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finder.com’s rating: 3.4 / 5
★★★★★
50,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 5x
Points
$495
Annual fee
16.99% to 23.99%
Purchase APR (variable)
Annual fee | $495 |
---|---|
Welcome Offer | 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months Now, through December 2021, supermarket and restaurant packages will also count towards the $250 Travel Credit |
Rewards | 5x points on flights and dining, 3x points on hotels and cruises and 1x points on all other purchases |
Purchase APR | 16.99% to 23.99% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 16.99% to 23.99% variable |
Recommended minimum credit score | 740 |
Issuer | Visa |
Review by
Kevin Joey Chen is a credit cards, banking and investments writer whose work and analysis have appeared on CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Business.com, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com. He's passionate about helping you get your finances in order by expertly navigating cutting-edge financial tools — including credit cards, apps and budgeting software.
This card’s credits used to apply only to air travel. Now, Citi has expanded their application to many more travel categories — including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, taxis and more.
Here’s how the card’s travel credits hold up against those of other premium travel products:
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Citi Prestige® Credit Card | The Platinum Card® from American Express | |
---|---|---|---|
Annual travel credit | $300 for eligible travel purchases | $250 for eligible travel purchases | $200 for airline incidental fees only |
Is the $495 annual fee for the Citi Prestige® Credit Card worth it?
According to Citi, ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for eligible travel. You’d need 49,500 points to break even on the card’s annual fee with rewards alone.
That’s $9,900 spent on air travel or restaurants, $16,500 on hotels or cruise lines or $49,500 on other purchases.
Luckily, you don’t have to rely on spending alone to get value from it.
Benefit | Estimated annual value |
---|---|
Complimentary fourth night stay | $500 |
Priority Pass Select membership | $429 |
Annual travel credit | $250 |
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit | $20 |
This adds up to $1,199 in annual value, which comfortably exceeds the card’s annual fee. This doesn’t even include the card’s travel or purchase protections.
Take advantage of this benefit now. Starting September 1, 2019, it’s only valid for a maximum of two times per calendar year.
A Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership lasts five years. Some travel cards offer an application credit every four years, which might help if you want to re-apply before your membership expires.
Global Entry vs. TSA PreCheck: Which should you apply for?
Almost every Citi airline transfer partner offers a regular transfer ratio of 1:1.
Citi may offer promotional transfer ratios. In February 2019, for example, Citi cardholders could transfer 1,000 ThankYou points for 1,250 miles in Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles program.
As of this writing, the only program in which you’ll receive less than a 1:1 ratio is JetBlue TrueBlue. Convert 1,000 ThankYou points to 800 TrueBlue points.
Citi is missing a major domestic-airline transfer partner, such as Delta, United or American. However, it has a strong stable of international-airline transfer partners.
You can transfer your points at a 1:12 ratio to Shop Your Way, the loyalty program for Sears and Kmart.
With Price Rewind, Citi will look for lower prices on purchases you’ve made with your card. If it succeeds, it will refund you the price difference.
Citi will send coverage details if you’re approved for the card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Citi Prestige® Credit Card | The Platinum Card® from American Express | |
---|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $550 | $495 | $550 |
You can apply for the Citi Prestige® Credit Card if you:
You’ll have a better chance of approval for the Citi Prestige® Credit Card if you have a good to excellent credit score of 740 or above.
Some longtime customers say Citi has devalued their points over the years. Other customers say they have put the card’s fourth-hotel-night privilege to good use, and they’re disappointed that Citi will cap the benefit in September 2019.
Even though Citi has been in business for more than 200 years, it was never accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). As of October 2020, more than 200 customer complaints on the BBB site give the bank a score of 1 out of 5. Because Citi failed to resolve customer complaints on the site, BBB has rated the bank with the lowest F rating.
Citi is rated slightly higher at 1.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot where customers mostly complain about poor customer service.
Go to Citi’s ThankYou Rewards portal to redeem your points. Log in with your Citi account.
Here are a few redemption options:
According to Citi, travel redemptions give you a 1-cent-per-point value. Gift cards typically give you the same value. With other redemption options, you may receive a lower value.
The card’s best new change is the accelerated points on air travel and dining. These are truly market-leading rewards.
Unfortunately, the card’s fourth-night-free benefit will be capped to two uses per year in September 2019. But you can still leverage it as much as you want until then, and the card boasts other luxury travel features.
If you’re not sure the Citi Prestige® Credit Card is right for you, compare other travel credit card options.
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