Executive Summary -
I guess when Citi decided to offer 2 weekend nights as their sign up bonus, they wanted to frame it in such a way as to avoid direction comparisons with other HIlton cards (especially from American Expres). However, based on our analysis, this sign up bonus can be worth up to 100,000 points. Read on to understand why.
As with most affinity cards, Citi offers an incentive for you to sign up for the card. When you spend $2,500 within the first 4 months, you will receive 2 weekend nights stays. The stays applies to standard rooms.
Question is how much is the weekend stays worth? According to Citi's website, they are good for category 1 to 7 hotels. If you were to check out Hilton HHonors website, you'll find that you need 50,000 points for a category 7 hotel. That means that the bonus is worth potentially 100,000 bonus points.
You could obviously use it on a category 1 hotel (which requires 7,500 points per night). But that would be a waste.
In constrast, the American Express Surpass Card gives new cardholders up to 60,000 points in sign up bonus. You earn 40,000 when you get approved and an additional 20,000 after your first $3,000 spend on the card. That will be enough for one night's stay in a category 7 hotel.
So the Citi version is definitely more valuable.
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