Book Your Citi Fourth Night Free Stays Before September 1
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Citi is a TPG advertising partner
Back in January when changes to the Citi Prestige® Card fourth night free benefit were announced, the effective date of the changes — September 1, 2019 — seemed a long time away. But, if you've kept your Citi Prestige through the subsequent removal of most travel and shopping protections, here's what you need to know as September 1 draws near. The information for the Citi Prestige 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.
Fourth Night Free Changes
As of September 1, the Citi Prestige® Card complimentary fourth night benefit:
- Can only be redeemed two times per card account per calendar year
- Must be booked online at Thankyou.com or by phone at 1-800-ThankYou (powered by Connexions) — bookings made through the Citi Prestige Concierge (powered by Aspire Lifestyles) will no longer be eligible for the fourth night free benefit
- Requires pre-payment for your reservation at the time of booking with your Citi Prestige Card, a redemption of ThankYou Points or a combination of ThankYou Points and your Citi Prestige Card
- Savings will be applied at the time of booking based on the average nightly rate of your stay (excluding taxes and fees)
Citi says only bookings made on or after September 1, 2019, will count toward the 2019 cap. No official guidance has been provided as to whether booking made before September 1, 2019 will count toward the 2020 cap.
What To Do Before September 1
If you have stays of four nights or longer planned for the remainder of 2019, you'll want get these stays booked through the Citi Prestige Concierge before September 1. There's no cap on the number of fourth night free stays you can book before September 1 for the remainder of 2019.
Citi specifically says fourth night free booking made before September 1, 2019, will not count toward your 2019 cap — but doesn't specify whether they'll count toward the 2020 cap. Regardless, you'll likely want to book two fourth night free stays for 2020 with the Citi Prestige Concierge before September 1 if you're able to plan any trips for 2020 at this point.
In fact, you may want to book as many fourth night free stays for 2020 as possible with the Citi Prestige Concierge before September 1. Concierge agents have told at least one cardholder that the fourth night free credit will be provided for all bookings made through the concierge before September 1, including bookings for 2020 — so it's possible you can still get a lot of fourth night free credits in 2020 if you get your bookings in now.
Statement credits for fourth night free stays booked through the Citi Prestige Concierge before September 1, 2019, should post within two billing cycles of each stay. So, check your statements after each stay to ensure the credits post properly.
How To Book With The Citi Prestige Concierge
You have two main options when booking with the Citi Prestige Concierge: you can call Aspire Lifestyles (Citi's concierge service) at 561-922-0158 or you can email concierge@yourconciergecenter.com. In either case, you'll need to provide the name of your hotel, dates of your stay, number of guests, room type, the rate you'd like to book, the last four digits of your Prestige card and any loyalty program numbers you'd like the agent to add to your reservation.
But remember, you'll only get a fourth night free for booking with the concierge before September 1, 2019.
What To Do Starting September 1
Starting September 1, you'll need to consider whether booking a fourth night free through the Citi ThankYou portal makes sense. I recently considered How Valuable Is The Citi Prestige's 4th Night Free When Booking Luxury Hotels Though Citi ThankYou — and I published a guide yesterday that does the same for mid-tier hotels. In short, the take-away is that you won't necessarily get the best value when booking through the Citi ThankYou portal.
Especially if you don't get good value from booking fourth night free stays through the Citi ThankYou portal, you may find yourself questioning whether to keep your Citi Prestige card. Obviously, you'll want to keep the card through any fourth night free stays you've made though the concierge. But then, you should ask yourself: Am I getting enough value from the Citi Prestige to justify the annual fee?
The annual fee is $495 for most cardholders ($350 for Citigold clients) and the $250 travel credit makes the annual fee effectively $245 ($100 for Citigold clients). The Prestige still has some useful benefits, including cell phone protection, extended warranty protection and purchase protection. But, assuming you keep the Prestige solely for its 5x earning on dining, you'd need to spend $2,883 per year on dining — or $1,177 per year if you're a Citigold client — in order to earn enough points to offset the effective annual fee. Many of us do that — but if you're looking for a new card for travel purchases, check out these guides:
- Battle of the Premium Travel Rewards Cards: Which Is the Best?
- Best Travel Credit Cards
- The Best Credit Cards for Airfare Purchases
- The Best Credit Cards for Booking Hotels
How To Still Get A Free Night
If you're still looking to get a free night on some hotel stays without using the Citi fourth night free benefit, here are some options:
- IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders get every fourth night free on award stays of four nights or longer at IHG hotels
- Hilton provides a fifth night free on standard award stays of five nights or longer to all Hilton guests with Hilton Honors elite status
- Marriott provides a fifth night free on award stays — but note that once off-peak, standard and peak award pricing are implemented on September 14, you'll only get the cheapest night free (not necessarily the fifth night)
- Some American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts properties offer a third, fourth or fifth night free
Bottom Line
My advice: get any concierge bookings you want in now. The concierge is likely to become very busy the closer we get to September, so start early and be patient when making bookings. I would not wait until August 31 to make bookings, as this will best case lead to long waits and worst case lead to you not getting the bookings you want completed. I speak from experience making bookings the night before the last major fourth night free change was implemented: start now.
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.