Citi Credit Cards (Updated September 2023)


 

You probably don’t know as much about Citi’s cards as you do some of the other big bank issuers. And yes, Citi is perhaps the least “sexy” out of Chase, Capital One, and Amex when it comes to travel perks, but they’ve actually got a pretty decent portolio of cards that you should be considering.

 

 


Current Offer: Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.


Annual Fee: $95


Why it’s great: The Citi Premier is an excellent and straight-forward starter card for those looking to earn travel rewards. For a card that costs less than $100, it has surprisingly good earning rates across categories such as restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels. It no longer has any foreign transaction fees (whoo!), and boasts some big name transfer partners like Air France/KLM, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines (among a handful of others).


Other Benefits:

  • Earn 3x points on supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, air travel, and hotels
  • Transfer points to 16 airline programs
  • $100 annual hotel savings benefit on a single stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through thankyou.com



Current Offer: Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months of account opening.


Annual Fee: $595


Why it’s great: This card has many meaningful benefits for frequent flyers of American Airlines. Most notably, this card gives you a complimentary Admirals Club® membership worth up to $850. If a ton of miles, great benefits, and unlimited lounge access sound good to you, then this is definitely a card worth picking up.


Other Benefits:

  • 4x AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airline purchases
  • Priority Boarding on American Airlines flights
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit up to $100 every 4 years
  • Free checked bag on American Airlines flights
  • Priority check-in and priority airport screening (where available)
  • 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights



Current Offer: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.


Annual Fee: $0


Why it’s great: The Citi Custom Cash is a super flexible cash-back earning card with the ability to earn 5% back on your top (eligible) spending category. This holds true for up to $500 spent each billing cycle, then 1% back after that. This flexibility means no sign-up required for rotating categories. As your top spending habits change, so will your 5% earnings. It's truly a no-fuss card that gives you high-earning rates with really no work required. Just keep in mind this card does have foreign transaction fees.


Other Benefits:

  • Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • You choose your bonus spending category and forego fixed category spending rates



Current Offer: None


Annual Fee: $0


Why it’s great: The Citi Double Cash has a simple, yet interesting cash-back earning structure: Get 1% back when you make a purchase and get an additional 1% back when you pay it off. That's 2% total for those of you that avoid math at all costs. You also have the unique option to redeem your earnings as Citi® ThankYou points, but if you hold this card alone, your transfer options will be limited to three partners: Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards. However, if you hold a premium card, like the Citi® Premier, you'll unlock the ability to transfer points to all of Citi's partners, which brings excellent value!


Other Benefits:

  • No spending caps or category restrictions
  • Unlock incredible value when paired with a premium card