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Citi is currently offering a 60,000-point bonus on the Citi Premier® Card. This is one of the few elite travel cards with an annual fee under $100, and it earns some of the most valuable points out there.
- 60,000 point signup bonus worth $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through ThankYou.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, hotels, and at gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
But are you eligible to apply? And more importantly, if you're approved for a new Citi Premier, can you earn the lucrative welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus ThankYou Points?
In this post, we'll cover the rules for who can apply for one of Citi's ThankYou Rewards earning cards—plus who is eligible to earn a welcome bonus. Cards in the ThankYou lineup include:
Citi Application Rules
Like many card issuers, Citi implements a few policies designed to make sure new card applicants are the type of customers they want to acquire. If you aren't already familiar with why these rules exist, check out our guide to creating a healthy relationship with the banks.
With Citibank, there are two important, but subtly different restrictions to understand:
- The first set of rules relates to when you can successfully apply for a card (the timing of your application). If you fail to follow these guidelines, Citi may not even process your application. These restrictions apply to all cards issued by Citi.
- The second set of rules relates to whether you can earn the sign-up bonus being marketed to new cardmembers. Indeed, you may be able to apply for a card successfully. But, if you run afoul of this second type of restriction, you could end up getting approved for the card only to discover that you aren’t eligible to earn a new cardmember bonus.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
When can you apply?
Citi's rules about application timing are best described as unofficial, internal rules. You won't find these restrictions published on Citi's website or application pages. But thanks to many applicants who shared information about their experience, the points-and-miles community has generally been able to agree on the following:
For personal (consumer) credit cards, Citi will accept a maximum of one (1) application in an eight-day period and a maximum of two (2) applications in a 60-day period.
In other words, your application will be rejected if either of the following is true:
- You’ve applied for any Citi card in the past eight days.
- You’ve applied for two Citi cards in the past 60 days (many sources advise waiting until day 65 to be safe).
For business cards, Citi will accept a new application only once per 90 days.
The restrictions described above are often referred to by the shorthand “Citi 8/65 rule.” So, to determine your eligibility, you need to track the dates you applied for Citi-issued credit cards. The date your application was approved or denied doesn't matter.
When can you earn a welcome bonus?
Much of the confusion about Citi's application rules centered on a previous rule where opening, closing, or earning a bonus on one card could affect your eligibility for a bonus on another card. And that applied for 24 months across cards within the same family. That was complicated.
Luckily, most cards have moved away from this general “family” rule and changed to a “this card” timeline. Moreover, Citi is known for only approving applicants who are eligible for the bonus. That's good news; it's unlikely that you'll be approved for a credit card and then not receive the bonus after meeting the spending requirements.
Earning a ThankYou Rewards Bonus
There is a 48-month rule you need to know about on this card, which you can find in the application terms:
Thus, if you've had this card in the past and earned a welcome bonus in the past 48 months, you won't be eligible for the welcome offer.
Final Thoughts
When a bank offers a sign-up bonus, it's betting on recouping that cost over the life of its relationship with the new customer. In recent years, we've seen increasingly sophisticated rules to exclude customers that banks don't think will be profitable. These restrictions aren't always easy to understand, but learning the basics is critical to a successful points and miles strategy.
Along with Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards, Citi's ThankYou Points are among the most valuable and versatile points you can earn. The current 60,000-point offer on the Citi Premier is an excellent bonus that should give all points and miles collectors a good reason to review Citi's application rules.
- 60,000 point signup bonus worth $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through ThankYou.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, hotels, and at gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
If I currently have a Citi Premier card (original application and bonus earn over 48 months ago), do I need to cancel the card before applying again, or am I able to carry 2 Premier cards at the same time – and earn the SUB on the new one since the old one was >48 months?
RJ, The Terms don’t say specifically whether you can or can’t get another Citi Premier card while still holding one. From personal experience, I would expect Citi to be confused by this and possibly deny your application saying, “You already have this card.” To make it simpler, you could downgrade to one of Citi’s no-annual-fee options like the Rewards+ or Double Cash and then apply.
If I have the Citi Double Cash card, do you know if I am eligible for the welcome bonus if I upgrade to the Premier? Would be great too not have a hard pull and still get the bonus. Thanks!
