Citi Premier Card benefits guide

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The Citi Premier® Card is a favorable travel credit card, especially if you’re also looking to earn points on non-travel purchases. This card earns 3X points on air travel and hotels as well as other everyday categories, including restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations. Also, anything outside of those categories will still earn 1X points.

For consumers looking to spend moderately within these categories, the Citi Premier is a valuable rewards credit card option. Keep reading to learn more about the Citi Premier Card’s benefits, including its flexible rewards program, significant sign-up bonus and annual hotel savings.

Citi Premier Card benefits

Sign-up bonus

The Citi Premier Card offers a notable sign-up bonus. By spending $4,000 in your first three months – or just under $1,334 per month – you can earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou points (worth $800 in gift cards when redeemed at ThankYou.com). You can increase the value of your points by transferring them to a Citi airline or hotel partner, boosting your points’ value to up to 1.7 cents apiece (according to valuations from The Points Guy). Doing so would make your welcome bonus earnings worth up to $1,360 toward travel.

Overall, if you plan on spending $4,000 in the first three months of opening this card, or can do so easily, this sign-up bonus is certainly worth it.

Flexible rewards

The Citi Premier issues Citi ThankYou points, and by spending with the card, you can earn 3X points on air travel and hotels, as well as on gas station, restaurant and supermarket purchases. Anything outside of those categories will still earn 1X points.

Points earned can be redeemed in a variety of ways, including for gift cards, payments toward student loans or mortgages, statement credits and charitable contributions.

With the Citi Premier Card, there are no point-earning limits, and points do not expire.

$100 annual hotel savings benefit

If booked through ThankYou.com with your Citi Premier card, Citi offers a $100 discount for a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees). Due to this perk, you won’t have to worry about whether you’re earning enough points to offset the $95 annual fee associated with the card.

Points transfer to airline programs

Rewards points can be redeemed through Citi’s travel portal, allowing you to use points for all things travel related. Think: airfare, hotels, cruises and rental cars.

Booking air travel through Citi will yield a 1:1 value in most cases. You can also try transferring your points to a Citi travel partner, which could boost your points up to 1.7 cents apiece. It’s easy to transfer points to certain airline loyalty programs through Citi, and there are more than 15 partners to choose from, including JetBlue TrueBlue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

No foreign transaction fees

There are also no foreign transaction fees associated with the Citi Premier Card, while most other cards charge a 3% fee on foreign transactions. If you were to spend $1,000 outside of the United States, for example, you’d save 30% compared to cards that charge these fees.

Combine Citi ThankYou points

What’s also noteworthy about the Citi Premier Card is that the ThankYou points earned from purchases made with this card can be combined with points earned with the other Citi credit cards, including the Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. If you already own one of the above cards, opening a Citi Premier Card would allow you to combine points earned between the two.

Maximizing the Citi Premier Card

Knowing how to make the most out of a credit card will help you determine its long-term value for you as a consumer. Consider the tips outlined below to maximize the potential value of your Citi Premier Card.

• Add an authorized user. Adding authorized users to your Citi Premier Card is free, and their purchases will still earn you points. If you have a family and are looking to earn additional rewards, adding family members as authorized users may make sense. Further, there is no additional fee for authorized users.
• Pay off balances. Because the Citi Premier Card does not offer a 0% introductory APR period, it is recommended to pay off balances and avoid the card’s variable APR of 17.49% to 25.49%, which is slightly higher than average.
• Consider transfer partner opportunities. If you like to travel or do so frequently, consider transferring your points to a Citi travel partner in order to boost their value.

Bottom line

Overall, the Citi Premier Card is a good option for a travel rewards credit card, allowing you to earn points through Citi’s rewards program. Using this card will not only earn you travel rewards, but it also offers a significant welcome bonus, 3X points on a few popular, everyday categories and a $100 annual hotel savings benefit.