550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020) (see rates & fees), $0 for each additional card holder (see rates & fees)
100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in your first 6 months of Card Membership. (worth $2,000 based on TPG’s valuations)
50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months (worth $1,000)
50,000 ThankYou Rewards points after you spend $4,000 within the first three months (worth $850)
150,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $4,000 within the first three months (worth $900)
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first three months. Plus, earn up to $200 in statement credits for eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants within the first six months of card membership.
10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months (worth $480, not including the MQMs).
50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months (worth $700)
Earning Rates
5x (10% based on TPG’s valuations) on airfare booked directly through the airline or through Amex Travel, 5x on hotels booked through Amex Travel, 2x on other purchases from Amex Travel, Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases on the card at restaurants worldwide and when you "Shop Small" in the U.S., on up to $25,000 in combined purchases, during the first six months of card membership. 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
3x (6%) on travel and dining; 1 point per dollar on everything else.
5x (8.5%) on air travel and restaurants; 3x (5.1%) at hotels and cruise lines; 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
14x at Hilton properties; 7x on flights booked directly with the airline or at amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select companies and at US restaurants; 3x on everything else.
6x on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program; 3x at US restaurants and on airfare purchased directly with the airline; 2x on other eligible purchases.
2x on Delta purchases; 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else.
2x on United ticket purchases; 1.5x on everything else.
Up to $250 airline fee credit each calendar year; $250 Hilton resort credit each year of card membership; $100 on-property credit for two-night Waldorf-Astoria or Conrad stays
Enrollment required.
Up $300 statement credit for eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program each year of card membership
None
None
Airline Perks
International Airline Program provides discounts on first, business and premium economy tickets
None
None
None
None
Free checked bag on domestic Delta flights; priority boarding; 20% savings on inflight purchases; 15,000 MQMs and 15,000 bonus miles after spending $30,000; another 15,000 MQMs and 15,000 bonus miles after spending $60,000; annual companion certificate; free Delta SkyClub membership
Two free checked bags for primary card member and one companion; Premier Access; waived close-in award-booking fees; Premier upgrades on award tickets for elite members; free United Club membership
Although the Citi Prestige has a slightly higher annual fee than most of its counterparts and falls somewhat short when it comes to the number of perks available, it remains a competitive option due to its 5x (8.5%) return on air travel and restaurants and 3x (5.1%) return at hotels and cruise lines.
However, there's one important piece missing from that calculation: travel and shopping protections. Rather than just look into the return on spending, it's important to factor in the various coverages you'll get in case anything goes wrong. And with the slew of benefits being removed from the Citi Prestige, you'll get almost no protections.
Yes (90 days, up to $500 per item and $2,500 per year)
Aside from the soon-to-be-devalued 4th Night Free perk, the stand-out feature of the Citi Prestige card was its 5x return on air travel and restaurants. Although the 5x return offered by the Citi Prestige was a bit less valuable than that of the Amex Platinum since Membership Rewards points are worth slightly more, the Citi Prestige was still the better choice for airfare purchases as it would reimburse you when your baggage is delayed or when you’re stranded overnight due to a flight delay or cancellation. However, neither of those protections will be offered moving forward.
As the only premium card left with price protection, the United Club will be a much better option for everyday purchases. And while earning 5x points at restaurants is great, the 4x return offered by the American Express® Gold Card isn't that far behind — especially considering that bonus category was recently expanded to include restaurants (not exclusive to the U.S.). So, with TPG's valuations in mind, you're really only looking at a 8.5% vs 8% return since Membership Rewards points are more valuable.
Bottom Line
The changes announced to the Citi Prestige card are a lot to digest. Usually when we see major issuers discontinue benefits, they do so one at a time, but on June 24, Citi slashed 12 — not including the changes previously announced. With the rise of auto-generated insurance claims, it's understandable why Citi decided to do away with some of the coverages, but it would have been nice to see a reduction in the benefits versus slashing them outright.
It goes without saying that the changes announced are all negative and that you'll likely need to reconsider the cards you use for your travel and everyday spending. The general consensus among our team is that we would not hold on to the card if TPG didn't reimburse us for credit card annual fees.
That being said, even with these changes, it could still make sense for you to hold on to the card depending how on how much value you get from the 4th Night Free perk. After factoring in the card's $250 annual travel credit, the annual fee effectively drops to $245, which can be a great deal to get a fourth night free twice per year. However, with the upcoming changes, this is only useful for non-elites or those staying at independent properties, as you'll no longer earn any credit toward hotel elite status, any hotel loyalty points, or enjoy any elite status benefits.
As a reminder, the two dates to keep in mind are Sept. 1 and Sept. 22 if you want to continue using the soon-to-be-axed benefits. Although Citi said that it plans to announce new card benefits, there's no indication of what they'll be.
RELATED VIDEO:
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve, please click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire, please click here. For rates and fees of the Platinum Card, please click here. For rates and fees of the Bonvoy Brilliant, please click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
