Citi has rolled out a brand new travel booking portal powered by Booking.com and its Rocket Travel subsidiary, making it easier for Citi credit cardholders to plan their next getaway, whether paying with cash or points.
The new Citi Travel with Booking.com portal allows cardholders to book flights, hotels, car rentals and even attractions — Kennedy Space Center or Manhattan Sky Tour, anyone? It’s currently accessible via Citi’s website and will be available to eligible cardholders via the Citi mobile app by the end of March.
All Citi ThankYou® Rewards credit card cardholders have access, which include those with the Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, Citi Premier® Card, AT&T Points Plus℠ Card From Citi and some discontinued cards. Plus, for a limited time, eligible cardholders can earn up to 10X points on their bookings.
Citi Rewards+® Card
On Citi’s secure site
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Rewards
Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou® Points on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening.
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Regular APR
17.99% – 27.99% variable
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Balance transfer fee
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)
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Good/Excellent
Terms apply.
Citi® Double Cash Card
On Citi’s secure site
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Rewards
2% cash back: 1% on all eligible purchases and an additional 1% after you pay your credit card bill
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Welcome bonus
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% for the first 18 months on balance transfers; N/A for purchases
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Regular APR
18.49% – 28.49% variable
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Balance transfer fee
For balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening, an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies; after that, a balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Good/Excellent
Terms apply.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
On Citi’s secure site
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Rewards
5% cash back on purchases in top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%); unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
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.
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for first 15 months
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Regular APR
18.49% – 28.49% variable
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Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum)
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Excellent, Good
Terms apply.
Citi Premier® Card
On Citi’s secure site
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Rewards
3X points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and on hotels and air travel, 1X points on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
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Annual fee
-
Intro APR
-
Regular APR
20.49% – 28.49% variable
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Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum
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Foreign transaction fee
-
Credit needed
Good/Excellent
Terms apply.
Citi Travel’s features
Citi Travel with Booking.com offers cardholders an all-in-one view of flights, hotels, car rentals and attractions, including access to over 1.4 million hotels and resorts worldwide. Cardholders can pay with points, cash or some combination of the two.
Along with the launch of its new booking platform, Citi Travel is also introducing its first Hotel and Luxury Collection property offerings — following in the footsteps of other credit card issuers like American Express, Chase and Capital One who already have similar programs. The programs will offer elite-like benefits at participating properties, such as free daily breakfast, early check-in, late check-out and more.
The portal also integrates existing benefits, such as the Citi Premier Card’s annual $100 hotel credit when booking a single stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) through thankyou.com and the fourth night free perk offered by the Citi Prestige® Card (discontinued for new applicants).
Citi Travel bonus points promotion
Perhaps the most exciting part about the launch of the new Citi Travel is a new points promotion.
Now through June 2024, Citi Premier and Citi Prestige card members can earn a total of 10X ThankYou Points on hotels, rental cars and eligible attractions booked through Citi Travel, which we consider a great deal. Meanwhile, Citi Rewards+ and Citi ThankYou Preferred (discontinued for new applicants) card members can earn a total of 5X ThankYou Points on the same bookings.
Keep in mind that Citi ThankYou cards generally don’t offer travel protections, such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance or car rental insurance, so if those things are important to you, consider sticking to a different travel credit card that offers these benefits.
Should you redeem ThankYou points through Citi Travel?
While the new Citi Travel with Booking.com platform makes it easy to directly redeem ThankYou Points for 1 cent apiece on travel, cardholders will often still get a better deal by instead transferring their points to a travel partner. In fact, the best use of Citi points is through its ThankYou Rewards transfer partners. Cardholders can get significantly more than 1 cent per point in value by taking advantage of Citi’s 16 airline and hotel transfer partners, especially when booking premium seats.
Citi ThankYou transfer partners
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
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Bottom line
Citi’s new travel portal makes it easier for Citi ThankYou Rewards card members to book a vacation by seeing where their ThankYou Points can take them. But to really maximize their Citi points and get multiple cents in value for each point, cardholders are better off transferring their rewards to one of ThankYou Rewards’ airline or hotel partners.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
