A few questions about Citi Prestige.

[Anonymous]

Would you get the Citi Prestige solely for the fourth night free? Assuming you use the $250 airline travel credit and take advantage of the fourth night free would that solely make it worth it? I've heard alot of negative things about Citi's customer service. How do you guys value TYP? I would love some opinions. Thanks in advance! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Would you get the Citi Prestige solely for the fourth night free? Assuming you use the $250 airline travel credit and take advantage of the fourth night free would that solely make it worth it? I've heard alot of negative things about Citi's customer service. How do you guys value TYP? I would love some opinions. Thanks in advance! 

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Whether the 4th night free makes the card worth it certainly depends on how many hotel stays you have of 4 nights  or more during a year and/or the type and cost of those hotels.  That's something only you can answer.  I am using the card in January for a trip to Cancun for my birthday and the room that I selected is just under $1K per night so the 4th night free definitely makes it worthwhile for me to carry.

Citi's customer service has been fine every time I have dealt with them.

The value of TYP varies on how you redeem them.  Like all points programs like Amex MR or Chase UR points, the maximum value for the points will be when you transfer those points to airline partners and book international flights in business or first class.  That doesn't mean that you can't get decent value elsewhere but prior to getting the Prestige you should look over the TYP's travel partners and see if they fit into your current or future travel plans.  While the needing of the card in July 23 hurt its value for many, like myself, the card still has benefits exceeding the AF.  

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Would you get the Citi Prestige solely for the fourth night free? Assuming you use the $250 airline travel credit and take advantage of the fourth night free would that solely make it worth it? I've heard alot of negative things about Citi's customer service. How do you guys value TYP? I would love some opinions. Thanks in advance! 

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Whether the 4th night free makes the card worth it certainly depends on how many hotel stays you have of 4 nights  or more during a year and/or the type and cost of those hotels.  That's something only you can answer.  I am using the card in January for a trip to Cancun for my birthday and the room that I selected is just under $1K per night so the 4th night free definitely makes it worthwhile for me to carry.

Citi's customer service has been fine every time I have dealt with them.

The value of TYP varies on how you redeem them.  Like all points programs like Amex MR or Chase UR points, the maximum value for the points will be when you transfer those points to airline partners and book international flights in business or first class.  That doesn't mean that you can't get decent value elsewhere but prior to getting the Prestige you should look over the TYP's travel partners and see if they fit into your current or future travel plans.  While the needing of the card in July 23 hurt its value for many, like myself, the card still has benefits exceeding the AF.  

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I agree. Even if you used a few times a year the fourth night free could make it worthwhile based off that alone. Random question do you think the Citi Prestige would go well with the CSR? Perks and point earning wise as well as Prestige's awesome 3 hour trip delay. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Would you get the Citi Prestige solely for the fourth night free? Assuming you use the $250 airline travel credit and take advantage of the fourth night free would that solely make it worth it? I've heard alot of negative things about Citi's customer service. How do you guys value TYP? I would love some opinions. Thanks in advance! 

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Whether the 4th night free makes the card worth it certainly depends on how many hotel stays you have of 4 nights  or more during a year and/or the type and cost of those hotels.  That's something only you can answer.  I am using the card in January for a trip to Cancun for my birthday and the room that I selected is just under $1K per night so the 4th night free definitely makes it worthwhile for me to carry.

Citi's customer service has been fine every time I have dealt with them.

The value of TYP varies on how you redeem them.  Like all points programs like Amex MR or Chase UR points, the maximum value for the points will be when you transfer those points to airline partners and book international flights in business or first class.  That doesn't mean that you can't get decent value elsewhere but prior to getting the Prestige you should look over the TYP's travel partners and see if they fit into your current or future travel plans.  While the needing of the card in July 23 hurt its value for many, like myself, the card still has benefits exceeding the AF.  

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I agree. Even if you used a few times a year the fourth night free could make it worthwhile based off that alone. Random question do you think the Citi Prestige would go well with the CSR? Perks and point earning wise as well as Prestige's awesome 3 hour trip delay. 

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Well I have both along with quite a few other travel cards so to me they pair well.  A lot certainly has to do with the amount and type of travel that you do.  They each offer different travel partners so that's why I like the two along with my Amex Platinum because they offer a wide variety of options for redeeming points with those partners.  

[UpperNwGuy]

Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Reserve pair well together only if you travel a lot.  Those high annual fees, even after being reduced by the travel credits, require a lot of spending in the 3% travel category to reach the break-even point.  I spend about $10K per year on travel, and I make a profit on the CSR.  I would also turn a profit if I had only the Prestige.  But I would lose money if I had both csrds simultaneously (except in the year of the signup bonus, of course).

[Anonymous]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Reserve pair well together only if you travel a lot.  Those high annual fees, even after being reduced by the travel credits, require a lot of spending in the 3% travel category to reach the break-even point.  I spend about $10K per year on travel, and I make a profit on the CSR.  I would also turn a profit if I had only the Prestige.  But I would lose money if I had both csrds simultaneously (except in the year of the signup bonus, of course).

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That's really not true for the Prestige.  It would only take a 4 night hotel stay with a room credit of $200 to break even after the travel credit.  A 4 night hotel stay that averages $200 a night could potentially only cost $250 (asides from taxes and fees) after you deduct the travel credit and 4th night free to achieve the break even point.   It hardly takes any spend at all in the 3X travel category to do so.  That way you can focus your travel spend on the CSR.  The main benefit of the Prestige is the 4 night free and that sets it apart from other travel cards.

[UpperNwGuy]

Fourth night stay credits only work if you stay four nights in a row in the same place.  I don't usually do that.

[Anonymous]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

Fourth night stay credits only work if you stay four nights in a row in the same place.  I don't usually do that.

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That's fine but you made a statement about break even points as if it applies to everyone and it doesn't.  Additionally there are many benefits to travel cards such as lounge access, rental insurance, lost baggage reimbursement, trip delay protection, etc, etc, that are difficult to place actual dollar values on so any assessment of the value of a travel card is more in depth than you must spend X amount of money on travel to break even.  

[UpperNwGuy]

You are correct.  Everyone thinking of using multiple cards with annual fees should do a thorough analysis on a spreadsheet to see the optimal combination for them.  The spreadsheet should show the annual fee, the travel credits, the expected earning from 3% spending categories, the value of the planned redemptions, the value to that person of the perks, etc.  And you have to remember that you can spend each of your dollars only once.

[Anonymous]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

You are correct.  Everyone thinking of using multiple cards with annual fees should do a thorough analysis on a spreadsheet to see the optimal combination for them.  The spreadsheet should show the annual fee, the travel credits, the expected earning from 3% spending categories, the value of the planned redemptions, the value to that person of the perks, etc.  And you have to remember that you can only spend each of your dollars once.

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I agree completely with this.  I wish more people here did exactly what you have listed before applying for these high end travel cards. I am currently working on a travel card guide for the forums and this is one of the points that I will highly encourage.