Better 50,000 Citi ThankYou Premier Offer In Branch?

[VRHunter]

Ever since Citi ThankYou points have become 1:1 transferable to Singapore Airlines I've been interested in signing up/accruing ThankYou points. It seems like it would be a good time for Citi to heighten the bonus on the ThankYou Premier card to coincide with this transferability but I haven't seen any special offers lately.

The regular offer is a bit undesirable because you have to pay the $125 annual fee to realize the full 50,000 signup bonus:
Earn 20,000 points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Earn 30,000 points after another $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of your second year of being a cardmember. Redeem 50,000 points for up to $500 in gift cards, up to $625 for airfare or other great rewards.

The in-branch offer (image above) gives 30,000 points after $3,000 in purchases and, more importantly, 20,000 points after $15,000 in purchases within the first 12 months.

The way I read it you don't have to pay the annual fee to get the full 50,000 points with the in-branch offer.

The wording at the top of the flier implies you have to have an existing relationship with Citi:
Enjoy great rewards and more convenience when you add a Citi credit card to your relationship.

This has me considering the $400 CitiGold offer in conjunction with this 50K ThankYou Premier offer.

Does anyone has experience with this or a different interpretation of the offer?

 

[Fuerza]

Call me jealous for you guys with Citi Bank branches in your area!

 

[VRHunter]

I went back to the branch this morning and applied for this card.
I've never applied for a credit card in-branch so I wasn't sure how it would go.

It was unclear whether this offer required a CitiGold account, or a banking relationship with Citi.
I have no banking relationship with Citi and the bank rep said none was needed.

He took down my information. It took about 20 minutes.
He then said "you're all set".
I'm like "was I approved?"
"You'll find out in 7-10 business days".
Doesn't he know I read Saverocity and I need answers pronto!?

I asked if he could provide me an application number or a phone number to call to check status.
He said I should just call him back later in the week.

About an hour later I called the reconsideration line (800-763-9795 (Credit Dept.)) just as if I'd applied online.
They found my application by SSN and approved it without needing to move around existing credit lines (I've got a few Citi AA cards already from the past year).
The Citi reps are always so friendly in my experience. Must be a South Dakota thing.
The rep confirmed the offer terms: 30K after $3k spend in the first 3 months, an additional 20K after $15k total spend in the first 12 months.

I hadn't realized this card gives 3X on the broad "entertainment" category which includes amusement parks.
Headed to Disney in October so that will be useful.

Overall, I think this is a nice card to work in the mix especially for folks with a fair amount of reimbursed business spend on dining/entertainment.