Our Citi Premier® Card review features a highly-rated mid-level travel rewards credit card that also provides excellent benefits when used for gas, groceries, and other purchases. Offering 3 Citi ThankYou® points for each dollar spent in categories like gas stations, grocery stores, hotels, and airlines, and 1x rewards for all other purchases, the Citi Premier card proves itself an easy-to-use card with excellent benefits.
Is the Citi Premier Card a good option for balance transfers?
The Citi Premier Card lets you transfer balances, but think twice before diving in. If your credit score is around 600 or higher, other cards might offer far friendlier APRs, saving you serious cash. And factor in your timeline: if you can pay off your transferred balance fast, the high rate and fee won’t bite too hard. But longer repayment terms risk hefty interest charges.
Instead, consider personal loans and other options from top-rated lenders. Personal loans might offer potentially lower rates and flexible repayment terms for consolidating high-interest credit card balances.
Compare Personal Loans for Debt Consolidation vs. the Citi Premier Card for a Balance Transfer
Pros
60,000 bonus points after spending $4k in first 3 months
High returns on gas, groceries, travel, and more
Annual hotel stay benefit
No foreign transaction fees
Transferable points
Cons
A 700+ credit score is necessary for most approvals
$95 annual fee with no intro offer
Relatively high low-end interest rate
Citi Premier® Card Review: Features and Benefits
The Citi Premier card offers several features and benefits expected of a mid-level credit card. Besides a 60,000 bonus points reward for signing up and spending $4,000 in the first three months, the card offers up to 3 points for each dollar spent in specific spending categories.
However, the card also features a relatively high low-end interest rate of 21.24%, making it less attractive for consumers with exceptional credit who can likely find a lower interest rate with another card. For consumers with good to very good credit scores, though, the Citi Premier card offers excellent benefits that likely make it worth it in many cases despite the $95 annual fee.
- APR 21.24% – 29.24%
- $95 annual fee
- 60,000 bonus points intro offer worth $600
- 3x ThankYou® points rewards on select purchases
- 1x ThankYou® points rewards on other purchases
- $5 or 5% balance transfer fee
- $100 annual hotel discounts available
- Robust mobile app
- Transferrable rewards points
- No introductory balance transfer offers
- Balance transfer fees of 5% after intro offer
- No foreign transaction fees
- $10 or 5% cash advance fee
- Cash advance APR equals 29.99%
- Best for Good to Exceptional credit score above 700
Citi Premier® Card Review: Editorial Rating
Trusted Company Reviews Rating Score for Citi Premier: 8.1
Our best credit cards for gas and groceries review features the Citi Premier travel rewards credit card for its 3x benefits for everyday spending on things like gas and groceries and its additional travel perks for hotel stays and airline tickets. However, the card missed some of our higher marks due to the $95 annual fee, lack of solid introductory offers, and high credit score approval requirements.
| Rewards | 3x points for gas, groceries, restaurants, airlines, and hotels / 1x points on other qualified purchases / $100 annual hotel discount when spending $500 |
| Intro Offer | 60,000 bonus points intro offer worth $600 after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months |
| Rewards Redemption | Transferable ThankYou® points redeemable for gift cards, travel rewards, Amazon, Best Buy, cash back, or statement credit |
| APR | 21.24% – 29.24% |
| Annual Fee | $95 |
| Credit Score Requirements | 700+ |
About the Citi Premier® Card
The Citi Premier card is primarily aimed at those who travel. However, along with travel rewards, the card offers plenty of stay-near-home perks as well. The Premier card proves itself an all-around valuable tool by offering travel rewards earnings, travel-related ways to spend rewards, and gas station and grocery store spending perks.
Customers earn Citi ThankYou® points for purchases, redeemable for multiple purposes, including transferring them to and from other Citi cardholders if you wish.
Other benefits of Premier card ownership include a once-per-year $100 discount when you use your card to book a hotel stay totaling more than $500. New Premier cardholders who spend at least $4,000 in the first month on the card are eligible to receive a bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points redeemable for $600 worth of benefits.
Applying for the Citi Premier Card
Consumers can apply online for the Citi Premier credit card. In general, a credit score of 700 or above is necessary to receive approval. Some customers report being approved with slightly lower scores than that. However, that’s not the norm, and having a higher credit score greatly improves the approval odds.