Unfortunately, welcome/sign-up bonuses are only offered for new cardholders when opening a new account. I totally understand the want to avoid the hard pull (and new account). Your other option is to try calling Citi to see if you have an upgrade offer.
Hello, So I applied for the card 5 months after my previous application for a Citi Custom cash card but I was denied application. I did have 6 hard inquieries in the past 6 months. Do you think that would affect it? I spoke with one of the representative and she said that it shoudn’t affect me especially since Citi Custom Cash card is not part of the Thankyou family.
Interesting data point. My understanding is the same as the agent. It seems Citi is tightening its approval requirements and perhaps your number of inquiries is a bit high for them. I’d wait until a few of those inquiries roll off before trying again.
In the past 2 years, I have had 2 AA advantage Citi cards, closed one in the past few months, does that count against me for this offer?
Thankfully AA cards are treated separately from ThankYou Point-earning cards. So, these two cards wouldn’t factor into your Citi Premier bonus eligibility.
Thanks. My preferred awards programs are Chase UR and Amex MRs, followed by cashback programs, but it’s useful to remain abreast of the various available programs including Citi’s.
Exactly, for the sole reason that this landscape is always shifting to and fro. If you do this long enough, you will likely be presented with a legimtate reason to shift programs, weather it be a particularly valualbe offer or a positive or negative change in program terms.
Citi is slowly trying to compete with Amex and Chase. Maybe worth a second look.
I can´t believe it! I will be rejected because I’ve applied for 2 Citi cards. They should reward old customers too, but I understand… =(
Still Citi though; not worth the terrible customer service.
My friend applied and was declined and reconsideration rejected her too. She had two recent credit pulls in the past 60 – 90 days. Looks like Citi is being difficult with new applications.
This is certainly a complicated set of rules but if you qualify, it is certainly a good way to get a big bonus for an annual fee that is under one hundred dollars.
TY. After reading this and knowing thecAFveas coming shortly on my now semi worthless Prestige, I successfully applied for the Premier. Will PC the the Prestige to DC. Prefer to keep the points alive for now.
Downgrading is the way to go, then you never close the account and are eligible after the right amount of time for new bonuses!
I opened Citi premier in Oct 2017, and open Citi prestige in Feb 2020. I got Prestige bonus on May 2020. Then I guess I can’t open Citi premier again till May 2022 to get a new bonus, right?
Did you close your first Citi Premier? If so, that would factor into this calculation. But yes, you’re prevented from getting a Citi ThankYou Point bonus through (at least) May 2022.
Thank you very much for this article, very helpful!
I have 2 questions that I would appreciate answers to…please: 1) When using your Citi Card to pay taxes (e.g., itemized), do they code it as a cash advance or as merchandise? (The answer will be a deal breaker for me); and 2) If you had the card >24 months ago, are you entitled to a bonus of do they keep a long-standing record like Amex to prevent new bonuses?
Many thanks…Michael
1. If you pay through one of the three IRS-approved providers, the payment will post as a purchase – not a cash advance. We have a full explanation of that topic in this post: https://awardwallet.com/blog/pay-taxes-with-credit-card/
2. Nope, not like Amex. Just the 24-month period!
What about a previous product change to Rewards+ without welcome bonus? Would I be eligible for the Premier bonus now?
Generally yes. However, if Citi issues your new card with a new account number, Citi may consider your old card closed and a new card reopened for the sake of the bonus. However, you’ll generally be eligible for a new card bonus if you downgrade.
This is good information. I would suggest that in the “When you Closed a ThankYou Card” section you also talk about the case when you product change the card instead of closing the card and how it impacts the SUB eligibility.
If I have a premier card and it’s been more than 24 months since I got a bonus and more than 24 months since I closed a card can I get the welcome bonus? I think so.
Yes, unlike the Chase Sapphire bonus text, the Citi bonus restrictions don’t restrict current cardholders from earning another bonus. However, Citi may not approve you for a second Citi Premier card. And, you’ll need to be careful with downgrading. Sometimes that can cause your card number to change and the bonus “clock” to reset.
I had the Prestige and converted to the Rewards+ is that considered closing the account?
Probably not. The key question: Did you get a new account number? If you kept the same card number, it isn’t considered the same as closing an account. If the number changed, there are mixed data points.