Citi ThankYou Premier Card to Replace Citi PremierPass Card Elite Level
Looks like Citi is going to retire its PremierPass Card soon
Yesterday, I received a letter from Citi, informing me that on March 31, 2011, my Citi PremierPass Elite-Level Card will be replaced by the newly launched Citi ThankYou Premier Card. My first reaction was No because the ThankYou Premier Card has a $125 annual fee which I am not willing to pay, even though the fee is waived in the first year. The Elite Level PremierPass Card also has an annual fee, but I got mine four years ago through a deal that eliminated the fee. Therefore, I don’t think I will trade my no-fee card for a fee card. The concern, however, was quickly disappeared because the letter also says that I will continue to pay $0 annual membership fee on the new card, which, after the transfer, will have the same APRs and the same the account number.
To help me better understand the difference between the two cards, a comparison table was attached to the letter. The table is reproduced below because it contains more details on the ThankYou Premier Card benefits than those I listed in my previous post.
Citi ThankYou Premier Card vs Citi PremierPass Card-Elite Level
| Features |  Citi PremierPass Card-Elite Level |  Citi ThankYou Premier Card |
|---|---|---|
| Points for every $1 spend at gas stations, supermarkets, drugstores, parking merchants and for commuter transportation | 2 ThankYou Points | 1.2 ThankYou Points |
| Points for every $1 spent on purchases | 1 ThankYou Point | 1 ThankYou Point |
| Points for each mile flown on any airline | 1 Flight Point | 1 Flight Point |
| Anniversary bonus | No | Yes |
| Account online enrollment bonus | No | Yes |
| Paperless statement enrollment bonus | No | Yes |
| Point expiration | No expiration as long as you make a purchase once every 18 months | No expiration |
| Point cap | Up to 200,000 annually | Unlimited |
| Foreign transaction fee | 3% of the amount of the purchase | No fee |
| Air travel discount | None | 15% discount on airfare |
| Domestic companion ticket program | Unlimited use with minimum fare requirements | 1 companion ticket annually with no minimum fare requirement |
| Concierge service | Yes | Yes |
| Security and protection benefits | Yes | Yes |
| Annual membership fee | $0 | $0 |
| Annual authorized user fee | $0 | $0 for existing authorized users; $50 for new users added after March 31, 2011 |
The main reason I got the PremierPass Card was that it was one of the best travel rewards cards and it is the only travel card I have. Though I don’t travel a lot, I do like to have a airline card on hand for occasional travels. I especially like the Flight Point feature of the PremierPass Card. Now that this benefit is preserved with the new card and there’s no annual fee either, I may just keep the Premier Card. Even though in general I don’t think its rewards are better than those I got from the old PremierPass card, such as for those purchases made at gas stations, supermarkets, etc, it doesn’t bother me too much because I have another card for those categories which earn me 2% cash back.
BTW, even though I will get a new card, I don’t think I will receive the 20,000 bonus ThankYou Points from ThankYou Premier Card for new cardholders.
This article was originally written or modified on . If you enjoyed reading this post, please consider subscribing to my full RSS feed. Or you can also choose to have free daily updates delivered right to your inbox.
Author Info
I got the letter too. My premierepass is my oldest card by far. When I get this new card, will I still keep the history of the old card to help my credit score?
I had a couple of cases before when my cards were closed because the old accounts were transfered to new accounts, usually between different issuers. In those cases, the old cards were shown in credit reports as account closed (just like those accounts that I closed myself) and the credit history was basically terminated. This case, however, I guess it could be different since the account number remains the same, thus the credit history may be preserved, though I am not 100% sure.
David. I’ve had a couple of account conversions with Citi over the years and the account history always stayed the same on my credit reports, except for a small detail, such as converting from a normal card with a standard credit limit, to a “no pre-set spending limit” card, which on your credit report, shows as a blank space for limit.
mile points are no more.
citi convert premier to thank you to get rid of their profit hole.