Citi Prestige : Admirals Club access benefit
Aug 22, 2015, 12:31 pm
#211
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...owers-cdg.html
Aug 22, 2015, 5:26 pm
#213
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Thepla: Your analysis is sound, but I would add three nuances.
First, if you have a Citi Gold account (basically give them $50K in checking/savings), the net fee drops another $100 so that it's then $100 net. You can also earn roughly 12K points per year from the account for free, which are worth $1.6 cents each for AA tickets.
Second, with the Prestige you only get "access" to Admirals Clubs, which means you can't use non-Admirals clubs that an Exec holder could use, e.g., Qantas lounges and the JAL lounge in FRA. The weird de facto exception is the Alaska network, which you do get into, but via Priority Pass. Another exception is the Hawaii JAL lounge, which is actually a 50% shared Admirals Club (or so I hear; I've never been).
Third, the Prestige's Priority Pass is better than Amex's version: you can bring family/2 guests.
First, if you have a Citi Gold account (basically give them $50K in checking/savings), the net fee drops another $100 so that it's then $100 net. You can also earn roughly 12K points per year from the account for free, which are worth $1.6 cents each for AA tickets.
Second, with the Prestige you only get "access" to Admirals Clubs, which means you can't use non-Admirals clubs that an Exec holder could use, e.g., Qantas lounges and the JAL lounge in FRA. The weird de facto exception is the Alaska network, which you do get into, but via Priority Pass. Another exception is the Hawaii JAL lounge, which is actually a 50% shared Admirals Club (or so I hear; I've never been).
Third, the Prestige's Priority Pass is better than Amex's version: you can bring family/2 guests.
Aug 22, 2015, 7:54 pm
#214
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Highland PArk,IL,USA -- AA Lifetime Platinum, IHG Plat, UA Silver, Hilton Gold, Radisson Gold, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 2,366
Thepla: Your analysis is sound, but I would add three nuances.
First, if you have a Citi Gold account (basically give them $50K in checking/savings), the net fee drops another $100 so that it's then $100 net. You can also earn roughly 12K points per year from the account for free, which are worth $1.6 cents each for AA tickets.
Second, with the Prestige you only get "access" to Admirals Clubs, which means you can't use non-Admirals clubs that an Exec holder could use, e.g., Qantas lounges and the JAL lounge in FRA. The weird de facto exception is the Alaska network, which you do get into, but via Priority Pass. Another exception is the Hawaii JAL lounge, which is actually a 50% shared Admirals Club (or so I hear; I've never been).
Third, the Prestige's Priority Pass is better than Amex's version: you can bring family/2 guests.
First, if you have a Citi Gold account (basically give them $50K in checking/savings), the net fee drops another $100 so that it's then $100 net. You can also earn roughly 12K points per year from the account for free, which are worth $1.6 cents each for AA tickets.
Second, with the Prestige you only get "access" to Admirals Clubs, which means you can't use non-Admirals clubs that an Exec holder could use, e.g., Qantas lounges and the JAL lounge in FRA. The weird de facto exception is the Alaska network, which you do get into, but via Priority Pass. Another exception is the Hawaii JAL lounge, which is actually a 50% shared Admirals Club (or so I hear; I've never been).
Third, the Prestige's Priority Pass is better than Amex's version: you can bring family/2 guests.
I like idea of Citi Gold. Almost makes it free forever.
As far as overseas use I can't see where that is too much of a benefit with Lifetime Plat or EXP since I get in when I travel.
Extra people for PP is great. I can't tell you how many times I've been with family (which is wife and one kid) where I've not used card because I was only person allowed.in at time.
Aug 23, 2015, 10:49 am
#215
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
That's what I did: I opened a Gold account, killed my Exec, and got the Prestige. Then Citi left Texas completely last March and handled their exit so poorly that I ended up opening a private account with Citi instead. Nice website though.
The trick with getting 12K points/year for free is this: every month, do (1) one electronic pay or other deposit, (2) one electronic bill pay, and (3) one automatic transfer from checking to savings. (They don't make it easy to figure all this out.) The banking-side points are NOT transferable but, as I said above, they're still worth 1.6 cents for AA tickets. Gold also gives you a 15% annual bonus on all your points.
If you do the math, you end up getting over 5% back on air/hotel spending. Not bad.
One more thought: they're generally running some sort of promotion or another for opening a Gold account, and so be sure to ask.
The trick with getting 12K points/year for free is this: every month, do (1) one electronic pay or other deposit, (2) one electronic bill pay, and (3) one automatic transfer from checking to savings. (They don't make it easy to figure all this out.) The banking-side points are NOT transferable but, as I said above, they're still worth 1.6 cents for AA tickets. Gold also gives you a 15% annual bonus on all your points.
If you do the math, you end up getting over 5% back on air/hotel spending. Not bad.
One more thought: they're generally running some sort of promotion or another for opening a Gold account, and so be sure to ask.
Aug 24, 2015, 11:16 am
#216
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Highland PArk,IL,USA -- AA Lifetime Platinum, IHG Plat, UA Silver, Hilton Gold, Radisson Gold, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 2,366
That's what I did: I opened a Gold account, killed my Exec, and got the Prestige. Then Citi left Texas completely last March and handled their exit so poorly that I ended up opening a private account with Citi instead. Nice website though.
