Citi Prestige World Elite MasterCard Review (before July 23, 2017)
This is an old review which is NOT updated. Please see our updated review here.
Updated May 28, 2017.
The Facts
The Math
If you utilize the $250 airline credit, airport lounge program, and/or any other travel perks, you may have already come out ahead of the seemingly high annual fee. Now let's focus on its rewards - this card offers useful a 3-2-1 reward structure and a potential 15%-25% annual bonus. Between fixed value redemption on American airfare and the transfer feature, our current valuation of TY points earned from Citi Prestige is 1.6 cents per point. Thus, this card returns 4.8%, 3.2%, and 1.6%, even without the annual bonus, for travel, dining and entertainment, and other spending. If you have Citigold, which is much easier to have than private banking, your rewards become 5.5%, 3.7%, and 1.8%, and if you do have a private banker, you will achieve 6%, 4%, and 2%.
The new Citi Prestige vs. Citi Prestige before October 2014: in the drastic overhaul of a product that was a little more than one year old, Citi took away flight points earning, annual companion ticket, and 15% discount, which was not too surprising since Citi actually did the same thing to its ThankYou Premier a year earlier. The annual relationship bonus got tweaked and for most consumers the value was decreased. The positive side of the overhaul was the introduction of the new 3x category (airfare, hotels, travel agencies), the expansion of the 2x category to include entertainment, the long waited enhanced transfer feature adding great flexibility, increase of annual airline credit from $200 to $250, and replacement of Airport Angel by Priority Pass Select. The new Citi Prestige is still very competitive with the $250 annual airline credit, airport lounge program, and the 3-2-1 rewards with great flexibility; however, we do think in general it was devaluated, especially for people who could maximize the rewards and perks to their advantage in the old system.
Citi Prestige vs. Citi ThankYou Premier: Citi Prestige has a much higher annual fee of $450; however after the $250 annual airline credit, the effective annual fee becomes $200, which is only $105 more than ThankYou Premier. For that, you and two guests can enjoy airport lounge access through Admirals Club and Priority Pass Select, which sounds like a bargain, even for people travel a few times a year. In addition, Citi Prestige has better fixed value redemption options - 1.6 cents per point for American flights and 1.33 cents per point for other airlines, as well as a potential 15-25% annual relationship bonus. Finally, both cards have very similar 3-2-1 rewards structure; however, ThankYou Premier actually offer better rewards since it covers gas stations and all travel categories other than airlines/hotels/travel agencies. So which card should you choose? Let's break it down for you. If you travel quite a bit and value airport lounge access and hotel privileges, you should definitely upgrade to Prestige. If you are only interested in fixed value redemption not the points transfer option, you should consider upgrading to Prestige. If you are at least a Citigold customer, you may want to do your own math to figure out if the annual relationship bonus more than compensates the loss of rewards in gas and travel categories other than airlines/hotels/travel agencies. If you spend a lot on gas, want to focus on the points transfer redemption option, and don't need airport lounges and other travel perks, ThankYou Premier will be your better card.
Citi Prestige vs. Amex Platinum: Prestige was introduced as a direct competitor to Amex Platinum - Citi almost copied all the key features from Amex including airport lounge access, airline incidental credit, $100 Global Entry fee waiver, Luxury Hotels and Resorts program, etc. However, when you examine the two more closely, there are several major differences: 1) Citi Prestige's airline credit is $50 more than Amex Platinum's; 2) Amex's lounge program covers Delta, Alaska, Centurion plus 550+ international lounges and for most lounges the access is complimentary only to the cardholder, while Citi's covers American, Alaska plus 550+ international lounges and the access is complimentary for the cardholder plus two guests - even though they have some different coverage (Delta & Centurion vs. American) we say Citi wins out on this one due to the guest policy; 3) The hotel privileges provided by both cards are comparable in our opinion: Amex FHR has always been the benchmark of luxury hotel programs provided by credit cards, while Citi Prestige combines WELHR, Ensemble and ICNHR to deliver a compelling alternative; 4) on the earning side, Prestige is a clear winner offering the best TY point earning scheme, while Amex Platinum only returns straight 1 point per dollar spent. The bottom line is that while two products may have their own strength in the travel perks, Citi Prestige is a clearly better card when it comes to rewards.
