Apply quick! Another Credit Card bites the dust
In a world of ever changing credit cards and options appearing and disappearing every day, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the products that are out there. Yesterday, American Express launched their new and improved Gold Card. It’s got a ton of features that make it worth keeping, so if you are considering it, now’s the chance.
But when one cool card comes, another cool card goes away. Word is that as of Wednesday of next week, this card’s bonus is going bye bye… Apply now, or forever hold your peace.
Update: Citi’s first message to our credit card partners was that they don’t have plans for Citi ThankYou Premier to relaunch so this is a full take down of the product. This morning, they’ve messaged and let us know that they are now going to keep the card active on Citi’s website for applications directly with Citi, but the bonus WILL be removed October 11th.
Citi Thank You
Citi for a while had a myriad of Thank You cards. There were so many that I couldn’t keep track of them. Last year the “Prestige” card was their premium card, with a $450 annual fee, 4th night free option and more. It was a win, but I imagine that it also cost a ton of money for Citi.
Citi Prestige CardThen, there was the Premier card. They offered a 50,000 point bonus, then they offered NO bonus, then they brought it back a few weeks back with a 60,000 bonus. Citi has been ALL over the place with their cards, they just can’t seem to find the perfect secret sauce.
Well, considering that Citi couldn’t seem to find it’s rhythm, it’s not a shock that they’re pulling cards from the market in order to regroup and find their mojo.
Thank You Premier Bonus Going Away
We’ve got confirmation that Wednesday of next week will be the last day you can apply for this card with the 60,000 point bonus. After that point, all applications will be removed from online. If you have the card, you can absolutely continue to use it and enjoy the benefits, but no new applications will be accepted.
So, what’s so special?
Besides the fact that once this card goes, it goes? It offers some very strong earning potential and some amazing redemption.
Limited Time Offer:
Earn 60,000 bonus points after making $4,000 in purchases with your card within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 3X on Travel including Gas Stations
- Earn 2X on Dining Out and Entertainment
- Earn 1X on All Other Purchases
Citi has a very, very lenient definition of what is considered travel. They even throw campgrounds and mobile home parks into travel .Parking lots count too!
The $95 annual fee is waived the first year, too.
What’s a point worth?
At it’s most basic level, you can turn those 60,000 points into $750 in travel credits. Just choose what travel related expense you want to offset and you get 1.25 cents per point.
But if you’re reading this blog, you know that there are a lot better options for redemption. You can transfer your points 1:1 to a bunch of airlines. They include:
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Cathay Pacific
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air
- Garuda Indonesia
- Jet Airways
- JetBlue
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Air France A320I highlighted some of what I think are the best options here, not only for redemption on their own metal, but their partners. Cathay has some great short haul redemption options. Virgin offers great rates for booking on Delta. Etihad offers unique partners like Royal Air Maroc, and Air France/KLM Flying Blue often offers sales up to 50% business class flights.
Having the ability to transfer points to these partners offers great flexibility into your arsenal of credit cards and points.
How to apply
Once I found out that this card’s bonus was going away, I applied right away and was approved instantly. If you wait too long, you’ll miss out. They could always pull it early.
October 7, 2018
First Citi Prestige and now the Premier card. What is Citi up to?
October 7, 2018
And it looks like the Citi AAdvantage card too is losing it’s bonus… hard to say, I really don’t know.
October 7, 2018
Thanks. Are you saying the Citi Premier Bonus is going away or the card is going away also?
October 7, 2018
While Citi has a generous definition of Travel, I found Entertainment much harder to predict: they list museums and tourist attractions as examples, but they coded as general purchases more often than not for me.
I realize merchants set their own codes, but it makes it hard to optimize.
October 7, 2018
That’s odd, I’ve received an offer for the Premier card in the mail the past 3 months with the most recent being yesterday and this most recent mailing expires mid December, one month later than the last mailing. The offer has been for 60,000 points after $3000 spend in first 3 months. I assume I keep getting the mailer because I have yet to apply.
October 8, 2018
I’d imagine that’s probably why. Perhaps they’ll keep it after all for mail in applications.