Citi Premier Credit Card Review

Full Review of Citi Premier Credit Card

Pros Explained

• Generous bonus: For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com (offer ends June 30, 2024).
• Extra points on travel, gas, restaurant, and supermarket purchases: Earn 3x points on purchases at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airlines, and hotels. Earn an annual hotel savings benefit. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou(R) Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel(SM) portal through June 30, 2024.
• No foreign transaction fee: There is no foreign transaction fee on this card, making it an acceptable option when traveling overseas.

Cons Explained

• $95 annual fee: The Citi Premier card won't waive its $95 annual fee, unlike other credit cards that do so in the first year. To justify the annual fee cost, you need to earn at least 7,851 points and redeem for travel through the ThankYou Travel Center (at a redemption value of 1.21 cents). You can reach the threshold quickly by focusing your spending on travel (especially on regular gas purchases) and purchases at restaurants and supermarkets.
• Lacks some popular benefits: Many side benefits, particularly in terms of travel, are not available, making the Premier card a little less valuable than other cards. Specifically, there is no lost or delayed baggage protection or roadside assistance.
• No introductory APR offer: The Citi Premier credit card doesn't have an introductory APR offer for balance transfers and/or purchases. Other cards, such as the American Express Blue Cash Preferred and Capital One VentureOne, include a 0% intro APR offer on purchases in addition to a bonus. Additionally, the Citi Premier card charges a 5% balance transfer fee. This is in line with some other cards.

Who This Card Is Best For

The Citi Premier credit card is best suited to people who frequently spend on travel, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations.

Even commuters can benefit from this card since gas station purchases receive the 3x points assigned to the travel category. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average household in the U.S. spends about $2,148 annually on gas. That’s enough to earn 6,444 points in a year.

However, you can earn more points when you spend on airlines, hotels, and restaurants. If you travel frequently, it’s fairly easy to earn points quickly. You can also earn 1x points for entertainment activities such as visiting museums and going to the movies.

If you live this type of lifestyle, and if you're willing to redeem your points for air travel through Citi's portal, your points are more valuable. And because you don’t have restrictions on airlines and hotels through the ThankYou Travel Center, this card works well for people more interested in getting discounts and deals and less interested in loyalty to a particular airline or hotel program.

Citi Premier Credit Card Bonus

For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com (offer ends June 30, 2024).

This bonus has a value of $907 (according to Investopedia's average valuation of 1.21 cents each for ThankYou points) when you redeem your rewards for travel through the ThankYou Rewards Travel Center or $600 (based on a 1 cent valuation) for gift cards at ThankYou.com.

Rewards Earning Details

This card offers 3x points on travel purchases, which include gas stations, restaurants, and supermarket purchases in addition to airfare and hotel stays. Note that gas pumped at warehouse clubs or discount stores doesn’t qualify for the extra points. Cardholders receive 1x points on all other purchases.

Rewards Redemption Details

You can redeem your points by browsing the options at ThankYou.com or by calling 800-842-6596. When you log in, you can see your options and their costs in points. In general, redeeming through the ThankYou Rewards portal for items like gift cards yields a value of 1 cent per point. So if you want a $50 gift card, it will cost you 5,000 points.

You also can use the Pay with Points program to redeem your rewards. Citi lets you identify eligible purchases on your account and then use Pay with Points to receive a statement credit to offset the cost. To use this method, you need to log into your account and select the Pay with Points option to see all of your eligible purchases. It’s also possible to receive alerts when you make an eligible purchase.

Finally, you can connect your Citi account to Amazon and use the Shop with Points option when you check out. This allows you to apply ThankYou points to Amazon.com purchases directly.

Transferring Points

It’s also possible to transfer your points on a 1:1 basis to certain airline loyalty programs. You must transfer a minimum of 1,000 points. So, if you belong to JetBlue's TrueBlue program, for example, and are a couple of thousand points short of the points needed for airfare, you could transfer some of your ThankYou points to your JetBlue account and then redeem them for a ticket.

