When someone is eligible for the welcome offer on a new card application, Citibank has strict policies in place. American co- branded cards and Thank You Points-earning cards are included in many of the rules.

If you have received a welcome bonus or closed a card in the preceding 24 months before you apply, you won't be eligible for a welcome offer on a card. The language with which this is noted is:

Bonus ThankYou Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+, Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi ThankYou Premier/Citi Premier or Citi Prestige, or if you have closed any of these accounts, in the past 24 months.

24 month language on the Citi Premier landing page

Doctor of Credit reported that the language on the terms and conditions is no longer in place. The Thank You premier card has the same language as before, but new applications aren't open for the preferred and prestige cards.

It is not known if this omission is accidental or if it is a permanent shift in the application rules. If you have closed or received a welcome bonus on a Thank You card in the last 24 months, you are now eligible for the welcome offer on the Citi Reward+.

Offer and Key Card Details

Card Offer and Details
Citi Rewards+ Card

It's a great choice to pool with Double Cash or ThankYou premier because of the 10% points rebate.

Mastercard world is the card type.

The earning rate is 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 annually.

10% of your points will be returned on the first 100K redeemed each year.

The Citi ThankYou rewards complete guide is also available.

Quick Thoughts

If you are eligible for the welcome bonus, the Citi premier should be your first choice. The 20,000 points bonus of the rewards+ is not impressive. Even though it seems like opening the Citi Premier doesn't affect your eligibility for the rewards bonus, it's not true. If you open the rewards+ you will restart your eligibility for a new premier for 24 months. If you're eligible, go for the premier.

The rewards+ can be a nice companion card if you already have the premier If you combine the two welcome offers, along with the 10% rebate, you can get over 100,000 Thank You points.

The Citi Rewards+ can be a great companion to the Citi Premier card.

The benefit of rounding each transaction up to the next 10 points is that any transaction under $10 will earn 10 points. You need a lot of $1 transactions for it to be more than a drop in the bucket. You will only have 1,000 points in the end if you get 10x on 100 transactions.

I would love to think that this could lead to a change in policy for the premier, but I don't think so. I agree with the DOC that it is probably an attempt to encourage and streamline new applications.

It is possible that this is just a glitch. If you decide to apply for the card but aren't eligible under the 24 month rule, I would take pictures of everything.

It's the DOC.