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The Citi Prestige® Card offers the fourth night free on paid hotel stays if you book through its designated travel agent. This benefit can save you a lot more than 25% on your next hotel stay.
4th Night Free on Hotel Stays
From the terms and conditions of the benefits of the Prestige Card:
You will enjoy a complimentary fourth night with no black-out dates, when you book four consecutive nights at any hotel booked by a personal travel advisor designated by MasterCard (the “designated travel advisor” is Carlson Wagonlit Travel). Bookings made through other methods such as, travel agents, websites or directly with a hotel will not qualify.
To receive your complimentary night (via a statement credit) you must:
- Make a reservation for a minimum, consecutive four-night stay by contacting the Citi Prestige Concierge, to book directly with a designated travel advisor
- Fully pay for your stay with a Citi Prestige Card
If you book the award through the Citi Prestige’s travel agent, you will get the actual cost of the fourth night plus taxes credited back to your Citi Prestige statement.
You don’t get 25% of the cost of the stay credited back; you get the actual fourth night’s cost credited back. That means that if you book a four-night stay such that the last night is the most expensive night, you can save a lot more than 25% on your stay.
Examples (New Year’s Eve in Times Square & Las Vegas)
My first thought was New Year’s Eve in Times Square as a time when prices probably spike from one night to the next. If you search for a December 28 to January 1 stay on hyatt.com, the Hyatt Times Square New York shows an average daily rate of $652.
On the payment page, you can get a nightly breakdown. The rate jumps from $449.10 to $1260 (WHOA) per night on the last night.
If you booked this stay with a Citi Prestige® Card, you would save $1,260 of the $2,607.30 subtotal, which is almost 50%. The total saved after taxes would be roughly the same percentage, so you’d be looking at a savings of about $1,360 on a $3,005.88 bill.
Similarly, though on a smaller scale, room rates in Las Vegas seem to spike on Tuesdays. A Tuesday through Saturday stay at the Bellagio in Las Vegas would have an average nightly price of $219.
But in fact, the last night costs $279, which is about 31% of the subtotal.
The Bellagio charges a resort fee. I am not sure if that is refunded for the fourth night. Unfortunately the words “resort fee” do not appear in the definitive FlyerTalk thread on the fourth-night-free benefit.
FAQ About Fourth Night Free
How does it work?
To receive your complimentary night (via a statement credit) you must:
- Make a reservation for a minimum, consecutive four-night stay by contacting the Citi Prestige Concierge by calling the number on the back of your card
- Fully pay for your stay with a Citi Prestige Card
Does the rate through the Citi Concierge match the hotel’s rate online?
Yes. If it doesn’t, point that out to your Citi travel agent.
Do you get your status benefits for the stay? Do you get earn points and status for the stay?
In all the cases I’ve seen reported, yes.
When do you get the statement credit?
It can take several weeks after your stay. It took the Frequent Miler’s credit about four weeks to show up.
Do you earn 3x points on the rest of the hotel purchase?
The Citi Prestige® Card offers 3 points per dollar for airfare and hotel purchases. You get 3x points on your hotel stay on top of the fourth night free by taking advantage of this benefit of the Prestige.
What hotels can I book at that qualify for the fourth night free?
The following excerpt is taken from my own Prestige accounts’ explanations of benefits:
So, pretty much any publicly available rate for any hotel should work except for the type of accommodations listed in the exclusions in #7.
What about those promotions hotels often run for a “fifth night free”? Could I also get the fourth night of my hotel stay reimbursed if I put the reservation on my Citi Prestige® Card?
YES! The key is finding a reservation that will be billed in a way that shows a full rate for the first four nights and the fifth night as costing $0 (instead of five nights averaged down to the cost of four). To check this, you have to follow the reservation past the front-end advertisement– often times there it looks like it’s priced per night– and go through all the steps of booking you can without actually paying for it. You should be able to see the itemized pricing in the final steps.
Read get your fourth AND fifth night free with the Citi Prestige to learn the specifics of how to do it.
Bottom Line
The Citi Prestige® Card offers the fourth night free on all paid hotel stays that you book by calling the number on the back of your card.
Instead of rebating the average cost of one room night, you get the fourth night free. If you time your stays, so the fourth night is the most expensive, you can save well over 25% with this benefit.
Stays earn points and status, and you can use your status in the stays.
