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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, though the rewards program can be a bit of a challenge to navigate. That's because:
- Redemption options vary depending on what specific Citi card you have.
- Point values can also range widely, again depending on the Citi card and how you plan to redeem the points.
- While most Citi cards allow point transfers to multiple travel loyalty programs, the transfer ratios may differ ... wait for it ... depending on what Citi card you hold.
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. (See some options below.) 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 in various forms.
- Shopping at participating retailers.
- Charitable 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.
Credit cards that earn ThankYou points
Citi offers multiple products that earn the ThankYou rewards currency. Here are some of its most prominent:
Popular options
Annual fee
- $0
- $0
- $95
- $595
Welcome 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.
Earn 20,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Rewards
- 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.
- 5% total cash back (in the form of ThankYou points) on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi's portal.
- 5x ThankYou points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 3x ThankYou points at supermarkets.
- 3x ThankYou points on select transit and gas/EV stations.
- 3x ThankYou points on an eligible self-select category of your choice including fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barbershops/hair salons or pet supply stores.
- 2x ThankYou points at restaurants.
- 1x ThankYou points on all other purchases.
- 10 ThankYou points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel site.
- 3 points per $1 spent on air travel and other hotel purchases.
- 3 points per $1 spent at supermarkets.
- 3 points per $1 spent at gas stations and EV charging stations.
- 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants.
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 12 points per $1 on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per $1 on air travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6 points per $1 at restaurants (including food delivery services on “Citi Nights”) on Fridays and Saturdays between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Eastern Time. Outside of this timeframe, you’ll earn 3 points per $1 in this category.
- 1.5 points per $1 on all other purchases.
APR
0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, and then the ongoing APR of 17.49%-27.49% Variable APR
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-28.49% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 19.49%-27.49% Variable APR
The ongoing APR is 20.49%-28.49% Variable APR
For more information
Citi Prestige® Card
Annual fee: $495.
Rewards:
- 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.
» MORE: Full review of the Citi Prestige
🤓 Nerdy Tip
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
Annual fee: $0.
- 3 ThankYou points per dollar spent at gas stations and EV charging 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.
How much are ThankYou points worth?
The value of a Citi ThankYou point can vary greatly depending on the Citi card and how you redeem those points — for travel, cash back or something else.
For travel
There are two ways to use Citi ThankYou points for travel: redeeming points directly through Citi's travel portal, or transferring points to one of Citi's travel partners:
- Booking through Citi: When you book your travel through Citi and pay for your booking with points, ThankYou points are worth 1 cent apiece, regardless of which Citi card you have.
- Transferring points to Citi's partner airline and hotel programs: For this option, the exact value you get per point depends on several factors, including what Citi card you have, which program you're transferring points to, and what you do with those rewards after you transfer them. As a starting point, you can reference NerdWallet's valuations of points and miles for various programs, including many of Citi's partners. (See the full list below.)
Full list of Citi transfer partners
Transfer ratios will vary depending on which card you have.
Airlines
- Aeromexico (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- American Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Air France/KLM (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Asia Miles (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Avianca (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Emirates (1:0.8 or 1:0.56 ratio).
- Etihad (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Eva Air (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- JetBlue (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Qantas (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Qatar Airways (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Singapore Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Thai Airways (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Turkish Airlines (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
- Virgin Atlantic (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
Hotels
- Accor Live Limitless (2:1 or 2:0.7 ratio).
- Choice Hotels (1:1.5 or 1:1.05 ratio).
- The Leading Hotels of the World (5:1 or 5:0.7 ratio).
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts (1:2 or 1:1.4 ratio).
- Wyndham (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
Events
- Virgin Red (1:1 or 1:0.7 ratio).
With some of Citi's credit cards, 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 exceptions. With JetBlue, for instance, the transfer ratios can vary:
- If you have the Citi Strata Premier® Card, the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card or the legacy Citi Prestige® Card, then you can transfer points to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio.
- For other less expensive Citi credit cards, the ratio is 1:0.7, meaning for each ThankYou point you transfer, you get only 0.7 TrueBlue points from JetBlue. So 1,000 points translates into 700 TrueBlue points.
For such less favorable ratios, we recommend only using ThankYou points to top off your account for a specific redemption.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
As you can see from the full list above, while Citi does feature some major domestic travel partners — including American Airlines, JetBlue, Choice Hotels and Wyndham — the majority of its options are international carriers and programs. If you're a casual U.S. flyer who doesn't travel often with, say, American or JetBlue, you may have to do some research and leverage airline alliances to find deals. For cash or cash-like redemptions
CASH BACK
You can redeem Citi ThankYou points for cash back, in the form of a statement credit, direct deposit into an eligible bank account, or even a check in the mail. But again, the value of your points will vary depending on what Citi card you have. For example:
- For the Citi Double Cash® Card, points are worth a full penny each — the industry standard — when redeemed for cash back.
- But for the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, points are worth just 0.75 cent each when redeemed that way. And for the Citi Strata℠ Card, the redemption value for cash back is even worse, at 0.5 cent per point.
GIFT CARDS
Gift card redemptions typically start at 2,500 points, and you'll generally get a redemption value of 1 cent per point, absent any special deals or promotions. 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.
For 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 retailers are worth only 0.8 cent each. Different minimum redemptions may also apply.
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. Again, that's not ideal value and is lower than the industry standard of a penny per point.
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 these cards.
