Five years ago if you were to ask me for a credit card recommendation the answer would have been simple. Back then I would have quickly told you that the Citi Prestige card is best for most people. The reason I say this is because back then, the card’s benefits were far better than any other premium rewards credit card.
For starters, in 2015 the Citi Prestige card came with a $450 annual fee which was offset by an automatic $250 travel credit. This brought the effective annual fee down to just $200 a year. For that you also received up to 3 free rounds of golf annually (it was a weird benefit), an unlimited 4th night free benefit (amazing for consultants), and American Airlines Admirals Club access (when traveling with American). From just those benefits alone it was incredibly easy to justify carrying the Citi Prestige card. Then, on top of all of that, card holders earned 3X ThankYou points on Air Travel and Hotels and 2X points on Dining and Entertainment. This was huge when you look back at the American Express Platinum card which then only offered 1X points on all purchases.
However, as with most things, all good things eventually come to an end. In 2017 Citi gutted the benefits of the Citi Prestige card. The card issuer removed the free golf, removed Admirals Club access, and limited the 4th night free benefit. Overall, all of these changes coupled with various improvements in competitor cards eventually caused me to downgrade my Citi Prestige card to the Citi Premier card that I still carry today.
Re-Applying For The Citi Prestige Card
About a year after I closed my Citi Prestige card Citi introduced some improved benefits. Specifically, Citi expanded the card’s ability to earn valuable ThankYou points. Today, the card earns 5X ThankYou points on Air Travel and Restaurants (globally), 3X points on Hotels and Cruise Lines, and 1X points on everything else. Additionally, the card’s annual $250 travel credit now covers all travel expenses rather than just air travel. Finally, the card still offers the 4th night free benefit, but the benefit is capped to just twice per year.
Although those changes are not earth shattering by any means, they do make the card a bit more appealing to me personally. See, over time my habits and travel patterns have changed dramatically. I suspect 2020 and 2021 to bring even further changes that will help make carrying the Citi Prestige card even more rewarding.
Changing Travel Habits
For starters, prior to this year I’ve never really taken a traditional 4 night “vacation.” Over the past several years I haven’t had enough vacation time off from my day job (don’t worry I have one) to take a proper vacation. Instead, I take several long weekend trips in which I spend 2 or maybe 3 nights in a hotel tops. Even when I take a 4-night vacation, I rarely stay in one place for each of the nights as I like moving around and trying different hotels/areas.
However, this year, I know that I’ll be taking at least one 4-night vacation and most likely a second in the fall. Since I’ll be taking both of those trips with my girlfriend, my guess is that we will stay at the same hotel for each stay. So, this year, I suspect that I’ll easily maximize the 4th Night Free benefit and hope to get about $1,000 back in credits.
In addition to my changing travel patterns, my travel spending is also changing. Specifically, when we do go on vacation, we tend to stay a a little bit nicer hotels then I have in the past. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem staying in a $30/night hostel in London, but now when I travel I like staying in a nicer hotel. With less frequent trips I am now willing to pay a bit more for each night when spending less nights per year in hotels. So, all in my “hotel” cost for the year remains the same, but I’m spending more on a per night basis. With that, the 4th Night Free benefit becomes even more rewarding.
Changing Spending Habits
This doesn’t have as much to do with how much I spend per year, as I try to keep that low, but more with which cards I put that spend on. For now, I’ve moved all of my Airfare spending onto the American Express Platinum card which offers 5X points on airfare. I’ve also moved all of my dining and grocery spend to my American Express Gold card which offers 4X points on dining and groceries. Believe it or not, that’s about 80% of my annual spending. The other 20% I spread out among several cards in my wallet, mostly the Chase Freedom or Citi Premier cards.
One thing you might realize from the above is that I put virtually no spend on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card anymore. In fact, I don’t get much use out of my Chase Sapphire Reserve card at all. I earn more points on Travel and Dining with other cards so I no longer use my Reserve card for those bonus categories. Also, I no longer pay rent on a credit card (not as easy), so I don’t get those points anymore either. As a result, my Ultimate Rewards points earning for 2019 were minimal. In fact, I earned so few points that I believe the time has finally come to close or downgrade my Chase Sapphire Reserve card account.
My decision to downgrade this card account might be even easier as I’ve recently read that Chase will be increasing the annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve card (OneMileAtATime) while making minimal changes to the card’s benefits. If that ends up happening then I will absolutely downgrade the card as I can’t justify carrying it at the current annual fee.
Final Thoughts
Essentially, I’m downgrading one premium rewards credit card and replacing it with another. Given my current travel and spending habits I simply find that the Citi Prestige card better fits me now than other competitors. What I’m not yet sure about is if the card will replace my American Express Platinum card or my American Express Gold card. I think the Citi Prestige card has the potential to replace the Gold card as well, but I’m still not sure how much I’ll spend on groceries in 2020. If I spend more than $500 on groceries, then the Gold card is at least worth keeping open. However, that’s a big if at this point!
Overall, I’m excited to add the Citi Prestige card back to my wallet. Looking back it was just my second credit card that I ever opened so it’s interesting to see it come full circle. In looking over the card benefits I think the case could be made for this to be the only card in someones wallet at the benefits are quite rewarding. The card becomes even more appealing when you factor in pairing it with the Citi Double Cash card as you can now covert Double Cash cash back into ThankYou points. With that combo you can earn the bonuses from the Citi Prestige card plus 2X ThankYou points on all other purchases. That is a very rewarding combo that might just be the best combo available today.
