Citi Rewards+ Credit Card Review: Enticing Rewards and No Annual Fee

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About the

The Citi Rewards+® credit card is one of the many credit card offerings from Citi® that focuses on rewards through purchases you make every day.

For a limited time, earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ Portal through June 30, 2024. You can earn 2 Citi ThankYou® points for every dollar spent at gas stations and supermarkets across the country, up to $6,000 in purchases, after which you earn 1 point per dollar. It also offers 1 point for each $1 spent on all other purchases. Plus, all purchases are rounded up to the nearest 10 rewards points.

There is also no annual fee, which is the highlight of this rewards card. However, there’s an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount for each transfer during the first four months of account opening. After that, the fee increases to 5% on each balance transfer. The minimum fee is $5.

There are many ways to redeem your rewards, which makes this Citi credit card a good choice for many people. For instance, if you’re a frequent traveler, you can redeem points for travel. If you already own other Citi credit cards with ThankYou® points, you can use this one to strategically earn more points.

Best Features

Here’s everything you need to know about the features of the Citi Rewards+ card:

Fees

As mentioned, the Citi Rewards+ card doesn’t have an annual fee. However, there are other fees you may have to pay, which mainly includes balance transfer fee and international transaction fee.

There’s an introductory fee for four months on balance transfers of 3% or $5, whichever is more. After the introductory period, the fee will increase to the larger of 5% or $5.

The international transaction fee is 3%, which applies to all foreign transactions, including purchases on foreign websites. That’s a little higher than what you’ll find on other competitive rewards cards. If you’re planning to use the card while traveling or buying things from websites outside the U.S., you’ll have to pay this fee every time.

Redeeming Rewards

Although there are a lot of avenues to redeem rewards on your earned points, there’s no straightforward system. The rewards vary by the number of points. Here are some of the ways you can redeem Citi ThankYou® points:

• Cash back: Cash back is paid via a statement credit, direct deposit or check by mail. The minimum redemption amount for a check is $5.
• Gift card: You can get gift cards from various stores and restaurants from the ThankYou® points center.
• Shopping: Use your points on select merchandisers, including Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Live Nation, PayPal and 1800Flowers.com.
• Travel bookings: These points can be redeemed through the ThankYou® Travel Center. Fees may apply.
• Check made out to charity: If you’re in the giving mood, you can also redeem points for a check made payable for $25, $50 or $100 to a charity listed on thankyou.com.
• Pay With Points: This option allows you to pay for recent purchases in qualifying categories, such as utilities, entertainment and clothing, with points.

The rewards are pretty decent, and anyone good with strategically using points and rewards can benefit.

Interest Rate

One of the best things the Citi Rewards+ credit card offers is a 0% introductory APR for 15 months, after which the APR will be , depending on credit score. Some may consider this high — especially if you don’t have an excellent credit score, which means you’ll most likely pay something toward the upper limit.

For balance transfers, the 15 month introductory APR begins from the first transfer. For purchases, the 15 months start when you open the account. For balance transfers, the first transaction must be done within four months.

Despite the potentially high regular APR, the initial 0% APR can come in handy for balance transfers from other credit cards as long as you pay them off within the first 15 months.

Sign-Up Bonus

The sign-up bonus offer on Citi Rewards+ is pretty good, but it has a catch. You have to spend $1,500 within the first three months to get the 20,000 bonus points.

These are redeemable as gift cards worth $200, whereas other card offers will give you actual cash back.

Who Is It Best For? 

The Citi Rewards+ card can be great for anyone because the points come from frequent purchases, such as putting gas in your car or buying vegetables at the market. The absence of an annual fee is also beneficial.

That all said, it’s better for someone a little experienced with credit cards and rewards. While the rewards are great, they have a learning curve if you want to make the most of it. That’s because the points work differently for each reward.

Good to Know

Like most Citi credit cards, you’ll need a good credit score, likely at least 670, to qualify easily. Even then, your eventual APR after the first 15 months will be based on creditworthiness. If you don’t have a good credit score at the moment, you may want to get a credit card that may help you with that without a very high interest rate.

Citi Rewards+ Credit Card vs. the Competition

While several rewards cards offer similar features as the Citi Rewards+ card, none offer the point round-up feature. That’s one of the biggest pros of this card and gives it an edge over others. 

The most direct competitor of the Citi Rewards+ card is the American Express EveryDay® card, which has similar features, including a 0% APR on purchases for the first 15 months — followed by an APR of — and the ability to earn points on purchases in U.S. supermarkets.

The card doesn’t extend the introductory rate to balance transfers — mainly because the card doesn’t offer them. However, it does offer 20% extra bonus points every month, though, if the holder makes at least 20 transactions in a month. Terms apply.

Another competitor is Chase Freedom Unlimited, which has a multi-tiered rewards system like Citi Rewards+. It offers 5% cash back on travel, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5% cash back on everything else.

And like Citi Rewards+, it offers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. However, Chase Freedom Unlimited’s APR range after the introductory rate is slightly higher, at .

Final Take 

The Citi Rewards+ card can be profitable in the right hands, as there are many opportunities to earn and redeem rewards.

Even though the rewards are enticing, understanding them and benefiting may take some time and strategy. There’s no annual fee, which is a huge plus. And the 0% introductory APR on balance transfers allows you to transfer the debt from another card without paying a high interest rate as long as you pay it off within the required time. 

Once the introductory APR for purchases ends, the APR will be , so it’s important to pay your bill in full each month to avoid having to pay interest charges.

Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of October 11, 2022.

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