One of the best benefits of the Citi Prestige card is its Fourth Night Free benefit for hotel stays. For stays of 4 nights or longer, you’ll receive a credit for the average room rate price during your stay. That is, until September 2019 when two major changes to this benefit take effect:
- You can only use the Fourth Night Free benefit twice a calendar year
- All bookings must be made on the Citi ThankYou website or by calling 800-THANKYOU. All bookings will be prepaid, either with cash or by using your ThankYou points.
I’m not happy about these changes but I was glad Citi gave almost an entire year notice before the changes took effect. Any bookings made before September 1, 2019, are still under the current rules. That means you can book through the Citi Concierge instead of through the ThankYou portal. Concierge bookings allow you to use any publically available discounts (Loyalty Member Rate, AAA Member), which can save a bunch of money over a four-night stay. Using the concierge also allows you to book a rate where you can pay at the hotel and still receive your loyalty benefits and credit for your stay. ThankYou bookings don’t receive either of those benefits.
So I’m using the Fourth Night Free benefit as much as I can before September and trying to lock in as many reservations I can for next year.
In February 2019, we completed a stay booked through the Citi Concierge and noticed a big change between how I received my credit now and the last time I used the benefit.
It took three months to receive my credit
We checked out of the hotel on 2/20. I received this email on 5/20.
To give a frame of reference, the last two times I used the Fourth Night Free benefit, it took 11 days and 16 days, respectively, for the credits to post.
Now, this reimbursement timeframe does just fall within the terms of the benefit:
All statement credits will be reflected on the Citi Prestige card statement as being a result of the Program and will appear within two billing periods following the month in which travel was completed; or in the case of promotional “pre-paid” rates, the credit will be reflected within two billing periods following the date of payment in full of the “pre-paid” rate.
So two billing periods after the stay was completed can be almost three months, depending on the timing of the stay.
I’d never make a conclusion based on a single data point but I found a thread on FlyerTalk where several members were commenting about the long delay in receiving their credits for stays made through the Citi Concierge.
Is Citi Slowing Down Credits on Purpose?
I hate to be cynical but when dealing with banks but it’s hard to think otherwise. Citi obviously doesn’t like it when people book through the concierge instead of through the ThankYou website; that’s why they’re taking away that option in a few months. Could they be slow-walking the credits for concierge reservations so that when you need to book through the website starting in September, you’ll be happy you’re getting the credit at the time of the booking instead of having to wait for months to get your money back?
What other reason could there be for a system that used to be able to make payments in two weeks to now take up to three months?
I eventually got my money back and I didn’t have to fight with Citi to receive it. They paid me within the time stated in the terms of the benefit. This isn’t going to stop me from making bookings through the concierge up until that option goes away. There’s too much benefit in doing so as opposed to booking a prepaid rate at Thankyou.com. I’ll just expect that it will take months to get my money back instead of weeks?
Is anyone else having the same problem with Citi and the Fourth Night Free benefit?
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
12 comments
I experienced the same thing. I had 3 stays in March and had to call in May to get them processed. One is still outstanding.
They are. Mine have been 3 months now when it used to be a week or 2 later
Yes, same thing for two reservations in March. Just got the one credit. Still waiting for the other.
Citibank customer service is such a train wreck that I simply go to the OCC office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the bank’s regulator) and file a complaint. This forces Citibank to respond in writing to me. No waiting on hold, no talking to people who have no idea what’s going on. Always a clear, timely response from the bank. A huge amount of work on their part but hey, too bad. post the damn credits.
Data points: 1) Check out date 02/11 credit posted 04/29 stay # 2: check out date 04/11 no credit yet
Ditto. 2-3 months for payment of the 4th night benefit. Combined with the cumulative losses since card inception, it is going to be difficult to justify Prestige going forward, as it has lost much of whatever it had.
I checked out 3/17. Still no credit.
This happened to me as far back as mid-November, for a stay in Egypt. It took the full 3 months for me to get the credit. The other issue to consider is it forces you to keep the card for another year, if your annual fee falls due before you get your reimbursement(s).
It could be a retention tool for them as well – if your annual fee comes due before the credit posts, it could be hard to justify cancelling as the free night savings could largely offset the annual fee. I’ll have to keep that in mind – in that case, it could be worth doing prepaid reservations now, even through the concierge, to be sure to get the credit.
I had a pre-paid, nonrefundable rate booked in early Feb. Stay ended 3/7. JUST got the credit around 5/15. Ridiculous.
Maybe CITI has been too busy illegally gaming FOREX rates to process your credits? Or maybe they had to slow pay you as they were short on cash after being fined by EU antitrust regulators? Have a heart and cut the poor bank some slack….
Most everyone here is overreacting. It is what Matt B says, and have no issue with it. I save about $450/month through this benefit and the rebates that once took 10-15 days to post are now taking about 75-80 days, but they always get paid without intervention. Chill folks.
I’m not sure it’s an over-reaction. I haven’t been reimbursed for the last two 4th night free stay credits, one of which was completed 75+ days ago. When I called in to discuss, Citi claimed they “were behind” and would pay it out in 7-10 business days. Needless to say, I’m still waiting.
Company policy is within 2 billing cycles and my stays both fall into the 3rd billing cycle now without reimbursement.