Citi ThankYou Preferred Review: Not a Great Catch for Date Night

» This card is no longer available

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is no longer accepting applications. Citi's entry-level points-earning card is the Citi Rewards+® Card. Read our review of that card. Below is our review of the card when it was still available.

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The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is designed to appeal to daters, diners and folks looking for thrills out on the town. But frankly, it’s a bit of a party pooper.

The card earns double rewards on restaurants and entertainment, and its definition of entertainment is broad, including concerts, sporting events, theater, zoos and more. So if you’re single in the city — or you’re settled but seeking to get out of the house more — the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is hoping you’ll bring it along.

But dining and entertainment have become intensely competitive categories in recent years, so even if those are your biggest spending areas, you can find many cards that offer higher rewards rates in those categories.

Plus, if you’re looking for the benefits of a sign-up bonus or cash back, you’ll want to research other options.

Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card: Basics

• Annual fee: $0

• Rewards:

  • 2 Citi ThankYou Points per $1 spent on restaurants and entertainment.

  • 1 point per dollar on everything else.

  • There's no limit to the points you can earn, and points never expire. See our review of Citi ThankYou Points for details on redeeming points, including the highest- and lowest-value redemption options.

• Sign-up bonus: None.

• Introductory APR: 0% intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 15.49%-25.49% Variable APR.

• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

• Foreign transaction fee: 3%.

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card works for spending out on the town, but what about your daily expenses? How good is it really for transferring a balance? Here are a few areas where the card falls short.

• No sign-up bonus. Rewards credit card users have grown accustomed to sign-up bonuses, sometimes worth hundreds of dollars, even on cards with no annual fee. The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has none. Plenty of other cards do come with sign-up bonuses, many of them quite lucrative.

• Limited redemption options. If you’re looking for flexible rewards points or cash back, the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card may not be for you. The card’s ThankYou Points are redeemable for gift cards to popular retailers and restaurants. You can redeem 2,500 ThankYou Points for a $25 gift card at thankyou.com. A Citi representative confirms that you can also redeem for cash back. But be aware that it's a poor redemption value.

• Poor rewards rate on common expenses. Though dining and entertainment are fun spending categories, you'll get just 1 point per dollar on everything else. Cardholders may get more use out of a card that offers elevated rewards for more everyday purchases.

• Poor choice for international travel. With a 3% fee tacked onto purchases abroad, the card isn't ideal if you're headed abroad.

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card will earn you rewards on dining and hitting the town. But it’s neither the best rewards card for entertainment and dining, nor is it a great value for everyday spending. If you need a good 0% intro APR period, it's certainly an option. But for everyday use, you'll be better off comparing other cards that can reward you more handsomely no matter what you spend most of your money on.