The credit card portfolio from Citi is kind of a mess. There’s the Citi Premier, which is one of the best all-around cards and then there’s everything else. Many of Citi’s cards have a single great benefit but it can be hard to justify getting a card for just one reason.
For example, Citi Rewards+ is a no-annual-fee card that earns ThankYou points. That alone makes it a card to consider for those who don’t wish to pay to have a card that earns points that can be used to pay for travel.
Here are the details of the card. Maybe it will be a good fit for you.
Annual Fee
The Citi Rewards+ card has no annual fee.
Sign-Up Bonus
The Citi Rewards+ card is currently offering 20,000 ThankYou points if you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months after opening your account with this link.
Foreign Transaction Fee
If you use this card internationally, you will pay a 3% foreign transaction fee. It’s best to leave this card at home when traveling outside the U.S. and use a card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee.
Earning ThankYou Points
The Citi Rewards+ earns ThankYou points, which are a type of flexible (transferrable) point. These are the bonus categories for the card:
- 2X points for Supermarkets
- 2X points for Gas Stations
You earn double points on the first $6,000 per year, after which you’ll earn one point per dollar spent.
The card also features a “round-up” feature. The points earned are rounded up to the nearest 10 for every purchase on the card. So if you spend $1 on the card, you receive 10 ThankYou points. If you spend $991, you earn 1,000 points. Maximizing this offer is hard as you’ll need to plan purchases to be just over the nearest $10 to make sense. I could see pumping enough gas to get to $30.01, so you can earn 70 points (30.01 x 2 = 60.02, which would round up to 70 points) instead of 60 points for a $30.00 purchase. Trying to plan out other purchases just to earn extra points isn’t worth the effort for the small number of extra points.
Redeeming Points
If you only have the Citi Rewards+, the ThankYou points you earn can be used to book travel through the Citi Travel Portal at 1 cent per point, or you can transfer your points to JetBlue, Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards or Sears.
Combining points with other ThankYou accounts
If you have a Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card, you can transfer points to those cards. Your points are worth the same 1 cent each as with the Rewards+ to book travel through the Citi portal. However, if you have either card, you’re able to transfer the points to all of Citi’s transfer partners.
- Aeromexico
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
- JetBlue (fixed value program)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Choice Privileges
- Wyndham Rewards
- Sears Shop Your Way (1 point = 10 SYW points)
10% Rebate on Redeemed Points
With the Citi Rewards+ card, you’ll receive a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 ThankYou points redeemed with the card each calendar year. Anecdotal evidence shows that if you transfer your points to YOUR own linked ThankYou account, you’ll receive the rebate even if the points do not come directly from the Rewards+ account.
If you transfer points to a different card member, which is allowed by the ThankYou program, you will not receive the 10% rebate when transferring points nor when the points are redeemed.
0% Interest on Purchases and Balance Transfers For 15 Months
The Citi Rewards+ is offering the following promotional APR offers
Purchase Rate:
0% introductory APR for 15 months from date of account opening; after that your variable APR for purchases will be 15.74% – 25.74% based on your creditworthiness
Balance Transfer Rate:
0% introductory APR for 15 months from the date of first transfer; after that, your variable APR will be 15.74% – 25.74% based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening
Final Thoughts
I have a Citi Rewards+ card and keep it for the 10% rebate on redeemed points. It’s a surprisingly good card for having no annual fee. Since I also have a Citi Premier card, I can transfer points earned with the Rewards+ to partner programs, but I’ve also used points to pay for our flights to Iceland.
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