Citi's No Annual Fee Cards and the Strategy Behind How to Get Them Citi's No Annual Fee Cards and the Strategy Behind How to Get Them

Citi's No Annual Fee Cards and the Strategy Behind How to Get Them

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It's important to evaluate your rewards strategy, including which cards you use together to accelerate your earnings. It's even better when you can do this without paying annual fees — and best of all if you can score a limited-time sign-up bonus on one of these cards.

Three Citi cards can help you add thousands of points to your balance each year despite not charging an annual fee. However, it’s essential to understand the application strategy for each card and where it fits into your rewards game plan. Otherwise, you risk missing out on a big sign-up bonus in the future. This is particularly relevant if you currently carry a premium ThankYou points-earning card and are thinking of downgrading or canceling that card after reassessing your annual fee.

Citi Rewards+® Card
Citi Rewards+® Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus 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
  • Sign-up bonus of 20,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening
  • Automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase with no cap
  • 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X point per $1 thereafter
  • Top intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
  • 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter
  • 1X Points on all other purchases
  • Automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase - with no cap

The Citi Rewards+® Card offers a sign-up bonus of 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening — which is especially good for a no-annual-fee card.

The most unique aspect of the card is its unconventional earning structure that rewards small purchases. However, the hero feature is a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points redeemed each year.

Citi Rewards+ Card Highlights

  • 10% points back for the first 100,000 points redeemed each year. That's up to 10,000 points back.
  • Solid sign-up bonus for a card with no annual fee.
  • Intro 0% APR on purchases for 15 months, then an APR rate of 18.74% - 28.74% (Variable).
  • Intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months, then an APR rate of 18.74% - 28.74% (Variable).
  • Great card to supplement the Citi Double Cash or a premium ThankYou card like the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (though these latter two have annual fees).
  • Earn 2X points at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year in combined purchases, then 1X.
  • Every transaction is rounded up to the nearest 10 points, making this the ideal card to pull out for small purchases.

Citi Rewards+ 10% Points Rebate

The Citi Rewards+ provides outsized value if you already have a stash of ThankYou points. That's because this card gives you 10% points back on the first 100,000 points redeemed each year. That means you can earn a rebate of up to 10,000 points every year.

Provided you have all your ThankYou Points-earning cards linked, you'll get this points rebate on all redeemed points — including points transferred to airline partners and points earned from other cards, not just the Citi Rewards+.

If you transfer 100,000 points to a Citi transfer partner, you’ll get 10,000 points back in your ThankYou account. If you value Citi points at ~1.7¢ per point (though AwardWallet users typically get more value than that), that’s roughly $170 worth of points back in your account for future award travel. That’s an amazing perk for a no-annual-fee card!

Citi® Double Cash Card
Citi® Double Cash Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Offer Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Plus, get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. (After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness.)
The Citi Double Cash is a dynamic, no-annual-fee cash-back rewards card that allows you to earn 2% traditional cash back, or convert your rewards to ThankYou Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio (2x ThankYou points per $1). When paired with a premium ThankYou Rewards earning card, the Citi Double Cash is now the best card available for everyday, non-bonus purchases.

If you're looking to pay down debt or finance a larger purchase, this card also comes with one of the best available introductory APR offers on balance transfers.
  • Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
  • 2% cash back on every purchase - 1% when you buy + 1% when you pay
  • 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness
  • Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).
  • No annual fee
This card makes earning rewards simple with no need to worry about keeping track of bonus categories for purchases with specific types of merchants. You'll earn 2% cash back on every purchase—1% when you buy and 1% when you pay. Citi cash rewards now also convert to ThankYou points at 1:1 ($10 = 100 ThankYou points).

Whether you haven’t yet ventured into the Citi ecosystem or want to expand your ThankYou Rewards earning potential, the Citi Double Cash is one of the best everyday spending cards from any issuer. That makes it an excellent place to start your journey.