Unfortunately, major programs such as Delta SkyMiles and United Plus don't accept these points. However, several international programs welcome point transfers. These include Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad Guest, among others.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

The best way to maximize your rewards is to redeem them for travel through the ThankYou Travel Center. Focus on using this card for travel purchases, including gas, restaurant, and supermarket spending, and then redeem your rewards on travel or gift cards.

Average Case

Let's say you spend the BLS average of $2,148 on gas each year, plus you spend $3,526 at restaurants and $4,643 on supermarket purchases. With just these numbers, you’ll end up with 30,951 points (3x) for your gas, restaurants, and supermarkets.

As long as you redeem your total 30,951 points for travel through the ThankYou Travel Center or for gift cards at ThankYou.com, you'll end up with around $374 worth of airfare or hotel stays, or roughly $309 in gift cards.

Above-Average Case

The preceeding example doesn't include additional spending for 1 point per dollar, nor does it include spending on travel besides gas, restaurants, and supermarkets. A family could earn more by using the Citi Premier credit card for other travel purchases, such as paying for hotels and airfare on their vacations. After getting 3x points on those purchases (including 3x points for gas, restaurants, and supermarkets), they could see a much bigger benefit.

For example, the average household spends a little more than $61,000 per year. If a family put most of its purchases—$43,000, assuming mortgage or rent of $1,500 per month is not included—on the Citi Premier card, even without the bonuses on travel, gas, restaurants, and supermarkets (if that's possible), redeeming points for travel could yield $520. Redeeming points for gift cards could potentially yield $430.

Citi Premier Credit Card's Outstanding Benefits

• One-time offer of 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
• FICO® score access each month

Standard Benefits

• EMV chip technology
• Zero fraud liability
• Account alerts
• 24/7 customer service

Cardholder Experience

Citi ranks below average among credit card issuers in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. It's sixth among 11 major issuers with a score of 808. The average for the segment was 814.

There are some useful tools available with the Citi card, including the ability to see your FICO score once a month and access Citi's Concierge service, which can help you with travel, shopping, and other needs.

Reaching customer service is as easy as logging into your account online and using the live chat or calling 800-950-5114 for 24/7 phone support.

Security Features

Citi cardholders benefit from several security features that can help them better manage their accounts. You can receive automatic account alerts and early fraud warnings. In addition, you can instantly lock your card if it's been lost.

Using the Citi Quick Lock, you can prevent new purchases from being made on your card, while automatic recurring transactions will continue to go through. This is a useful feature if you misplace your card. If you find it later, you can unlock the card, and there’s no need to get a replacement card.

Citi also offers virtual credit card numbers designed to protect your account when you shop online.

Fees to Watch Out For

This card doesn't come with a lot of fees. There is no foreign transaction fee, which can provide some nice savings. However, there is an annual fee, and it's important to run the numbers to ensure that you're getting enough value from the card to justify the cost.

Also, without a 0% APR introductory offer, a 5% balance transfer fee might not be worth the cost. Other cards offer 0% APR and even waive the balance transfer fee if you make the transfer within a certain period of time.

Final Verdict

For people who travel frequently and expect to redeem most of their rewards on travel or gift cards, the Citi Premier credit card can make a lot of sense. It offers attractive rewards on gas, restaurant, and supermarket purchases.

However, if you tend to spend more on everyday purchases, a card like the Blue Cash Preferred by American Express might make more sense since it offers its highest earning potential on groceries and streaming services.

Additionally, if you want to earn consistent travel rewards without paying an annual fee, the Capital One VentureOne card can be a good choice. Plus, it has a 0% APR offer on purchases.

In the end, if you know that you'll spend a lot using this card and redeem your points for travel—especially if you’re not beholden to particular travel loyalty programs—the Citi Premier credit card can be a good choice.