Have you ever had the same credit card in 3 countries?
A couple of months ago, I got the Citi Prestige Credit Card in UAE. So far, I am loving it. Incidentally, this was the third time I have had this credit card. Do you wonder how?
Read along.
Citi Prestige Card – India
This was my first premium credit card. Also, the first card which I have paid an annual fee for. The fee was INR 20,000+taxes (~$400 back then). It was, at that time at least, one of the most expensive cards you could get your hands on.
The annual fee was offset by vouchers from Taj (a luxury hotel chain in India) and and some bonus miles.
The earning potential was good. It was 1 point per INR 100 (US$ 2) on all spends. Each point could be converted to 4 miles across a number of airline and hotel partners.
But the main reason I had got this card was for the Hilton Gold Membership. This was the only card in India that offered this. I had an upcoming stay at London Hilton on Park Lane for 10 nights. I took advantage of free breakfast and 4th night free. Total savings for breakfast ($50 x 10) and 2 nights ($300 x 2) were $1,100.
There were several other benefits too
- Upgrade to Taj Innercircle Gold
- Complimentary Jade membership of Shangri La’s Golden circle
- Etihad Guest Gold
- Complimentary airport service twice per calendar year (Asia-Pacific only)
- Unlimited airport lounge access with PriorityPass
Citi Prestige Card – USA
This was my third credit card in USA. I got it right after some changes were made to the card and a whooping 75,000 sign-on bonus was announced. The annual fee at $450 was steep, but the bonus points outweighed it fully.
The benefits between the USA and India cards were similar. The transfer partners list was identical barring a few changes to cater to local markets. Lounge access and free 4th night was provided as well.
The earnings were more tilted towards dining and travel
- 3 points per $1 on all air travel and hotel
- 2 points per $1 on dining and entertainment
- 1 point on all other spends
Citi Prestige Card – UAE
The annual fee was AED 1,500 ($400). As a sign-on bonus, I received 30,000 ThankYou points and a further statement credit of AED 1,250 based on minimum spend.
The benefits were in line with the cards in other geographies – status upgrade in hotels (GHA Discovery) and airlines (Qatar / Oneworld). The list of transfer partners is also similar (I miss Avianca though).
In fact, this card looks identical to the US card but is made of plastic.
The earnings rate are also quite good
- 2 ThankYou points per $ spend in local currency
-
3 ThankYou points per $ spend in foreign currency
Final Thoughts
The same card in three countries. I am happy I received the sign-on bonus three times.
Please leave comments below. In particular, I want to know the other countries where Citi Prestige is offered. Perhaps, that is where I would end up next 🙂
How do you get cards in other countries? Do you have to formally live there?
Yes. I have lived at all these places. Not at the same time though.