Cardholders earn 2% cash back on every purchase (1% when you buy plus 1% as you pay). After a recent change, this cashback is technically earned as ThankYou points that can transferred to three airline and hotel partners (Choice, JetBlue, and Wyndham) instead of being redeemed for cashback.

However, you'll still want a premium ThankYou Rewards card to unlock the ability to convert those points to all 18 airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio (1% cash back = 1 ThankYou Point).

Citi Double Cash Card Highlights

  • No annual fee.
  • Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
  • Introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months then an APR of 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable).
  • 2% cashback is the “worst-case” scenario.
  • The best-case scenario is transferring points to ThankYou partners by pairing the card with a ThankYou points-earning card.

Combining Points With Other Citi Cards

The rewards earned with the Citi Double Cash can be used as cash back or transferred to three transfer partners (Choice, JetBlue, Wyndham). If you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, you'll have access to the full range of Citi ThankYou transfer partners.

The Citi Double Cash‘s 2% cashback is already one of the best returns available with no annual fee, but it gets better. You can pair the Citi Double Cash with one of the cards above to earn 2X transferrable points on all purchases. That's the best earning rate you'll find on any consumer card in the industry.

Citi Custom Cash® Card
Citi Custom Cash® Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
  • Sign-up bonus of $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening, issued as 20,000 ThankYou® Points
  • 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category on up to $500 of purchses each billing cycle
  • No rotating bonus categories to sign up for--the top earning category adjusts automatically each month to the eligible category in which you spend the most.
  • Excellent intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
  • No annual fee
  • Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent
  • 1% cash back thereafter, plus, you'll earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
  • Eligible spending categories are: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment.

You also can earn cashback with the Citi Custom Cash® Card, which has no annual fee and adapts to your spending habits to provide the best earning rates possible. Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Additionally, new applicants can earn a $200 bonus after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.

The same ideas apply here: You'll want a premium card to unlock transfer partners (since you can't access any from this card), and you can turn your cashback earnings into ThankYou Points by pairing with another Citi credit card.

Citi Custom Cash Highlights

  • No annual fee.
  • Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
  • Introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months, then an APR of 19.24% - 29.24% Variable.
  • Doesn't require enrolling for bonus earnings.

Citi Application Strategy & Sign-Up Restrictions

If you are serious about collecting ThankYou Points, getting the sequencing right is critical. Long term, you want to get each of these cards in your arsenal:

Citi limits you to earning a welcome bonus on the same card to once every 48 months. For instance, the Citi Rewards+ has the following terms on the application page:

“Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Rewards+® account in the past 48 months.”

Thus, you can't earn a sign-up bonus on this card if you earned a bonus on the Citi Rewards+ in the last 48 months. If you're not sure about your timing, contact Citi to confirm when you received your previous bonus. It's worth noting that this rule is an update to Citi's previous rule blocking you from earning a bonus if you had opened or closed a Thank You points card in the past 24 months. That was much trickier to navigate.

Here's when it makes sense to apply for Citi’s no annual fee rewards cards.

If You Don’t Currently Hold a Citi ThankYou Card

Start with the Citi Double Cash. You'll earn 2% cashback on all of your purchases without paying an annual fee. Since the Citi Double Cash isn't part of the 48-month rule described above, you'll still have the option to apply for the Citi Premier and earn a lucrative bonus when you are ready to start transferring points out to airline partners (the Prestige Card also is a premium card, but it's not open to new applicants).

Wait on the Citi Rewards+. Its most valuable benefit is the 10% rebate on points redemptions, so this card pays dividends once you have built up a significant ThankYou Points balance. Consider other cards first, such as waiting for an elevated bonus on the Citi Premier.

You can get the Citi Custom Cash after you understand your spending habits and how to amass your earnings. Since you can combine earnings with other cards and apply for this card at other point, it's not your first priority.

