islandguy84

It's probably CARD ACT related in some form to prevent new users from being duped into signing up for a card and it's terms changing within less than the term of the original agreement at signup. Citi has sneaked in the terms in the tiny text but makes no mention of it in marketing materials as yet on card signup.

Also of interest, if I apply for the card now and use the $200 credit by Oct 19, do I get another $50 from October 19 to Dec 31? The full $250 or nothing at all?

roki

By their logic, you should definitely get the $50, at minimum. If ALL the features going away are gone by 10/19/14, then the new ones should be valid starting that day. Otherwise, they're really cheating us (more than they already are).

I'm already excited for the class action suit for when Citi screws the pooch on this one.

islandguy84

So I just applied in branch for the card to get the $350 annual fee. The rep stated he had to fax it over and it could take 2 weeks?!? Anyone else encounter this? Seems backwards even for Citi.

voodoogirl

I paid in June..

CreoleNC

I'm thinking of switching from UA to AS/AA and switching credit cards accordingly. If so, looks like with the changes, this card could potentially be a big winner: $200 annual fee after airline credit (even includes airfare), 4.8X/3.2X/1.6X earning on travel/dining/other when redeemed for AA flights, access to AS (through PP Select) and AA clubs.

Earn rate is better than the AS and AA cards for someone like me who usually redeems for coach seats. Also I'd be unlikely to charge the $40k for status miles on the alternative AA Executive card. Seems like Citi Prestige would be a good replacement for my current CSP and UA cards if I switch. Any big pitfalls I am missing?

Debonaire

Just curious how easy is it to apply for this card? My first card was a grandfathered Citi Forward from 3 years ago, and a few months ago I got the AA Platinum card. Nothing else. Should I expect any trouble in getting the Prestige?

roki

It's a $250 credit after 10/18/14, and only applies to airfare after then. Right now it's $200 and only incidentals. This is the main change that is better, obviously.

Yes, this earning rate is pretty hard to beat if you want to swear off award tickets. If you spend $200/mo on travel, $300/mo on dining, and $2K/mo on other, you're earning 3200 points, or $51.20 on airfare. Over a year, that's $614 on $30K spend, or just over 2% average.

If you do decide to get the Prestige card, look into Citibank checking accounts, too. If you can maintain a Citigold account ($50K), and do simple free services like Direct Deposit and Bill Pay, they'll toss you 1300pts/mo that pool with these, plus annually you get a 15% bonus on the total points earned with the Prestige (from 38,400 to 44,160 or $706.56 in the above scenario). The program is far from perfect, but can be quite lucrative.

roki

Depends on your income and total credit availability. It is a WEMC, so requires a $5k+ CL. Citi gives out CCs like candy, though, so you should be able to get it. Especially if you have a large CL on your AA card, you can shuffle some from that card if it is indeed an issue.

Keep in mind this card would also make your Forward card essentially an 8% dining/amazon card when booking US/AA flights. Sweet.

Debonaire

Ah, nice to know about the $5k CL limit. I recently got upgraded to WEMC on the AA card too, but my CL on there is high enough that I should be able to shuffle some away and still maintain the $5k limit. That would take a call to the reconsideration line, right?

The branch advised me to wait 6 months between Citi CC applications. Is that a good idea or are they being overly cautious?

The Forward is one of the biggest reasons I'm excited about the Prestige! Great synergy there.

roki

They're being overly cautious. There is a substantial amount of data that says you can get 2 Citi credit cards 8 days apart, and a third after 65 days(? or something close to that). You can definitely get another Citi card having just two, with one being 3 years old. No question there.

You may get instantly approved, but if not, then yes, a call to the recon line would be in order. I generally just tell them the truth: "I'm not looking for more credit, I'm looking to take advantage of the great benefits the card offers. No need to extend more credit risk to me, just pull $x,xxx from this card and use it for the new application."

CreoleNC

Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks. My understanding is that the CitiGold relationship also lowered annual fees on their credit cards in the past but that particular perk was axed for new applicants.

Debonaire

That's great to hear! I'll keep that in mind in case the call is necessary.

It seems like it would be best to get (activate?) the card before October to rack up some last minute flight points. Also the language doesn't seem extremely clear - is there some potential doubling up between the "$200 Statement Credit for Airline Fees" and the "$250 Air Travel Credit"?

roki

This is unknown. It seems like at the very least, the $50 differential should be available. This is a calendar year benefit. Keep in mind, if you get the card now, you have the full year to use the companion airfare, but flight points are only accrued on flights booked before 10/18/14.

Pecan Pie

maybe I should spend the 200 before 10/18 in anticipation of a full renewal of benefits --- another $250 for the rest of 2014. Then in 2015 it's another $250. Seems pretty sweet....

one question about the flight points, if I book the flight before 10/18/14 but fly in early 01/2015, do I still get flight points?

toomanybooks

Maybe in the future, but my Citigold wife got $350 a couple weeks ago.