Every now and then, your credit card issuer might surprise you with a special offer to earn extra rewards. These spending incentives are a clever way to get you to swipe—or tap—your card more often, especially if it’s been sitting in your sock drawer for a while. And while they often seem straightforward, some banks (we’re looking at you, Citi) like to make the math a bit more… creative.
Why Banks Send Spending Offers
Spending offers can take many forms: bonus points, cashback multipliers, or statement credits after hitting a specific threshold. The goal? Encourage cardholders to increase usage. For banks, more swipes mean more transaction fees, and for you, it’s a chance to pick up extra rewards for purchases you may already be planning to make.
These offers are often tied to a specific spending window and have a cap on the number of bonus points or dollars you can earn. For example, here’s one we previously received on our JetBlue Plus Card from Barclays:
It’s simple: earn 10 bonus points per dollar spent, up to 2,500 bonus points. That means you’ll max out the offer by spending $250. Clear, easy, and exactly what you’d expect.
Citi’s Bonus Offers Come With Fine Print
Things get a bit murkier with Citi. If you’ve ever had a Citi ThankYou card, you’ve probably seen offers that seem equally generous at first glance. Here’s one example:
This appears to be a 5X points offer, correct? But if you read the fine print, it’s actually a 4X bonus—because you already earn 1X on everyday purchases. So even though the offer is capped at 2,500 bonus points, you’d need to spend $625, not $500, to fully take advantage:
Earnings associated with this program will equal 4 bonus ThankYou Point(s) per $1 spent on eligible purchases and may overlap with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. Bonus points awarded with this offer are subject to a maximum of 2,500 additional points.
In other words, Citi’s offers aren’t misleading—but they do require a little math to figure out exactly how much to spend and what you’ll actually earn.
Final Thought
If you get a spending offer from a credit card issuer, it’s often worth enrolling, especially if the bonus aligns with purchases you were already planning. Just remember to check the fine print and do the math, particularly with Citi’s ThankYou points offers. It’s easy to leave rewards on the table if you assume the headline numbers tell the whole story.
These targeted offers can show up via email, app notifications, or your online account dashboard. So keep an eye out—you might be able to score some easy extra points or cashback with just a few extra swipes.
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1 comment
Thank you for pointing out this fine print! I have an offer with the same language and probably have been doing it wrong.