The Citi ThankYou Prestige Card was taken off the market awhile back, but is coming back with some big changes. With the old version of the card, you earned 3x ThankYou Points on Air Travel and Hotels and Travel Agencies, 2x ThankYou Points on Dining out and Entertainment and 1X ThankYou Points on other purchases. With the new card, you will earn five 5X points for every $1 spent on dining out and air travel purchases. With the new version, you also get 3X points on hotels and cruise line purchases, 2X points on entertainment (thru 8/31/19, then 1x point) and 1X points on all other purchases , a specific category carved out with the old card. Therefore, members will only receive 1X points on their entertainment purchases with the new card.
In addition, what used to be a $250 statement credit annual benefit available for airline fees, is now a $250 straight travel credit.
As well, as of May 1, 2019, there is a new cell phone protection benefit that provides support for damage or theft of a cellular phone when you pay your monthly cellular bill with your card.
However, the annual fee that used to be $450 is being upped to an even steeper fee of $495. However, it is comparable with the Sapphire Reserve $450 and the Amex Platinum $550. As well, the fourth night free benefit is being reduced. It used to be that you get a complimentary night at any hotel of your choice after a minimum 4-consecutive-night booking with the card, with no limit to the number of times you could use the benefit. Now, the complimentary fourth night for hotels booked with the card will now only be available twice a year. (Only bookings made on or after September 1, 2019, will count toward the 2019 cap).
Some of the redemption benefits are being reduced as well. With the old card, you got a 25% discount when you used your points for airfare redemptions. With the new version, card members will no longer receive a 25% discount when they redeem their rewards points for air travel. So, for example, 10,000 points will be worth $100 when you redeem for any travel category, including air travel.
You will still receive a statement credit, up to $100 every 5 years, as reimbursement for your application fee for Global Entry or TSA Pre √ and access to Priority Pass Select Lounges.
I wonder what the bonus will be when the new card is debuted. I hope it’s not too tempting…..