SANTraveler

Yes, the Executive provides full Admirals Club membership. Which isn't bad because of the level of access that you get. If you valued lounge access and flew primarily AA it would definitely be on the list.

The flexibility of MR points is great. It seems that TYP would be the same for the most part.

ffflllyyyeeerrr

MR points are mostly useless unless you are transferring to a travel partner that is worth it (BA?). TYP allows for 1.6x redemptions on flights booked, or other redemptions at least 1x. MR redemptions outside of travel partners are almost always less than 1x, which is terrible. This is one of the areas Amex is stuck behind everyone else.

jft3

I too have found MR redemptions to be pretty lacking. i.e. Amazon just offered to pay with MR points, but it's < 1 cent/pt, which is ridiculous. However, the value of the program is in TRANSFERS, where you can net greater than 3-4 cents/pt if you plan it out right. The TYP are stuck at 1.6 cents/pt max because the transfer partners are largely useless for me.

In the end (for me), all my MR points will probably go to BA Avios, for redemption on shorthaul AA. Their redemption schedule for Avios is great, no ticketing fees, no cancellation fees, etc. Whether I spend it this year or next, it'll all get redeemed. I don't need "flexibility", I need value.

lotrbfme

If you do the math correctly still the citi prestige is better.

Let say you spend 10k on airfare. That would be 10k MR or 30K TYP.

30K TYP = $480 for AA/US. For that you can buy any ticket on that price PLUS get AA miles and elite qualifying miles, and even request an upgrade if you have status. (480 you can go mia to sea and get 5,500 miles or if you have status up to 11,000)

10K MR= can transfer to Avios once a year for 14K. Short hauls flights? Have to look very well where to spend and you dont get anything other that transportation.

So yeah you might get 3 or 4 cents per points value on MR BUT.. you only get 1 MR per dollar. On thank you you get 3x TY = 4.8 cents per dollar! And elite qualifying miles and points and miles and upgrades etc etc...

ffflllyyyeeerrr

I agree here. This works out in favor of the Prestige, especially for the bonus categories. As an example for MR, BA can redeem a short haul flight (<600 flown miles) for 4,500 Avios + ~$5 in fees. So in your example, the 14,000 Avios would be enough for 3 short haul flights. The redemption is pretty good, but that's the absolute best case for MR... the 40% bonus rarely comes up.

jft3

While the Platinum card isn't great on the earning schedule, most hold the Platinum for the benefits only. You'd be leaving a lot of points on the table not picking up another product to pair it with.

i.e. using your example of spending $10k in airfare, pickup the Premier Rewards Gold card, which earns 3x on airfare (4x if you book through AMEX). At 56k pts @ 40% bonus, you can cover somewhere around 10+ shorthaul flights that'll (assuming a minimum value of $100/flight) will net you $1000 in value, but probably closer to 2-3x that (versus $480 max value on the Citi Prestige).

You can game it further and pickup the Everyday Preferred card, pickup $6k of airline gift cards at the grocery store and earn 4.5x pts, and the rest at a gas station (3x pts), to earn slightly higher redemption.

Yes, there are annual fees, but provided you maximize your transfer ability, you'll come out wayyyy ahead.

Citi really needs to supplement their transfer partners if they want to be taken seriously.

ffflllyyyeeerrr

Why not complement it with the Prestige, then? Basically the same AF as the PRG... but way better.

FallenPlat

I think a better way to look at it is that the Prestige is "serious" for AA fliers on account of the 1.6x factor; for other fliers, maybe less so. I guess it depends also upon if you're inclined to do all that trans-Pacific stuff in First on Asian airlines that I'm always reading about on the credit card blogs. Frankly, I'm not. Ever.

As for the lounges, again, for AA fliers, Amex simply can't compete; for solo Delta fliers, maybe it can. The few-and-far-between Centurion lounges (plus BWI Airspace) simply don't tip the scale no matter what all the credit card bloggers say. And Priority Pass for you plus family/guests helps, too.

If you're not an AA flier, I'd forget the Prestige. Reciprocally, if you are, I wouldn't.

Oh, and if you get a Citi Gold account, the Prestige becomes even better.

jft3

Sorry, I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean the Platinum?

It all depends on whether you maximize your benefits or not I guess. I signed up myself + 3 family members for Global Entry (-$400). Add the airline credits (-$200), Priority Pass for all four of us + Centurion Lounge access for our upcoming trip, SPG Gold for all four of us when we're not travelling together, and that covers the fees and more.

