It's probably the first card that comes to mind for many when talking about mid-range credit cards that earn transferrable points. Valuable travel and purchase protection is offered by the card, as well as bonus points on dining and travel.
In this post, I wanted to take a look at one of the cards that can compete with the Preferred, and I think it's a better option for many people. This card is in conjunction with the Citi Double Cash Card.
The card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 points, five different categories where cardmembers can earn 3x points, and lots of flexibility thanks to how many transfer partners there are. Is this card right for you? Let's take a closer look at this card.
The card has a bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 in three months. You can redeem those points for other purchases, and get at least $600 in value, if you transfer them to airline partners.
It is one of the best credit card welcome bonuses out there, with a value of over $1,000, based on my valuation of Citi ThankYou points.
If you want to earn the welcome bonus on the Citi Premier, you need to be aware of some restrictions. If you have: you are not eligible for the welcome bonus.
If you have one of those other cards, it's fine, but you can't have opened or closed it in that time period. If you got the bonus on the Citi Prestige over the course of 24 months, you can get the premier card.
Citi has other general card approval rules.
If you have had the product for at least a year, Citi will let you change it from one card to another. One strategy could be to apply for the Citi premier and then later change it to the Citi rewards+.
To find out the options on your account, you have to call Citi.
The annual fee for the Citi premier card is $95. You can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost, and any spending that authorized users put on their card will contribute toward the points you earn.
The best bonus categories of any mid-range credit card are offered by the Citi Premier card. I recommend getting a credit card that offers bonus points in categories that you're likely to spend a lot of money in.
Pick a card that offers points in categories useful to you, and you'll get bonus points on travel, dining, gas, supermarkets, etc. I value the points at 1.7 cents each.
3x points are offered on air travel and hotel purchases, with no limit on how many bonus points you can earn. This includes purchases made through travel agencies. It's like a 5.1% return in these categories.
Points are offered on gas station purchases. This card is one of the best for gas station purchases because of its 5.1% return.
3x points are offered on dining, which includes restaurants, cafes, takeout, and delivery. This is one of the best cards for dining because of the 5.1% return.
The Citi premier offers 3x points on groceries. I think this is one of the best cards for supermarket purchases.
Since the Citi Premier has no foreign transaction fees, it's an excellent card to use for purchases around the world, since you can earn valuable rewards while not being stuck with high fees.
The card earns ThankYou points. The points currency that I have found has increased in value significantly over the past few years thanks to all the transfer partners that have been added. Let's take a closer look at redemptions.
Transferring ThankYou points to airline and hotel partners is possible. Fourteen airlines and two hotel groups are included in the program.
If you want to redeem for first and business class travel, transferring points to partners is a great value. First and business class tickets are more expensive if you pay in cash, but they are often reasonably priced if you pay in points.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is one of my favorite partners.
Transfer bonuses are one way to get more value out of ThankYou points. When you transfer points to Citi, there can be additional bonuses in the range of 20-30%.
We've seen these to many airlines. These can be a good deal.
I don't recommend that you redeem your points at the rate of one cent for airfare. Transferring to travel partners will give you better value.
I recommend against this because you can redeem Citi ThankYou points for gift cards, merchandise, and more. You will get at most one cent of value per point, which is not a good deal. It could be a good deal if you get 60,000 points, but I don't think it's worth it.
It depends on your travel goals. Generally speaking.
You can pool the points earned on all the cards if you have the Citi Premier, Citi Prestige, Citi Rewards+, Citi Double Cash, and/or Citi Custom Cash. I would recommend transferring ThankYou points to a partner program within 60 days, since these points then expire after that.
I would get the Citi premier card for the bonus and use it to spend it rather than getting the perks. The card has some benefits that people may find useful.
You can get $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more if you book through the Citi ThankYou. This benefit is only available once a year.
For some people, it will be worth more or less than others. If you can get value out of this, it could make up for the annual fee on the card.
The Citi Premier is a World Elite Mastercard, meaning that it comes with a lot of benefits.
In my opinion, the most rewarding bonus categories of any mid-range credit card are the five different categories on the Citi Premier card. Transferring Citi ThankYou points to airline partners is a great way to get huge value and a transfer bonus.
How does this compare to other cards, and how do you maximize value?
One of the main reasons to get the Citi Premier is the fact that you can use the Double Cash Card. The Citi Double Cash.
The Citi Double Cash is my go-to card for everyday spending, and I consider this to be an unbeatable combination. You can earn 3x points on dining, gas, groceries, and more, and 2x points on all of your other purchases.
I would also include the no annual fee Citi rewards card into the mix. The card has two unique benefits.
The no annual fee Citi Custom Cash can be a great complement.
The premium version of the Citi Premier is called the Citi Prestige.
You can always change your product after a year if you like it, but I recommend starting with the Citi Premier, see how you like it, and then you can always change to the Citi Prestige. As you get used to the Citi ThankYou program, you can take advantage of the better bonus and lower annual fee on the Citi premier.
I think the Citi premier is a morerounded credit card. There isn't a decision to be made since the Citi Prestige isn't open to new applicants.
There are two mid-range cards that I would look at if I were you.
The Chase card recently underwent some changes and is probably the biggest competitor to the Citi card.
The biggest differences are the annual fee and the card.
The American Express Gold Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Reward points. The card offers a return on spending.
The card has an annual fee of $250 and offers an up to $120 annual dining credit. The annual fee is offset by these credits.
The Amex Gold is better for eating out and shopping in the U.S.
The Citi Premier card is anunderappreciated card that earns valuable transferrable points. There is a nice welcome bonus and excellent 3x points categories on the card. I don't think there is another card in the market with bonus categories as well-rounded as this one.
You can earn 2x ThankYou points per dollar spent with the Double Cash Card when you complement it with it.
I think the Citi Premier and the Chase Sapphire Preferred are excellent cards for mid-range cards. Pick up both cards and then decide which is better for you.
You can get 60,000 bonus points with the Citi premier card.
The rates and fees for American Express cards can be found in the following links. The American Express Gold Card has rates and fees.
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