The best ways to earn and use Citi ThankYou points in 2024
Earning Citi ThankYou points is easy with credit cards like the Citi Premier and Double Cash. You can redeem rewards for cash back, travel, and more.
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The Citi ThankYou Rewards program is popular among credit card enthusiasts, in part because there are many ways to earn and redeem points. Some of the very best Citi credit cards earn ThankYou Rewards, including the popular Citi Premier® Card and no-annual-fee options like the Citi® Double Cash Card and the Citi Rewards+® Card (which is currently flaunting its best-ever bonus, worth 40000).
Citi ThankYou Points Guide
You have plenty of options when it comes to redeeming Citi ThankYou points. The simplest route is cashing them out as a statement credit or check. You can also use them toward travel booked through the Citi portal, gift cards, merchandise, or charitable contributions.
But simplicity doesn't always give you the best value. If you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can transfer points to 14 airlines, four hotels, and one retail transfer partner, which include JetBlue, Air France-KLM, Wyndham, and Choice Hotels. Redeeming points this way is often the best way to get maximum value from your Citi points, especially if you redeem for expensive first- or business-class award flights.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, but the point is that the Citi ThankYou program can be lucrative and useful for almost anyone. If you're thinking of applying for one of the best credit cards like the Citi Premier® Card, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, or Citi® Double Cash Card, keep reading to learn more about how you can put your Citi credit card rewards to work for you.
How to Earn Citi ThankYou Points
The easiest way to rack up Citi ThankYou points is with a Citi credit card, which you can easily apply for online. Fortunately, Citi offers several rewards cards geared to different types of spenders and rewards enthusiasts.
One key thing to remember about Citi ThankYou points: If you have multiple Citi cards, you can pool your rewards into a single account and redeem them from there.
Credit Cards that Earn Citi ThankYou Points
Citi Premier® Card
The Citi Premier® Card is currently the only card open to new applicants that offers Citi ThankYou point transfers to Citi's full list of airline and hotel transfer partners. This card offers a great welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus ThankYou® points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening (worth around 96000 in travel, based on Business Insider's valuations). There's a $95 annual fee.
There are plenty of reasons to consider the Citi Premier card other than unlocking lucrative award redemptions. Cardholders earn 3x points in various categories (supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, air travel, and hotels) and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
You'll also get $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through thankyou.com once per calendar year.
Read more in our Citi Premier card review.
Citi® Double Cash Card
The no-annual-fee Citi® Double Cash Card is a great card if you don't want to keep track of bonus categories because it effectively earns 2% cash back (2x points) on all purchases — 1 point per dollar (1%) when you make a purchase and another 1 point per dollar (1%) when you pay it off. For a limited time, you can also earn 5% cash back on hotel and car rentals booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.
The Citi® Double Cash Card offers a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (balance transfers must be completed in the first four months from account opening), followed by a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR.
Read more in our Citi Double Cash card review.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is an excellent option, and it's offering a bonus of $200 cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. That's a decent offer for a no-annual-fee card, but the biggest reason to consider the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is the ability to earn up to 5x rewards on your everyday purchases.
Cardholders earn 5% cash back (awarded as 5x ThankYou points) on up to $500 in purchases in the eligible category they spend the most in each billing cycle (then 1%), and 1% on all other purchases. The categories that qualify are restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment. Most people should find it easy to maximize this bonus.
New cardholders also receive a 0% intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months, followed by a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR.
Read more in our Citi Custom Cash card review.
Citi Rewards+® Card
With the no-annual-fee Citi Rewards+® Card, you can earn an increased welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in the first three months of account opening — worth an average of 40000 in travel when you transfer points to partners. That's pretty incredible for a $0 annual fee credit card. This bonus is 5,000 points higher than the previous offer — making it $80 more valuable.
You'll earn 5x points on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal (offer ends June 30, 2024), 2x points on the first $6,000 spent at supermarkets and gas stations each year (then 1x points) and 1x points on other purchases.
The card also comes with a unique perk: Citi will round up your rewards to the nearest 10 points for each purchase you make. This means that a $1 candy bar would earn you 10 points, a $23 shopping trip at Walmart would net you 30 points, and so on. Cardholders also receive a 10% rebate on all redeemed points each year, on up to the first 100,000 points (maximum rebate of up to 10,000 points per year).