Citi Prestige vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Both ask for $450 a year and both offer incredible rewards, perks, and protection. (1) Similarity - both cards offer Priority Pass Select, waived foreign transaction fees, concierge service, and Global Entry application credit; their hotel privileges are also similar in our opinion: Citi has 4th Night Free, World Elite Luxury Hotel Collection, Ensemble Travel Group and Mandarin Oriental privileges through Citi Concierge, while Chase offers Relais & Chateaux privileges, LHRC, and Visa Signature Hotels. (2) Citi's advantage - Citi offers Admirals Club access and three rounds of free golf, both of which are going away in July 2017. (3) Chase's advantage - Chase offers better rewards: 2x additional points on travel other than airfare/hotels/travel agencies, and 1x additional points on dining; the rental car collision coverage is primary on Chase but secondary on Citi; in addition, the effective annual fee after considering the annual travel credit is $50 cheaper on Sapphire Reserve. (4) Bottom Line - setting aside the obvious different signup bonus, the two cards are almost head to head in the current form, but Sapphire Reserve will be a clear winner come next July.
To see how Citi Prestige competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum, Amex Delta Reserve, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, JPM Ritz-Carlton, Citi AA Executive, Citi Prestige, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, Diners Club Elite, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
Citi Prestige was placed on our Top List since its inception, and in early 2014 was even praised as "the King of high-end cards". The late 2014 overhaul devaluated the card in our opinion; however, with the enhanced travel perks, 3-2-1 rewards, and the enhanced transfer feature, we still think it is one of the most desirable credit cards out there. Thanks to its strong performance in signup bonus, rewards (#9), travel perks (#3), and protection coverage (#1), it is currently rated #2 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card.
© 2017 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.
Updated May 28, 2017.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $450 for primary holder and $50 for each additional user. The annual fees are reduced to $350 for Citigold clients.
- Signup Bonus: 50,000 points ($800 in airfare on American Airlines, $665 in airfare on other airlines, or 50,000 miles of Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Flying Blue, Etihad, etc.) after spending $5,000 within 3 months of new account opening. This bonus won't be available if you have opened or closed ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier, or Citi Prestige in the past 24 months. Historical best bonus of this card: 60,000 points in 2014 and 2015 with higher spending requirement ($15,000); 50,000 points with lower spending requirement ($3,000) before mid-2016.
- Application landing page
- Rewards: 3x airlines, hotels, and travel agencies, 2x dining and entertainment, and 1x everywhere else. You also earn a 15%~25% annual Relationship Bonus depending on your banking relationship with Citi: 15% for Citigold, Global Clients, or employees in a special offer, or 25% for Private Bank clients.
- Best Use of ThankYou points: ThankYou (TY) is the Citi's rewards program and the points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, and travel, returning up to 1 cent per point. However, different from the regular TY cards (such as ThankYou Preferred), Citi Prestige offers three enhanced redemption options: when redeeming for flights on American Airlines through ThankYou, you get 60% bonus, making 1 TY point = 1.6 cents; when redeeming for flights on other airlines through ThankYou, you get 33% more value, making 1 TY point = 1.33 cents; the third option allows you to transfer TY points to miles/points of several frequent traveler programs. The first option was added in March 2014 after Citi was confirmed as the sole credit card issuer of the new American Airlines after the merger with US Airways. The third option was first added in January 2013 with Hilton as the sole partner and then enhanced in July 2014 with several airline partners added. Please see our featured review SPG vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for the five programs that allow points transfer to frequent traveler accounts. We consider Citi Prestige a "hybrid" card between "fixed value rewards" and "miles/points" since its rewards are considered equally valuable when redeemed for either fixed value travel (especially on American) or frequent traveler miles/points transfer. [Effective July 23, 2017, the first two enhanced options will be replaced by redeeming for flights at 1 TY point = 1.25 cents, essentially the same as ThankYou Premier's.]
- Annual $250 airline credit each calendar year. Citi increased this credit from $200 to $250 in October 2014 and made it explicit in the terms that airfare is eligible. We give Citi a thumbs up since it was the first time among cards that offer airline credits - previously they were technically only good for airline incidentals. Also note that you don't need to designate an airline, and the reimbursement is set up automatically.
- Airport Lounge Access: (1) Complimentary unlimited access to 40 American Airlines' Admirals Club for the primary cardholder and immediate family or up to two guests. This benefit was added in March 2014 when American Airlines left Amex Platinum's lounge program, and just like what Amex Platinum used to provide, this is not the full Admirals Club membership which has a wider coverage. [Effective July 23, 2017, Admirals Club access will be discontinued.] (2) Priority Pass Select membership for you (primary cardholder or any authorized user) plus two guests for unlimited complimentary access to over 800 airport lounges around the globe (you don't need to fly with the airlines). Note that Delta left Priority Pass in 2009; United/Continental has not been part of the Select program after September 2011; domestic American lounges never participated. However, this is actually a nice complement to Admiral Clubs since it adds Alaska and many international lounges.
