4 Reasons to Get the Citi Premier Card

Official application link: Citi Premier Card with a 60,000-point bonus after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

If you’re looking for a new go-to credit card, the Citi Premier Card should be on your short list. With a solid sign-up bonus, strong category spending bonuses and valuable redemption options, the Citi Premier provides a lot of value. We’ve recently considered why the Citi Premier is particularly great for families, road trips and RV rentals — but let’s take a step back and consider the main reasons you might want to add the Citi Premier Card to your purse or wallet.

1. 60,000-Point Sign-up Bonus

If you’ve been waiting to get the Citi Premier Card, now might be the perfect time to pull the trigger. Currently, you can earn 60,000 ThankYou Rewards points after spending $4,000 on the card in the first three months. This bonus ties the best sign-up bonus we’ve seen on this card, although the card’s $95 annual fee is no longer waived for the first year.

Based on TPG’s latest point valuations, 60,000 ThankYou Rewards points are worth $1,020 when utilized for award flights via Citi’s airline transfer partners. However, if you value simplicity or just want to use your points to purchase cash fares, the 60,000-point sign-up bonus can also be used to book $750 of paid airfare directly at the Citi ThankYou travel center. And, in that case since you’re redeeming miles for a paid fare, you’ll still earn miles and elite qualifying credit with the airline.

Note that you aren’t eligible for the sign-up bonus if you’ve earned a sign-up bonus for, or closed, a Citi Rewards+, ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier, Premier or Prestige card within the last 24 months.

2. Earn 3x on Travel, Including Gas

The Citi Premier Card has strong bonus spending categories, especially for a $95 annual fee card.

• 3x points on travel (including gas)
• 2x points on restaurants and entertainment
• 1x points on all other purchases

Even better, the bonus spending categories are broadly defined. Travel spending includes purchases at:

“…airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, travel agencies/travel aggregators/tour operators, gas stations, commuter transportation, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, cruise lines, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, campgrounds and trailer parks, timeshares, bus lines, motor home/recreational vehicle rentals and boat leases and rentals”

Based on TPG’s valuation of Citi ThankYou points at 1.7 cents each, you’ll earn a 5.1% return on travel purchases, making the Citi Premier Card one of the best cards for gas purchases. However, note that gas purchases at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and convenience stores are excluded from 3x earnings and instead earn just 1x.

The 2x dining out and entertainment bonus spending category is also broadly defined. You’ll earn 2x at restaurants — including cafes, bars, lounges and fast food restaurants — as well as on:

“…select entertainment, including live entertainment, live theatrical productions, concerts, live sporting events, movie theaters, amusement parks (including zoos, aquariums, circuses and carnivals), tourist attractions (including museums and art galleries), record stores, video rental stores and on-demand internet streaming media”

With 2x points on dining and entertainment — an approximate 3.4% return — the Citi Premier Card made TPG‘s lists of best credit cards for dining and best credit cards for entertainment spending.

3. Useful Shopping Protections

Citi has historically provided the best shopping protections of any major card issuer, but some shopping protections were removed from the Citi Premier Card effective September 22, 2019. Here’s a listing of the shopping protections currently available:

• Extended Warranty Protection adds an additional 24 months onto the manufacturer’s warranty.
• Damage and Theft Protection repairs or replaces an item that’s damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase (up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year).

4. Redemption Possibilities

The Citi Premier Card participates in the ThankYou Rewards program, which means you can redeem Citi ThankYou points directly for airfare at the Citi ThankYou Travel Center for a fixed rate of 1.25 cents per point. But, you’ll usually get better value by transferring your points to one of Citi’s 15 travel transfer partners:

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• Garuda Indonesia Miles
• Jet Airways JetPrivilege
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Malaysia Airlines Enrich
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Royal Orchid Plus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

JetBlue is the only US-based airline among the list of transfer partners, but there’s still plenty of value to be found in these partners even for domestic travelers. For example, you can find cheap Delta awards by booking through Virgin Atlantic — like 50,000-mile business class flights to Europe — or get excellent value on Star Alliance awards using Avianca LifeMiles, including domestic United flights.

Bottom Line

The Citi Premier Card features useful shopping protections and strong category bonuses for travel, gas, dining and entertainment purchases. For more information on the Citi Premier Card, check out the following stories:

• Citi Premier: Should This Be Your Next Card?
• 5 Reasons Families Need a Citi Premier Card
• Why the Citi Premier Is Great for Road Trips and RV Rentals
• Credit Card Review: Citi Premier Card
• Maximizing the Citi Premier Card

Interested in applying? Here’s the link to apply now for the Citi Premier Card with a 60,000 point bonus.

Featured photo by shapecharge/Getty Images