You'll also get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening, followed by a 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR.
Read more in our Citi Rewards Plus card review.
Citi AT&T Points Plus Card
The AT&T Points Plus Card is the new no-annual-fee rewards credit card for AT&T mobile customers. New cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of $100 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Cardholders also earn 3x ThankYou points at gas stations, 2x at grocery stores (including delivery services), and 1x on everything else.
The AT&T Points Plus Card also offers up to $240 annual statement credits after you set your card as the autopayment method on your AT&T wireless bill. You'll earn a $20 monthly statement credit (after spending at least $1,000 in purchases in a billing cycle) or a $10 monthly statement credit (after spending at least $500 in a billing cycle).
Read more in our Citi AT&T Points Plus card review.
How Much Are Citi ThankYou Points Worth?
Citi ThankYou points aren't the most valuable travel rewards you can earn, but they offer high upside thanks to Citi's roster of 14 airlines, four hotels, and one retail transfer partner. These points also have a consistent value floor when you redeem directly with Citi for travel and gift cards, and Citi offers some of the best credit cards on the market right now.
As a result, ThankYou Rewards points have an average redemption value of 1.6 cents per point in Business Insider's most recent points and miles valuations. Read on to learn which redemption options you should target and avoid in order to maximize your return.
How to Use Citi ThankYou Points
While you can get the most from the Citi ThankYou program if you redeem rewards for travel, there are a ton of non-travel options when it comes to cashing in your points. Here are the major redemptions you can choose once you're ready to use your points for travel, merchandise, and more.
Transfer Points to Airline Partners
When you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to applications), you can transfer points to the full range of Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partners, mostly at a 1:1 ratio.
If you don't have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, you only have a handful of transfer options. If you only have the Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi® Double Cash Card, AT&T Points Plus Card, or Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card (not available to new applicants) you can transfer points to Wyndham at a reduced 5:4 transfer ratio, or to Choice at a 1:1.5 ratio.
For all Citi cards (other than the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Prestige® Card), JetBlue is an option with a 5:4 transfer ratio.
While the value you'll get when you transfer points to airlines can vary, you'll get the most bang for your buck if you transfer points so you can book flights in first or business class, or if you focus on itineraries that are unusually expensive to pay for with cash.
Book Travel Through the Citi Portal
The Citi ThankYou travel portal allows you to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and attractions. It's an online travel booking platform that works in a similar way to online travel agencies (OTAs) like Orbitz or Expedia. The Citi Travel Portal began partnering with Booking.com in 2023, expanding the number of hotels available through the portal.
You'll get a value of 1 cent per point when you redeem your points this way, and you can pay in full with Citi ThankYou points, cash, or a combination of both.
Cash in Points for Gift Cards
You can also redeem your Citi ThankYou points for gift cards to various retailers, restaurants, and more. You will usually get 1 cent per point with this option, but make sure to check on the redemption rate before transferring your points to a specific retailer.
Shop With Points
Citi also lets you shop directly with points with retailers like 1-800 Flowers, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Paypal, Shell, CVS, and BP/Amoco. Just remember that you'll typically get less than 1 cent per point in value if you choose this option.
With that in mind, you may want to opt for a cash reward instead so you can use it for the purchases you want.
Get a Statement Credit or Cash Rewards
Finally, the Citi ThankYou program lets you cash in your rewards for cash as a statement credit or cash back at a rate of 0.5 to 1 cent per point, depending on the card. Note that your cash rewards will come in the mail in the form of a check within one to three weeks of redemption, so you should expect some lag time in between.
Other Important Details About the Citi ThankYou Program
Before you sign up for a Citi credit card, it's helpful to know that the Citi ThankYou program lets you pool points with other members. There is no fee to do so, but you can only share up to 100,000 points with other members within a calendar year.
Points transferred to a new account expire within 90 days, so you should have a plan to use your points before you let another person pool rewards in your account.
Either way, the fact you can share points makes the Citi ThankYou program a popular option among couples who travel together. Both partners can sign up for the same rewards credit cards to earn a big bonus, then you can pool your points in one account to redeem for premium airfare, accommodations, rental cars, and more.