Back in October, Citi announced numerous changes to their Prestige card, some positive and some negative. One positive change mentioned then was cell phone protection, slated to begin on May 1, 2019.
We didn’t have many details until today when Citi PR sent out the information. Here’s what we’ve learned:
- Cell phone protection will be valid on up to $1,000 per claim for damage or theft of cell phone.
- Valid on up to five eligible cell phones when the monthly cell phone bill is paid with the Prestige card.
- Max $1,500 per year.
- $50 deductible per phone.
- Cardmembers will be able to easily file claims online.
This is quite good coverage as all other cell phone insurances are only valid up to $600 per claim. In today’s day and age, that often only covers half the value of the phone. The $50 deductible is slightly higher than some others who have a $25 deductible, but overall I’d say this is solid protection when compared to the alternatives.
We have a full comparison post on cell phone coverages in this dedicated post, along with a table to easily compare the various options. We’ll have to add the Citi Prestige to that table as well.
The downside to using Prestige on your cellular bill is that only earns 1x points whereas the INK Preferred earns 3x. On the other hand, INK Preferred has $100 deductible and a $600 max, so overall I’d think it’s worth it for expensive cell phones, especially if you know you are prone to damaging the phone.
Through Citi’s research, cell phone protection resonated strongly with customers, with 20% of affluent Americans having dropped their cell phone in a toilet, 11% having had it stolen, and 8% even putting it through the washing machine! As such, cell phone protection can be an immensely valuable benefit for cardmembers.
Citi is really looking forward to launching this added benefit for Prestige cardmembers. Citi sees the benefit as a strong complement to the existing reward structure, which features 5X ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on air travel and restaurant purchases, 3X ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on hotels and cruise lines, 1X ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on all other purchases, a $250 travel credit…