This benefit is an amazing throw in for some people. If the fourth night free on hotel stays isn’t worth much to you, the Citi Prestige® Card is a must have because it offers 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open, $250 in airfare or airline fee credits per calendar year, access to Priority Pass lounges, and 3x points per dollar on air travel and hotels.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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Thanks you figured out a better way for the 4th nite. BUT remember you must have the card to get the refund and it could be TWO billing cycles (5 weeks) to get it so don’t muck it up and cancel it to early .
What about Wifi? When I look up SPG properties it says you guy purchase Hi Speed Wifi, but if you book directly thru SPG you get Wifi free. If you book thru this third party do those benefits still apply, with or without status?
On all the reports, I’ve read benefits have applied, but I haven’t read about whether these stays get free wifi.
Non-fourth-night question on this card:
If I’m an authorized user on my wife’s card will that still get me Priority Pass lounge access with guests?
Authorized user does NOT get AA lounge access.
Authorized user DOES get Priority Pass Select lounge access (plus 2 free guests).
Can you be tricky and do 3 nights in a standard room and the last night in a suite? Or does the 4 night stay have to be all the same room type?
I really doubt it, but if you figure out a way, please share!
Do all 4 nights have to be the same room type? For example, could you stay the first 3 nights in a standard room and change to a suite the 4th night?
Lisa , Erika ..YES reread his post whatever the 4th nite is you get it refunded . Hotel will let you do ANYTHING as in money for them .. I wonder about Taxes and Fees because Hotels.com ONLY does room cost.
CALL and ASK then we will all know !!!!!!!!!!!!
Almost certainly, but if you figure out a way to go that, please share.
Anyone know if you can book two rooms with this deal? I was told that they could not. The 4h night is only for 1 room. This kinda sucks for family travel if you want to grab two adjoining rooms. I don’t see anything in the fine print. Anyone else?
Below are the full terms. The only relevant line is the last one assuming that one person can literally only “use” one room in a night. Have you tried booking one room for four nights then calling back to book a second room for four nights? I’m not sure it would work, but it might.
“You will enjoy a complimentary fourth night with no black-out dates, when you book four consecutive nights at any hotel booked by a personal travel advisor designated by MasterCard (the “designated travel advisor” is Carlson Wagonlit Travel). Bookings made through other methods such as, travel agents, websites or directly with a hotel will not qualify.
To receive your complimentary night (via a statement credit) you must:
Make a reservation for a minimum, consecutive four-night stay by contacting the Citi Prestige Concierge, to book directly with a designated travel advisor
Fully pay for your stay with a Citi Prestige Card
Receive one complimentary night (room rate for the fourth night and applicable taxes only) for any consecutive four-night hotel stay booked directly with a MasterCard designated travel advisor. Hotel imposed fees and incidental guest charges are the Cardmember’s responsibility. The value of the complimentary night will be the actual rate, as provided by the designated travel advisor, on that fourth night of the reservation, even if the rate is different from the rate on other nights. Cardmember will be charged the total cost of the stay at checkout and will receive a credit to the credit card statement for the cost of the fourth night (and the applicable taxes). If the cardmember books a special “pre-paid” rate this may require upfront payment in full, at time of booking. Payment in full is defined as pre-payment for the total of all four consecutive nights. Only one complimentary night is eligible per each stay. A stay is consecutive nights booked and stayed on one reservation and does not include back-to back stays. Back-to back stays are stays at the same hotel booked on two reservations (as an example, you book four nights at a hotel on one reservation for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and book another four nights on another reservation for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In this situation, you would only be eligible for one complimentary night for the 8 night stay). Rates provided will be equal to or lower than the lowest publicly-available fare at the hotel’s official website. The benefit can only be used by the primary account cardholder.”
Thanks for the reply! I will see what happens and share.
[…] deal makes sense if you have a $1,000+ hotel stay coming up AND don’t have hotel points AND getting the fourth night free with the Citi Prestige® Card isn’t cheaper than saving than this $350 […]
What about more modest hotels–Holiday Inn Express or Ibis? Any way to find out which hotels or chains are available through CWT before applying for the card and then calling the personal advisor? Not all travelers are aiming for Hyatts. The CWT website isn’t informative.
It looks like there is no way to find out before having the card and calling. Just consider this a throw in benefit that may have no use but may have a lot. It’s unfortunately a wild card.
I used the 4th night benefit at a Best Western in June. I actually booked five nights because we were flying on a Monday. Saturday night (the most expensive night) was the Free night.
It just has to be a commission able rate. I have a Marriott friends and family rate that gets me good discounts but it can’t be booked because it’s not commission able. That’s why conference rates can’t be used in most cases.
