BEST CREDIT CARDSBEST CREDIT CARDSCITI PREMIER REVIEW: REWARDS ARE EASY TO EARN, BUT LESS VALUABLE TO BURN

Citi Premier Review: Rewards Are Easy to Earn, but Less Valuable to Burn

Earn 3 points per $1 spent on airlines and hotels, and at gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets (1X back on other purchases). But those points don't go as far as they can with other travel cards.
Erin Hurd Author Avatar
Mar 1, 2024 11:54 a.m. PST
Edited by
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4.9

NerdWallet rating
The bottom line:

This card earns rich ongoing rewards and could be a good deal for those who frequently travel internationally. But other cards offer more useful partners and more expansive definitions of travel.

Pros
  • Bonus categories
  • Rewards don't expire
Cons
  • Has annual fee
  • Requires good/excellent credit
Citi Premier® Card Image
Citi Premier® Card
Annual Fee

$95

Regular APR

21.24%-29.24% Variable APR

Intro APR

N/A

Rec. credit score


Annual Fee

$95

Regular APR

21.24%-29.24% Variable APR

  • Annual fee

    $95

  • Rewards rate

    1x-3x

  • Bonus offer

    Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spend on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

  • Intro APR

    N/A

  • Ongoing APR

    APR: 21.24%-29.24% Variable APR

    Cash Advance APR: 29.99%, Variable

    Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%, Variable

  • Balance transfer fee

    5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.

  • Foreign transaction fee

    0%

More details from Citibank
View Rates and Fees
  • Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Other Hotels
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
  • Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
  • 60,000 ThankYou® Points are redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards 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

Compare to Other Cards

ANNUAL FEE
$95
REGULAR APR
21.24%-29.24% Variable APR
Rates & Fees
INTRO APR
N/A
RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE
ANNUAL FEE
$95
REGULAR APR
21.49%-28.49% Variable APR
INTRO APR
N/A
RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE
ANNUAL FEE
$0
REGULAR APR
17.24%-28.24% Variable APR
Rates & Fees
INTRO APR
0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE
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Detailed review: Citi Premier® Card

The $95-annual-fee Citi Premier® Card offers bonus rewards across popular spending categories, so it could make for a good everyday credit card, especially if you do a lot of international traveling.

But it struggles to live up to the status its name suggests, especially compared with other travel credit cards at the same price point. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, for example, carries the same annual fee but its points can be redeemed for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents each, as compared to the 1 cent value you'll get from your ThankYou points.

Because of some drawbacks in key areas, like point values and transfer partners, it's not so much "premier" as it is middle-of-the-road territory.

There is a nice sign-up bonus, plus a yearly hotel credit that can cover the annual fee. But overall, the Citi Premier® Card falls short of the competition.

🤓Nerdy Tip

Citi made significant changes to the rewards and perks on the Citi Premier® Card that took effect in August 2020, and these changes reduced its value for many travelers. Points that used to be worth 1.25 cents when redeemed for travel were reduced to 1 cent, among other changes. Read about those changes here.

Citi Premier® Card: Basics

Card type: Travel.

Annual fee: $95.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spend on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

Rewards:

  • 3 ThankYou points per $1 spent on air travel and hotels.

  • 3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets.

  • 3 points per $1 spent at gas stations.

  • 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants.

  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Redemption options:

  • Redeem for travel booked through Citi. You get 1 cent per point.

  • Redeem for cash back. The ThankYou points you'll earn from the card are worth 1 cent each when you redeem them for cash.

  • Redeem for gift card purchases, bill payments and more. For many redemptions, points are worth 1 cent each.

  • Transfer to one of Citi's partners: mostly international airlines and mostly at a 1:1 ratio. Through strategic redemptions, you can potentially get more value out of your points this way. If you don't plan on traveling internationally — or don’t want to spend the effort to use alliances to book domestic travel on foreign airlines — this option is somewhat limited. JetBlue is the only domestic carrier.

Airlines

  • Aeromexico (1:1 ratio).

  • Air France/KLM (1:1 ratio).

  • Asia Miles (1:1 ratio).

  • Avianca (1:1 ratio).

  • Emirates (1:1 ratio).

  • Etihad (1:1 ratio).

  • Eva Air (1:1 ratio).

  • JetBlue (1:1 or 1:0.8 ratio, depending on which card you have).

  • Qantas (1:1 ratio).

  • Qatar Airways (1:1 ratio).

  • Singapore Airlines (1:1 ratio).

  • Thai Airways (1:1 ratio).

  • Turkish Airlines (1:1 ratio).

  • Virgin Atlantic (1:1 ratio).

Hotels

  • Accor Live Limitless (2:1 ratio).

  • Choice Hotels (1:2 or 1:1.5 ratio, depending on which card you have).

  • The Leading Hotels of the World (5:1 ratio).

  • Wyndham (1:1 ratio or 1:0.8 ratio, depending on which card you have).

Retail

  • Shop Your Way (1:10 ratio).

Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 21.24%-29.24% Variable APR.

Foreign transaction fees: None.

Other benefits:

  • $100 annual hotel savings benefit. Terms apply.

Benefits and perks

Triple points in everyday categories

This may be the biggest selling point for the Citi Premier® Card: Its bonus rewards cover three major line items in many household budgets — groceries, dining out and gas. Several cards offer bonus rewards in one or two of these categories, but it's rare to score 3X back across all three. Triple points at supermarkets, in particular, is more than you’ll earn in that category from many premium credit cards.

