joe_miami

If the average was only once per year across all cardholders, then most cardholders didn't actually use 4th-night at all.

antonius66

That is corporate bs like always. "No one uses this benefit so we're changing it to still be more generous than what anyone uses." Yeah right. .

It's like when Hyatt got rid of passport escapes packages and claimed it was because no one used them. The true reason was because they had just opened the Park Hyatt Maldives, which was the best property in the chain for a package with free dinners and breakfast, so they eliminated them right after that opening. Didn't stop the standard BS line though about "oh we got rid of it because no one uses it".

This card is dead for me after September 2019. Real pity because it's one of my favorites currently, but with the impending Virgin changes and the killing of 4NF, with an extra $45 AF...no thanks. I'd MUCH rather have 5x MR...really the only real improvement for me is 5x on dining, but that is only 2x over CSR, so if you value TYP at 1.5c, which I think will be high especially next year, then you need to spend about $1500 on dining to just earn enough extra value over CSR to pay the EXTRA $45 AF increase, to say nothing for the remaining AF.

JHake10

Same here. I'll have to see how much I spend at grocery stores to see if I can justify keeping it if I get the prestige.

wco81

So what kind of welcome points bonus do they typically offer?

I may have to replace CSR with this for a couple of years and then double-dip for CSP or CSR.

TTT103

rbw5t

baroqen

5x on dining is great, although the 2 usage limit to 4th night free is a big bummer for me. I don't use it THAT often, but I do need about 5 uses a year optimally. Looks like I might have to apply for a Prestige for my wife now!

I'll keep my CSR and Prestige for now, but Citi might end up top of wallet over Chase with the 5x dining and better transfer partners (for my needs).

antonius66

Well it's mainly supposition because they haven't put out details yet, but virgin has announced a completely new program is coming early 2019, and with Delta owning half of virgin and the fact that they have some very generous redemption options, you would be a total fool to expect anything other than total annihilation next year when the new program rolls out.

Currently given that virgin is far and away the best TYP option ESPECIALLY with 30 percent bonuses, the next best options are way less valuable. When virgin gets devalued, typ will take a major hit and frankly they are already the least valuable currency of the 3 in my opinion.

voodoogirl

Priority Pass staying ?

moe8555

Yes.

Ragnarok

How? If anything the changes makes a stronger case of keeping the Prestige and drop the CSR.

At the increased $495 AF, minus the $250 travel credit, you are at net $245 AF. As long as you get $245 of value out of the two 4NF, you are at at net $0 annual fee (or up by whatever value your nights are worth).
DOC also mentioned the $350 Prestige are staying at $350.

At this point you will need a reason to justify even holding the CSR and pay a net $150 AF, and earning less for Air Travel and Dinning if you actually put spend on it.

moe8555

One main issue is the (currently assumed) lack of bonus on OTAs/agencies. The old Prestige gave 3X. The new one seems to not. That's a big reason to favor CSR or Premier, as booking hotels and flights direct is not always the best option, and it would be a shame to only get 1X.

milypan

akr1970akr

Thanks for this commentary. I'd never really looked into Virgin's program. I knew their ANA redemptions were a good deal, but generally we've been more Western Europe focused for redemptions.

What's strange is that if they nuke the uplift on TYP Portal travel bookings, why would anyone use it? Why not just take the 1c/TYP statement credit option, and book direct, or through a cashback portal or something?

As mentioned before, I'm ok with the changes. We'll use the card more if anything.

And at least existing holders have a year to enjoy the existing benefits while they can.

PS: for those who are paying for any kind of emergency roadside assistance from their insurance company, the Prestige offers that for free, and its a decent offering. I've used it twice over the last few years, and although a little clunkier than the car insurance web/app delivered service, its functional enough. Dropping that coverage from your car insurer might save you $25-$50 annually, if you are willing to use the Prestige for that if ever needed.

84fiero

Plenty of reasons to use the CSR as well, or instead of Prestige...

- Differences in transfer partners work better for some
- Better trip insurance with CSR for many scenarios
- CSR has 1.5 cpp redemption for travel portal usage compared to the pending deval to 1.0 for Prestige
- Air and dining earn rates may not be a big factor for some. For example, I don't dine out much at all except on vacation. And some years my air travel is all on awards with minimal cash outlay - other years it can be different. Work travel has to be purchased on corporate card.
- I never got any use out of 4th night free...either Airbnb was a better value, or I wasn't in one place 4+ nights, or in one case the incompetent agents supposedly couldn't book the correct rate that made it work out.
- Never had any trouble using the Prestige travel credit on air, so expanding it - while nice - isn't a game changer for me.

YMMV but the point is, there's no one size fits all depending on one's patterns and preferences.