July 23, 2017 has been a daunting date for many Citi Prestige cardholders for about a year, since over a year ago, Citi announced the (mostly negative) changes that would come to Citi Prestige as of this date. Now the changes finally kicked in: (1) American Airlines Admirals Club access is gone; (2) ThankYou (TY) points fixed value flight redemption has gone down from 1.6 cents per point (cpp) on American flights and 1.33 cpp on other airlines to 1.25 cpp across the board; (3) three rounds of free golf is gone; (4) 4th Night Free feature is based on the average rate over the entire stay rather than the actual rate of the 4th night (taxed will also be excluded in the statement credit), and you may now book hotels through ThankYou.com, in addition to calling Citi Concierge. Citi threw in some enhancements: a new metal card design (everyone else in the high-end market has had this for a while), increased cash rewards from 0.5 cpp to 1 cpp (cashing out is not the best option to redeem TY points anyway), and the best ever signup bonus of 75,000 points (we don't know how long it will last though).
Obviously, we consider this as a major devaluation of this once dominating player in the high-end card market. It drops out of the Top 10 Best Card for Rewards (previously #9; our valuation of TY points earned from Citi Prestige has gone down from 1.6 cpp to 1.5 cpp, as the flexible feature that allows points to be transferred to frequent flyer programs such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Flying Blue, Etihad, etc. remains untouched). Citi Prestige's position on the Top 10 Best Cards for Perks also changes from #3 to #7. As a result, even the increased signup bonus doesn't prevent Citi Prestige from dropping one position on our Top 10 Best Credit Card list, surpassed by U.S. Bank Altitude Rewards.
At the same time, another Citi card - ThankYou Premier is gaining ground with the increased signup bonus from 30K to 50K. ThankYou Premier is now #4 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card, right behind its big brother.
Here are the snap shots of our Top 10 list before and after the changes.
Obviously, we consider this as a major devaluation of this once dominating player in the high-end card market. It drops out of the Top 10 Best Card for Rewards (previously #9; our valuation of TY points earned from Citi Prestige has gone down from 1.6 cpp to 1.5 cpp, as the flexible feature that allows points to be transferred to frequent flyer programs such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Flying Blue, Etihad, etc. remains untouched). Citi Prestige's position on the Top 10 Best Cards for Perks also changes from #3 to #7. As a result, even the increased signup bonus doesn't prevent Citi Prestige from dropping one position on our Top 10 Best Credit Card list, surpassed by U.S. Bank Altitude Rewards.
At the same time, another Citi card - ThankYou Premier is gaining ground with the increased signup bonus from 30K to 50K. ThankYou Premier is now #4 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card, right behind its big brother.
Here are the snap shots of our Top 10 list before and after the changes.
In the last several weeks, even with some slow down, we have still been able to have some updates throughout the site, including increased signup bonus on Chase IHG Visa (from 60K to 80K), decreased signup bonus on Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold and Platinum Cards, etc. Here we would like to highlight Chase Hyatt Visa's change. Since the end of June 2017, Chase Hyatt Visa's signup bonus has been up 40,000 points, changed from the long-lasting two free nights at any Hyatt hotel worldwide.
In the past, Chase Hyatt Visa's bonus was considered extremely lucrative, as you may redeem free night certificate toward the most expensive properties that are consistently retailed for at least $800 per night (Park Hyatt New York, Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Park Hyatt Milan, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, Park Hyatt Sydney, and the soon opening Park Hyatt St. Kitts). The following hotels are also great alternatives and they mostly retail for at least $400-$700 per night: Park Hyatt Zurich, Park Hyatt Vienna, Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow, Park Hyatt Changbaishan, Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Andaz New York 5th Avenue, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya, Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, and Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall. These are either Hyatt's Category-7 (requiring 30,000 points per night) or Category-6 (requiring 25,000 points per night) hotels. So the previous signup bonus can be considered as worth 50,000 - 60,000 points with a caveat that the free night certificates expire after 12 months of issuance. The current signup bonus is obviously smaller at 40,000 points, but you do have the flexibility of using them at any time of your choice and also at any Hyatt hotel of your choice. The bottom line? The previous bonus of two free nights are obviously worth more when you redeem them towards aspirational properties within a year, and the current bonus of 40,000 points offers more flexibility.
In the past, Chase Hyatt Visa's bonus was considered extremely lucrative, as you may redeem free night certificate toward the most expensive properties that are consistently retailed for at least $800 per night (Park Hyatt New York, Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Park Hyatt Milan, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, Park Hyatt Sydney, and the soon opening Park Hyatt St. Kitts). The following hotels are also great alternatives and they mostly retail for at least $400-$700 per night: Park Hyatt Zurich, Park Hyatt Vienna, Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow, Park Hyatt Changbaishan, Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Andaz New York 5th Avenue, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya, Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, and Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall. These are either Hyatt's Category-7 (requiring 30,000 points per night) or Category-6 (requiring 25,000 points per night) hotels. So the previous signup bonus can be considered as worth 50,000 - 60,000 points with a caveat that the free night certificates expire after 12 months of issuance. The current signup bonus is obviously smaller at 40,000 points, but you do have the flexibility of using them at any time of your choice and also at any Hyatt hotel of your choice. The bottom line? The previous bonus of two free nights are obviously worth more when you redeem them towards aspirational properties within a year, and the current bonus of 40,000 points offers more flexibility.
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