If You Already Have a Citi ThankYou Card

Pay Lower Fees: If you only hold the Prestige Card and you are concerned about the high annual fee, you could apply for the Citi Premier. You'll earn the 60,000-point bonus, and you can then downgrade your Prestige Card to a Citi Rewards+. Be 100% sure about this decision, though, since you won't be able to get the Prestige Card again in the future. It's closed to new applicants and to product changes.

This strategy provides a significant bonus while significantly reducing your annual fees. You'll get a no-annual-fee card that returns 10% of the points you redeem each year (up to 10,000 points). Plus, you retain the ability to transfer ThankYou Points to partners but with a significantly reduced out-of-pocket expense.

Eliminate Annual Fees: If you want to avoid paying an annual fee completely, the other option is to apply for the Citi Rewards+ before downgrading or canceling your premium ThankYou card. This way, you earn the 20,000-point bonus on the Citi Rewards+ and keep your existing ThankYou Points alive. If you're considering this route, remember that you won't be able to transfer points to many partners.

Instead of applying for the Citi Rewards+ directly, you could downgrade your premium card to a Citi Rewards+. You won't earn a bonus, but you won't have a hard pull on your credit report (since it's not a new application).

The Citi Double Cash and Citi Custom Cash play a fantastic supporting role in collecting Citi points, but you don't want one of these to be your only card if you already have a stash of ThankYou Rewards. If you're looking to trim annual fees, the Citi Rewards+ is a great tool to keep your ThankYou balance intact. Just be sure you understand the limited transfer partners available from the Citi Double Cash and absence of transfer partners if all you hold is the Citi Rewards+ or Citi Custom Cash.

Final Thoughts

We think Citi ThankYou Rewards is widely underrated compared to its main rivals like Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. With its current roster of ThankYou points-earning cards, it’s arguably easier to build a sizeable balance of ThankYou Rewards than any other flexible currency through spending alone. And both these cards can potentially add tens of thousands of points to your balance every year.

Citi® Double Cash Card
Citi® Double Cash Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Offer Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Plus, get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. (After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness.)
The Citi Double Cash is a dynamic, no-annual-fee cash-back rewards card that allows you to earn 2% traditional cash back, or convert your rewards to ThankYou Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio (2x ThankYou points per $1). When paired with a premium ThankYou Rewards earning card, the Citi Double Cash is now the best card available for everyday, non-bonus purchases.

If you're looking to pay down debt or finance a larger purchase, this card also comes with one of the best available introductory APR offers on balance transfers.
  • Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
  • 2% cash back on every purchase - 1% when you buy + 1% when you pay
  • 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness
  • Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).
  • No annual fee
This card makes earning rewards simple with no need to worry about keeping track of bonus categories for purchases with specific types of merchants. You'll earn 2% cash back on every purchase—1% when you buy and 1% when you pay. Citi cash rewards now also convert to ThankYou points at 1:1 ($10 = 100 ThankYou points).

Citi Rewards+® Card
Citi Rewards+® Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus 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
  • Sign-up bonus of 20,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening
  • Automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase with no cap
  • 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X point per $1 thereafter
  • Top intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
  • 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter
  • 1X Points on all other purchases
  • Automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase - with no cap

Citi Custom Cash® Card
Citi Custom Cash® Card
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
  • Sign-up bonus of $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening, issued as 20,000 ThankYou® Points
  • 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category on up to $500 of purchses each billing cycle
  • No rotating bonus categories to sign up for--the top earning category adjusts automatically each month to the eligible category in which you spend the most.
  • Excellent intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
  • No annual fee
  • Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent
  • 1% cash back thereafter, plus, you'll earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
  • Eligible spending categories are: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment.

4.5 / 5 - (11 votes)
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Comments

  • Would this downgrade strategy work? Spouse and I each have our own Citi Premier cards. My card is coming up on the 1yr renewal and i’d like to downgrade but spouse will keep their Premier card.

