While the Citi Prestige is a good card all-around, one perk really makes it stand out: 4th Night Free. One of our first posts on this blog was about getting $2000 of value out of our Citi Prestige the first day we had it, in part from using 4th Night Free. That specific hack is impossible now, for reasons we’ll get to, but there’s still plenty of use for this perk when planning a Disney vacation. Let’s talk more about this perk and what value it has at Disney World (and Disneyland, briefly).
Included Hotels (2020 Update)
As of early 2020, we are not seeing any availability for Disney hotels at Disney World in the Citi ThankYou portal, but that doesn’t mean you have no options for a Disney trip. Let’s briefly talk about your options at Disneyland before shifting our focus to Walt Disney World.
Options at Disneyland
Somewhat surprisingly, I am still seeing limited availability for Disney’s hotels at Disneyland in the ThankYou portal. If you’re planning a trip to Disneyland and are already set on staying at a Disney hotel, you’re in luck as you might find huge savings using 4th Night Free.
Options at Disney World
Disney hotels at Disney World seem to have been completely removed from the portal, but you can still use this method for booking:
Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin
Other Official Walt Disney World Hotels
Those hotels—which are not operated by Disney and don’t get the full set of perks of Disney hotels at Walt Disney World, do get the 60-day FastPass+ booking window and Extra Magic Hours.
(Note About Linking Reservations: To get access to these perks, you’ll need to link your reservation to your My Disney Experience account. This can always be a project that could require you calling both Disney and Citi multiple times. I don’t have personal experience doing this with Citi, but I will update this post if/when I do.)
And you can use the portal to book lots of other hotels near Walt Disney World and Disneyland that might not have any special perks. While we think the drop of Disney hotels is huge loss, there are also lots of reasons to consider other hotels, price among them.
Here’s a quick look at sample stays from a weekend in May 2020 using refundable rates (since those are Disney’s standard):
Four Nights at Walt Disney World Dolphin, booked directly — $952
Four Nights at Walt Disney World Dolphin, 4th Night Free — $787
Four Nights at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn (Sun & Fun Offer) — $1910
I chose Boardwalk and Dolphin because they’re about a 5 minute walk apart and have the same transportation options to all four parks, and—separated by 5 minutes on foot—are close to identical dining / nightlife options.
Do I think BoardWalk Inn is a better hotel than Dolphin? Sure. But is it $1000+ better? No. That’s definitely not to say I think everyone should drop their stays at Boardwalk in favor of Dolphin. It’s just to say you should be able to see that opening your mind to some of these other hotels.
Packages / Dining Plans / Etc.
I’ll also add here that booking this way means you won’t be able to book a “package” with tickets or a dining plan. For the most part, this isn’t a huge loss. You’d prefer to buy separate discount Disney tickets anyways, and the savings from Disney Dining plans are…complicated at best.
If you’re looking at booking during the free dining dates, then it might make sense for you to book through Disney to get one of those packages instead of using this method. But keep in mind you’re usually comparing apples (booking a non-Disney hotel with 4th Night Free) to oranges (booking a Disney hotel with free dining) in that situation.
The Citi Prestige
We have a full review of the Citi Prestige, but here's the short version. The Citi Prestige is a premium credit card with a $495 annual fee, a $250 annual travel credit, and a host of other perks, including 4th Night Free.
Using Citi Prestige 4th Night Free
4th Night Free is limited to two uses each year—so use them wisely! You can only book 4th Night Free via the ThankYou.com portal or their associated phone number, 1-800-THANKYOU.
Booking 4th Night Free Online
Booking 4th Night Free Bookings on ThankYou.com is easy. First, login to the Citi ThankYou portal at ThankYou.com
Use the site like you would Booking.com or Hotels.com, searching for your intended location and dates. For Walt Disney World stays, we’ll typically search for hotels near Orlando, Kissimmee, Lake Buena Vista, or Bay Lake, Florida. For Disneyland stays, use Anaheim, California.