The Citi Premier® Card also offers 3 points per $1 in two of the biggest travel categories: flights and hotels, which gives it an edge on many competitors that only offer 2 points per $1 on those purchases.

🤓Nerdy Tip

It's worth noting, though, that the Citi Premier® Card used to offer 3X points across a much broader definition of "travel" — airfare and hotels, yes, but also things like car rentals, cruises, travel agencies and aggregators, various commuter transportation, tolls, boat rentals and more. That's no longer the case. More on that below.

Multiple international travel partners = potential for outsized value

You can redeem points for travel through the Citi ThankYou portal, where you can expect a value of 1 cent per point. But you can also unlock higher value for your points if you opt to transfer them to certain airline loyalty programs. For example, as of February 2024, you could transfer 287,000 ThankYou points into Singapore’s KrisFlyer program to cover a round-trip flight from New York to Frankfurt, Germany, in first class. That same ultra-swanky experience would cost over $11,000 if you paid cash.

Big sign-up bonus

The bonus on the Citi Premier® Card has fluctuated over time, and for a while it disappeared. The current offer: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spend on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024. That's worth at least $600 in travel and potentially much more if you find a good deal with a travel partner, per above.

Combine rewards to boost earning

Thanks to its strong rewards categories, the Citi Premier® Card could be a great choice for people who want to use one card for every purchase. But if you're willing to carry a couple of cards in your wallet, you can maximize your earning by pairing the Citi Premier® Card with the issuers' other offerings that earn ThankYou Points.

For example: The Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% back on purchases: 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay it off. Meanwhile, the Citi Custom Cash® Card earns 5% back on up to $500 per billing cycle in your highest spend category (from a list of eligible options) and 1% back on everything else. Both of these cards have strong rewards, but if you want to take advantage of Citi's transfer partners, your options are somewhat limited. By pooling the rewards you earn on either of these cards (or both!) with the Citi Premier® Card, you can maximize your rewards earning and take advantage of the Citi Premier® Card's superior redemption options.

Drawbacks and considerations

Narrow travel categories

Compared with the Citi Premier® Card, other cards in its class have a much broader definition of what qualifies as "travel." Beyond just plane tickets and hotel stays, you could also earn elevated rewards on things like car rentals, cruises, rideshares, buses, trains and much more — depending on the card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, for one, has a much broader definition of travel. It earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. It, too, has an annual fee of $95. Or you could opt for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which earns 2 miles back on purchases, travel-related or not, and has a similar annual fee.

Lackluster value for simple travel redemptions

Though points earned with the Citi Premier® Card used to be worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for airfare through the Citi ThankYou portal, they're now worth just 1 cent each when used that way. This slide really cuts into the value of the card for many. The aforementioned Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns points that are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel (of any kind) through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal.

Limited choice of well-known or domestic transfer partners

Transferring credit card points to an airline's frequent-flyer program can be quite lucrative, depending on how you redeem. But almost all of Citi's transfer partners are international carriers, making them less useful for those who don't plan to travel overseas or don’t want to dig into complex award charts. There can be a lot of value to be found from these transfer partners, but it’s not usually low-hanging fruit. You’ll have to do some work to learn the ins and outs of new-to-you airline programs.

If you're searching for more familiar transfer partners, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could again be a better fit. It features a mix of foreign and domestic carriers, including United Airlines and Singapore Airlines, as well as hotel chains such as Marriott and Hyatt. The card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. As noted, those points are worth more when you redeem for travel via Chase. The card also offers a large sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

🤓Nerdy Tip

Citi also offers one additional points transfer partner: You can choose to trade your ThankYou points for Shop Your Way points, good for retail purchases. (Shop Your Way is the rewards program and online bonus mall for the Sears credit cards, as well.) Each ThankYou point that you transfer is worth 10 Shop Your Way points.

Hotel discount may be of limited value

The card offers $100 off a single hotel stay of at least $500 (not including taxes and fees) once every calendar year, when you book through Thankyou.com. That could be useful for some travelers — but do you normally spend $500 or more on a single hotel stay? And are you willing to book it exclusively through Citi?

Lack of travel protections

You might expect a travel credit card to offer some travel insurance to give you some peace of mind on your trip. The Citi Premier® Card used to offer a modest amount of trip cancellation and interruption protection, along with car rental insurance, lost baggage protection and travel accident insurance. But Citi slashed the travel protections on most of its credit cards, including the Citi Premier® Card.

If you're looking for other options, check out NerdWallet's list of best credit cards to have.

Alternate Pick: More valuable redemptions
Greater flexibility

This card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase, or you can transfer them to more than a dozen airline and hotel programs, including United, Southwest, Marriott and Hyatt. The annual fee is $95.

How to decide if it's right for you

For many people, the answer won't be a resounding yes.

It may merit a look if you spend a lot on gas, dining, groceries or certain kinds of travel, as points can add up fast. But those points won’t be as valuable as they once were, and if you want to transfer them, you’ll have to navigate a handful of less-familiar travel partners.

If you're looking to redeem some of your points for cash instead of travel, they are worth 1 cent each. This is comparable to the point value you'll get from other cards in its class.

Methodology

NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.

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