How to Use the Citi Premier® Card
Getting the most from the Citi Premier credit card is straightforward. For air travelers, the benefits are even better than normal when taking advantage of the annual $100 hotel discount by booking with the Premier credit card.
Earning Citi Card ThankYou Rewards
To earn the highest point values, simply use the card when you shop in the 3x designated spending categories, including at hotels, airlines, gas stations, and supermarkets. 1x points are also available for all other qualified purchases.
Citi currently offers 60,000 bonus ThankYou points for spending $4k on new Premier cards in the first three months. The bonus equals $600 worth of points. However, the company mentions on its website that bonus offers are subject to change, and applicants should check before applying for the card.
How to Redeem Citi ThankYou Points
To redeem Citi ThankYou points, customers can choose from a statement credit, check payment if over $5, air travel and hotel perks, Amazon and Best Buy credits, or gift cards for any of several Citi ThankYou rewards transfer partners.
Citi Card ThankYou RewardsTransfer Partners
Citi’s ThankYou rewards transfer partners include the following entities.
- Accor Live Limitless, featuring more than 40 brand names of over 5,000 worldwide hotels
- Avianca Lifemiles, a loyalty program serving over 100 cities around the world
- Choice Privileges® for use at over 7,400 hotels covering all 50 states
- Leaders Club loyalty program
- Shop Your Way® gift card and rewards program
- Wyndham Rewards
Citi Card ThankYou Rewards Airline Partners* Cathay Pacific
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air
- Flying Blue
- JetBlue
- Quantas Frequent Flyer
- Quatar Privilage Club
- Singapore Airlines
- Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Expert Citi Premier® Card Review
Expert Citi Premier Card reviews all rate the Premier card on the high end of the scale. With few ratings below 4 of 5 stars, many ratings hover in the high 4-star range. The average rating for this card is 4.5 to 4.6 of 5 stars.
Experts cite the card’s ease of use and high average rewards for consumers at home and on the go. Offering several ways to earn and spend points makes the Premier card a solid all-around choice for those with good to very good credit.
However, the high interest rate, annual fee, and lack of introductory money-saving balance transfer offers, keep the Citi Premier card from topping most experts’ lists.
Citi Premier® Card Reviews From Consumers
Citi Premier Card Reviews are somewhat mixed from consumers. The average rating from cardholders is in the high-3-star area. However, some review averages put the Premier card under 3 stars.
Happy customers like the large introductory bonus offer and the fact that the card is useful for both everyday and travel spending with equal benefits. Less enthusiastic cardholders cite customer service struggles, with some receiving inadequate solutions to complaints, while others cite smaller-than-expected credit limits after approval.
Why Citi the Premier® Card Stands Out
The Citi Premier card stands out in our reviews for its all-around versatility. While it lacks some of the balance transfer deals and smaller bonuses of other competing cards, the bonus it does offer is substantial. And the 3x rewards and annual hotel discount can easily outweigh the downside of the $95 annual fee.
Citi Premier Card Vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred
One of the Citi Premier card’s nearest competitors is the Chase Sapphire Prefferd® card. Both cards offer a mix of travel and everyday spending rewards—Both cards also offer a large sign-up bonus worth $600 for spending $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership—And both feature relatively high-interest rates and charge a $95 annual fee.
The primary difference between the two cards is in the rewards-earning categories. The Chase card may better suit frequent travelers due to the higher 5x points awarded for travel spending. However, its 3x rewards on dining, groceries, and streaming is also a nice perk.
While the Citi Premier Card offers a larger annual hotel discount, the discount only applies to hotel stays totaling $500 or more. The Sapphire Preferred doesn’t place the same restriction on its $50 annual discount.
Overall, the Citi Premier card seems to be the better card for all-around and everyday spending, while the Sapphire card appears best for those who use it primarily for travel rewards with only occasional everyday use.
| Citi Premier® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® | |
| Rewards | 3x points for gas, groceries, restaurants, airlines, and hotels / 1x points on other qualified purchases / $100 annual hotel discount when spending $500 | 5x points for travel / 3x points for dining, groceries, and streaming / 1x points on other qualified purchases / $50 annual hotel discount |
| Intro Offer | 60,000 bonus points intro offer worth $600 after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months | 60,000 bonus points intro offer worth $600 after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months |
| APR | 21.24% – 29.24% | 21.49% – 28.49% (variable) |
| Annual Fee | $95 | $95 |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Source
Image source: citi.com
Deane Biermeier
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