There’s no doubt that for the past few years, Chase and American Express have dominated the rewards credit card market here in the United States. Chase obviously started things off with the introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. That card helped bring high-end rewards credit cards to the masses. Next, Amex refreshed its ever popular Gold card to be a true competitor in the market. Both of those cards remain some of the best rewards credit cards on the market today.
Through all of these improvements from other card issuers, Citi seems to have been left behind. Their cards just don’t get nearly the attention of cards issued from Amex or Chase. That’s a shame, but it’s also given Citi an opportunity to quietly improve.
See, over the years Citi has been tweaking its rewards credit card benefits ever so slightly to help offer some of the most competitive cards in the market. With all of these changes it seems as though Citi is finally hitting its stride. In fact, with the recent changes to the Citi Premier card, it seems Citi might now offer the best “trifecta” of any card issuer.
Changes To The Citi Premier Card
Citi recently announced some slight changes to the mid-level Citi Premier card that become effective in late August 2020. Those changes include slight adjustments to bonus point spending categories and the introduction of a new hotel statement credit. On August 23, 2020, the Citi Premier card will come with the following benefits:
- 3X ThankYou Points on Airfare and Hotels
- 3X ThankYou Points at Gas Stations
- 3X ThankYou Points at Restaurants
- 3X ThankYou Points at Grocery Stores
- $100/Year Hotel Statement Credit
Now, I have to admit at face value, this overall seems excellent. However, I think it’s important to highlight what benefits the card is losing. So, after August 22, 2020, the Citi Premier card will lose the following benefits:
- 3X ThankYou Points on “Travel” – including transit, cruises, and ridesharing, etc.
- 2X ThankYou Points on Entertainment – including concerts, movies, shows, etc.
Of course, the card will still earn 1X ThankYou points on all non-bonus category spending. Also, the annual fee for the Citi Premier card will remain at $95.
Are These Changes Good?
As always, this question really depends on who you are and what you spend money on. If you primarily spend money on airfare, gas, dining, and groceries then yes, these changes are significantly positive. However, if you primarily spend on ridesharing, transit, and entertainment then no these changes are fairly negative.
What I will say is that in the context of other rewards credit cards, these changes help make the Citi Premier card the most “well rounded” credit card available at the $95 price point. For context, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, a leading competitor, only offers 2X points on travel and dining. The Amex Gold (which has a slightly higher annual fee) only offers 4X points on dining and supermarkets and 3X points on airfare booked directly with an airline.
What About That $100 Annual Hotel Credit
I’ll admit, it sure sounds good, but it isn’t quite as good as you think. When I first read about these changes I assumed this was a simple $100 statement credit for hotel stays purchased from Citi Travel. Instead, it’s much worse. The credit is only available when spending more than $500 on hotel stays booked directly with Citi Travel.
The reason why I’d say this is negative is because you often don’t earn hotel points or elite nights when booking through credit card travel portals. Likewise, if spending $500 on a hotel stay, you might be better off booking with a different travel agency to get benefits like a free night, complementary breakfast, etc. Essentially, this $100 is better than nothing, but I wouldn’t say it cancels out the annual fee. Instead, it’s a nice perk to have in your pocket if you’re going to pay $95 a year for the card anyway.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m excited to see Citi continue to make incremental changes to its credit card lineup. With these changes I think the case to carry an all Citi wallet is more compelling than ever. Citi seems to really be dialing in on exactly which categories consumers care about and that sentiment is reflected in the changes noted above.
That being said, I’m a bit frustrated by the $100 hotel credit. I think the way Citi is presenting the benefit is misleading. At first glance it seems to effectively cancel out the annual fee. However, if you really weight the costs/benefits of taking advantage of the credit you might find that it’s not worth using. My guess is that this benefit, much like Amex’ Airline of Choice benefit, will go largely unused by most card holders.