As of early 2020, we’re seeing no hotels operated by Disney at Disney World (Disneyland still has some), but as we discussed above there are plenty of partner hotels, (not all of them as expensive as the Four Seasons).
You’ll see a variety of rooms offered. The righthand side lists prices with both the total rate and the “points + cash” format. The “Avg/Night” amount listed doesn’t have 4th Night Free applied but the “Total” amount listed is with the 4th Night Free benefit applied.
Once you click book the room, you’ll have the option to choose to use points, and you’ll then be taken to put in the standard details needed to book a hotel. You’ll pay the entire amount upfront, with the 4th Night Free already discounted.
4th Night Free applies to pre-tax rates, which is why it won’t just be 25% off the bottom line. The cardholder must be the primary person named on the reservation, and you cannot get 4th Night Free for concurrent reservations or consecutive reservations at the same hotel.
Citi ThankYou vs. Other Sites
You should always compare the prices on Citi to prices you find on other sites. If a hotel costs $400 per night on ThankYou but only $250 on Expedia, then you can spend either:
$400 x 3 = $1200 at Citi ThankYou with 4th Night Free
$250 x 4 = $1000 at Expedia
Obviously 4th Night Free isn’t the best option in that case. Why do things like this happen? Lots of reasons, but here are the big two…
Not all rates are available at all sites, and not all room categories are available at all sites. For example, if ThankYou only has access to suites at a hotel and you only need a standard room, then you won’t want to book through thank you.
Resort fees. Resort fees won’t put you in the exact situation above, but here’s an example of how a theoretical resort fee could chip away at 4th Night Free:
$100 / night + $50 / night resort fee booked directly through hotel — $600
$100 / night + $50 / night resort fee booked via 4th Night Free — $500
The key here is that by calling part of a room rate a “resort fee,” that amount won’t be discounted with 4th Night Free. So in this example, you only get $100 off instead of $150, even though you’re paying $150 per night for the stay.
Finally, we need to remind you of one other new rule—the two uses per year. Now that you can only use 4th Night Free twice per year, it might not make sense to use it just for a $50 or even $100 saving. This will vary by your annual travel situation, but it’s worth keeping in mind when you find a Citi rate that just beats another rate.
For example, in 2019 one of my uses was for $500 savings in Charleston, North Carolina. I rarely spend that much per night on Disney World stays, so I’m glad I found a way outside of my Disney travel to make use of the perk.
Combine 4th Night free With A Split Stay For Bigger Savings
Remember, 4th Night Free won't help you if you're staying only three or fewer nights. Your savings are also relatively smaller if you stay five, six, or seven nights because (again) the discount is 25% of your first four nights.
If you’re staying eight nights at the same hotel you do not get 25% off twice, even if you make two separate bookings. However, if you spend four nights at two different hotels for an eight-night stay, you can use 4th Night Free on both stays.
This strategy was a lot more valuable back when Disney hotels were included because splitting a stay between Disney hotels is super easy. Nowadays, you’d want to split your stay between the Swan & Dolphin or between two Disney Springs Resort Area hotels.
The Swan & Dolphin are about 3 minutes apart walking, and the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels vary, but are about 10 minutes apart max. And again this only works if you’re spending 8 nights or more at Disney World.
Final Thoughts on 4th Night Free at Disney
As we’ve said, the value of 4th Night Free is limited these days, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find times when it works for you. And when it does, it can be a useful way to shake up your plans.
For example, 4th Night Free can be a good way to fit a no parks day into your plans. Then there's the time we used 4th Night Free to rearrange our dates and save on our flights. We added a night to the beginning of our trip and booked a late flight out instead of the more expensive flight the next morning that we had planned to take. We saved $116 on flights being able to fly in at night.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And at 180 days out it's time to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World FastPass+ strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom FastPass, Epcot FastPass, Animal Kingdom FastPass, and Hollywood Studios FastPass.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.