Citi Prestige 4th Night Free – Booking Guide

The Citi Prestige 4th night free is one of the many reasons why the Citi Prestige is my favorite credit card right now.

Here’s a quick reminder of those many reasons:

• Earn 50,000 ThankYou points after spending $3,000 within 3 months from account opening
• Receive $250 Air travel credit every calendar year
• Bonus points on everyday spend
• Several airline and hotel transfer partners
• Complimentary access to American Airlines Admirals Club® lounges
• Complimentary access to hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass^TM Select membership
• Global Entry or TSA Pre Check^® Application Fee Credit

In this post I will focus on what I consider to be the most lucrative perk this card has to offer – Actually it’s the most lucrative perk offered by any credit card – The complimentary 4th night.
I saved ~$1,000 in my last trip to Asia from this perk alone.

Before I start, here are the benefit’s terms and conditions:

International Complimentary Night Hotels and Resorts Program TERMS AND CONDITIONS
You will enjoy a complimentary fourth night with no black-out dates, when you book four consecutive nights at any hotel booked by a personal travel advisor designated by MasterCard Airport Concierge™(the “designated travel advisor” is Carlson Wagonlit Travel). Bookings made through other methods such as travel agents, websites or directly with a hotel will not qualify. Please view the full Terms and Conditions of the program at the Citi Prestige Card Terms and Conditions.

Finding a participating hotel:

Most hotels that are listed on Expedia or other online travel agencies are available to book through Citi Prestige. You can search the hotel you want and find the best rate on Expedia then call Citi Concierge at 1-561-922-0158 to make sure it’s available. When you call, make sure to state that you’re calling to make a hotel reservation using the 4th night free benefit.

Earning points:

If you’re booking a hotel with a loyalty program that you are a part of, make sure to give the representative you’re membership number so they can add it to your reservation.
This will help you earn stay credit with the hotel’s loyalty program and you’ll also earn 3x ThankYou points per dollar by paying with your Citi Prestige card.

Receiving the credit:

I’ve had two different experiences using this benefit. I booked three hotel stays last January through the Citi Prestige concierge and recieved the 4th night rebate from each of them. The strange experience is that I received the credit for one of my stays back in November – a full 2 months before my arrival at the hotel.

This is my reservation confirmation in October 2015 for my January 2016 trip

And this is a screenshot showing that I received the rebate in November 2015!!

This makes me wonder two things:

• What if I cancelled that stay? (I had booked a fully refundable rate) – Would I still keep the rebate, or Citi would’ve taken it back?
• Since this was a Starwood Property, what if I used my Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express credit card to pay for my stay in order to get a larger points bonus? Would I still keep the rebate, or Citi would’ve taken it back?
  Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to these questions. I felt like the reward wasn’t worth risking the 4th night free rebate.

The other two stays followed the standard procedure where I was reimbursed for the 4th night the day after my statement (during which I paid for the hotels) closed.

How is the rebate calculated?

The rebate is calculated based on the rate of your 4th night at the hotel NOT 25% off your entire stay. The rebate also includes all taxes associated with that 4th night. As you can see below, for my stay at the Landmark Hotel in Bangkok, the nightly rate is USD $153.00 and the rebate is USD $180.08 – to include taxes.

Bottom Line:

To me, this is the best credit card perk available from any credit card right now. The Citi Prestige comes with a $450 annual fee, which might seem high. However, when you factor in the sign-up bonus, the $250 airline credit, the comprehensive lounge access and the 4th night free perk – this card becomes unbeatable and totally worth the annual fee.

If you have any questions please tweet me @pointspointers or email me at pointspointers@gmail.com