Citi ThankYou Points: How to Earn and Use Them
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The Citi ThankYou® rewards program lets eligible credit card holders collect rewards, known as ThankYou® points, on purchases made with a qualifying card.
ThankYou® points can be valuable, especially for travelers, but the rewards program can be a bit of a challenge to navigate:
Redemption options vary depending on what specific Citi card you have.
Point values can also range widely.
While Citi does allow point transfers to multiple travel loyalty programs, access to this feature again depends on which card you have. And only a handful of Citi's travel partners are domestic programs.
Still, ThankYou® points are flexible and versatile, especially if you have specific redemptions in mind. Here’s how to make the most out of Citi ThankYou® points.
In this article
Citi ThankYou® points: The basics
You can earn ThankYou® points by paying for purchases with an eligible Citi credit card. Rewards can be accessed by logging into your Citi account or by visiting the ThankYou website.
Generally, ThankYou® points can be redeemed for:
Travel.
Gift cards.
Cash back or statement credits.
Shopping at participating retailers.
Charity donations.
If you have an eligible Citi credit card, you can also transfer points to certain travel loyalty programs or share points with other ThankYou rewards members.
How much are Citi ThankYou® points worth?
The value of a Citi ThankYou® point can vary greatly depending on how you redeem it — for travel, cash back or something else.
Travel
There are two ways to use Citi ThankYou® points for travel: redeeming points through Citi or transferring to a qualifying travel program.
Booking your travel through Citi
When you book your travel through Citi and pay for your booking with points, ThankYou® points are worth 1 cent apiece.
» Learn more: The guide to the Citi Travel portal
Transferring points to Citi's partner airline and hotel programs
The exact value you get per point depends on what you do with it after you transfer, but NerdWallet estimates the overall transfer value at 1 cent per point.
Citi's airline transfer partners are mostly foreign carriers. JetBlue is the only domestic airline on the list, although a few of the carriers are members of alliances that include U.S. airlines.
The transfer ratio is frequently 1:1, meaning for every ThankYou® point you transfer, you get 1 point or mile in the partner program. However, there are a few exceptions. With JetBlue, for instance, the transfer ratios can vary:
If you have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card or the Citi Prestige® Card, then you can transfer points to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio.
For other cards, the ratio is 1:0.8, meaning for each ThankYou® point you transfer, you get 0.8 TrueBlue points from JetBlue. So 1,000 points translates into 800 TrueBlue points.
JetBlue, Wyndham and Choice are the only eligible travel partners for the Citi Rewards+® Card and the Citi Double Cash® Card. To unlock access to more transfer partners, you'd also need an eligible travel card like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.
You can also transfer points to Citi's hotel partners. There are four:
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).
Because these ratios are less favorable, we recommend only using ThankYou points to top off your account for a specific redemption.
Booking events with Virgin Red
Use a 1:1 ratio to transfer Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Red, the loyalty program of Virgin Group. Virgin Red members redeem Virgin Points for events like virtual masterclasses, sporting matches or cruises.
Cash or cash-like redemptions
Cash back
Redeeming for cash can cut the value of your rewards in half. For some cards, cash redeems at a rate of 0.5 cent per point in denominations of $50 and $100. And you can’t redeem cash into your bank account; you have to wait for a check to arrive in the mail.
Statement credit
When you redeem for a credit on your statement, you may get the same weak value as with cash back — 0.5 cent per point — but you have more flexibility in how much you redeem for. The redemption rate for a statement credit varies by card. Statement credits show up on your account within two billing cycles. It can help pay down your overall balance, but you’ll still be on the hook for the minimum payment.
Gift cards
Gift card redemptions typically start at 2,500 points. They generally redeem at a rate of 1 cent per point. Citi's ThankYou website has several brands and categories to choose from, including restaurants, department stores, travel and electronics, among others.
Charity
You can donate points (starting at 1,000) to charities on Citi's ThankYou.com site.
Shopping
Shop With Points program
You can redeem ThankYou® points at participating retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Walgreens, to name a few. But it's generally a poor value, as points used with those two retailers are worth only 0.8 cent each.
Pay With Points
After you've made an online or in-store out-of-pocket purchase, you're notified via the Citi mobile app whether that item is eligible to be covered by ThankYou® points. If so, you can apply your ThankYou points to the purchase in exchange for a statement credit that arrives within two to three business days. Purchase categories that may be eligible include dining out, groceries, entertainment and department stores, among others. You'll have to set up alerts to stay on top of purchases that qualify. If you decide to Pay With Points, a redemption value of 0.8 cent per point will apply. That's lower than the industry standard of a penny per point.
Credit cards that earn ThankYou points
Citi offers multiple products that earn the ThankYou® rewards currency. Here are some of its most prominent:
Citi Double Cash® Card
2% cash back on purchases (in the form of ThankYou® Points) distributed in two stages: 1% back for every dollar spent and 1% back for every dollar paid off.
Annual fee: $0
Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Citi Rewards+® Card
2 ThankYou points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations (on up to $6,000 in purchases per year).
1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.
Get 10% points back for the first 100,000 points you redeem per year.
Annual fee: $0
Sign-up bonus: 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. Plus, as a special offer, earn a total of 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025.
Citi Custom Cash® Card
Earn 5% cash back (in the form of ThankYou® Points) on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, on up to $500; earn 1% back on all other purchases.
Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-28.49% Variable APR.
Annual fee: $0
Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card
2 ThankYou points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations (on up to $6,000 in purchases per year).
1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.
Get 10% points back for the first 100,000 points you redeem per year.
Annual fee: $0
The Citi Rewards+ Student Card has been discontinued, but existing cardholders can continue using the card and earning rewards.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
10 ThankYou points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi.
3 ThankYou points per $1 spent on restaurants, supermarkets, air travel, hotels not purchased through Citi, gas stations and EV stations.
1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
$100 annual hotel savings on a single hotel stay of $500 or more purchased through Citi.
Annual fee: $95
Sign-up bonus: For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
Citi Prestige® Card
5 ThankYou points per dollar spent on dining out and air travel purchases.
3 ThankYou points per dollar spent on cruise lines and hotel purchases.
1 ThankYou point per dollar on all other purchases.
Annual fee: $495
Sign-up bonus: This offer is no longer valid on our site.
The Citi Prestige Card is no longer accepting applications, but existing cardholders may continue using their card and earning rewards.
AT&T Points Plus Card
3 ThankYou points per dollar spent at gas stations.
2 ThankYou points per dollar spent at grocery stores (including grocery delivery services).
1 ThankYou point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a $100 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. Plus Earn up to $240 back toward your qualifying AT&T wireless bills every year after qualifying activities.
The fine print
With a Citi ThankYou® credit card, you may earn ThankYou® points as long as your account is open and current. Review your card's terms and conditions to know when ThankYou® points may expire.
It also helps to understand your credit card’s terms and conditions so that you’re aware of nonqualifying purchases. For instance, some cards earn points in categories like restaurants, but your purchase may not qualify for the higher rewards rate if the restaurant is located inside a department store.
Information related to the Citi Prestige® Card and the AT&T Points Plus Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
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