mikesyr18

Unless you're redeeming for something similar to Skypesos, it's not difficult to beat out 1.25 cpp with partners. Utilize alliances to get maximum value. Yes, the average person may not want to do that - but that doesn't take away the fact that it's the most valuable redemption method.

akr1970akr

We've used it twice in the last two years. Basically you call up the main number, get transferred around a bit, and then eventually they get you to the roadside assistance desk, which seems to be for a range of cards. They will then verify the Prestige status, and send out a truck for free. (Some lower level cards will have to bear a $50 fee I think) We once had a person come out to a very remote area (they had to drive 3+ hours) and give us a jump. The driver told me that one cost Citi $300+. And another time just a simple jump at home. That one was reasonably quick in arriving.

It does take a little longer to arrange than GEICO Roadside (or Hagerty Roadside*) which I've also used but those are paid services, with a surcharge on a regular ins. policy. I'd log it at a 20+ min phone call.

So one nuance: the person who holds the card needs to call, even if the car is their spouses. Citi doesn't check the car registry. So if you have one Prestige between P1 and P2, and for some reason a hiccup happens when you are not together, this may not work well. I will note though in both situations when it was used no one even checked the card or ID or registry...so if one wants to gamble they could try having the other player make the call to summon roadside if they do not hold the card themself (and are not an AU). (Of course....I'm the one & only guy who gets checked for boarding passes at Priority Pass restaurants so I'm leery of really straying far from terms & conditions....)

And lest it seem like I'm driving around in a rattrap running out of gas constantly, these were flukey events. I'm hyper about keeping the cars in proper order!

* specialty roadside assistance - flatbed for classic cars

milypan

BugsyPal

Pretty much sums things up:

"The Citi Prestige is now “more of an airline and dining card, whereas it used to cater to hotel guests,” said Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ci...rds-2018-10-23


There is *some* good news:
"Along with the increased rewards for dining and air travel purchases, the card is expanding its existing $250 credit to include all travel-related purchases instead of just air travel spending. In May, cardholders also will get cellphone protection for damage and theft if the card is used to pay the monthly cell bill."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ds/1739360002/

In other words trend of bundling or whatever you want to call tightening the "relationship" grip that seems to be dominating the consumer market continues.

vincewy

It all comes down to how much I am willing to pay, if I don't have miles. The most I am willing to pay for US-Europe rt Business Class, is $2500 (fees included), quick example of me transferring TYP to Turkish Airlines, 90K points for RT Business Capacity Controlled (US-Europe) plus $650 surcharges and fees. Therefore each TYP is worth

($2500 - $650)/(90K + 20K [opportunity cost - miles I would get flying revenue J ticket]) <= 1.68c

So this is close to how much the bloggers have accessed the TYP at 1.7c.Obviously the usual fares are at least $3000 and many of passengers have the tickets paid for by employers.

wco81

Is the fourth night free automatic or at certain hotels only?

If I stay at a $250 a night hotel and charge say $1100 to include taxes and fees, will Citi automatically credit your account 1/4 of that $1100? How would they know how many nights are represented by that charge?

What kind of documentation if any does Citi require? A hotel bill showing how many nights and total charge matching what was charged on the card?

joe_miami

You have to book the hotel through Citi's concierge.

matrixwalker2012

milypan

baroqen

No dollar cap currently, and this doesn't seem to be changing at the moment. There are many stories about people using the benefit for more than $1,000 per night. Frankly, I would have preferred a dollar cap of perhaps a few hundred dollars per night over a usage cap of only 2 nights per year, but of course everyone's needs are different. My hope is that they launch with a killer signup offer, and I can just sign my wife up for the card and we end up with 4 uses per year. I was already starting to transition my spend from my CSR to the Prestige due to the TYP transfer partners being more valuable for my needs, but this really seals the deal.

Super Mario

Actually, in most cases when companies say this, it is true. Companies often cut benefits that have extremely low utilization, but very high expense. The vast majority of Prestige customers weren't using 4th night free more than twice per year. They just aren't. Super users of this benefit cost them big money.

On the surface, these changes to Prestige are smart. 5x on dining and air = more than Chase's 3x. 5 is more than 3, right? They clearly took the battle to Chase, which was unexpected. However, on the back end, are you REALLY getting that much more? Is the average person really benefiting that much more from the extra 2 TYP on airfare and dining to more than pay for the extra $45 in AF? At $2250 in additional airfare and dining spend, you have broken even with the new AF difference. What about the background devaluations?

This news caught my attention, as it was intended to do. Upon further inspection, CSR still wins for me. Much lower effective AF. Better insurance for travel. 50% travel portal bonus is actually better in most instances than 4NF, point for point. Plus I can apply it to cruises, which is huge for me. All this without even getting into the vast UR card network that also brings in many other 5x and other bonus potentials.

For Hotels, I actually prefer neither the CSR nor Prestige. Aspire wins for me and IHG Premium also works quite well.

yugi

I think that Prestige becomes better than both CSR and Amex Platinum. It's $100 more expensive than CSR, but you get more points for airfare, dining and travel agencies, and the same for hotels and cruise lines. But you get 2 free nights, which is definitely more than $100.
Compared to Amex Platinum, it wins everywhere, because Amex perks are harder to use. I'm planning to get my Prestige out of sock drawer and start using it for dining, airfare, and travel agencies, and planning to dump my Platinum.

akr1970akr

I think for those doing this with P1 and P2, its not excessive to have Prestige and CSR.

We've been doing that, and getting value out of it.

I think for next year though I'll PC my CSR to something free though since I just picked up the USB Altitude Reserve.

Our main use for points is non chain hotels at peak times as the places we go tend not to have the big franchised brands.

And even the portals are iffy about showing those. I've found the CSR UR travel portal pretty weak for the kinds of hotels we use unf. e.g. Expedia might show 40 hotels in our target area, but the UR portal (also driven by Connexions/Expedia) only shows 10 or so. That happens over and over. So to me, that 1.5x redemption value through the portal isn't as helpful as it might initially seem.

Super Mario

I think you are missing the bigger picture on the "free nights". Citi's 4th night free is essentially a 25% discount. Chase's 50% bonus is a 33% discount. Is 8% a game-changer? No, but it sure doesn't make Chase's benefit inferior. Now for the real difference maker here, Chase gives you the freedom to book whatever you want with those points, to get the bonus. 1 night, 4 nights, 6 nights, any duration, all 33% off, and with no limit. Citi makes you do 4 nights, can use it twice. For Citi to win here, you need a very specific profile. One that is very high on airfare and dining, and two, four night stays, at a very expensive resort.

But I do agree with you that this is more of a spending card than the Platinum.

akr1970akr

To get the uplift at Chase, you have to book through their portal. Their hotel selection in many situations is limited -- it's a constrained version of Expedia.

The 4NF at Citi can be used through their comparable portal, OR through their concierge, who can pretty much get anything AND can usually append your loyalty number to a reservation. They can also usually get any discount the hotel might be offering directly, like through their own private email list.

We've had situations where they also had access to room types that may not be sold on the big platforms, special suites etc.

Of course using the concierge is a little slower, typically taking a few hours to get bookings sorted out, compared to online direct with a hotel.

This might not matter for some people. But I've noticed a real difference in comparing the booking platforms between CSR and Prestige over the last few years, for our use cases.

Maybe if one just goes to big metro areas with lots of chains it doesn't matter.