Sep 29, 2019, 1:24 pm
Last edit by: mia
Discussion of the previous version of this benefit (July 2017 - August 2019) is HERE.
Effective September 1, 2019 bookings for the 4th night benefit must be made exclusively by visiting thankyou.com or calling 1 800 THANKYOU. Citi Concierge will no longer handle new 4th night benefit bookings but will continue to support bookings made prior to September 1, 2019. To utilize your benefit through our online travel site, and/or have the option to use your ThankYou points, please visit thankyou.com, select travel in the top menu bar, select hotels, choose hotel designated as “Complimentary 4th Night Eligible”, book at least 4 nights, see savings at checkout.
Effective September 1, 2019 bookings for the 4th night benefit must be made exclusively by visiting thankyou.com or calling 1 800 THANKYOU. Citi Concierge will no longer handle new 4th night benefit bookings but will continue to support bookings made prior to September 1, 2019. To utilize your benefit through our online travel site, and/or have the option to use your ThankYou points, please visit thankyou.com, select travel in the top menu bar, select hotels, choose hotel designated as “Complimentary 4th Night Eligible”, book at least 4 nights, see savings at checkout.
Citi Prestige 4th night free hotel benefit September 2019 and beyond
Aug 31, 2019, 10:50 pm
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
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Posts: 16,264
Citi Prestige 4th night free hotel benefit September 2019 and beyond
Actually, no, the benefit cut is the reason I'm being ridiculous. I normally just booked stays day of arrival via phone.
I just sent in 89 booking requests over the next year, a dozen or so are already booked. Email is definitely the way to go.
I need to book a stay for tomorrow and so need to call for that. I was on hold 45min, call dropped. Now it's been 90min and still waiting. Crazy.
I just sent in 89 booking requests over the next year, a dozen or so are already booked. Email is definitely the way to go.
I need to book a stay for tomorrow and so need to call for that. I was on hold 45min, call dropped. Now it's been 90min and still waiting. Crazy.
Last edited by javabytes; Aug 31, 2019 at 10:57 pm
Aug 31, 2019, 10:55 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
Citi has only confirmed that bookings made prior to 9/1 don’t count towards the limit of 2 credits for the 2019 year. Citi hasn’t confirmed that bookings made prior to 9/1 for stays in 2020 do not count. It’s entirely possible you’ll end up paying full price for any 2020 stays beyond the first two.
Sep 1, 2019, 7:31 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,508
I know one thing. I'll be putting no-non 4th night free hotel spend on my prestige. Not that they'll care. The CRS, Hyatt Card, USBank Altitude (maybe Marriott) are all arguably better cards for this than the Prestige (assuming paying at the property). Longterm I'm not sure what my future with the card will be
The CSR awards 3x points for hotels just like the Prestige, doesn't it?
I don't know anything about the other cards you mentioned.
I'm not doing anything with my Prestige. Even with the 2x 4NF from this point on I will still MAKE money by keeping this card.
Sep 1, 2019, 9:57 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,523
I know one thing. I'll be putting no-non 4th night free hotel spend on my prestige. Not that they'll care. The CRS, Hyatt Card, USBank Altitude (maybe Marriott) are all arguably better cards for this than the Prestige (assuming paying at the property). Longterm I'm not sure what my future with the card will be
Sep 3, 2019, 7:08 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: HHonors, TrueBlue, Delta SkyMiles, Hyatt Discoverist, Starwood Preferred Guest, American Airlines.
Posts: 2,035
I'm reading from a lot of people that Citi ups the nightly prices of your room, so the 4th night benefit is just a marketing tactic. When you're paying an additional $41 per night for four nights at a $160/night room, that's where Citi gets you... And they don't even cover the tax anymore.
Sep 3, 2019, 7:22 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 59
I always compare.. so far no issues (on the one booking I made through the portal). The price on the portal was actually about $1 less per night than on the hotel website... go figure!
