Changes coming to the Citi Premier and Preferred cards’ earning structures

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On April 9, 2020, Citi announced upcoming changes to the earning structure of two cards – the Citi Premier® Card and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card*. To meet the evolving needs of its cardholders, the issuer is launching new benefits, including adding new earning categories such as supermarkets, restaurants and popular streaming services.

The changes are expected to go into effect on Aug. 23, 2020, for the Citi ThankYou Preferred card. The date for the Citi Premier Card was expedited to June 2, 2020, to accommodate customers’ spending habits that experienced a shift during the pandemic. To address that, the issuer also introduced a series of limited-time benefits to some of its cards.

How the cards’ benefits will change

With the new benefits implemented, Citi Premier cardholders can earn 3 ThankYou points on every dollar spent at supermarkets and restaurants, including takeout. The card will also continue earning 3 points per dollar on air travel, hotels and gas stations.

See related: How to earn and use Citi ThankYou points

On top of that, Citi is adding a new travel benefit – $100 off on a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees). Cardholders will be able to take advantage of this offer once per calendar year through ThankYou.com.

“As our cardmembers’ needs evolve, we want to ensure we’re evolving with them and offering products that best meet their spending habits and deliver exceptional value,” Lora Monfared, Citi’s General Manager of Proprietary Rewards Products, said in a statement.

Some of the existing benefits will change as well. For instance, the rewards rate for other travel such as cruises, tolls and parking will be reduced from 3 points to 1 point per dollar. The same will happen to the entertainment category, which will receive 1 point per dollar instead of the current 2 points per dollar. The changes went into effect on June 2, 2020.

Earning structure for the Citi Premier Card

Starting April 10, 2021, existing cardholders with an open account as of May 22, 2020, will no longer receive 25% more value when redeeming points through the ThankYou Travel Center for airfare, hotels, cruises and car rentals – as compared to gift cards.

The changes will not affect the card’s annual fee, and it will continue to offer no foreign transaction fees. Additionally, new cardholders will still be able to earn a generous sign-up bonus.

As for the Preferred card, it will get new earning categories as well. Currently, the card is offering 2 points per dollar for dining and entertainment and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. Starting Aug. 23, 2020, cardholders will also be able to earn 2 points per dollar on cable and popular streaming services.

Earning structure for the Citi Preferred Card

How will the changes affect cardholders?

Starting in August, new cardholders will be able to earn points on categories like groceries, takeout and streaming services, and some of the existing travel and entertainment rewards will be altered.

But for existing Premier cardholders, you’ll be able to take advantage of the new benefits plus continue earning 3 points per dollar on non-air travel and 2 points per dollar on entertainment through April 10, 2021.

The current rewards on the Citi Preferred Card will remain the same. With an addition of the new earning category for cable and popular streaming services in August, both new and existing cardholders will be getting a better offer compared to the current one.

*Information about the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide the content, nor is it responsible for its accuracy.