Best Citi Credit Cards

Citi credit cards are issued by Citibank, which itself is part of the global financial services giant Citigroup. Citi began issuing credit cards in the 1960s in New York City but greatly expanded its reach in the early 1980s when it took advantage of South Dakota's repeal of usury laws that had restricted the amount of interest banks could charge customers. The new law also allowed banks headquartered in that state to charge higher interest to residents of other states, a move that was upheld in a landmark Supreme Court ruling. As a result, Citi moved its credit card operations from New York to South Dakota and grew rapidly by leveraging the mass medium of the day - direct mail - to make these higher-rate offers to consumers across the nation. Through these efforts Citi's credit card operations changed from being the least profitable to the most profitable division among Citigroup.

Today Citi offers a variety of cards to consumers and small business owners, with rewards that include cash back, points, and miles. Its cards also provide options for cardholders wishing to transfer balances, manage spending, and plan for larger purchases. In addition, Citi maintains co-brand partnerships with major air carriers like American Airlines and major travel sites like Expedia.

Citi primarily issues Mastercard network branded cards, along with a few cards through the American Express network. It currently does not offer Visa or Discover branded cards. It offers rewards credit cards with cash back, generic travel points, and points and miles-based rewards tied to co-branded partner loyalty programs. It also issues several cards targeted to the needs of the small-business community.

Citi generally targets consumers and small-business owners with good to excellent credit, though it does offer student and secured card products that can accommodate those with less credit history or lower credit scores.

Citi offers multiple cards that earn ThankYou Rewards points, which is Citi's propriety rewards platform. ThankYou points can be redeemed through Citi for airline travel, hotel stays, cash back, merchandise, or gift cards.

The following Citi cards earn ThankYou Rewards:

• Citi Rewards+
• Citi Prestige
• Citi Premier
• AT&T Access Card from Citi

Aside from Citi ThankYou Rewards program, Citi offers other rewards cards that include cash back (as with Citi Double Cash) and partner-based programs like airline and travel co-branded cards.

Citi received a score of 799 out of 1,000 points in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The average score among major national issuers was 806. Citi offers online access to FICO credit scores through its mobile app and through its secure website when cardholders are logged in. 

In order to track and assess the U.S. domestic credit card market, we gather scores of data points on nearly 300 cards. This data is collected manually from both card-issuer websites and publicly available sources. 

To ensure that our information is as up-to-date as possible, we deploy automated tools that monitor changes in such key data as annual percentage rates, introductory rates, introductory periods, bonus offers, rewards earnings rates, fees, and card benefits. We then rapidly make any needed updates to our card listings, reviews, and recommendations to make sure that readers have the most reliable information and advice. 

Once we collect credit card data we organize it in our database according to features, which roll up into feature sets (such as rewards, interest, fees, benefits, and security/customer service). Each individual card feature is assigned a star rating score on a 1 to 5 scale, using a prescribed formula. For instance, for a one-time bonus score we would use a formula like: If bonus is $500 or greater, then assign a score of 5; if $300-$499, then 4; and so forth. 

Once all of a card’s features have received a score we apply a weighting factor to each feature to arrive at a weighted average score for the card (according to the general category in which it resides, such as travel rewards). 

This weighting process allows us to assign significantly more emphasis to the attributes important to a particular category, and downplay those that are less relevant to it. That lets us objectively identify cards that stand out in their category and indicate why they do. For example, with travel rewards cards we apply significantly more weight to such travel-specific features as airport lounge access or primary rental car insurance than we do to attributes such as interest rates or fees that might be more strongly considered for other categories, such as balance-transfer cards.

Another critical factor we consider when rating and ranking travel cards and other types of rewards cards is the cards’ effective earnings rates. We first calculate the average value of points or miles for all the rewards cards in our database, a painstaking process that entails collecting all airline fare data by carrier across scores of popular domestic and international city-pairs along with per-night hotel charges at all major hotel brands. 

The required number of points and miles for air travel or hotel stays from the various reward programs is then used to calculate an effective earnings rate for each card. That allows our readers to make the most informed choices. By putting a card’s large one-time bonus or earnings rates into context across many dimensions and card features, readers can more readily weigh the card’s benefits relative to its costs. Uncovering the true but often opaque redemption value of rewards points or miles is, we feel, the only reliable way to make cogent choices among competing value-based cards.  

As mentioned above, we place significant weight on certain travel-related features in determining our ratings for each rewards card. Specifically, we base over 50% of our overall assessment score on the combination of the following factors:  

• Maximum value of any one-time bonus, whether in points or miles.
• Initial card spending required to earn any bonus.
• Redemption value of the bonus miles or points.
• Global card acceptance, as detailed by the four card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover).
• Options to redeem points or miles with travel partners, both airline and hotel.

Another consideration is the cards’ coverage, if any, in these travel-related areas: 

• Car-rental collision insurance, whether primary or secondary.
• Travel accident insurance.
• Lost or delayed luggage insurance.
• Insurance for trip cancellation, interruption, or delay.
• Cell phone loss or damage coverage.
• Roadside assistance and towing.
• Emergency travel medical/dental benefits.

General, non-travel related features that we consider and score include:

• Interest rates, including both introductory and regular APRs for purchases and balance transfers.
• Fees, including those for annual membership, late payments, cash advances, and foreign transactions.
• Security/customer service features.
• Other non-travel benefits, such as access to credit scores, ID theft protection, and contactless payment capability.

We rely primarily on the objective scores created by our rating algorithms to determine which card is chosen as the best in each category or subcategory.

However, we may make some adjustments from time to time, to both features and weightings that could affect rankings, based on subjective input from our credit card experts. Any potential modifications will be consistent with Investopedia’s belief that consumers are best served by cards that:

• Provide superior value in earning awards.
• Charge reasonable interest rates in the event that the cardholder carries a balance from month to month.
• Charge fewer and/or more reasonable fees.
• Provide solid customer service, based on the number and quality of customer service features.
• Have helpful and protective security features.