December 2, 2024: You wouldn’t be wrong if you took one look at the rewards and benefits of the Citi Rewards+® Card and decided to pass. But this card’s 10% point rebate offers a diamond in the rough if you’re collecting ThankYou Points.
We won’t spill much ink on the card’s rewards and benefits—you’ll find much better rewards with any 2% cash back card and the benefits of many other no-annual-fee cards blow this card’s benefits out of the water.
But if you’re invested in the Citi ThankYou Rewards® ecosystem, just holding the Citi Rewards+® Card can get you more value from all of the points you earn on your other cards. Here’s what you need to know.
In this article…
About the Citi Rewards+® Card: Rewards, benefits and sign-up bonus
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
The Citi Rewards+® Card will give you a 10% rewards boost when you redeem ThankYou® Points from a combined rewards account, plus the card has one of the best extended warranty benefits available.
Sign-up bonus
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
This bonus is marketed as cash back, but earned as ThankYou® Points.
Rewards
- 5x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
through December 31, 2025. - 2x at supermarkets and gas stations
for the first $6,000 spent each year. - 1x on all other purchases.
Rewards are earned Citi ThankYou® points.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
- Damage and theft purchase protection.
- Extended warranty.
Rewards benefits
- Round up to 10. Rewards get rounded up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.
- 10% points back. Receive 10% of your points back when you redeem ThankYou® Points on the first 100,000 points redeemed each year.
The points you earn with your Citi Rewards+® Card can be redeemed directly for gift cards and travel rewards. Other less-valuable redemption options include Shop with Points and Pay with Points. But Citi ThankYou Points offers synergies that make your points more valuable when you hold a combination of Citi ThankYou Points cards. Holding any other available ThankYou Points card opens up the opportunity to redeem your ThankYou Points for cash back.
Our take: Citi Rewards+ card shouldn’t be seen in a vacuum
It’s unsurprising that many outlets don’t review this card highly. (Though we do find it humorous when we read about how the points you can earn from getting a minimum of 10 points on your small purchases “can really add up.”) But all of these reviews miss the point.
On its own, the card is admittedly lackluster—we wouldn’t recommend anyone get the Rewards+ card as a standalone card. But the card does provide a lot of value if you’re collecting (or more accurately, spending) ThankYou Points®.
Alongside the Citi Double Cash® Card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, and a Citi Custom Cash® Card or two, the Rewards+ card can get you up to an additional 10,000 points per year, thanks to its 10% rebate on ThankYou Points redemptions. When you combine your ThankYou Rewards® accounts across all of your cards, you can earn points on your other Citi cards, access the best redemption options available and get a 10% rebate on the points you redeem, thanks to your Citi Rewards+ card.
Honestly, we like that Citi has found a creative way to let customers who open an additional account get low-effort value if they are invested in the ThankYou Rewards program. Just for having an additional account open with Citi, you make all of your ThankYou Points cards more valuable.
Is the Citi Rewards+ card for you?
As a standalone card, the Citi Rewards+ is a fairly uninteresting product. In contrast, the Citi Double Cash® Card earns 2% rewards everywhere, not just on a limited amount of supermarket and gas station spending.
The most compelling reason to get the Rewards+ card is to access the card’s 10% point rebate on up to 100,000 ThankYou® Points redeemed every year. When you combine your ThankYou Rewards accounts across all of your cards, you’ll get this rebate on any ThankYou Points redemption, including redemptions you make with the points you earned on other cards.
Get the card if you have any cards that earn Citi ThankYou® Points. Just having the Rewards+ card (and combining your ThankYou Rewards accounts) will give you a 10% rebate on all of the points you redeem (on up to 100,000 points per year.)
Pass on the card if you’re looking for a standalone rewards card. The Citi Double Cash® Card, one of the many 2% cash back rewards cards, or the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a better choice.
Bottom line: An essential card if you’re in the Citi ThankYou Points ecosystem
If you’re looking for a single card to use everywhere—or really a card to use anywhere, the Citi Rewards+ isn’t it. But if you already hold one or more other credit cards that earn Citi ThankYou Points®, it’s worthwhile to pick up Rewards+ to get an easy boost to the value of your rewards. Just don’t use it for spending.
