I just can’t stop thinking about the Citi Prestige card. Sure the constant feed of articles hitting my google feed about the card has something to do with it, but bottom line, I think it’s a great all-around card. I just can’t help but think I’m making a mistake by not carrying it. For that reason, I want to quickly discuss my logic behind why I think now is the time to apply for the card.
The Credit Cards I Used To Value
For the past few years I’ve primiarly used two credit cards. For dining and travel out I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and for airfare and hotel booking I used the American Express Platinum card. However, recently that all changed when American Express introduced the refreshed (Rose) Gold Card. Since then, I put all of my dining and grocery store purchase on the Gold card and my travel remains on my Platinum card.
I’ve also maintained a few other cards that I don’t put any spend on (no need to discuss now) and the Citi ThankYou Premier card which I put all of my gas and entertainment spending on.
For a while I believed this to be a fairly solid list of cards. I was getting value from the cards I used most often and didn’t have any complaints. However, since looking closer at the refreshed Citi Prestige card I think it’s time to rethink my strategy.
Citi Prestige Vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve
First and foremost, the Citi Prestige card offers 5X points on Air Travel and Restaurants (globally). So, right off the bat if I added the Citi Prestige card I could easily eliminate the Chase Sapphire Reserve card from my wallet. The only other benefit I receive from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the Priority Pass Membership, but the Citi Prestige card also offers this benefit.
So, let’s assume I ONLY put about $10,000 of annual restaurant spend on their card annually. For this example I’ll assume all of my other charges go on other cards. With that assumption I’ll earn 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points or 50,000 ThankYou points each year. I value both currencies at $0.015 each, so each year I’ll get $450 back from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card or $750 from the Citi Prestige card.
The Citi Prestige card carries an annual fee of $495, but gives you $250 back in annual travel credits. While the Chase Sapphire Reserve card carries a $450 annual fee, but gives you $300 back in annual travel credits. So, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is $150 out-of-pocket and nets you $450 in reward points, but the Citi Prestige card is $245 out-of-pocket and nets you $750 in rewards points.
All in, the Citi Prestige card is worth $505 annually while the Chase Sapphire Reserve is worth $300. Assuming you find no other benefit from the Citi Prestige card or CSR, the Prestige card is the winner.
Citi Prestige Vs. American Express Platinum Card
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card out of the way I need to decide if the Citi Prestige card can replace my American Express Platinum card. Don’t worry, I’ll save you some time… it can’t.
However, on a points alone basis, it more or less can. I primarily use the Amex Platinum card for air travel so on a points basis all things are equal. I’ll earn 5X points per airfare purchase no matter what card I use.
That being said, the Platinum card can do something that no other card can. That is, the Platinum card grants entry to a variety of airport lounges and Centurion Lounges (which I use) and it grants automatic Hilton Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum. As I don’t stay enough at hotels to reach those statues, I actually value that benefit.
Additionally, the Platinum card isn’t all that expensive to maintain. It’s $550 out-of-pocket, but then I get back $200 in airline credits, $200 in Uber credits, and $100 in Saks credits. All in, it only costs me $50 to carry the card annually. That fee is easily justified by the number of lounge visits I rack up each year.
So the winner is… well, if you want just one card in your wallet the Citi Prestige card wins because of its versatility, however, if you’re comfortable carrying a few cards around, I’d recommend both.
Citi Prestige Vs. American Express Gold Card
This is where things get a bit tricky. The Gold card recently became my go to restaurant card, but the Citi Prestige card will soon take that title. So, the only thing left that I’d use my Gold card for is Grocery Store purchases. I spend about $100 at the grocery store each week, so about $5,200 annually. So, that’s about 21,000 points I’ll earn each year on the card. I again value those points at $0.015 each so in total I get about $315 of value from the card. That easily outweighs the $150 out-of-pocket annual fee ($250 – $100 airline credits), but is it enough?
See, about $1,500 of that annual spend ends up going on the Chase Freedom card thanks to the 5% Cash Back rotating quarterly bonus. So that leaves just $3,750 of annual grocery spend I’ll put on the Amex Gold card. That means I’ll actually only earn 15,000 points which are worth just $225. After accounting for the annual fee, I’ll only walk away with $75 of value from the Gold card.
While that’s not great value from a card I can’t think a more rewarding points card available. I could use the Amex BlueCash Preferred card, but I don’t personally value cash back. Likewise, I wouldn’t hit the multipliers on the Amex EveryDay cards to make them worthwhile. So, while the Gold card isn’t a great option, it seems to be the best one at the moment.
Final Thoughts
No matter which way I look at it I simply think it’s time to apply for the Citi Prestige card. By adding the Prestige card I’ll finally be able to get rid of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (downgrade) and have better portfolio of cards, each with a specific purpose (less redundancy).
Keep in mind, all of this analysis excludes the value of the Citi Prestige card’s 4th night free benefit which could easily return $500+ value each year. It also does not consider the current 50,000 point sign-up bonus which is also a bit appealing if I’m honest.
All in all, over the next couple of weeks I wouldn’t be surprised to see another welcome packet from Citi.
