Citi has been playing around with the sign up bonus on their cards for a while now, including waiving and not waiving the annual fee. They have decided on increasing the sign up bonus itself now.
The Change
The sign up bonus on the Citi Premier has been increased from 50,000 points up to 60,000 points! However there is something to note here. The annual fee on the 50,000 point offer is waived in the first year, whereas with the increased sign up bonus, it is not waived in the first year.
Final Thoughts
I think the original intent of the change in the sign up bonus was that their biggest competitor, the Sapphire Preferred has a 60,000 point sign up bonus. While the annual fee is not waived on that offer, you could make the case that people see the higher sign up bonus on the Sapphire Preferred, and would chose that one instead.
Still, if you do the math, 10,000 points would be worth about $170 at 1.7 cents per point (TPG). This is just about double the $95 annual fee you would pay, so I think this offer is more valuable. If you happen to have a link to the 50,000 point offer with no annual fee, it may be worth trying to apply for that that, and seeing if Citi would match you to 60,000 points. Citi hasn’t been too kind to AA matches as of late, so that risk is up to you.
Are you excited for the increased offer? Which offer is more valuable to you? Let us know below!