Credit to Citi for sending periodic reminders about this.
And so, make yourself a note.
In this article
This is your last month to make 4th Night Free bookings via the Citi concierge with your Prestige card.
If you’ve forgotten about the changes Citi made to the Citi Prestige card and the subsequent uproar over Citi removing the ability to use the concierge going forward, here’s a recap:
After August 31st, 2019, you will be limited to two uses of the 4th Night Free benefit. That’s reasonable enough, but Citi also removed the ability to make bookings via the concierge.
This matters because while, until now, you could have the concierge make a normal revenue postpaid booking, which could be any rate including AAA and Member rates, earned points, accrued elite nights, and conferred elite status benefits with all chains, starting September 1 you will have to book online.
When you book Citi 4th Night Free online, you:
– Will not have access to *any* hotel in the universe as you did before. In fact, you’ll find many hotels you want don’t appear and there’s just going to be nothing you can do about it.
– May find the rates higher than the hotel’s own website. This is for many reasons, such as the fact that many chains offer 5% or so off just for being a loyalty program member and AAA rates and the like can reduce it further.
– Will not be entitled to any elite member benefits. For example, you travel all year for work and attain Marriott Titanium. When you book the Marriott branded property using 4th Night Free, you will be persona non grata. Zero benefits. You may as well have never stayed with Marriott before. No free breakfast. No upgrades. Nothing.
– Will not earn elite night/stay credits. Have 47 nights and just need 3 more to retain your status? Well, these nights won’t count. You’re like a ghost. You were never there.
– Those hotel points you love to use later for free nights? Well, you won’t be getting any of those.
The Citi Concierge 4th Night Free Booking Deadline
Up until August 31st you can make as many future bookings as you want and they will all be through the concierge if you desire. The only limit is how far in advance you can book with the hotel you want, which is often around 11-12 months.
Also bear in mind that your next renewal after Aug 31st will be at the new $495 rate and the entertainment category drops to 1x from 2x (which it already is for new cardmembers).
Questions?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
