You Can Now Redeem Citi ThankYou^® Points at Dollar General [But Please Don’t]

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You can now redeem your Citi ThankYou^® points for Dollar General purchases. All you need to do is use a qualifying Citi ThankYou card and meet the minimum spend requirement of $5.01. Cardholders don't need to register or enroll to redeem their Citi ThankYou points for Dollar General purchases.

However, whether you should take advantage of this new redemption option is an entirely different question.

Redeeming Citi ThankYou Points at Dollar General

Cardholders don't need to register or enroll to redeem Citi ThankYou points at Dollar General. All you need to do is shop normally and spend at least $5.01. If you meet these requirements, you will be prompted at checkout asking if you want to redeem 625 Citi ThankYou points for $5 off your bill.

How it works

• At the checkout, use your eligible Citi card to initiate payment.
• If you are eligible, you may be prompted to redeem 625 Citi ThankYou Points for $5 off your Dollar General bill.
• Choose yes on the terminal to confirm your choice.
• You will receive your receipt with the amount charged to your card and the number of points used.

Excluded purchases

You cannot redeem your Citi ThankYou points for all purchases since some are ineligible for redemptions. The following purchases are excluded:

• Alcohol.
• Tobacco.
• Milk products.

The first two are somewhat understandable, but the reasoning behind the third restriction leaves us scratching our heads.

Return policy

There may be some confusion if you need to return items you purchased at Dollar General and paid for with Citi points. According to Citi ThankYou, your points cannot be returned to your ThankYou account. Instead, returns “will be processed in accordance with Dollar General's in-store returns policy.”

Here is where some confusion may arise since Dollar General’s returns policy states the following:

“You can expect a refund in the same form of payment originally used for purchase within 30 days of our receiving your returned product. Your refund will include the cost of the item, plus any applicable sales tax.”

So, it is unclear what form your refund will take.

Eligible Citi ThankYou Cards

Cardholders of the following Citi cards can redeem Citi ThankYou points at Dollar General:

• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
• Citi Custom Cash^® Card
• Citi Double Cash^® Card
• Citi Rewards+^® Card
• Citi ThankYou^® Preferred Card
• Citi Prestige^® Card
• AT&T Points Plus Card
• AT&T Access More Card from Citi
• AT&T Access Card from Citi
• CitiBusiness ThankYou Card
• AT&T Universal Card
• Sears cards

Related: How To Earn Citi ThankYou^® Points

Is It Worth Redeeming Citi Points at Dollar General?

Absolutely not! Redeeming 625 Citi ThankYou points for $5.00 off your Dollar General bill is a terrible return. Crunching the numbers, you get a value of 0.8¢ per point – less than one cent per point.

At the absolute minimum, Citi cardholders should redeem ThankYou points for 1¢ per point. That's the rate at which you can cash out Citi ThankYou points for a statement credit or a transfer to your bank account. So, redeeming points for less than this amount is throwing away guaranteed value.

Ironically, you'd only need to cash out 500 ThankYou points to cover your $5 Dollar General purchase — rather than 625 points when redeeming points at the cash register. That is a 20% savings compared to redeeming with Dollar General directly.

Savvy Citi cardholders can redeem ThankYou points for even more value. For example, AwardWallet members have leveraged their Citi ThankYou points for a value of 2.19¢ by redeeming points through Citi ThankYou transfer partners.

Comparatively, redeeming points for 0.8¢ per point is just 36% of what AwardWallet members have averaged. Considering that Citi ThankYou Points do not expire, you are better off sitting on your points for when a better redemption option comes along.

Related: Best uses of Citi ThankYou points within North America

Other Ways to Save on Dollar General Purchases

One of the important aspects of saving on purchases — including Dollar General purchases — is to maximize your earnings on each purchase. And that requires using the best-earning credit card available.

According to the AwardWallet Merchant Lookup Tool, Dollar General generally codes as General Retail or Variety Stores, depending on the card issuer:

That means a card that earns well on groceries won't do you any good at Dollar General. Instead, you'll want to use one of the best credit cards for everyday purchases.

If you're in the Citi ecosystem already, the Citi Double Cash is a great option: Earn $200 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. That cashback is earned as ThankYou points, meaning it can be easily combined with other Citi ThankYou cards and transferred to Citi transfer partners.

Citi Double Cash^® Card

How to Apply

Citi Double Cash^® Card

Annual Fee$0

Welcome Offer Earn $200 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. Plus, get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. (After that, the (Variable) APR will be 18.24% - 28.24% based on your creditworthiness.)

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Why We Like ItHighlightsEarning Rates

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 $200 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.
• 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 18.24% - 28.24% based on your creditworthiness
• 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)
• No annual fee

• 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: Build a Winning Combo of Citi ThankYou Rewards Cards

Our Take

On the one hand, it is great you have another way to use your Citi ThankYou points. However, on the other hand, the value is so poor you have to wonder why Citi even offers this as an option.

For now, we will chalk up this Citi ThankYou redemption option with the others that you shouldn't use:

• You Can Now Redeem Citi ThankYou Points at Walmart [But Please Don't]
• You Can Now Redeem Citi ThankYou Points at Walgreens [But Please Don’t]

AwardWallet Tip of The Day

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