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The Citi Rewards+ Card has an introductory welcome bonus offer of 20,000 ThankYou points. The value of these points will be worth about $200 with average redemption choices. It will be explained later on how they’re able to be worth about $340.
The Citi Rewards+ Card will offer you a larger reward for gas and groceries. Then you will be able to gain a minimum of 10 points for each purchase for special points known as a round-up benefit. This is a great daily use rewards card, and it would suit you much more if you make lots of smaller expenses.
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Citi Rewards + Card Quick Facts
| Bonus Available | Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com. |
| Bonus Value | $340 |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Earn 2 points for each $1 used towards gas stations and supermarkets (the first $6,000 spent every year) and 1 point for each $1 used for other qualifying expenses.
Round up to the nearest 10 points for all expenses. Gain 10% points back with the first 100,000 points that have been redeemed each year. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees? | 3% |
| Annual Fee | $0 |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
*If interested see our list of SunTrust Bank bonuses for Checking & Savings accounts.*
Pros
- No annual fee
- Bonus points
- Points round up
- 10% points rebate
Cons
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
- Spending cap on bonus categories
- Foreign transaction fees
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card offers $200 Cash Back after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. You'll be able to earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day with no rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards. This card comes with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees which makes this card a viable option for your go-to everyday card. |
Citi Rewards + Card 20,000 Bonus Points Offer
Make use of the offer of 20,000 ThankYou bonus points. You must charge your card with a minimum of $1,500 in the first 3 months of having your account open to be able to qualify for this bonus offer.
The value for these 20,000 ThankYou points will be worth about $200 with standard redemption choices. Even though this isn’t the best welcome bonus offer there is in this platform, it’s still a decent card with no annual fees attached. View the next section to see how your points will be able to be worth about $340 on average.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement:
| • Plastiq: Plastiq allows you to pay for expenses that you generally won’t be able to with your card like rent, tuition, auto lease, mortgage payment, and more. There’s a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card. However, this’ll be worth the card bonus you’ll get. There’s also a referral program where you can earn “Fee-Free Dollars” to use towards processing fees. See our Plastiq review. |
| • Fund Checking accounts with your card: Many banks will allow you to fund the opening deposit with a credit card. Consider opening Checking accounts that also offer a sign-up bonus. This way, you can work towards bonuses from two different sources. Big banks like Chase, HSBC, Huntington, and TD Bank have great offers and allow credit card funding. You can generally fund anywhere from $50 to $1,000 towards the opening deposit with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Buy gift cards: Consider buying gift cards with your credit card that you can then spend later at your leisure. Individual merchant cards (restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets, etc.) generally don’t have purchase fees, so this is a plus. On the other hand, American Express and Visa gift cards will have purchase fees. Amazon gift cards are a great idea as you can shop for almost anything there with no purchase fees either. Unfortunately, Citi credit cards tend to code gift card purchases as Cash Advances and there’ll be a fee. Call in to customer service and lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before purchasing gift cards. You can also buy discounted gift cards as well from Raise or find gift cards on eBay. |
| • Everyday spending & bills: Always using your credit card for everyday spending, such as for dining, gas, groceries, etc. You can also use your credit card to pay for things like insurance bills, property taxes and income taxes. However, you’ll have to consider the convenience fees. |
What are ThankYou Points Worth?
With the “basic” ThankYou points, they will be able to allow you to gain Citi Rewards+ and it won’t have the same redemption authority as “usual” ThankYou pointsl. If you are a Rewards+ member then you will be able to transfer your points towards JetBlue (more on that later).
You will be presented with redemption choices such as:
- Travel booked through the ThankYou Travel center
- Merchandise at Amazon.com or BestBuy.com
- Gift cards
- Statement credits
These points will have a value that is worth about $0.01. The evaluation is on neutral standings. It depends on what you’ll be able to receive from your points compared to other different rewards credit cards.
To receive the best value for your points, then you should pair your Rewards+ Card with Citi Prestige or Citi Premier. This will allow you to transfer points to qualifying airline partners with JetBlue included. This will increase your point value to $0.017 for each point. In other words, the value of the Citi Rewards+ bonus will boost it from $150 to $255.
By pairing your card with the Rewards+ Card will make it more beneficial towards you since you will be able to gain a larger earning category option. WIth the Citi Prestige card, you will be able to gain a larger reward for air travel, restaurants, hotels, and cruises. Using the Citi Premier card will allow you to gain more for travel (this includes gas stations), restaurants, and entermainment.
Below are some transfer partners that are available to Citi Prestige and Citi Premier card members.
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Flying Blue Air France KLM
- InterMiles
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Malaysia Airlines Enrich
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Citi Rewards+ Card Top Features
Citi Rewards+ rounds up earnings towards all your expenses for the closest 10 points. If you’ve spent at least $21 for lunch (non-category spending), you will be able to gain 30 ThankYou points instead of the normal 21 points.
In other words, you will be able to get at least 10 points for each purchase guaranteed. This will be very beneficial for you if you normally make purchases under $10.
Citi Rewards+ will allow you to get 10% of your redeemed points back. Then you will be able to get them at the end of every calendar year for a max of 100,000 redeemable points. In other words, this means no more than 10,000 ThankYou points back annually will be worth about $100 in value.
Usually all card members will benefit from this perk from a variety of Citi services such as:
- Citi Private Pass: Purchase tickets for: concerts, sporting events, comedy shows, and more before they’re available to the public. Keep an eye out for special VIP packages for specific events.
- Citi Concierge: Receive assistance at any time for booking a flight or hotel room, arranging a night out, or buying special gifts. All you would need to do is call them and they will be able to help out.
Bottom Line
The Citi Rewards+ Card is a great option if you have an average budget for most of your purchases and if you tend to spend more on gas and groceries. With this card, there will be no annual fee attached, and they will guarantee you a minimum of 10 points for each purchase, and 10% points rebate. If you want a stronger earning and redemption process, then you should pair your Rewards+ card with Citi Prestige or Citi Premier.
However, if you tend to spend lots of money but not for gas and groceries, then you should consider getting a different rewards card that has more to offer you.
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What’s the Competition?
There are some of Citi Rewards+ credit card’s top competitors listed below.
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card offers $200 Cash Back after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. You'll be able to earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day with no rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards. This card comes with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees which makes this card a viable option for your go-to everyday card. |
 The Chase Freedom Flex offers a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. • Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! • Earn 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. You cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back. You'll be able to new 5% categories each quarter! This card has no annual fee. |
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