Best Citi credit cards of July 2024

Citi’s ThankYou rewards program allows cardholders to earn ThankYou Points by making eligible purchases. You can earn two types of points with Citi credit cards:

• Basic Citi ThankYou points: With Citi’s most basic points, you have limited redemption options — the most crucial being you can’t transfer them to travel partners for redemption.
• “Full-fledged” Citi ThankYou points: These points have a bit more reach and versatility, given that you can transfer and redeem them with Citi’s travel partners.

Like the Chase Trifecta, the Citi Trifecta allows you to combine ThankYou points and rewards from different Citi cards: the Citi Double Cash and the Citi Custom Cash or another points-earning Citi card. By pooling the points from these cards together, you can redeem more at once and transfer them to Citi travel partners for maximum value.

The Citi credit card rewards program is worth it if you can maximize everyday spending, but the program isn't for everyone. Citi offers credit cards that have different reward structures, so you'll have to decide which one works best for your needs.

Some people may find that they can get more value out of the rewards program by pooling and transferring rewards to an airline or hotel loyalty program. However, navigating the differences between basic and full-fledged ThankYou points could be difficult for credit beginners, and the bulk of your value may be limited to one or two redemption options.

To maximize how you earn ThankYou points, use Citi rewards cards that earn boosted rewards in categories you spend frequently in. The Citi Custom Cash offers a great opportunity to earn plenty of ThankYou points (redeemable for cash back) in a top eligible category, but you’ll want to pair that with another Citi card so you don’t settle for earning 1 percent on all other purchases. The Citi Double Cash will be a great stand-in for all purchases outside of the top category on your Custom Cash, or the Citi Rewards+ will be great for frequent small purchases.

To maximize the benefits of your Citi credit card, it is important to understand and strategically use the various features and perks offered based on your spending habits and financial goals.

Here are some Citi credit card benefits you can use to get special offers, features and financing:

• Concierge service: Provides a team of experts to assist with everyday needs like locating restaurants and pharmacies
• Citi® Quick Lock: Lets you lock a misplaced Citi card without affecting any recurring transactions
• Citi Entertainment: Offers special access to exclusive event experiences, ticket presales and purchases for top sporting events, concerts, dining experiences and more
• Citi Flex Loans: Though not every cardholder will be eligible, this invitation-only program lets you take out a loan against your Citi card’s credit line with a fixed APR. There’s no application, credit inquiry or origination fee for Citi cardholders, and you have the flexibility to choose your loan terms.

While Citi credit cards offer various benefits and rewards, it’s important to be aware of pitfalls. One potential drawback is the high interest rates some Citi credit cards carry.

Half of Citi’s credit card offerings have APRs higher than the current average credit card interest rate, so interest charges can quickly add up if you carry a balance on your card often.

If you avoid carrying a balance and pay off the full amount each month, you can prevent expensive interest charges on your account. Avoiding interest can help you avoid unnecessary credit card debt.

The Citi Secured Mastercard could be the easiest card to get, since it’s one of Citi’s only cards for credit-builders and people with a limited credit history. Since it is a secured credit card, you’ll be required to put down a security deposit.

Probably not. The closest candidate would be the Citi Secured Mastercard, but it's marketed in the "no credit history" category. The recommended credit scores for other Citi credit cards range from good to excellent. If your FICO Score is between 300 and 579, you should try comparing credit cards for bad credit.

The starting credit limit you can receive typically ranges from $500 to $1,000, but there is no set maximum limit. Your approved credit limit will ultimately depend on a few factors, such as your previous credit history and gross annual income.

Citi ThankYou Points can expire depending on the circumstances. For instance, if you decide to close your account, or if Citi terminates your rewards for any given reason, you have 90 days from the termination date to redeem all of your earned points. Citi also claims that points directly issued from the ThankYou Points rewards program will expire three years from the exact date on which they were awarded to you, but this may vary from card to card, so it’s best to check the terms and conditions as well as your account materials.

You can check the expiration status of your rewards through your ThankYou Rewards account online via “My Points Summary.”

Since many cardholders are eager to earn rewards, a key criteria for a card’s inclusion in our list is whether it offers impressive rewards value. This includes a card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories, as well as how closely those categories match the average person’s spending habits. In other words: Does the card earn rewards at a high rate in the most popular spending categories?

We use consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to get a reliable third-party measure of people’s spending habits. The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2021 was $66,928 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,200
• Dining out: $3,000
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,100
• Apparel and services: $1,700

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other cards in its primary category.

The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking

We also rate all cards based on how their ongoing average APR compares to the average APR you’ll find other cards in their primary category. However, the impact of an especially high or low APR on a card’s overall score depends on its primary category.

For rewards-earning cards, this factor has only a minor influence on the card’s score and whether the card is included in our list, since rewards card users generally try to avoid carrying a balance. That said, rewards-earning cards may get a solid boost in score and be more worthy of inclusion in our list if they also offer an intro APR on balance transfers or new purchases, since such offers aren’t always present on these cards.

More important to these cards’ scores and their inclusion in our list is how their annual fees influence their overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. 

Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. After all, the highest rewards rates and most valuable perks are often found on cards with annual fees.

Interest rates and intro APR offers play a much larger role in a card’s score and whether it’s included in our list when the card is designed specifically for users looking to save on interest charges, such as dedicated balance transfer or low-interest cards. 

Other fees considered include cash advance and late payment fees, along with penalty APRs.

Along with rewards value and cost, we consider other factors that could give cards great long-term value, like flexible rewards redemption and especially unique and valuable perks.

We rate rewards-earning cards based on the restrictions they impose on earning and redeeming rewards and consider this when deciding on a card’s inclusion in our list.

These restrictions could include only allowing users to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requiring users to meet a certain earning threshold before they can redeem rewards. We also examine whether points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

We also evaluate each card’s perks based on their value, usefulness and uniqueness. Cards that offer top-tier benefits like airport lounge access or travel credits are likely to stand out, but we also aim to highlight cards that offer valuable under-the-radar perks, like cellphone protection or one-off credits for everyday expenses like dining and streaming services.