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Offers for the Citi Rewards+® Card are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
Update: As of April 8, 2025, Citi closed applications for the Citi Rewards+® Card. If you currently have the card, this post covers the benefits in detail. If not, here are our recommendations for best travel cards.
The Citi Rewards+® Card offers unique features that help consumers earn more Citi ThankYou® Points for their travels. Because it doesn't offer travel insurance benefits and it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, it's not the ideal card for international trips, but you might find its benefits make it a good fit for your wallet. That's especially true when you consider the unique earnings features on this card.
Here's everything you need to know about the Citi Rewards+.
- 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
Page Contents
Citi Rewards+ Pros
- $0 annual fee.
- 10% points rebate feature.
- All purchases earn at least 10 points.
Citi Rewards+ Cons
- No insurance protections.
- Limited transfer partner options unless you hold another Citi credit card.
- 3% foreign transaction fee.
Citi Rewards+ Welcome Offer
If you apply for the Citi Rewards+, you can earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou Points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening. To ensure you’re getting the best offer, check out our Citi credit card offer history page for the full Citi Rewards+ offer history.
It's worth mentioning that AwardWallet users get an average of 2.19¢ per point when redeeming Citi points, meaning you'll receive a great return on the minimum spending required to earn the welcome bonus.
Related: How Does a Credit Card Signup Bonus Work?
Citi Rewards+ Earning Rates
The Citi Rewards+ has simple-to-understand earning categories. As you spend on the card, you will earn:
- 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
For a limited time, you'll also earn 5X points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) in the Citi travel portal through December 31, 2025 — a newly extended date for this offer.
Related: How To Earn Citi ThankYou® Points
A couple details to note: To earn the promotional 2x supermarket points bonus, make sure you're shopping at a store using the “supermarket” merchant code, not a warehouse or wholesale club, bakery, or drugstore. Likewise, you'll 2x on gas purchased at gas stations but not when buying warehouse or wholesale club gas.
Round up
This card has a unique “round up” feature. All earned points are rounded up to the nearest 10 points; for example, a $3 coffee earns 10 points. That makes this one of the best cards for small purchases. You're guaranteed to earn at least 10 points — rather than the 1 or 2 points you'll earn on most cards.
Additionally, as you redeem points, you're eligible to earn 10% of them back into your account — up to 100,000 points per year. We'll discuss this more in the redemption section.
Do Citi ThankYou Points expire?
Points earned on newer Citi Cards generally don't expire, but pay attention to the ways you could lose your points. If you close your Citi card, you have 60 days to redeem your points. You have 90 days to use points transferred to you from someone else. And, of course, if Citi has to close your account due to fraud, misuse, or abuse, you'll lose your points.
Citi Rewards+ Benefits
The Citi Rewards+ has a few valuable benefits to keep in mind when considering this card as part of your points-earning strategy. While the perks don't include trip cancellation insurance or rental car insurance (as Citi removed these benefits in 2019), they do include ways to help you earn more points and save money.
0% introductory APR
When you're approved for the Citi Rewards+, you can take advantage of a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on purchases. After the introductory period, your interest rate will be 17.74% - 27.74% (Variable).
0% introductory balance transfer offer
New cardholders can enjoy a 0% introductory APR offer on balance transfers for 15 months on Balance Transfers (Variable).
Note: There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5)
Related: Best $0 Annual Fee Credit Cards with 0% Introductory APR
No annual fee
Luckily, this card doesn't charge an annual fee, which makes it an excellent choice for budget-conscious people.
Redeeming Points With the Citi Rewards+
The Citi Rewards+ earns Citi ThankYou Points, which can be redeemed in several ways, making them quite valuable. You'll get even more value from another unique card feature: getting 10% of your points back, posted at the end of each billing cycle. This rebate applies to the first 100,000 points you redeem every year. Luckily, it applies to all redemption options, providing up to 10,000 points back each year.
Keep in mind that the 10% rebate ends with the calendar year. You may want to transfer points to a travel partner before the year ends to maximize your rebate. Another item of note is that the 10% rebate benefit from this card extends to all your ThankYou Points — even ones you earned from other Citi cards like Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. That feature alone might be valuable enough to add this card to your wallet alongside your other Citi cards.
Related: Maximize Your Citi Rewards 10% Rebate
Transfer partners
It may require a bit more work compared to other redemption options, but transferring your ThankYou points to Citi's transfer partners provides the most value. Transferring points means sending your points to the loyalty program of your choice and redeeming them for flights or hotel stays. Citi has 21 total transfer partners, including five hotel partners and 14 airline programs. Notable partners include Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, EVA Infinity MileageLands, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles. Transferring to travel partners remains one of the best ways to use Citi ThankYou points.
