Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card Review

Citi recently updated the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card. The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is one of their more popular rewards credit cards, and a solid option if you need a credit card for everyday spending. The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is a great all around rewards credit card which offers 2 ThankYou® Points on purchases for…
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Citi recently updated the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card. The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is one of their more popular rewards credit cards, and a solid option if you need a credit card for everyday spending.

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is a great all around rewards credit card which offers 2 ThankYou® Points on purchases for dining and entertainment, and 1 ThankYou® Points for every $1 you spend on all purchases. It also features a low interest rate, and no limit to the points you can earn or expiration on those points. To top it off, there are no annual fees! Let’s take a deeper look at some of the other benefits.

Citi ThankYou Points program: Citi ThankYou Points are earned at a rate of 2 ThankYou Points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants and entertainment and 1 ThankYou Point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases. You can also earn ThankYou Points for everyday purchases, by linking qualified Citi accounts such as the Citi Checking account, and more. You can also earn bonus ThankYou Points for shopping at one of over 600 partner stores and when you make purchases through Citi’s online shopping portal, ThankYou.com. There is no limit to the number of ThankYou Points you can earn, and your ThankYou Points never expire. Your ThankYou Points can be redeemed for cash, gift cards, discounts, travel vouchers, and other rewards.

0% Intro APR Offer: The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card now features a 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers. The APR will change after the introductory period ends. Please visit the Citi website for current terms. Please note there is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.* This is an excellent feature if you wish to transfer a balance to pay it off more quickly, or if you want the flexibility of making a large purchase and extending your payments out for several months without having to worry about the interest.  Even with the transfer fee this is one of the best balance transfer credit cards in the current market.

Chip Technology. This card features chip technology to help you use your card more easily overseas. If you are planning a trip overseas, then you will most likely need a credit card with the smart chip technology commonly found throughout Europe, Asia, and other locations. In fact, many stores and restaurants in those locations no longer accept credit cards that only have a magnetic strip.

Sign-up Bonus: One of the biggest benefits of the ThankYou card is the welcome bonus that they offer to new cardholders. If you sign up for the card, you’ll get 15,000 welcome points when you’re approved. Those points are worth around $150, which is a nice bonus just for getting the card. For a card that doesn’t have an annual fee, this is one of the best sign up bonuses on the market.

Using your Points:

Once you’ve racked up your points, it’s easy to redeem those points. You can either go online or call the ThankYou service center. You can use those points to for travel packages, all-inclusive vacation, or cruises. There are a lot of different options for redeeming your points, you can choose from all of those travel packages or you can just get your points in the form of a check, either in $50 or $100.

Another key advantage to these ThankYou points is that they never expire. As long as you have the credit card account, those points will be there. They won’t ever vanish. There are some credit card companies on the market that have points that will randomly expire after a certain amount of time. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to use points that you earned, just to realize that they are gone.

Drawbacks of the ThankYou Card

Just like every other type of credit card, there are going to be some disadvantages to these plans that you should take note of when you’re looking for the best credit card for you. One of the major drawbacks of these plans is that they don’t have the best cash back offers. If you are a high spender, and you use your card for a lot of major purchases, then you could qualify for a card that is going to maximize your credit card usage.

Another drawback of these plans is the foreign transaction fee that you’ll be required to pay every time that you use your card overseas. Every time that you use your card in another country, they are going to charge an additional 3% transaction fee. While this might not seem like a huge fee, it can quickly add up if you’re a frequent travel. If you travel a lot internationally, then you might want to find a card that doesn’t have the foreign fee.

Who is this card good for? If you are looking for a solid credit card that offers great rewards program, cash bonus, and no hassles, then you can’t go wrong by choosing the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card The rewards program is on par with similar rewards credit cards, and the ThankYou Points program is a great way to redeem rewards, particularly if you are already a Citibank customer since you can combine your ThankYou Points and redeem your rewards more quickly. Visit the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card to learn more or apply to open an account.

This card is also good for people who travel a lot. They have several travel-friendly benefits. Obviously the smart chip is one of the biggest, but they also have several travel insurance protection benefits as well. Not only that, but you can redeem you reward points on travel related offers.

Citi makes it very easy to apply for their cards, whichever one that you choose. The whole process is quick and easy, and they also have excellent customer service if you have any questions or concerns.

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  1. Doable Finance says

    It’s good but it entices you to spend more to get its benefits. Also getting another if you already have a couple of credit cards will lower your credit score by at least 75 points.

    • Wrong says

      Doable Finance, that is absolutely false. Just getting another credit card will NOT lower your credit score by 75 points. The truth of the matter is, you probably WILL loose a few points (approx 2-5) for the credit “inquiry” you will take when you apply for a new CC. You also may loose a few more points (approx 5-10) if you have a “long & old” credit history, because a new CC will lower your avg “age” on your credit reports. However, assuming you don’t miss any payments, as the card “ages”, you will actually GAIN your points back, and then some. The only way to see a large drop in your score from a new CC is if you immediately MAX out the CC, which can significantly lower your score.

      Hope that helps.

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