Citibank Travel Program: Price Match Guarantee

[kamchatsky]

Just got my statement today and got a leaflet on their new Price Match Guarantee on their Citibank Travel Programs:

https://citibank.com.au/takeflight/price_match.htm


T&Cs:
Citibank Australia

Interesting.

 

[oz_mark]

There is another thread on this, although no one has said they have used it yet. I will be trying it shortly.

Sent from my HTC Legend using AustFreqFly

 

[trippin_the_rift]

could be interesting when used in conjunction with platinum one ability to open almost any seat at classic seat price.

is the citibank travel program booked into a paid fare class?

 

[kamchatsky]

could be interesting when used in conjunction with platinum one ability to open almost any seat at classic seat price.

is the citibank travel program booked into a paid fare class?

Yes, you should get miles and SCs with it.

 

[oz_mark]

Here's the previous thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ram/citibank-price-match-guarantee-35663.html

could be interesting when used in conjunction with platinum one ability to open almost any seat at classic seat price.

is the citibank travel program booked into a paid fare class?

Your problem with opening a seat at classic price may be with the documentation requirement for getting the status match. Basically you have to be able to provide screen shots showing it was available.

They say that the fare may book into a class that gives FF points, but note that you may not get to choose which airline you end up on!

 

[beardoc]

Here's the previous thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ram/citibank-price-match-guarantee-35663.html



Your problem with opening a seat at classic price may be with the documentation requirement for getting the status match. Basically you have to be able to provide screen shots showing it was available.

They say that the fare may book into a class that gives FF points, but note that you may not get to choose which airline you end up on!

And that's the kicker - you might find yourself on an airline that you're not happy with! At least you can decide after they show you their quote as to whether you're going to accept their offer or not. You're not locked in.

But it does mean you might miss out on lounge access, etc. because you may not be with OneWorld.

I like the principle, though - it could be possible to get much more value out of your Citibank Rewards this way!

 

[oz_mark]

I like the principle, though - it could be possible to get much more value out of your Citibank Rewards this way!

I put in a claim yesterday, partly to see how it works, how long it takes etc. The consultant I spoke to made a big thing about them matching with a comparable airline, so I guess it has come up! Will report back next week as to the outcome....

 

[beardoc]

I put in a claim yesterday, partly to see how it works, how long it takes etc. The consultant I spoke to made a big thing about them matching with a comparable airline, so I guess it has come up! Will report back next week as to the outcome....

Yes - and the T and Cs mention that THEY get to deem what a comparable airline is, not the customer.

 

[oz_mark]

Just an update to the way the program works in practice, after discussing with a consultant:

While they will match the points requirment to a classic award, the amount of extra payments (under the taxes/surcharges banner) is closer to what you would expect from a ASA. Basically the points are used against the commissionable charges, while non commissionable items end up as 'taxes'

In addition, there is a $45 booking fee from pinpoint to pay.

All in all, while the points are the same, you do end up paying more in TLC, compared to a Classic Award.

From a charging perspective, your card gets charge the TLC, plus a conversion of the points amount a 1 point = 1c. So, if the redemption points is 30000, an amount of $300 will be also charged to your credit card. At a later point (2 weeks), the 30,000 points will be taken from your rewards account and a $300 credit will appear on your credit card.

(And as I understand it, you will earn points on that $300 as well)

 

[xquisite]

I wonder what they mean about the Award having to be available "for the same time period as you are looking to book." For those of us with lowly QFF status it's very difficult to find availability with J class fares. I wonder if an available seat in, say, the same month would be considered a close enough "time period" or whether it's same day? If the former this could be a good program for availability's sake alone.

 

[xquisite]

The "comparable airline" will no doubt prove the issue. Someone made a crack on the earlier thread about whether Garuda would be comparable to Qantas. Well, seeing they are both rated 4 Star by Skytrax I guess the answer could well be Yes. :shock:

 

[oz_mark]

I ran my test using a domestic flight, so was expecting that Virgin Australia may be the comparable airline, but they offered Qantas.

The main issue that I ran into was that it was a J flight, and GST falls into their non commissionable component, and since they are basically paying for (in my case) a D class fare, the tax component was higher than I was expecting. May well work differently if trying it on an overseas flight (but then there are various other taxes, surcharges etc)