Best Ways the TPG Team Has Used the Citi Prestige 4th Night Free Benefit
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One of the best perks of the Citi Prestige Card is — without question — the 4th Night Free benefit. With it, Citi will pay for the fourth night of your stay at virtually any hotel when booking through ThankYou.com or the Citi Prestige Concierge. The rate is based on the average night stay, and it doesn't include taxes and fees. Ultimately, if you use the benefit the right way, you can save hundreds or even thousands annually. With the refreshed card, you can also now book with ThankYou Points when using the 4th Night Free benefit (online only). This option gives your points a value of 1.33 cents apiece.
These aren't the only changes with the Prestige Card. As a reminder, it now comes with a sign-up bonus of 75,000 points after you spend $7,500 in the first three months. You'll earn 3x points on all airfare and hotel purchases, 2x points on all dining and entertainment purchases and 1x points on everything else. You'll also get an annual $250 air travel credit, Priority Pass membership, $100 Global Entry fee credit and more. For a card with a $450 annual fee, the perks can help offset that cost — especially the 4th Night Free.
Knowing the value of the 4th Night Free, we wanted to see just how much value people have gotten out of it. So, we asked around the TPG office to see the best ways the TPG team has used the benefit.
Brian Kelly, The Points Guy CEO
The Points Guy himself has sure had his fair share of savings with the Prestige. From an overwater villa in Mexico ($1,540 in savings) to an oasis in bustling Accra, Ghana, at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel ($389 in savings), he's gotten plenty of value from the perk.
The hotel at which TPG got the biggest return from his stay was none other than the Park Hyatt Maldives. Instead of paying 25,000 points for a free night, he wanted to pay cash in order to get an overwater villa. Knowing that, he used his Prestige Card in order to get the fourth night for free and the largest return on his stay. In total, the 4th Night Free saved him $1,560 on his four-night trip.
James Cury, Editorial Director
Between October 2016 and June 2017, TPG Editorial Director James Cury saved $1,653 on hotel stays using the 4th Night Free benefit. At his recent stay at the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton, he saved $276 on the cost of his fourth night. The money he saved with this perk represented "a serious savings considering rooms here can easily cost more than $600 a night," he said.
But even that figure of close to $300 doesn't compare to what he's saved on stays elsewhere. On his same 2017 trip to Europe, James stayed at the Westbury MayFair, A Luxury Collection Hotel. During his four-night stay there, he saved $445 on the cost of the fourth night. Then again, when staying at the AC Palacio Del Retiro, Autograph Collection, he saved another $470. One a trip to the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, he saved another $462.
Zach Honig, Editor-in-Chief
Zach's best use of the 4th Night Free benefit saved him so much that he's already written about it. In short, Zach decided to splurge on a stay at an Aman property on a trip to Asia — the Amanpulo. When he used his Prestige Card to take advantage of its 4th Night Free benefit during his stay, it cut a whopping $1,490 off of the cost of his stay. Effectively, with the fourth night's credit subtracted, it brought the per-night cost down to $1,118.
Knowing the value he'd gotten from the card and the benefit, Zach even went so far as to call the 4th Night Free "the single most valuable credit card benefit out there." And if you're wondering, his stay at the Amanpulo was very memorable, and worth the splurge.
Adam Kotkin, Chief of Staff
TPG's Chief of Staff, Adam Kotkin, has gotten plenty of use of the Prestige Card's 4th Night Free benefit. Though he lives in South Florida now, he's originally from New York. Meaning between visits to his old home and to stop at TPG's offices in Manhattan, he's often bouncing around hotels throughout the city. Two of his best 4th Night Free stays in the Big Apple came from the Andaz Fifth Avenue, where he stayed in a King Suite and saved $440 for the fourth night. Another notable Manhattan stay came at the Courtyard New York Manhattan/Upper East Side, where he saved $310 on the cost of the fourth night.
But, while his savings there are surely noteworthy, his biggest — and most memorable savings — came from other trips. For example, last summer, Adam stayed at the White Porch Inn in beautiful Provincetown, Massachusetts. While the bed and breakfast doesn't fall in a major chain's portfolio and is small in comparison, it's still eligible for the 4th Night Free benefit. During Adam's stay, he saved $361 as a statement credit for the fourth night.
Adam's largest savings came from a trip Down Under. For an anniversary trip, he headed to Hamilton Island in Queensland for a stay at the Beach Club. After using his Prestige Card to book, Adam was able to save AUD734 (~$582) on his stay. With Kotkin's four stays mentioned above, he was able to save $1,693 — more than three times the $450 annual fee that comes with the card.
JT Genter, Points and Miles Writer
While JT categorizes his 4th Night Free stays thus far as "boring," he and his wife Katie, a TPG contributor, have managed to still save some money with the benefit. On a trip to Cape Town, the two chose to stay at Anchor Bay Guest House, a four-room guest house in the city with awesome views. "It's a registered guest house with the city, but that's as much of a hotel as it can be considered," JT said. "Still, the Citi Concierge called them and arranged the 4th Night Free stay."
For their stay, the 4th Night Free benefit saved them $65. While the $65 isn't as jaw-dropping as others — like TPG's $1,560 in savings on a single stay — it still shows the value that can be had at virtually any property. Even though the Anchor Bay Guest House might not seem like a "hotel" by the standards of something you'd see in the Starwood or Hilton portfolios, it still qualifies in Citi's eyes for the 4th Night Free.
Richard Kerr, Senior Points and Miles Contributor
Of Richard Kerr's 4th Night Free uses, two in particular stick out, and both are for upcoming trips. For his wedding anniversary next summer, Richard and his wife are headed to Amanjena in Marrakesh, Morocco. The two are staying in a room that comes with the property's wellness package, which includes daily breakfast, return airport transfers, a daily 60-minute spa treatment and more. The 4th Night Free benefit is saving Richard $871 on the booking. "[I] would never be able to get a free night at Aman otherwise," he said.
His other big statement credit from the Prestige Card is from a stay at the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo. Richard combined the Four Seasons third night free offer with the Prestige Card's 4th Night Free benefit in order to get four nights at the resort for the price of two. In total, the 4th Night Free alone from the Prestige saved him $650. Best of all, his planned stay is for this coming December — just after the property reopens following its refurbishment.
What's the most value you've gotten from the Prestige Card's 4th Night Free benefit?
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