Questions and Answers

I’ve got a known period of high spend (about $5k on dining, in addition to my normal monthly spend) coming up, so I’m looking to get a new card since it’s a great opportunity to earn a bonus. However, with the offer on the Citi Prestige changing on Tuesday (my bets are on it going down), I’m struggling on what to get, Citi Prestige or Chase Sapphire Preferred.

In addition to the CapitalOne QuickSilver card I’ve had forever, my current card portfolio (all acquired within the 9 months):
[LIST]
[*]Chase IHG Rewards Club
[*]Citi HHonors
[*]Amex Hilton HHonors

[*]Amex Delta Gold
[*]Amex SPG Preferred
[/LIST]
(Side note before going to far: can I even get the CSP due to the 5/24 rule? They keep sending me mail offers for it, so I thought maybe that might get past 5/24?)

I travel maybe 4 times a year, twice domestically (from SFO to DC/NY) and twice internationally (from SFO). Would be happy to enjoy a lounge, though it’s not something I’ve ever had, so I won’t miss it if I get CSP over Citi Prestige.

A lot of what I’ve been reading notes that CSP is better for beginners to the hobby since it offers better transfer partners. However, with the Prestige benefit changing soon, I’m getting serious FOMO about the 50k ThankYou points and even potentially the 4th night free benefit (when I do travel internationally, it’s usually for 2+ weeks).

Was hoping to get some community thoughts on this: should I apply for the Citi Prestige or the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

I feel like you’d probably get denied the CSP based on 5/24 plus the CitiPrestige changing means that I’d recommend getting the Prestige now. I’m assuming you dont have Priority Pass, AA lounge access or Global Entry which includes TSA Precheck so that’s definitely going to make the Prestige worth the annual fee, in addition to the other perks.

[USER=29]@David W[/USER] yeah, my feelings as well. And yes, I don’t have Priority Pass or AA lounge access, though I do have Global Entry (which is fairly useless when flying internationally via SFO, though TSA Pre during holiday travel makes all the difference!).

It will help on arrival at SFO though 😉

Hopefully you have someone you can gift the Prestige’s Global Entry credit to!

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 18811, member: 29″]
Hopefully you have someone you can gift the Prestige’s Global Entry credit to![/QUOTE]

I totally forgot about that being an option, thanks for the reminder!

There have been some reports of exceptions to 5/24 when people have received targeted offers. Personally, I’d apply for both! The Prestige only has a 3k minimum spend which means that you have the balance of your anticipated spend and day to day spending to easily cover the sign up bonuses for both cards.

From my personal experience, I would stay away from CSP despite the targeted offer.