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Citi Premier® Card

Cory Santos

| Last updated on September 20th, 2023

Citi Premier® Card

Citi Premier® Card
Excellent
BestCards refers to a variation of FICO Score 9, which is one of many different types of credit scores. A financial institution may use a different score when deciding whether to approve you for a credit card. Please note that the range shown here is our own estimation and not a guarantee of credit needed to be approved for any given card. Recommended Credit: Excellent
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$95 Annual Fee

Citi Premier® Card

  • 20.99% - 28.99% (Variable) Regular Purchase APR
  • 20.99% - 28.99% (Variable) Balance Transfer APR
  • 29.99% (Variable) Cash Advance APR

At a Glance

Earning signup bonus points is easy with the Citi Premier® Card; 3X ThankYou® Points on select travel purchases, dining and entertainment purchases, and 1X ThankYou® Point on all other eligible purchases. New cardholders can also earn a sizable introductory bonus that can be redeemed for hundreds of dollars in gift cards after the first 3 months of account opening.

  • Best Benefits
  • Rates & Fees
  • Why Should You Apply?
  • Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
  • Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
  • Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
  • 60,000 ThankYou® Points are redeemable for $600 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
  • No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
  • Regular Purchase APR: 20.99% - 28.99% (Variable)
  • Balance Transfer APR: 20.99% - 28.99% (Variable)
  • Balance Transfer Transaction Fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
  • Cash Advance APR: 29.99% (Variable)
  • Cash Advance Transaction Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
  • Penalty APR: Up to 29.99% variable based on creditworthiness and Prime Rate
  • Annual Fee: $95
  • Late Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $41
  • Return Payment Penalty Fee: Up to $41
  • You want to earn 3X bonus points on both common and occasional travel expenses, from gas and parking to flights and hotels
  • You often go out to eat and enjoy attending live entertainment experiences, such as sports games and concerts
  • You can see yourself spending $4,000 in the next 3 months in order to earn a bonus 80,000 ThankYou® Points

Citi Premier® Card Review

If you enjoy traveling, or just regularly commute to work or school, the benefits available to you with the Citi Premier® Card are quite advantageous. You can earn 3X ThankYou® Points on travel expenses including hotels, flights, and cruises, as well as everyday purchases like gas, public transportation, tolls, and parking. Speaking of common spending, this card also grants users the ability to earn 3X ThankYou® Points when dining at restaurants and supermarkets.

Enjoy an Impressive Signup Bonus

While you can also earn 1X ThankYou® Point on all other eligible purchases, the big draw comes in the card’s 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points, which can be earned after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of having the account. With a little forethought before a family vacation or anniversary celebration, you’ll hit that spending threshold in no time.

The appeal of the Citi Premier® Card increases exponentially for travel aficionados when you redeem all those ThankYou® Points that quickly accrue. ThankYou® Points can be redeemed for gift cards, used to shop on Amazon.com, and even pay for flights and hotel stays. In fact, if you redeem your ThankYou® Points through the ThankYou® Travel Center instead of getting a gift card, they’re worth 25% more. Factor in the Citi Premier® Card lacking a foreign transaction fee and you’ve got a true travel companion worth checking out.

Citi ThankYou Points Offer Huge Reward Potential

ThankYou points apply towards the following redemption options:

  • Cash Back: Cash back applies to cash rewards, statement credits, and mortgage and student loan payments for Citi loans.
  • Gift Cards: Citi rewards apply to gift cards from over 100 leading retailers and brands.
  • Shopping: Cardholders can use ThankYou points to shop with Amazon, Best Buy, Expedia, PayPal, or 1-900-FLOWERS.
  • Charity: Cardholders can also use their points to make donations to the American Red Cross or Smile Train.

ThankYou Rewards points also apply to travel bookings through the ThankYou from Citi travel portal. Reservations through the portal apply towards flights, hotels, cruises, and rental cars. Pints also apply to select activities. Citi Premier® Card offers its best value when booking travel (up to 1.7 cents per point)

Citi Transfer Partners

Citibank offers point transfers to 15 airline partners. These point transfer partners are at a 1:1 ratio, making them a great value for those who are also a member of the frequent flyer program of an associate carrier. The following are Citi ThankYou transfer partners:

Wyndham Rewards Aeromexico ALL - Accor Live Limitless Flying Blue JetBlue TrueBlue Qantas Frequent Flyer
Avianca LifeMiles Cathay Pacific Choice Privileges Qatar Privilege Club Shop Your Way Singapore Airlines
Emirates Skywards Etihad Guest EVA Air Thai Royal Orchid Plus Turkish Airlines Miles&Miles Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Citi Premier® Card Versus Chase Sapphire Preferred Vs. Citi Custom Cash Card

The Citi Premier is a travel juggernaut with a modest annual fee. Perhaps the closets competitor to the Premier is Chase’s Sapphire Preferred, which also features a $95 annual fee. Here is how the two cards stack up:

Citi Premier® Citi Custom Cash℠ Chase Sapphire Preferred
Earn 3X points on dining, groceries, gas stations, air travel, and hotel stays, plus 1X on all other purchases Earn 5% on purchases on your highest eligible spend category each billing cycle up to $500 spent, plus 1% on all other purchases Earn 5X on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 2X on all other travel purchases, 3X on dining, 3X on groceries and streaming services, and 1X on all other purchases
$100 annual hotel credit 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers $50 annual hotel credit
$95 annual fee No annual fee $95 annual fee

Citi Entertainment

Like other Citibank credit cards, the Citi Premier® Card comes with Citi Service benefits. Ther most noteworthy of these is the Citi Entertainment feature. Citi Entertainment provides ” special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including presale tickets and exclusive experiences for the year’s most anticipated concerts, sporting events, dining experiences, and more.”

The Entertainment benefit is one of the more popular features of Citi credit cards, with users previously having exclusive access to concerts by artists including the likes of Taylor Swift.

Other Card Features

Other notable features with the Citi Prestige include the usual Mastercard World Elite features and protections. Mastercard World Elite is the pinnacle of the Mastercard product line, offering the following benefits and protections:

Zero Liability Protection Airport Concierge Cell Phone Protection
Mastercard Global Services Priceless Experiences Lyft Credits
ID Theft Protection Priceless Golf DoorDash Offers
Mastercard Travel Services ShopRunner Membership Hello Fresh Savings
Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee Fandango Savings

Card Availability

Citibank credit, debit, and banking products are available in all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia.

Citibank Ratings

How does the Citi Premier® Card stack up? Here is a selection of expert reviews for the card, as well as an overview of Citibank as a bank:

Should You Apply for the Citi Premier® Card?

The Citi Premier® Card is a reliable – and affordable – travel rewards credit card for those who travel frequently, but can’t justify the annual fee that comes with the Citi Prestige. Earning 3X ThankYou points on travel purchases, dining and entertainment, and 1X on everything else offers great value – as does the 80,000 bonus points for meeting minimum spending requirements.

The information related to Citi Premier® Card has been collected by BestCards.com and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.

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