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Citi Thank You Premier's companion ticket

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Open123
Super Contributor

Re: Citi Thank You Premier's companion ticket


@HiLine wrote:

I'm going to guess that the majority of travelers only fly economy class.


I'd assume most of this majority would fall into one of the following:

 

1.  For domestic travel, unless the family flies "many" aggregate miles, they're often better off with SW's "wanna getaway fares." I suspect the $125 annual fee on this card would pose a huge deterrent. 

 

2.  Currently, the cost concious would rather accumulate sign up bonuses and harvest points to use with premium cabin with "NO" annual fee.

 

3.  For those who travel single or business, the companion ticket serves little purpose.

 

4.  No compelling reason to spend on this card, at all.

 

In my view, this card was designed for those who fly considerable miles, use the card abroad, and have premium Citibank status to incrase the number of bonus points earned.

 

By nature, I suspect the majority of those who *only* fly economy would refuse to pay an annual fee of any kind, even for a tangible value, let alone a spatial abstract one.

Message 11 of 13
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: Citi Thank You Premier's companion ticket


@Open123 wrote:

@HiLine wrote:

I'm going to guess that the majority of travelers only fly economy class.


I'd assume most of this majority would fall into one of the following:

 

1.  For domestic travel, unless the family flies "many" aggregate miles, they're often better off with SW's "wanna getaway fares." I suspect the $125 annual fee on this card would pose a huge deterrent. 

 

2.  Currently, the cost concious would rather accumulate sign up bonuses and harvest points to use with premium cabin with "NO" annual fee.

 

3.  For those who travel single or business, the companion ticket serves little purpose.

 

4.  No compelling reason to spend on this card, at all.

 

In my view, this card was designed for those who fly considerable miles, use the card abroad, and have premium Citibank status to incrase the number of bonus points earned.

 

By nature, I suspect the majority of those who *only* fly economy would refuse to pay an annual fee of any kind, even for a tangible value, let alone a spatial abstract one.


The other thing is that the family will still be hit with baggage fees for every single person flying (except Southwest, etc.) For a large family vacation where each person has perhaps 1-2 bags, that can really add to the cost ($25-50 per bag, per person). The companion ticket won't offer relief from this, whereas a co-branded airline card will.

 

I've read mixed reports about the companion ticket, and some have reported extremely limited flight selections. Getting a family with several young children on a flight at 6 am or 10 pm isn't always feasible, but often that is what's on offer. In other cases the prices have been substantially higher than flights found via other mechanisms, and thus has little value.

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Message 12 of 13
HiLine
Blogger

Re: Citi Thank You Premier's companion ticket


@CreditScholar wrote:

@Open123 wrote:

@HiLine wrote:

I'm going to guess that the majority of travelers only fly economy class.


I'd assume most of this majority would fall into one of the following:

 

1.  For domestic travel, unless the family flies "many" aggregate miles, they're often better off with SW's "wanna getaway fares." I suspect the $125 annual fee on this card would pose a huge deterrent. 

 

2.  Currently, the cost concious would rather accumulate sign up bonuses and harvest points to use with premium cabin with "NO" annual fee.

 

3.  For those who travel single or business, the companion ticket serves little purpose.

 

4.  No compelling reason to spend on this card, at all.

 

In my view, this card was designed for those who fly considerable miles, use the card abroad, and have premium Citibank status to incrase the number of bonus points earned.

 

By nature, I suspect the majority of those who *only* fly economy would refuse to pay an annual fee of any kind, even for a tangible value, let alone a spatial abstract one.


The other thing is that the family will still be hit with baggage fees for every single person flying (except Southwest, etc.) For a large family vacation where each person has perhaps 1-2 bags, that can really add to the cost ($25-50 per bag, per person). The companion ticket won't offer relief from this, whereas a co-branded airline card will.

 

I've read mixed reports about the companion ticket, and some have reported extremely limited flight selections. Getting a family with several young children on a flight at 6 am or 10 pm isn't always feasible, but often that is what's on offer. In other cases the prices have been substantially higher than flights found via other mechanisms, and thus has little value.


Both of you made fair points. My main concern about this card is indeed regarding Spirit Incentives' pricing and availability. I expected there to be higher markups and lower availability, and would really like to know the extent of the difference to estimate the value of the companion ticket. A round-trip ticket to Hawaii can cost 500 bucks, and if I can book 2 tickets for a reasonable itinerary, I'm willing to pay 100-200 extra dollars to get the second person to fly with me. One trip like that per year and the annual fee is offset, and then I can use my spending power on other cards to accumulate reward points.

Message 13 of 13
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