Astrophsx

Seems like the Citi Prestige card is getting pumped quite heavily today even with its $450 annual fee. I can only imagine that the referral $'s for this card is pretty hefty.

- MiMS
- The points guy
- Milevalue
- Frugal Travel Guy
- One Mile at a Time
- View from the Wing

A few bloggers are guilty of writing 800+ word posts and waiting till the last paragraph to mention the $450 AF. The real "talented" bloggers go the route of mentioning it early and persuading readers that will actually "come out ahead" on this deal. These guys have got credit card shilling down to a fine art!

cestmoi123

Your outlay is $450. You get points worth $625 in airfare ($800 on American), plus $250 in airfare credits. So, you're getting $425-600 net gain, a pretty solid return on a hard pull. Even if you don't use any of the benefits until the end of the year, you're only missing out on about $2 in after-tax interest from paying the $450 fee.

artemis

I think the card also covers the $100 application fee for Global Entry, and it has no foreign transaction fees (which can be important to people who spend a lot overseas). So it's a good card - for the right people. As always do your math before signing up, and make sure it actually works in your favor.

It doesn't for me, so I'm giving this one a pass. But I can certainly see why other folks with different travel and spending patterns might want it.

lwildernorva

And a bonus that jumped from 30K to 50K. Plus other benefits with the card that can more than offset the annual fee. I don't have any heartburn over this one.

Even if none of the bloggers had put the AF in their posts, it's obvious once you get to the application page. So what, really, would they be hiding and who are they misleading? Either you apply for these kinds of cards or you don't. I've held an Amex Plat for over 20 years. I took an AA Exec MC last year and just paid the annual fee.

I've been holding off on applying for this card to see if the bonus would go up. It has, and I'll probably apply and then cancel the Exec because Admirals Club membership, as opposed to access, is not that important to me.

Astrophsx

I'm in no way stating that they are hiding the annual fee or misleading people. I'm just pointing out that they've turned credit card shilling into an art form. It takes talent to persuade someone to fork over $450 for a credit card. I've heard some figures tossed around on how much a few bloggers made when a particular card reached a 100k bonus and it was jaw dropping (if the figures are accurate). So if you get excited at a limited time sign up bonus offer... the bloggers are probably even more excited than you. It also goes back to the Randy Petersen quote, something about a blogger who dedicates at least 7 out of 10 posts to travel and not credit cards. It may only take a big bonus here and there to keep a blog in the black so that a majority of the posts can be travel related... thus the importance of the blogger's ability to sell a card like this one.

You guys are correct that only a particular type of reader is going to be interested in a card like this, but I am assuming with the high annual fee that it provides a larger $ referral.

gpapadop

>>>>>I'm just pointing out that they've turned credit card shilling into an art form.

Yes

>>>>>So if you get excited at a limited time sign up bonus offer... the bloggers are probably even more excited than you.

Oh YES!

I would provide some links to some blog posts I did about the subject but I feel way too dirty to do that

satman40

Someone has to pay the bills, and any sales person explains the value of the product so you can justify the price in your own mind, and determine if you can afford the product.

The blogger is like the salesman he makes it happen and keeps others working...

With out the salesman many would starve to death...

God Bless Zig Ziglar...

FallenPlat

I would respectfully suggest that you might try, try to remember that the merits actually matter. It should therefore at least occur to you that the credit card pushers might be pushing the Prestige because it's a great card and the current increased offer is a great offer. Admirals Club access and $800 in points (a fixed value at 1.6 cents per point for AA tickets) is pretty good. I applied in-branch, by the way.

As for the 100,000 offers mentioned above, I would offer the same comment. I applied for two, the Amex Plat and the Citi Exec. The first cost me $50 for 140,000 Avios net. The second cost me a negative $200 or so since I've been buying an Admirals Club membership every year now. These two offers (even the first on occasion) were pushed because they're among the very best that I'm aware of in the history of personal-side credit card offers.

Don't get me wrong. Normally I wouldn't be caught dead defending these folks. But on this one, you've gone too far and, frankly, you're dead flat wrong.

My one criticism? Really, people should point out more prominently that the Prestige really makes the most sense if you're in the main an AA flyer.

So, to repeat, the merits matter, and on the merits the Prestige a great card at a great price. I got it and, if you're an AA flyer, so should you.

farbster

The best benefit I think is that the card will pay for the 4th night at any hotel (check out the fine print). If you pay for luxury hotels, this can be a bonanza. Travel bloggers and credit card hawkers likely won't benefit from this, but many people might. This could pay for the annual fee and then some, year in and year out.

DonCarpenter

Bloggers acting in an unethical manner. What else is new?

mnscout

I'm heavily "selling" this card despite getting paid exactly zero. You don't need persuading anyone who can read to pay $450 for a card that gives you back at least 3 times as much; and that's before we even begin considering all other benefits. Seriously, all that's needed here is simple comprehension skills.

FallenPlat

Ok, fine, I'll rephrase since I guess my first post was too hard to follow: for a regular AA flyer, the Prestige is a great card at a great price, with a great sign-up bonus to boot. Recommending it -- which you call "pushing" -- is not unethical.

Saying it's "unethical" doesn't make it so. It just doesn't. You have to have reasons.

I've given you mine. Twice.

travel_mav

When the estimated payout is $100-$300 per approved application through their referral link, it can be easier for certain bloggers to "omit" the lower $350 AF available in-branch.

Astrophsx

Ben is posting about this card several times a week, are people pointing this information out in the comments section? He has in the past posted about in branch offers, but typically utilizing a fairly large lag time (I'm thinking about when the Chase Ink Bold had a much larger offer in branch?).

FallenPlat

You're omitting a fair amount of complexity here, I believe.

The "$350 in-branch offer" doesn't really even exist, though a few people have had some hit-or-miss success.

I actually track this stuff (goodness knows why), and the current reality, according to the card's dedicated thread, seems to be approximately as follows: "Since I could not get the in-branch offer on the phone last night, I went to the branch today during lunch hour. Initially I was told the $350 Annual Fee [offer] is only for Citigold [account holders]. I am not a Citigold member and do not want to be, so the guy checked with the manager and told me there is a way to get around and will call me in a couple days see if application is approved."

I sincerely wish everyone who tries this good luck, of course.

More to the point, there's also a no-fee offer out there for Private account holders, which is actually the offer that I took.

My advice? Unless you're living paycheck to paycheck, go ahead and flip $50K into a Citi Gold account arrangement (it doesn't have to be just in checking & savings) and get the "legitimate" $350 offer.

This then has the added benefit of churning out 11,700 Thank You Points per year for free, which are worth exactly $187.20, of which $70.20 are the "extra" value provided by the Prestige's 60% points bonus. This is assuming, obviously, that you fly AA every once in a while and so can take advantage of the ability to buy AA tickets with points.