Citi Prestige has not been available for new signups for a while now. But late last year we learned that the card would be back in 2019. With the comeback there would also be changes. Annual fee is going up, 4th night free will have limitations and points will only be worth 1 cent each on airfare purchases. The card is here now and has a signup bonus of 50,000 ThankYou Points.

Offer

Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within 3 months of account opening.

The annual fee is $495 and is not waived.

Card Benefits

• 5 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent on purchases at airlines and travel agencies.
• 5 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent on purchases at restaurants (including cafes, bars, lounges and fast food restaurants).
• 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent on purchases at hotels.
• 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent on purchases at cruise lines.
• 1 ThankYou Point for each $1 spent on other purchases.
• Complimentary 4th Night at a hotel of your choice after a minimum 4 consecutive night booking through ThankYou.com (Beginning September 1, 2019, this benefit will be capped at 2 times, each year. Bookings made prior to 9/01/19 will not count towards the two-stay cap in 2019)
• Up to $250 Travel Credit Every Calendar Year
• Enjoy complimentary access to hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass™ Select.
• Cell phone protection coming May 1, 2019

Applying for the Card

Direct Link to Offer

Bonus ThankYou Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+℠, Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi ThankYou® Premier/Citi Premier℠ or Citi Prestige®, or if you have closed any of these cards, in the past 24 months.

Guru’s Wrap-up

There’s good news and probably even more bad news with the revamp. 5x points on dining and air travel will be a big boost to those who have lots of spend on those categories. It will easily be the go to card for dining and travel. The $250 credit for travel purchases will also be much easier to use up.

But the popular 4th night free benefit will be limited to twice per calendar year and it won’t be available through Citi Prestige Concierge. Value of points when redeemed for airfare on Citi portal is also knocked down to 1 cent. And the annual fee is going up.

The bonus is on the small side at 50,000 points since we’re talking about a ~$500 annual fee credit card. I was hoping for something better.

Is it worth applying? Let me know what you think.