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I have a bunch of travel cards (yes dozens). Some, like my Delta AMEX Reserve card I spend $60,000 a year on to get both my MQD exemption as well as netting a total of 90,000 SkyMiles and the real bonus 30,000 elite points or bonus MQMs to help me keep my Diamond status each year. Well worth the fee each year but I do work to lower it as much as I can.
Some cards I just get because of the amazing bonus points they offer like the other day when I was approved for the Delta AMEX Gold business card. I am happy to take 50,000 points and $50 for some spending on my newest travel card.
Other cards I get and don’t really spend much at all on like my non-Delta AMEX Platinum business card. I keep that card and pay the $450 annual fee year after year for all the perks it gives me like $200 in incidentals credit each year as well as Gogo passes that even work on international fights (a huge value) as well as Centurion lounge access. Add all this up and I am not paying much “net” for what I get for this expensive card i.e. annual fee. But I don’t really USE this card for much other than bonus points when I ride UBER.
Then we have the Citi BANK Prestige card. Oh my how I love this card. If you are a golfer and don’t have this card you have a real math problem and just don’t get it. Let me explain this as clearly as I can for you:
YOU GET 3 FREE ROUNDS A YEAR
ZERO POINTS ARE NEEDED!
OK I am very sorry for yelling at you but even my buddies I play with I had to tell them over and over and over (did I mention and over) that the rounds cost no points at all and are EXTREMELY valuable.
How valuable? One of my favorite places on the planet to golf is Bay Harbor near Petoski Michigan. The views are just stupidly beautiful with shots that “feel” like you are hitting a ball into the lake. Yeah, it is beyond amazing and stunning. I am in golf bliss when I get to come up here but gosh it is so expensive.
But notice the screen shot above. Did I mention 3 rounds would have cost us each over $700? Oh, and did I mention I get 3 more rounds next year before the next annual fee hits? Did I happen to mention I get $250 credit for incidentals rebated to me (including things like Delta award ticket fees). Then there is GOES $100 credit as well every 5 years. I am not finished – I get Priority Pass with guest privileges (2) as well! There is more and more like if I pay for an airline ticket in full, and have a 3+ hour delay, hotel and other perks kick in. I could go on and on but let’s stay focused on golf today shall we.
But the card has a huge $450 fee (that I clearly really did not net pay $450 for). All the above is also not counting the 50,000 points I got for getting the card and meeting the new card bonus spend btw (as well as all my buddies did too – thanks for using my Citi “BANK” links btw guys). But folks there is a huge issue I have to address with this as it was not simple to book this fall trip for me and my buddies.
You see the Citi golf booking page is beyond frustrating. It ONLY lets you book one player at a time and wants to charge you for the other three. Now I am a tech geek. I know how to make things happen. That cannot be said of everyone and can they do the following:
1) Setup a Citi golf account.
2) Log in and search for the right course
3) Search for the right dates
4) Search for the right tee time
5) Enter all info and book the same as me
Yeah, for some of my golf guys (who I love to death) I am asking “way” to much of them. I cannot book my own and then and send a link for them to all just click on and then they enter all the info following me for the same courses and tee times. I cannot make it “stupid” simple to make sure nothing goes wrong. This is a problem. But there is a solution and it is the Citi Concierge to the rescue. YES they are amazing!.
I was able to have them, with much time and work get ALL of our info, and then do all the work and setup all 3 days of golf and book for us (talk about making the annual fee, or what was left of it, worth while). I am beyond impressed. But it should not be this hard to enjoy this perk. Then again, for this kind of value maybe I should not be complaining at all that it takes a little time and effort. After all, it saved my group almost $3000 this year in green fees alone. Amazing!
So let me say this as plainly as I can – if you are a golfer and have golfing buddies – you are just foolish if you are not talking EACH of them into getting a Citi BANK Prestige card <-LINK. Send them to this post and let them do the math for themselves. – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Are you saying that each one of your foursome has the Citi Prestige card or that Citi Concierge was able to book all four of you on your Prestige without added green fees?
@Kent – We each have the card. But each have to book on their own. The Concierge was able to do all the work for us.