The trick with getting 12K points/year for free is this: every month, do (1) one electronic pay or other deposit, (2) one electronic bill pay, and (3) one automatic transfer from checking to savings. (They don't make it easy to figure all this out.) The banking-side points are NOT transferable but, as I said above, they're still worth 1.6 cents for AA tickets. Gold also gives you a 15% annual bonus on all your points.
If you do the math, you end up getting over 5% back on air/hotel spending. Not bad.
One more thought: they're generally running some sort of promotion or another for opening a Gold account, and so be sure to ask.
The trick with getting 12K points/year for free is this: every month, do (1) one electronic pay or other deposit, (2) one electronic bill pay, and (3) one automatic transfer from checking to savings. (They don't make it easy to figure all this out.) The banking-side points are NOT transferable but, as I said above, they're still worth 1.6 cents for AA tickets. Gold also gives you a 15% annual bonus on all your points.
If you do the math, you end up getting over 5% back on air/hotel spending. Not bad.
One more thought: they're generally running some sort of promotion or another for opening a Gold account, and so be sure to ask.
I'll ensure I have required done after I get card. There are tons of Citibank accounts in Illinois.
Are the 15% for all points, including ones from CC?
Can it be any deposit, I work for myself and draw a check but not a way to do direct deposit?
For last one I also need to open a savings account and just automatically transfer some money between two accounts? It seems they give you free checks and several other perks like ATM overseas has no penalty, non Citi ATM has no extra charge. Their CC seems to have overseas car insurance for all countries, including Israel, which my Amex excludes.
When you say nontransferable you mean to another airline? How do I use those points for AA?
THanks
thepla
Aug 24, 2015, 11:40 am
#217
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Yes, the 15% is for all points including credit card points. I believe they ignore the extra 2x and 3x category bonuses for purposes of calculating the 15%, according to the one publicly available data point.
As for which deposits count and which don't, there's a huge amount of on-line analysis here. If memory serves, the best and most complete one was at Doctor of Credit. (A wonderful site, by the way.) According to him, any ACH transfer should work; PayPal likely won't. A transfer that works like "bill pay" likely won't either. Oddly enough, an in-branch deposit of a third party check may count . . . or at least it did the one time I tried.
As for the auto-save, yes again. A Gold Account consists of both checking and savings. Just go online and set up an automatic transfer of $100 a month from checking into savings.
As for which deposits count and which don't, there's a huge amount of on-line analysis here. If memory serves, the best and most complete one was at Doctor of Credit. (A wonderful site, by the way.) According to him, any ACH transfer should work; PayPal likely won't. A transfer that works like "bill pay" likely won't either. Oddly enough, an in-branch deposit of a third party check may count . . . or at least it did the one time I tried.
As for the auto-save, yes again. A Gold Account consists of both checking and savings. Just go online and set up an automatic transfer of $100 a month from checking into savings.
Aug 24, 2015, 2:05 pm
#218
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 272
I am not sure if this a right place to ask, but can you guys tell me if i am a Citi Executive card holder if i am able to use the lounge even though i fly economic with southwest/lufthansa? i will be stop by at Seattle 3 hour; Chicago 4 hour and 4 hour in Paris. Can i use those lounge in those airport with my mother? thanks in advance.
Aug 24, 2015, 2:37 pm
#219
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: Marriott Titanium and LTP, Hilton Gold, United Silver
Posts: 786
I am not sure if this a right place to ask, but can you guys tell me if i am a Citi Executive card holder if i am able to use the lounge even though i fly economic with southwest/lufthansa? i will be stop by at Seattle 3 hour; Chicago 4 hour and 4 hour in Paris. Can i use those lounge in those airport with my mother? thanks in advance.
Aug 24, 2015, 3:34 pm
#220
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 272
Wow thanks i didn't expect to be able to use the lounge if i don't fly business/first with AA, also do you know where i can look up to see where is the lounge for those 3 location Seattle, Chicago, and Paris? Thanks a lot because this will give my mother a better rest in those lounge!
Aug 24, 2015, 4:19 pm
#221
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: Marriott Titanium and LTP, Hilton Gold, United Silver
Posts: 786
Wow thanks i didn't expect to be able to use the lounge if i don't fly business/first with AA, also do you know where i can look up to see where is the lounge for those 3 location Seattle, Chicago, and Paris? Thanks a lot because this will give my mother a better rest in those lounge!
Aug 24, 2015, 4:22 pm
#222
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 272
The Citi Executive AAdvantage card conveys FULL MEMBERSHIP to Admirals Clubs. So as a cardholder, you can visit the lounge regardless of whether you are flying American or Southwest (or anything at all). You can search for club locations at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInform...sLocations.jsp
Sep 8, 2015, 10:45 am
#223
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,489
Boarding Pass Checks
Following up on the recent discussion regarding boarding passes, I had completely opposite experiences this weekend when accessing two Admirals Clubs that were formerly US Clubs. In PHL (B/C location), my card was swiped, but my boarding pass was not checked. In PIT, my card was swiped, and then I was asked for my boarding pass, which was then scanned. (The latter is my typical experience when accessing legacy AA Admirals Club locations.)
The odd thing is that one would think that once a Prestige Card is swiped for entry, the computer would prompt for a scan of the boarding pass, but who knows.
The odd thing is that one would think that once a Prestige Card is swiped for entry, the computer would prompt for a scan of the boarding pass, but who knows.
