I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.
Citi Premier® Card
Citibank is offering its biggest-ever initial bonus to earn 80,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Earning on this $95 annual fee card is 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants; supermarkets; gas stations; air travel; and hotels. That’s a broad set of categories for triple points-earning.
The one time I know of that they made this same initial bonus offer before – last year – I appleid and was approved for the card. It was a big enough offer that I prioritized it.
Points can be transferred to a variety of frequent flyer programs, including:
- SkyTeam: Aeromexico Club Premier, Air France KLM Flying Blue
- oneworld: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Star Alliance: Avianca LifeMiles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Non-alliance: Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Hotels: Choice Privileges
There’s also an annual hotel savings benefit: once per calendar year you can receive $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through thankyou.com.
It appears that Citi Prestige is no longer available for new cardmembers. the Citi Premier® Card is Citi’s competitor in the transferable points space, and they’re ramping up their investment in attracting new customers. 80,000 points is a compelling reason to get the card.
And the transfer partners are strong and in some cases quite unique. Qatar’s Privilege Club has really improved and is compelling especially for QSuites redemptions.
QSuites Business Class, Credit: Qatar Airways
While Virgin Atlantic miles are often less valuable than other currencies they have incredible sweet spots.
Turkish Airlines offers 48 hour award holds so you can lock in an award prior to transferring points. Cancel and redposit fee is just $25. First class to the Caribbean or Hawaii is just 12,500 miles one-way on United. Europe is just 45,000 miles in business class, and India 52,500 miles (plus fuel surcharges). Redeem for Turkish flights and I’ve found they offer much better availability than when using miles from other programs.
Singapore Airlines is great for booking awards on Singapore flights themselves in long haul premium cabins. Meanwhile EVA Airways has a really underappreciated program as well.
EVA Airways Business Class
This card pairs really well with a no annual fee Citi Custom CashSM Card which offers 5% return in specific categories that change each month based on what you’re spending the most on. You can move the points into your Citi Premier® Card account and transfer them to frequent flyer programs.
With the Citi Custom CashSM Card your 5x category will be the one you spend the most in out of restaurants; gas stations; grocery stores; select travel and transit; select streaming services; drugstores; home improvement stores; fitness clubs; live entertainment.
Citi Premier® Cardsing