FWIW I am also sticking with the prestige despite the changes. Have looked at CSR but with the 5x points on restaurants and now these hotel bookings through the portal I am earning on average close to 3 points per dollar spent on the card (I use it for everything, don’t optimize over multiple cards). I have to imagine I would earn Arbogast least 1 point per dollar less on average with the CSR so on 75k spend that’s a not insignificant amount. Combined with the still very useful (for me) 4th night benefit (typically save around $500-$1000 each time I use it) it is hard to beat this card. I may look to add another card for travel insurance but it may also just be more worth it to buy a separate travel insurance policy and not worry about it.
FWIW I am also sticking with the prestige despite the changes. Have looked at CSR but with the 5x points on restaurants and now these hotel bookings through the portal I am earning on average close to 3 points per dollar spent on the card (I use it for everything, don’t optimize over multiple cards). I have to imagine I would earn Arbogast least 1 point per dollar less on average with the CSR so on 75k spend that’s a not insignificant amount. Combined with the still very useful (for me) 4th night benefit (typically save around $500-$1000 each time I use it) it is hard to beat this card. I may look to add another card for travel insurance but it may also just be more worth it to buy a separate travel insurance policy and not worry about it.
Last edited by noahsi; Sep 3, 2019 at 7:26 am Reason: Adding info
Sep 6, 2019, 6:58 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Programs: AAdvantage Exec Platinum, Hertz #1 Club Gold Five Star, IHG Platinum, Marriott Gold, HHonors Silver
Posts: 2,035
Now that it is past 9/1, we still have 2 stays remaining we can book in the 2019 calendar year, correct? Or is it going to be 2 stays between 9/1/2019 and 9/1/2020?
Sep 9, 2019, 7:07 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,508
Sep 10, 2019, 2:47 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,492
Sep 16, 2019, 2:00 pm
#11
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
If the booking are made online they will be seen as Online Travel Agency or Consolidator bookings, and most chains do not recognize status or award points for those stays.
Sep 16, 2019, 9:36 pm
#12
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,508
Sep 19, 2019, 12:25 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 343
Yesterday was my first time doing a booking via thankyou.com vs. Aspire concierge. It is a Marriott Luxury Collection hotel. A few things to note:
- The room categories on the site are often confusing and poorly correlated with the Marriott website.
- There's a bunch of fine print that sounds sketchy like, "Due to hotel supplier policies applicable to our preferred rates, your name may not be provided to the hotel property until 24 hours prior to your arrival." What??
- The cancellation policies were very unclear. For a refundable rate it would say something like, "Changes or cancellations received within three (3) days of check-in date will be subject to a supplier cancellation fee equal to one-night room and tax. Cancellations or modifications received at any time will be subject to program service fees, in addition to any supplier fees, when applicable." Well, that's vague. So there might be fees but they are not divulged anywhere. I called 1-800-THANKYOU and they were apologetic that 1) they couldn't clarify, 2) they use a different service and all of their rates are non-refundable.
- Once the booking was made, I got on chat with Marriott to see if they could find my reservation. He said, "I apologize, because this is an Expedia Reservation and not booked on the Marriott Website or the Marriott App, we would not be able to add the account number to the reservation." But they were able to email me a Marriott confirmation so I could confirm the room category was what I thought.
Sep 19, 2019, 1:21 pm
#14
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,746
I believe I have seen similar language on hotels.com. I think this covers a theoretical situation where the agency has booked a certain number of rooms but does not provide the name of the guest until close to check-in. I wouldn't worry about it.
Sep 19, 2019, 1:29 pm
#15
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
It isn't theoretical. The large travel agencies (Expedia and Priceline) buy room nights in bulk. Connexions can shop your reservation until the last minute to obtain the best price (for them, not for you). We do have reports from posters who contacted hotel in advance to find no record of reservation, and some who arrived to find no reservation entered.