Anyway to book me and a buddy on my prestige? I’m the only guy that has the card. I read about this elsewhere but it just wasn’t clear enough for me to tell heads or tails
@Dave – No. You get the free round and buddy has to pay. Or, as I have shown, have your buddy get the card. CLEARLY worth the fee! 😉
So Citi Concierge was able to book 3 days of golf for your foursome? I thought you can only book the second or third round after you have completed each free round? So I’m assuming Citi Concierge was able to book 3 rounds of “Free Golf” for you in advance? Thanks.
@Brian – They were able to book all 3 days in a row for me and my group. Not all courses will do this. Also we will take advantage of replay rate in the afternoon (out of pocket but MUCH cheaper).
My absolute favorite benefit of this Citbank card. I went to Oahu last week and played two rounds ($210/round) at the Ko Olina golf club courtesy of Citibank. I have influenced four people into getting this card solely for this benefit. They were amazed that they also received 50,000 points AND $200 in airline credit AND a Priority Pass membership AND 4th night free benefit. I hope Chase or AMEX ups the ante and creates a comparable card as far as benefits are concerned. I will renew this card every year as long as the benefits don’t deteriorate.
Hmmm, so would you say that I should be able to have Citi Concierge book 3 rounds at 3 different courses for 3 days in a row for me? Thanks!
@Brian – As long as the course(s) allows advanced booking should be no issue.
@rene Can the concierge book at courses other than the one’s listed on the citi golfswitch site? I found the options for the area I live in to be limited to mediocre clubs, near Washington DC.
My review of this Prestige benefit: I used one of my free rounds on the Big Island in Hawaii. The process was a pain upfront, and awkward when I got the club and they didn’t know anything about my free round because Citi reimburses them much later. Luckily, they trusted me. My understanding is that Citi is trying to change the benefit so that you can use multiple free rounds at the same time (this is what concierge told me), so that you can treat golf buddies to a round or have them reimburse you 😛
@JK – I would call. The process is a bit crazy and I think they are going to change or need to change it to make it better. Be sure you print out the confirmations and bring that to the course. That is PROOF you have pre-paid. Also a perk of using the Concierge is if things go “wonkie” they can fix as they did all the work. 😉
Thanks for the tip about the golf benefit, but I stopped playing because I always had terrible problems with the windmill and the clown’s mouth!
@Mark – I don’t think those course are listed but understand your need to give that game up 🙂
You golf? I’ll have to invite you for a round at Medina country club in medina, mn
@Keith – I love to play badly. Would love to come (just not this week, I would look bad)!
not related to this card, but your Plat AMEX offer. You say 60K, but the mailer I received recently says 15K. Also the mailer says one free companion certificate each year. I didn’t see this offer on the AMEX link? Why the differences?
thanks,
@Larry – Mail offers are often not the same as other others. The BOGOF cert only comes with year two (not year one).
Great highly underrated benefit of the Citibank Prestige card. TPC Sawgrass (currently undergoing reno) $500. Chambers Bay $300. Pasatiempo $200 TPC Scottdale $300. Any TPC course is available. Great courses in Cali and Az too.
Really cool post. Amazing perk if you play golf. Very impressed!
Glad you were able to enjoy it with your buddies! 🙂
I love my Citi Prestige card, but the card design is absolutely horrible. The black mag stripe on black card is hard to see, leading me to have to tell cashiers how to swipe the card every time. Very annoying. Also, the frou frou design as well as the mag stripe has already started to come off after 6 months of use.
@jhonny – Ask for a new card to be sent to you (no charge). My card is much more like a standard card (ie strip on back). I think they found putting it on front was dumb as you say.
@rene – thanks for the pointer! I did call and ask for a new card…looking forward to receiving a more “standard” card.
Since this benefit is going away in 3 days (July 23) do you know if I’m able to book out 3 future dates now and have them “billed” out today? I haven’t used my 3 dates yet and would be remiss to let them go for nothing!
@Avi – My understanding is YES you can book now and it will count. All you have to do is show up at the course and you are good to go.
This is my understanding as well. We are using our last 6 rounds next month. I hope nothing strange happens when we show up at the first course on our golf trip. This has worked seemlessly in the past. This has been the single best credit card benefit I have had (includes centurion lounge).
@HawaiiDreaming – Agree. It was an amazing perk. I will be most sad to see it go.