- Hotel Privileges: (1) World Elite Luxury Hotels & Resorts (WELHR): a collection of 800 luxury hotels worldwide, through MasterCard's designated travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. You will receive complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, early check-in, late check-out, and a special amenity such as a certain amount of hotel credit up to $100 per stay, free internet, or welcome gift, etc. The rates are usually the same as hotel's best available rates (refundable flexible rates). Note that any World Elite MasterCard offers this benefit and you can book your hotels on MasterCard website. (2) Through Citi Concierge, Aspire Lifestyle, you will also receive similar benefits at more than 600 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide through Ensemble Travel Group and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. You may access information on this benefit at Citi Concierge website and submit your request. (3) International Complimentary Night Hotels and Resorts (ICNHR) Program: You will have the 4th night free when you book a hotel or resort through Citi Concierge. You may use this benefits as many times as you wish, for any of the numerous participating hotels, from budget to luxury, and on rates other than the best available rates such as pre-paid rates, AAA rates, etc.
- Other Benefits: (1) Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip. (2) Reimbursement for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) application every five years. (3) 24/7 Citi Concierge service provided by Aspire Lifestyle. Aspire Lifestyle's Preferred Restaurant Program covers thousands of restaurants worldwide and offers amenity such as a complimentary appetizer or a glass of wine when you make a reservation through them. (4) International Golf Program (three complimentary rounds of golf at participating courses for the primary cardholder each year through Golf Switch, Inc.) through July 23, 2017. (5) Citi Private Pass Beyond for special access to entertainment and sporting events. (6) While most credit card's Roadside Assistance service only dispatches a provider and you have to pay for the actual charge, Citi Prestige is among very few cards that cover towing up to 10 miles or other incidental charges, regardless of how far you are away from home. (7) Citi Prestige also enjoys other standard World Elite MasterCard benefits such as World Elite Air Program (upgrades, savings, or companion tickets, mostly on full fare tickets), World Elite Cruise Program (up to $500 savings), World Elite Tours and Vacations (up to $250 or 5% savings), World Elite Car Rental (savings and elite status with Avis, National, and Sixt), World Elite Chauffeured Car Service (savings and benefits), World Elite Private Jet Program (savings and benefits), MasterCard Airport Concierge (15% savings), and so on.
- An authorized user also receives Priority Pass Select and hotel privileges. However, the $250 airline credit and $100 Global Entry credit is shared by all card members within the same account.
- Protection: Citi Prestige WEMC offers the highest level of consumer and travel protection among Citi cards.
- The History: To replace its prestigious Chairman Card, which was Amex Platinum's longtime archrival, Citi introduced ThankYou Prestige in late 2010 which received a lackluster review from us. In 2013, Citi tweaked this relatively new product, reducing the annual fee by $100, enhancing its features, and renaming it simply as "Citi Prestige", hoping to gain more market share. In early 2014, Citi increased the annual fee by $50 but also introduced a new redemption rate of 1.6 cent per point for American Airlines or US Airways flight and the free Admirals Club access, which made us praised it as the "king of high-end cards". In July 2014, Citi made another dramatic revamp of the product effective October 19, 2014: seven airline partners were added to the transfer feature, which makes it actually useful; a new 3-2-1 rewards structure replaced the 2-1 rewards structure; annual airline credit was increased from $200 to $250; Airport Angel was replaced by Priority Pass Select, which makes more sense for most U.S. consumers; annual relationship bonus got tweaked; several valuable benefits such as flight points earning, annual complimentary companion ticket, and 15% airfare discount were removed. In May 2016, Citi announced that several valuable features (60% redemption bonus on American Airlines, 33% redemption bonus on other airlines, Admirals Club access, three rounds of complimentary golf) will be discontinued in July 2017.
The Math
If you utilize the $250 airline credit, airport lounge program, and/or any other travel perks, you may have already come out ahead of the seemingly high annual fee. Now let's focus on its rewards - this card offers useful a 3-2-1 reward structure and a potential 15%-25% annual bonus. Between fixed value redemption on American airfare and the transfer feature, our current valuation of TY points earned from Citi Prestige is 1.6 cents per point. Thus, this card returns 4.8%, 3.2%, and 1.6%, even without the annual bonus, for travel, dining and entertainment, and other spending. If you have Citigold, which is much easier to have than private banking, your rewards become 5.5%, 3.7%, and 1.8%, and if you do have a private banker, you will achieve 6%, 4%, and 2%.
