Citi launches new travel portal with Booking.com
Citi officially launched its brand-new travel portal this week, which Citi cardholders can use to book travel using ThankYou points, cash or a combination of both.
Citi Travel with Booking.com will replace the existing Citi ThankYou Travel Center and offers access to more than 1.4 million hotel and resort options and competitive pricing for flights, hotels, car rentals and attractions. Select Citi cardholders can also earn heightened rewards on travel portal bookings.
With the launch of its revamped travel portal, Citi joins other major credit card issuers paying special attention to travel perks, rewards and travel bookings over the past few years. To see how the portal stacks up, here’s a look at what benefits Citi Travel with Booking.com offers.
What are the benefits of Citi’s new portal?
Like other issuer portals, Citi Travel with Booking.com allows eligible Citi cardholders to earn and redeem Citi ThankYou points for booking hotels, airfare, car rentals and attractions. In recent years, credit card travel portals have trended toward incorporating travel search engine features, such as Capital One Travel’s partnership with Hopper, to elevate the booking process.
Citi ThankYou Rewards credit card holders can book travel accommodations through Citi Travel with credit cards, ThankYou points or a combination of the two. Eligible cardholders can also earn ThankYou points when booking select travel through the portal.
The ThankYou points you earn while booking through the portal (or by using your card for other purchases) can be redeemed for more travel and across 180+ partner brands, including Citi ThankYou Rewards hotel and airline transfer partners like JetBlue and Choice Hotels and retail brands like Shell and CVS.
It also offers cardmembers access to 24/7 customer support for help with the booking and travel process. While there’s not yet an option to access the portal via Citi’s mobile app, Citi says this feature will be available by the end of March.
Alongside the Citi Travel with Booking.com launch, Citi introduced two new luxury hotel programs available within the portal. The Hotel Collection and Luxury Hotel Collection feature hotels in the United States, Mexico and Caribbean for now, but Citi says the program offerings will grow throughout this year.
Citi cards that offer bonus points for bookings
The following Citi cards earn an additional 10X or 5X points on hotels, rental cars and eligible attractions booked in the portal through June 2024:
| Card | Points for Citi Travel portal bookings | Points on general travel purchases |
|---|---|---|
| Citi Premier® Card | 10X points | 3X points |
| Citi Prestige® Card* | 10X points | 5X points on air travel; 3X points on hotels and cruise lines |
| Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card* | 5X points | 1X points |
| Citi Rewards+® Card | 5X points | 1X points |
Note, the Citi Prestige and ThankYou Preferred are no longer available to new applicants, so you must be a current cardholder to access this limited-time offer.
Heighted rewards on travel portal bookings is nothing new, though it is a great deal for Citi cardholders. Select Capital One cards, for example, offer 5X to 10X points on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and select Chase cards earn 5X to 10X points on travel booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The bottom line
The timing of Citi’s new travel portal aligns perfectly with the upcoming summer travel season. Whether you have a Citi credit card that earns ThankYou points or are planning to get one soon, the new Citi travel portal can help you get even more value from your points.
*The information about the Citi Prestige® Credit Card and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
