Citi Rewards+® Credit Card Review

Citi Rewards+® Credit Card Review

This article will review the Citi Rewards+® Credit Card, the no-annual-fee rewards card with a limited-time offer of 20,000 bonus points.

With the Citi Rewards+® credit card, you can earn 25,000 bonus points after your spendings reach $1,500 within the first 3 months of account opening. This is equivalent to $250 if redeemed for the gift cards. Plus, you will earn twice the points on fuel and groceries. It also offers an exclusive benefit by rounding up your rewards to the nearest 10 points on every purchase. And it comes with no annual fee. So, it’s a great card to have in your wallet and earn rewards.

Citi Rewards+® Credit Card: pros and cons

Rewards system in a nutshell

New cardholders will get an amazing 25,000-point bonus after spending $1,500 within 3 months from account opening. But, it’s not available to new cardmembers who received ThankYou® bonus points from other Citi cards like Citi Preferred®, Citi Premier®, and Citi Prestige® or who have closed any of these accounts in the past 24 months.

The standard rewards rate of Citi Rewards+® credit card is 1 ThankYou® point per $1 spent on all purchases. However, for the first $6,000 spent every year on purchases at merchants classified as supermarkets and gas stations, you will earn two (2) ThankYou® points for every dollar spent. It’s a nice feature for those who regularly shop at supermarkets and vehicle owners looking to maximize their fuel purchases at gas stations.

Also, earned rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points. For instance, $3 spent at Starbucks should earn 3 points, but it will be rounded up to 10 points. So, it’s easy to accumulate points, especially if you use your credit card on small purchases.

When it’s time for redemption, you have several redemption options to choose from:

• Shop with Points – You can shop online at BestBuy.com or Amazon.com and use your ThankYou® points to pay for your purchases.
• Travel Rewards – Redeem your points for flights, cruises, hotels, and more.
• Gift Cards – Buy gift cards from a large selection of restaurants, department and home stores.
• Pay with Points – Use your points on purchases in specific categories with a statement credit.
• Cash - Redeem your points for cash via a direct deposit to a verified savings or checking account. Alternatively, use your points to reduce your balance as a statement credit.
• Share - You can share your points with other ThankYou members.
• Payments - If you have an outstanding mortgage or a student loan, you can have a check made out to the lender up to $1,000 using your ThankYou points.

You will also get 10% points back for the first 100,000 redeemed points each year. This will give you a headstart to accumulate more points for your next redemption.

To redeem your points, visit the ThankYou® Rewards website, or call the ThankYou® Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU or 1-800-842-6596. For outside of the U.S., you can use the call collect service at 859-283-8016.

Who can benefit from getting the Citi Rewards+® Credit Card?

If you’re a regular shopper at supermarkets, you will surely love the ‘twice the points’ earning advantage for every dollar spent on groceries. On top of that, earned points are rounded up to the nearest ten. For example, spending $122 on grocery items at a supermarket will earn 2x points or 244 ThankYou® points and will be rounded to 250 ThankYou® points. As an additional bonus, you will also enjoy 10% points back during the redemption.

Likewise, vehicle owners will also appreciate the rewards program of Citi Rewards+® credit card. The same double rewards advantage applies to fuel purchases at gas stations. For other purchases and after spending $6,000 each year on bonus categories, the standard rewards rate will apply at one point per dollar.

It is also a great card to pay off old debt from another credit card. The 0% intro APR for 15 months will give you enough time to pay down the balance at zero interest. Just pay a one-time balance transfer fee of $5 or 3%, whichever is greater. And don’t forget that the transfer has to be made within 4 months from card opening. Additionally, you can use the card for making a large purchase since you can enjoy paying it off in 15 months without interest.

If you have other Citi cards (like Citi Premier), you have an opportunity to transfer your reward points there and increase their cash value.

Are there any other benefits?

Yes. Below are some of the other benefits you will enjoy:

• Citi® Quick Lock – with the Citi® Quick Lock feature, you can instantly lock your card through the mobile app if it is stolen or lost.
• Free access to your FICO score – as a Citi Rewards+® cardmember, you will have free access to your FICO score after 30 days of account opening.
• Citi Entertainment® - enjoy easy access to ticket purchases for thousands of events through Citi Entertainment®, such as major sporting events, concerts, exclusive dining experiences, and more.

Conclusion

The Citi Rewards+® is an excellent credit card for making small purchases, allowing you to earn more points with the round-up feature. The 25,000 points introductory offer will help to accumulate points faster. While the cash value of the points is not very high, you can increase it by transferring them to other Citi credit cards.

Also, if you have an upcoming large purchase, this would be an ideal card to use to ease the burden of a one-time payment and convert it into installments at no interest.