The new Citi Prestige vs. Citi Prestige before October 2014: in the drastic overhaul of a product that was a little more than one year old, Citi took away flight points earning, annual companion ticket, and 15% discount, which was not too surprising since Citi actually did the same thing to its ThankYou Premier a year earlier. The annual relationship bonus got tweaked and for most consumers the value was decreased. The positive side of the overhaul was the introduction of the new 3x category (airfare, hotels, travel agencies), the expansion of the 2x category to include entertainment, the long waited enhanced transfer feature adding great flexibility, increase of annual airline credit from $200 to $250, and replacement of Airport Angel by Priority Pass Select. The new Citi Prestige is still very competitive with the $250 annual airline credit, airport lounge program, and the 3-2-1 rewards with great flexibility; however, we do think in general it was devaluated, especially for people who could maximize the rewards and perks to their advantage in the old system.
Citi Prestige vs. Citi ThankYou Premier: Citi Prestige has a much higher annual fee of $450; however after the $250 annual airline credit, the effective annual fee becomes $200, which is only $105 more than ThankYou Premier. For that, you and two guests can enjoy airport lounge access through Admirals Club and Priority Pass Select, which sounds like a bargain, even for people travel a few times a year. In addition, Citi Prestige has better fixed value redemption options - 1.6 cents per point for American flights and 1.33 cents per point for other airlines, as well as a potential 15-25% annual relationship bonus. Finally, both cards have very similar 3-2-1 rewards structure; however, ThankYou Premier actually offer better rewards since it covers gas stations and all travel categories other than airlines/hotels/travel agencies. So which card should you choose? Let's break it down for you. If you travel quite a bit and value airport lounge access and hotel privileges, you should definitely upgrade to Prestige. If you are only interested in fixed value redemption not the points transfer option, you should consider upgrading to Prestige. If you are at least a Citigold customer, you may want to do your own math to figure out if the annual relationship bonus more than compensates the loss of rewards in gas and travel categories other than airlines/hotels/travel agencies. If you spend a lot on gas, want to focus on the points transfer redemption option, and don't need airport lounges and other travel perks, ThankYou Premier will be your better card.
Citi Prestige vs. Amex Platinum: Prestige was introduced as a direct competitor to Amex Platinum - Citi almost copied all the key features from Amex including airport lounge access, airline incidental credit, $100 Global Entry fee waiver, Luxury Hotels and Resorts program, etc. However, when you examine the two more closely, there are several major differences: 1) Citi Prestige's airline credit is $50 more than Amex Platinum's; 2) Amex's lounge program covers Delta, Alaska, Centurion plus 550+ international lounges and for most lounges the access is complimentary only to the cardholder, while Citi's covers American, Alaska plus 550+ international lounges and the access is complimentary for the cardholder plus two guests - even though they have some different coverage (Delta & Centurion vs. American) we say Citi wins out on this one due to the guest policy; 3) The hotel privileges provided by both cards are comparable in our opinion: Amex FHR has always been the benchmark of luxury hotel programs provided by credit cards, while Citi Prestige combines WELHR, Ensemble and ICNHR to deliver a compelling alternative; 4) on the earning side, Prestige is a clear winner offering the best TY point earning scheme, while Amex Platinum only returns straight 1 point per dollar spent. The bottom line is that while two products may have their own strength in the travel perks, Citi Prestige is a clearly better card when it comes to rewards.
Citi Prestige vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Both ask for $450 a year and both offer incredible rewards, perks, and protection. (1) Similarity - both cards offer Priority Pass Select, waived foreign transaction fees, concierge service, and Global Entry application credit; their hotel privileges are also similar in our opinion: Citi has 4th Night Free, World Elite Luxury Hotel Collection, Ensemble Travel Group and Mandarin Oriental privileges through Citi Concierge, while Chase offers Relais & Chateaux privileges, LHRC, and Visa Signature Hotels. (2) Citi's advantage - Citi offers Admirals Club access and three rounds of free golf, both of which are going away in July 2017. (3) Chase's advantage - Chase offers better rewards: 2x additional points on travel other than airfare/hotels/travel agencies, and 1x additional points on dining; the rental car collision coverage is primary on Chase but secondary on Citi; in addition, the effective annual fee after considering the annual travel credit is $50 cheaper on Sapphire Reserve. (4) Bottom Line - setting aside the obvious different signup bonus, the two cards are almost head to head in the current form, but Sapphire Reserve will be a clear winner come next July.
To see how Citi Prestige competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum, Amex Delta Reserve, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, JPM Ritz-Carlton, Citi AA Executive, Citi Prestige, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, Diners Club Elite, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
Citi Prestige was placed on our Top List since its inception, and in early 2014 was even praised as "the King of high-end cards". The late 2014 overhaul devaluated the card in our opinion; however, with the enhanced travel perks, 3-2-1 rewards, and the enhanced transfer feature, we still think it is one of the most desirable credit cards out there. Thanks to its strong performance in signup bonus, rewards (#9), travel perks (#3), and protection coverage (#1), it is currently rated #2 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card.
© 2017 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.