    Can I change to the Citi Double Cash, keep all my TYP points (no expiration), transfer up to 100k TYP/year to spouse who can then use on transfer partners when we need them?

    I’m thinking the Double Cash would be better for us so we get 2x points on categories that only earn 1x points with our other cards.

  • Luís Gustavo Souza Gomes says:

    No meu caso, eu irei utilizar aqui no Brasil assim mesmo vale a pena?
    Qual seria o mais aconselhável no meu caso?

  • The cobranded Citibank Sears Mastercard accrues Thank You Points. It has a low credit limit, no annual fee, and offers unbeatable spending deals. They’re always sending me offers, like for the current 3 monthes, 10X Thank You Points for up to $500 per month on utilities including internet and cable. I get up to 15X points at supermarkets offers, online spending offers, and other offers. Linking it to my Thank You Rewards account with my Rewards+ card (and any other Thank You Rewards earning cards), makes any redemptions of points earned from these offers eligible for the 10% point rebate also.

  • I plan to product change from my Expedia card to either the double cash or custom cash later this year. Then eventually get the Premier.

  • I do want to get these cards someday. I’ll certainly refer back to this article if I decide to apply as I’d hate to lose out on any of the potential bonuses. It would be perfect if the Citi Double Cash card ever had a sign on bonus.

  • Heide Rendleman says:

    This is truly great. Who knew that CITI now has so many options. I thought Chase was the best. Now I truly have to rethink which credit card bank to apply with the next time I have a need! Good to know.

  • Great to know that downgrading to the Rewards+ card can get rid of annual fee but keep the points. Fantastic tip!

  • Using the citi double cash coupled with plastiq to cover my mortgage, probably not worth it now I managed to keep the old rate due to all the future transactions were grandfathered in

  • I like citi as a competitor to amex and chase. With competition, we the consumers should end up as the winner as each of them try to get our business.

  • Good article but I find other banks cards to have better incentives. I rarely use Citi unless they have a special promo inventive which is far and few between and usually capped at a $25 value.

  • sluggo@ministryofsluggo.com says:

    ummm….. CustomCash??? 5% back on your highest monthly spend catagory (Up to $500 per statement period.)?

  • A reward earning card with no fee is a rarity these days! I’m in

  • If my wife is an authorized user on my Citi Premier card, can she apply for her own Premier card and get the bonus points?

  • Citi cards are underrated and should be considered after 5/24.

  • Citi’s customer service is awful, they’re not worth the trouble.

  • Amex is the preferred card. This bank has always had bad CS.

  • I just got Citi custom card (no annual fee card). My issue with Citi’s no annaul fee cards is there is foreing transcatin fee, which is a big turn-off for expats abroad like me.

  • I think this is great to know right now that AA is a temp transfer partner. If Citi keeps AA on as a transfer partner then Citi cards will become even more valuable. I know I have looked closer at Citi. Am I ready to get a card? No. I want AA on a partner permanently before I would go for a card.

  • Nice for those who use Citicards. However, since the best strategy is to work within a card portfolio, I prefer the Chase Ultimate Rewards and AMEX Member Rewards programs, or cashback rewards.

  • The Citi Double Cash Card is a great option for everyday spend where you don’t have a more lucrative choice in a bonus category – for example, the Wells Fargo Propel card is a terrific choice for 3% cash back on Gas & Dining with no annual fee and free cell phone insurance if you pay your monthly cell bill with the card. Add in the option to get Thank You points when combined with a premium card and the Double Cash card is hard to beat as an all around go to card for day to day spending.

    • It is well worth valuing the ability to combine the Citi Double Cash Card with a premium card. Earning Thank You points really maximizes the rewards potential. I would find it tough to switch away and beat this.

  • Just an FYI, there’s a typo in the parenthetical in this sentence: If you only hold the Prestige Card and you are concerned about the high annual fee: You could apply for the Citi Premier (assuming you your Prestige Card bonus posted at least 24 months ago).