Then add free medevac through AMEX (for you and your family, whether they're AUs or not, and whether the trip was paid on the card or not), free Shoprunner, free Boingo WiFi, and that makes up the the extra $50 in AF difference after airline credit, for me at least.

The only two things I see the Prestige card having over the Platinum is a) the free 4th night at hotels, but I rarely pay for hotels (it's either business travel or I'm burning points earned from business travel), which gives me little value, and b), the travel delay insurance, but CSP card does it better in that they don't require the entire trip to be paid on the card (so awards travel is covered if you pay just the taxes on the trip w/ the CSP). The Citi version of Priority Pass allows guests while the AMEX does not, but my family all carries Priority Passes anyways since AMEX extends all privileges to AUs as well.

rgAAFT

some seriously good analysis from all thank you so much... personally I am going to keep my Citi AA exec as my main Visa/mastercard while also keeping AMEX plat (best of both worlds,android vs IOS kind of thing) Now if only there was a way for me to fit in the Barclays AA silver when its available to me, without breaking the bank...(?) Now that would really be cool

rgAAFT

I generally agree with your views... But I will be the first to admit... I don't generally like Amex customer service , even on the plat card. (I always feel like, the platinum card reps are always so up tight and impersonable, as they always make me feel as though they are extremely busy and are doing me a great service to take some time out of their "busy" day to answer our (infrequent) calls (instead of the other way around) Even my mom who is the primary account holder, feels this way) (to my knowledge we always get US reps on plat card)

Citi on the other hand, I always receive genuinely good custumer service (even, I dare say excellent), but please don't call me a citi Fanboy...

ffflllyyyeeerrr

I was suggesting a combination of Amex Platinum + Citi Prestige instead of Amex Platinum + Amex Premier Rewards Gold.

The Prestige AF (less the airline credit, which is essentially cash) is $250 where the PRG is $175 (no airline credit). They both earn 3x on flights, but the Prestige also earns 3x on hotels. The 2x categories could matter if you value supermarkets/gas over dining/entertainment. So for earning points, they are essentially on par. The other benefits of the Prestige (AA club access, Priority Pass with guests, free 4th night, etc) are worth well over the $75 difference to me.

In a card portfolio with the CSP already in play, the Prestige can be less enticing. For me, I see enough value in the Prestige to downgrade/cancel my CSP at the next AF bill. I am basically 1-2 improvements from Citi away from being able to convert my previous Amex Platinum + CSP combo to the single Prestige card. It's that good!

johnnie198x

I have to disagree here. When it comes to customer service, Amex is the best, and they have good processes in place. When I call, most reps (Amex and Citi) can solve my problem on the spot, and I rarely get put on long holds. I need to get the job done, so I don't care if they uptight. What makes me pull Amex out of my wallet before any other cards is the easy of additional benefits.
Have you tried purchase protection or return protection of both cards? Amex would win in a landslide.
IME, for ~$100 item,
Amex: file online, get credited to the card before I can send in receipt
Citi: call in to get a form, fill out form, sign and fax. Wait 7-10 days to get a check
For ~400 item:
Amex: file online, get credited within 3 days before I can send in police report
Citi: call in to file, fill out and sign, get notarized statement, and fax. Wait 7-10 days to get a check

rgAAFT

Now
Here I agree wholeheartedly.
I had several computers die in the last 5 years,while still within AMEX warranty. Filed a claim and got reimbursement quite quickly for each. My only out of pocket expense for each replacement computer was that I had to pay for and send in a diognostic explaining what was wrong with the thing

Another thing,
yes, generally you have a job to do when it comes to calling customer service.

But in general, it's still kind of nice to talk to somebody knowledgeable but at the same time personable. (For the same reasons people want good customer service in the first place) if someone has a problem, they should feel confident that the person who answers the phone is the right balance between knowledge and friendliness, in order to get a job done in both timely and polite manner

jft3

The point of doing the PRG + Plat pair is to earn at 3-4x MR points on airfare while maintaining good benefits. The Plat + Prestige would mean you earn 3x TYP, but TYPs are worth staggeringly less due to the lack of good transfer partners here in the US (or for flights redeemable in the US). And on hotels, the same story exists. You can transfer only to Hilton at 1:1.5, and annihilate your points value. I don't see how you can continue to judge them as being on par for points.