Best Ways to Earn and Use Citi ThankYou Points in 2022
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The best ways to earn and use Citi ThankYou points in 2022
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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. Citi issues multiple credit cards that earn ThankYou Rewards, including the popular Citi Premier® Card and no-annual-fee options like the Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Custom Cash℠ Card.
When it comes time to use your points, you've got plenty of options. If you prefer simplicity, you can redeem points for cash back — or use them toward travel booked through the Citi portal, gift cards, merchandise, or charitable contributions.
If you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can transfer points to 14 airline and two hotel transfer partners, 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.
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Citi Premier® Card
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Citi® Double Cash Card
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Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
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Citi Rewards+® Card
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 a credit card like the Citi Premier® Card, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, or Citi Rewards+® Card, keep reading to learn more about how you can put your Citi credit card rewards to work for you.
We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
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
- Strong bonus
- Generous bonus categories
- Doesn't offer much in the way of statement credits or other perks
- Citi ThankYou Rewards may not be as convenient as other points for US-based travelers
- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
- 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Citi® Double Cash Card
- No annual fee
- Simple earning structure without confusing bonus categories
- Some cards earn higher rates of cash back on rotating categories
- While it offers a 0% introductory APR for 18 months, that's only on balance transfers, not purchases, so you can't use it to fund a major expense without interest. After those 18 months, it's a 16.24% - 26.24% (Variable) APR.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
- For a limited time, earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.
- Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 16.24% - 26.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
- If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
- There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
- Flexibility to customize rewards by earning 5x points on up to $500 per billing cycle in your top spending category (from a list)
- Generous welcome offer for a no-annual-fee card
- No rotating bonus categories to sign up for or track
- Earn valuable Citi ThankYou points which you can redeem for cash back, travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more
- Only earns 1% back outside of $500 in top spending category each billing cycle
- Foreign transaction fee of 3%
- Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 16.24% - 26.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- No rotating bonus categories to sign up for - as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
- No Annual Fee
- Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash Card℠ account per person.
Citi Rewards+® Card
- Citi rounds up rewards to the nearest 10 points on every purchase
- Long introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers
- No annual fee
- 2x earning at supermarkets and gas stations is capped at $6,000 in purchases per year
- Other Citi cards have welcome bonuses that are more generous
- Foreign transaction fees
- Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com
- For a limited time, earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at restaurants up to $6,000 in the first 12 months and 1 ThankYou® Point per $1 spent thereafter.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 15.74% - 25.74%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- The Citi Rewards+® Card - the only credit card that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase - with no cap.
- Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou® Points on All Other Purchases.
| Card | Welcome bonus offer | Review |
Citi Premier® | 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening | Citi Premier Card review |
Citi® Double Cash Card | $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening | Citi Double Cash Card review |
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card | $200 in cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening | Citi Custom Cash review |
Citi Rewards+® Card | 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in purchases in 3 months from account opening | Citi Rewards+ review |
Citi Premier Card
The Citi Premier® Card is currently the only card open to new applicants that allow transfers to Citi's full list of airline and hotel partners. It's a good time to apply, too, because the card is offering a great welcome bonus of 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening (worth around $1,280 in travel, based on 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 a wide range of 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.
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% 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, the card is offering a welcome bonus of $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. It also 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 16.24% - 26.24% Variable APR.
Citi Custom Cash Card
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is an excellent option, and it's offering a bonus of $200 in cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. That's a decent bonus 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 — so 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 16.24% - 26.24% Variable APR.
Citi Rewards+ Card
With the no-annual-fee Citi Rewards+® Card, you can earn a welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in purchases in 3 months from account opening. New cardholders can also earn 5x ThankYou points on up to $6,000 spent at restaurants for the first 12 months (then 1x).
You'll also earn 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 and purchases for 15 months, followed by a 15.74% - 25.74% Variable APR.
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.
Citi ThankYou Rewards points are worth, on average, 1.6 cents per point based on Insider's points and miles valuations — but how you redeem your points will change the exact value of points.
Transfer your points to airline partners
When you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to applications), you can transfer ThankYou points to Citi's full range of airline and hotel partners, mostly at a 1:1 ratio.
The complete list of Citi ThankYou transfer partners
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges (1:2 ratio)
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
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, 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.
And 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.
There's one non-airline Citi ThankYou transfer partner available to all cardholders — you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Sears Shop Your Way points at a rate of 1:10.
Book travel through the Citi portal
The Citi ThankYou program also offers its own travel portal where you can book flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and even vacation packages. The Citi Travel Portal is an online travel booking platform that works in a similar way to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Orbitz or Expedia.
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 your points for gift cards
You can also redeem your Citi ThankYou points for gift cards to a wide range of retailers, restaurants, and more. You will usually get 1 cent per point with this option, but it depends on the retailer so make sure to check.
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, you should also 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.
Also note that 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, a vacation package, a cruise, and more.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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