  • Thanks for the great article. I do the similar strategy with Chase Sapphire P and Freedom Unlimited. As soon as I max out my Chase card herd, I think I’ll move over to the Citi platform for the Premiere and Double Cash. I’ll be able to come at things from two angles with UR and TY points.

  • The answer to my earlier question turrs out to be: Call ThankYou (not Citi!) and ask them to “Combine Citi Accounts”. Once they did so, I did indeed get the points merged and having the benefits from both cards.

  • Just a note on these Citi cards – if you have a non-US address registered on your account (even temporarily), Citi will attempt to close your account.
    The letter advising you of such takes so long to arrive that by the time you find out, your account will already be closed!
    It takes a lot of phone calls to get them to reinstate you.

  • Great layout of key strategies here. Likely going to downgrade Prestige this summer before the next annual fee (first for me since the increase) to the Rewards+ to pair with the Premier then add the Double Cash.

  • Downsizing from annual fee to no annual fee cards is what I am doing. now. Citi Rewards Plus is on my close horizon.

  • I currently have just the Citi Premier card, and I’m not sure which card to downgrade to: the Rewards+ card or the double cash card.

  • If my Rewards+ and Premier cards are both shown on my Accounts page, does that mean they’re “linked”? I ask because the TYP balances for the 2 cards are listed separately.

    The only “Link” option I see on the page dredges up a couple cancelled cards and offers to link them.

    When I try to redeem using the “Rewards+” points, I see its total and can transfer only to JetBlue.
    When I try to redeem using the “Premier” points, I see its total and can transfer to a whole host of airlines.

    So they’re definitely being treated as neither getting the benefits of the other.

    What am I missing?

  • Good news. The best thing about ThankYou points is to transfer them to some partners like Air France, Qatar or Turkish Airlines.

  • Thank you for this info. I’ve been a long-time user of the Chase platform, but The Reserve (and Citi’s Prestige) for that matter have really been quite a high premium given the climate, so I’ll be looking to axe the higher priced cards.

    Prestige lost most (all) the benefits I’d use regularly or ones that would help substantiate the cost. The CSR as well.

  • Citi Double Cash card is great for any spend that does not earn bonuses with other cards. Only downside is I have to remember NOT to use it when outside of US as it charges at 3% foreign exchange fee.

  • Steven William Van Meter says:

    i like programs like this one. i especially like offers that have free luggage or TSA pre-check included. This un-necessary lockdown will end -hopefully soon, then we can get back to ravel!!

  • I am following this strategy myself. Just applied for and got the Premier. I will downgrade the Prestige when the annual fee comes due. (Good to know about asking for the same account #.) And this all works well with the (now defunct) AT&T More Thank You card.

  • Citi Rewards+
    Citi Premier
    Prestige Card

    This combo sounds great for the leisure travelers.

  • Such a valuable post, learned lots of unknown tricks. Thanks!

  • Allison L Caraway says:

    Also, don’t make the mistake of converting cards from other Citi product lines to one of the cards that excludes you from the Premier or Prestige bonus. I did that with an AA platinum card to a TY Preferred. I later decided I needed to apply for the increased bonus on the Premier so I could transfer to airline partners and I was DQed from the bonus on the Premier because they kept the original bonus earn date from the AA card attached the converted Preferred card. 🙁 Get the big card first to get those bonus points!

  • I love the citi double cashback, I combine that with my citi prestige to be able to get 2 transferable airline points per dollar spent, its the best deal out there.

  • When a Thank You program card is closed, the Thank You points accrued from it expire in 60 days or so. Learned this after Citi closed out one of mine for not being active in 18 months.

    • I’m actually surprised they’re not immediately forfeited and that you actually get 60 days to use them.

    • They closed an inactive card after 18 months? Causing a complete loss of points? I don’t like the sound of that at all. Is that actually the policy?

  • Very, very good info and detailed. A bookmarked page for sure. Thanks.

  • Thank you for such valuable info!!!