Thanks for the data point!
I called Citi to make a 4-night reservation and take advantage of the 4th-night free offer. Unfortunately, the agent said the free night offer would not apply to the hotel I wanted. I asked if there was a website or a list I could use to research hotels, and I was told there was not. After some prodding, the agent told me the properties eligible for the 4th-night-free offer were almost entirely 5-star properties, but some select cities may have a 4-star property or two. So it turns out we may not take much advantage of this benefit after all.
Thanks for the info. I’ll look into this more when I get back to a place with reliable internet/phone.
About what I gathered from the conversations. This and other websites also discuss the complexity of making these reservations. Maybe worth it to save $1000, but more questionable for $100.
[…] More info: How to Save More than 25% Off Any Hotel Stay with Citi Prestige’s Fourth Night Free Benefit […]
[…] benefit that gives you the fourth night free on paid hotel stays that you pay with your card: How to Save More than 25% Off Hotel Stays with Citi Prestige’s Fourth Night Free Benefit. Simply book your stay of 4+ nights through the Prestige’s concierge service, pay with your […]
[…] Card‘s benefit that gives you the fourth night free on hotel stays that you pay with your card: How to Save More than 25% Off Hotel Stays with Citi Prestige’s Fourth Night Free Benefit. Simply book your stay of 4+ nights through the Prestige’s concierge service, pay with your […]
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[…] Full article on Fourth Night Free Benefit. […]
[…] That’s especially true if I’m looking at a four night hotel stay, since the Citi Prestige® Card offers the fourth night free on paid hotel stays, which is an ~25% rebate (more if you’re doing it right.) […]
Scott: I’m pretty new to this whole world but had a disappointing experience with the Citi Prestige concierge service. The hotel that I had already booked was almost $200 a night more expensive through Citi than the rate I got (I got a conference rate but they quoted the same rate as on the hotel website). The fourth night free would have cost me hundreds of dollars. The quality of the service was subpar as well (broken promises about getting back to me, long hold times, etc). This is in sharp contrast to the excellent values and service I have gotten with AMEX Platinum. I will certainly get my moneys worth from the card but don’t ever expect to benefit from the 4th night free after my initial experience. If Citi is trying to compete with AMEX on the expensive card front I think they have a ways to go. I look forward to additional comments on the comparing the two cards from others.
1. Give 4th night free more chances. From reading about a lot of experiences, sometimes it is free money and sometimes it isn’t a good deal because Citi’s best rate isn’t the best rate.
2. Prestige is better than Platinum in a lot of ways. $250 Air Travel Credit vs. $200 Airline fee credit is better in two ways.
3. Comparison of cards: https://milevalu.wpengine.com/citi-prestige-vs-american-express-platinum-better-card/
[…] other benefits like access to the American Airlines Admirals Clubs and Priority Pass lounges, the fourth night free on hotel stays, 3x points per dollar on air travel and hotels, and 2x points on dining and entertainment. $250 […]
[…] I used my entire $250 credit for 2015 up on my first statement. I’ll get a new $250 Air Travel Credit starting in January 2016, and I will undoubtedly use it up before my second annual fee is due in May 2016. That means I will have gotten $500 in free airfare and award fees for my first $450 annual fee. I already come out ahead before factoring in my 50,000 bonus points, airport lounge access, $100 Global Entry credit, three free rounds of golf, and the fourth night free on paid hotel stays. […]
[…] the fourth night free on paid hotel stays […]
[…] Fourth night free on all hotel reservations booked through Prestige’s travel agency. […]
I did use the fourth night free for a 90$ ish hotel in Chicago successfully
I tried to use it for an upcoming Asia trip and I found Agoda or Hotels.com to be a much better deal
Did you try showing the better rate to the Citi travel agent when you call to book? They should match it as long as it’s an eligible rate.
I have a business trip that stays for 12 days in a hotel. Can I break the reservation into consecutive three 4-night reservations, and get three 4th night credits back?
Nope, read the terms and conditions he posted. You can’t to back to back stays and get more than one free night
No, unfortunately that won’t work. If you stayed in three different hotels in the same area (4 nights each), that would work.
[…] all, I'd be interested to hear of any differences between the way the US card works in How to Save More than 25% Off Any Hotel Stay with Citi Prestige’s Fourth Night Free Benefit | … and the Australian card in practice. For example would the trick of making the 4th night NYE work? […]
[…] Full article on Fourth Night Free Benefit. […]