Citi Prestige Credit Card Review

Who is the Citi Prestige Credit Card for?

The Citi Prestige Card is a top-of-the-line credit card for those looking for a card to service all their needs in exchange for a high price. This card directly competes with the Amex Platinum card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card in terms of rewards and fees. If you can afford a $495 price tag and want a travel card that extracts maximum rewards out of your daily expenditures, this card is for you. 

The $495 annual fee should definitely be an important factor while considering this card. Because of the high fee, this card is able to offer exclusive deals and perks that most other cards cannot provide. It also allows the Citi Prestige card to self-select its audience to seasoned credit card holders that want to reap the benefits of their frequent travels.

Don’t worry too much about the annual fee if you plan on using this card’s benefits to their full extent, though. The 4th hotel night extension that this card offers twice a year is, in itself, enough to make the annual fee worth it. That said, make sure you make timely payments because this card also comes with a plethora of penalty fees.

Overall, the Citi Prestige card offers a great deal that is ideal for frequent travelers looking for a daily-use card to complement their travels. Very few other cards offer rewards similar to this card, so if you are considering this card, make sure you compare its perks with those of cards like the Amex Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. 

Welcome Offer

When you get this card, you can qualify to earn 50,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 within 3 months of account opening. While these points are very lucrative and the overall bonus is generous, the $4,000 spending requirement is higher than usual. However, the requirement should not be much of a problem to the target audience of this card. 

The 50,000 bonus points are redeemable for $500 in travel, anytime, with no blackout dates when booked through the ThankYou Travel Center. This is important because redeeming these points is more than enough to make up for the first year’s annual fee, which means that you can own this card for a year without really paying any money as long as you fully utilize the points. 

Rewards

The point-based rewards program is very straightforward. You earn 5x miles on air travel and restaurants, 3x miles at hotels and cruise lines, and 1x miles on other purchases. Again, this card makes sense if you are traveling frequently and spending on travel-related items because it comes with extensive benefits. As mentioned before, the ThankYou points are redeemable for flights on any airline when booked through the ThankYou Travel Center. ThankYou points don't expire, and there is no limit on the number of points you can earn with this card. You also have the option to reward yourself with everything from travel benefits to statement credits, cash, and gift cards from popular retailers. You can even use your points to make a donation to charity. Finally, you can easily transfer points to certain airline loyalty programs, including TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Singapore Airlines Krisflyer.

With this card, you get a complimentary fourth night at a hotel of your choice after a minimum of four consecutive night bookings through ThankYou.com. This benefit can be used twice a year, which is extremely useful for last-minute bookings and can yield great benefits in cash terms in the case of more expensive hotels. 

The Citi Prestige Card gives you complimentary access to hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass Select. Furthermore, you are eligible to receive up to $250 in travel credit every calendar year. There's no need to enroll, your credit is applied automatically to eligible travel purchases.

This card also gives you a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit on your statement, up to $100 every five years, as a reimbursement of your application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. This provides an incredible level of comfort to frequent flyers and can be a great benefit for those that seek these services. 

Annual Fee

This card comes with a hefty $495 annual fee. However, granted the extensive list of benefits and perks, optimal utilization of this card will render this fee insignificant. However, this payment can pose a significant barrier for lower-budget customers and newcomers to the credit world. Again, it should come without saying that this card’s annual fee is only worth it if you are a frequent traveler, and want to reap the benefits of your travels through daily spending activities.

Services and Protections

The Prestige card allows you to utilize Citi Entertainment which grants you special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including presale tickets and exclusive experiences for the year's most anticipated concerts, sporting events, dining experiences, and more.

If you get this card while being a Citigold client you can qualify to earn a $145 statement credit automatically on your card. In addition, for each authorized user on your account, you will receive a $25 statement credit on your card.

When you pay your monthly cellular bill with your Citi Prestige Card, you'll get cell phone protection at no additional cost. With this new card benefit, if your phone is stolen or suffers certain damages, you can be reimbursed for the cost to repair or replace your phone. Coverage includes up to $1,500 in total, yearly benefits for up to 5 phones on your monthly bill.

This card also comes with Citi Identity Theft Solutions, which means if you are a victim of identity theft, Citi can help you resolve the matter and get your life back on track. Citi’s Fraud Early Warning system monitors your account to detect potentially fraudulent transactions. When they see suspicious activity, the bank will take appropriate actions to protect your account.

The Prestige card is compatible with Digital Wallets, which lets you shop with confidence in millions of places online, within apps, and in stores. With Digital Wallets you can speed through checkout and continue to enjoy all the great benefits that come with your card. You can also use the physical card safely with the contactless-chip feature.

This card also comes with a $0 foreign transaction fee, which is critical for international travelers that might want to use their card overseas. Usually, the 3% fee can add up because people tend to spend more while traveling. However, this card eliminates that problem. 

Cautions

While you can transfer ThankYou points to different airline loyalty programs, the only domestic carrier you can transfer to is JetBlue. This means that if you are a frequent domestic traveler and are not a big fan of JetBlue, your options for transferring points are severely limited. 

With anything that seems too good to be true, there comes potential risks. With this card, a high penalty APR of 29.99%, combined with penalty fees on late or returned payments, means that you are vulnerable to hefty charges in case of credit mismanagement. However, if you qualify for this card, chances are that you have demonstrated credit responsibility and are unlikely to be penalized. 

This card comes with a large annual fee, and if used incorrectly, can result in you losing money. It is important that you use this card as frequently as possible while settling balances in a responsible manner. This will allow you to optimize point accumulation and receive benefits that will offset the cost of the card itself. 

Another factor to keep in mind is the fee of $75 for each additional authorized user for this card. This means that you will need to pay extra to get more users on your card, which can drive up annual costs and result in you losing money. Make sure you are accumulating points and using this card to its maximum potential if you plan on adding authorized users for this card. 

Conclusion

This Citi Prestige Credit Card is excellent for people looking for an exclusive card that they can use on a daily basis and redeem for travel rewards. While the perks of this card might not be as luxurious as some of its competitors, its rewards program is easy-to-use and convenient. Therefore, this card is a solid option for those that want to streamline their expenses to a single card and want benefits of the same tier as other premium cards.