Related: Citi ThankYou Point North America Sweet Spots
One caveat to remember is that you won't have access to all of these partners if you don't hold one of Citi's premium credit cards: Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants) or Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.
If you only have the Citi Rewards+, you'll have access to only three transfer partners: JetBlue TrueBlue, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards. While better than nothing, this reduces your options and incentivizes holding one of Citi‘s other cards to access additional transfer partners.
Related: 5X on Top Category, 3X on Travel and Food, 2X on Everything Else: The Citi ThankYou Rewards Trifecta
Gift cards
Citi has a wide range of retailers with which you can redeem points for gift cards. Choose from retailers like Sephora, Starbucks, IKEA, Nike, and dozens of other options. Keep your eye out for sales where the site offers gift cards for discounted points. Gift cards are not the worst redemption, either: Your points are worth as much as 1.1¢ each here.
Booking travel through The Citi TravelSM Site
If you don't want to fuss with transferring your rewards, you can quickly book travel within Citi's travel portal. Not only can you book flights, you also can book hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, and apartments, as well as activities. Keep in mind that the redemption value may not be as high, as points are worth a flat 1¢ apiece in the portal. But you can use the portal for unique redemptions like theme park tickets, boutique hotels, rental cars, and more.
Make sure to compare prices to booking outside the portal if you're concerned with getting the best deal available.
Redeem for cash
You have several options for redeeming ThankYou Points for cash. One is to redeem them for a statement credit against purchases, extracting between 0.8¢–1¢ apiece in value. Alternatively, you could opt for a check in the mail or direct deposit to your bank account, both oworth 1¢ per point.
Shop with points
You likely shop online with large retailers like Amazon or Best Buy. When you shop with either retailer, you can use your ThankYou Points towards your purchases to knock down the cost. While it's convenient, it tends to provide poor value — as low as 0.5¢ per point. But as a last resort for random Citi points you have lying around, this might be your best bet.
Related: You Can Now Redeem Citi ThankYou Points at Walmart (But Please Don't)
Application Restrictions and Strategy
You'll see the following notice on the Citi Rewards+ card's 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.”
That means if you earned a welcome bonus on the Citi Rewards+ in the past 48 months, you aren't eligible for this bonus. In addition, Citi has an 8/65 rule that applicants must abide by to be approved. It means:
- You won't be approved for more than one Citi card in an eight-day period.
- You won't be approved for more than two Citi cards in a 65-day period.
These rules are worth noting, as Citi offers multiple rewards credit cards worth considering.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Citi Rewards+
The Citi Rewards+ is a solid choice for consumers who want to earn valuable points without paying an annual fee. However, there are many others to choose from that also deliver great value to cardholders. Here's how the Citi Rewards+ stacks up.
- If you're eligible for a Chase card, consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. You'll earn 1.5% on all other purchases back on everyday spending and can pair your earnings with other Chase cards to access Chase's transfer partners. This card also earns 5% back in Chase's travel portal and has no annual fee. Learn more in our Chase Freedom Unlimited review.
- If you want to earn Capital One miles instead, look into the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. This card charges no annual fee while earning 1.25X miles per dollar on every purchase, plus 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. It also has a 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months and a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months (Balance transfer fee applies), then a Variable rate of 19.24% - 29.24%. Check out our review of the Capital One VentureOne to find out more.
- If you want a Citi card that earns a flat rate of cash back, the Citi Double Cash® Card earns an impressive 2% cash back on all purchases, awarded as 1% when you buy plus 1% as you pay. This card offers the same redemption options as the Citi Rewards+, and you won't pay an annual fee. Our review of the Citi Double Cash can tell you more.
- Earn 5% on purchases through Chase Travel℠
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all purchases
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5 Miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
- Earn 2% cash back on every purchase—1% when you buy and 1% when you pay. Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. Citi cash rewards now also convert to ThankYou points at 1:1 ($10 = 100 ThankYou points).
Related: Citi's No Annual Fee Cards Cards and the Strategy Behind How To Get Them
Final Thoughts
The Citi Rewards+ is a solid pick for anyone looking for a rewards credit card without an annual fee or complicated benefits to track. Instead, it multiplies your points-earning capabilities when paired with other Citi credit cards. It offers unique perks like the 10% rebate and the “round up” feature. And while you shouldn't use it outside the U.S. — because of its foreign transaction fees — it's the number one card to use any time you're making a small purchase.
- 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
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees)
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