Having a difficult time with this.
Background/info on me:
- Generally travel on average 3-4 weeks per month for work.
- Always use American Airlines - and generally book coach unless First is all that is available, and my client is willing to pay for it.)
- I do not have an Admirals Club Membership, nor am I willing to fork over the $450 for one. I would love to have one, but do not want to pay that kind of money for it.
- Always stay @ Hilton properties (or others in the Hhonors family)
- Always rent cars from National.
I currently hold and primarily use the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I understand I can earn 3X UR points for booking through UR travel, but I do not do that - I book directly with AA. So with the way that the CSP is structured, I get 2x points on 'travel' which is inclusive of my airfare, hotel, rental cars, and restaurants - which is essentially most all of my spend. I normally redeem the UR points for statement credits that essentially let me 'pocket' some of that money. I honestly got this card before I realized how much I could make back in UR points - really just because of the weight of the card. Sad, I know - but I really enjoy the physical card. Total monthly spend is generally between $2500 and $5000 - which nets me anywhere from $50-$100 in Statement Credits per month due to the large portion of my spend being on 'travel' which earns 2X UR points.
I have seen a few snippets and information on the Citi Prestige - and it sounds intriguing. Worth noting that I do not have any relationship with Citi currently, nor do I anticipate having any 'relationship' in the future to be able to earn the 'bonus' thankyou points.
With the Citi Prestige - It sounds as if I would actually earn 3X thankyou points for airfare and hotels, 2X for restaurants, and 1X for everything else (rental cars, etc.)
With the Citi Prestige - I would get Admirals Club lounge access.
With the Citi Prestige - Annual fee is higher - but partially offset by the $250 airline credit.
Any off-the-cuff thoughts before I sit down in front of a spreadsheet and try to calculate it all out to see if it is worth it to make the change to Citi Prestige? The thought of losing the nice thick CSP makes me cringe a bit.
