jalm1

It depends upon what works for the individual. 5x TYP on these categories with a TY premier card results in a 6.6% rebate towards airfare. Even at a fixed rate, That's generally better than you do with a ur or mr card when these categories are 1 or 2 pt/$. It might no be for everyone and 1typ/$ is pretty worthless. But 5x makes it a much more interesting currency to hold.

jacisme

1) FrequentMiler reports that his 5x points are showing up successfully on his statement after using this card for a month.


2) It's only been 4 months since I opened a Citi Select AAdvantage Amex. Will Citi automatically reject me if I apply for the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card because it too is a personal application? Or is the 18 month rule only relevant when trying to re-apply for the exact same citi personal card?

Thanks!

Sevenfeet

Not useful if I cannot see the same benefits in year 2.

amolkold

This card is a perfect storm of bonus categories for right now. The game is ever changing, and if you're getting a card in 2013 to use in 2014, that's not the correct way to approach the game.

ayya

18 month rule is for AA cards. You can apply for different cards after 60 days.

amolkold

I thought it was 65 days ... and Citi doesn't know how to count, so it's best to just do 70 days/10 weeks.

atxtravel

Don't forget about hotels and cars. TY points can be used like cash, and I would argue that with the exception of aspirational properties, no hotel card earning on regular spend comes even close to 6.6% return, and you're getting stay credits and points as well.

There's also various activities and tours you can book using points, might be worth looking into.

I wouldn't waste my TY points on buying business class seats and lose creative routing flexibility, but I can certainly burn them on connecting coach flights inside the regions I travel to.

amolkold

This is key and something I think a lot of people miss. If you have a $400 ticket that flies 5,000 miles, it costs 30,000 TYP ($6K spend at 5x) AND you earn 5K miles (10K if you have 100% elite bonus).

That means $6K spend turned into 10K miles plus a flight worth $400.

chrisj500

I applied, and my application was downgraded to a vanilla Thank You card.
I was ready to cancel the app, when the CSR confirmed that the card would contain all of the following:

"6000 Thank You points when you spend $300 in the first 3 months and then 4 additional points on EDS for 12 months and a 0% BT for 15 months."

I'm wasn't sure what the EDS acronym indicated, but the CSR confirmed drugstore, grocery, and gas count as 5x TYP.

amolkold

Everyday Spending?

chrisj500

That makes perfect sense.. Thank you.

iahphx

I wouldn't take a Thank You point over an Ultimate Reward point, but this card is definitely worth using with its 5 point bonus categories. It's especially useful to Flyertalkers playing the manufactured money games.

The "problem" with the card is that you generally have to take your money in airfare (which is pretty useful for most of us!) or gift cards. There aren't that many gift card merchants, but there are enough that most folks should be happy enough.

I earn a 33% bonus when using my points on airfare, and can also transfer them to HHonors at a rate of 1 TY point equals 1.5 HHonors points. I'm not sure if these are automatic benefits with the Preferred card, or if I receive them for also having a "Premier" card (the Premier card is primarily useful for the free domestic airline companion ticket and some other flight bonuses). Does anyone know the rules on this?

In the matching bonus categories, this means that you can earn more HHonors points with the Preferred card than you can with the HHonors AMEX card. I knew many of the bloggers are very critical of the revised HHonors award chart, but they may be exaggerating the carnage. Their new chart is definitely much worse for short stays at the "aspirational" properties, but not necessarily the "garden variety" ones (some run-of-the-mill Hiltons have actually decreased in point requirements). We also don't know yet about how many points we'll need for the 4-night AXON awards, which are apparently continuing, and might still provide value for longer stays at the expensive Hiltons.

Bottomline, I think most flyertalkers would benefit from having the Preferred card for at least some of their spend.

nall

I believe these benefits are limited to people with TY cards that have an annual fee -- i.e., the Premier and Prestige.

Also, I'm not sure how they make money on the ticket features (the discount and the free companion ticket). Those can both save you hundreds a year.

Happy

It works the same way as UR pts, if you own the fee-based cards that have the transferability, ALL your UR pts from all sources enjoy the transferability.

Same case with TYP, only if you have the Premium and Prestige card that you have the 33% airfare. But all TYPs earned by your cards enjoy the same benefits.

The moment you cancel your Premium / Prestige card, you lose that benefit.

Happy

I believe the poster does not have any idea about the significance of the 5x right now. The less people realize the better off you would be.