For consumers who want to dabble with travel rewards but don’t do tons of traveling, the Citi Premier^® Card offers a variety of everyday spending opportunities to earn bonus points. The card gives you generous rewards on restaurant, supermarket and gas station purchases.

You’ll earn valuable, flexible points that you can transfer 1:1 to 16 travel partners. For a reasonable annual fee, it’s a solid choice for people who want to save on the occasional trips they take, and don’t mind foregoing the VIP-level travel perks that some other travel cards provide.
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• Valuable sign-up bonus

  A good reason to apply for the Citi Premier^® Card is that you can earn enough points for a plane ticket or two in the first few months. You’ll Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. That’s the equivalent of $600 in travel through the Citi ThankYou.com portal, or possibly even more if you go to the right travel partner.

• Points are easy to earn

  While some travel cards only reward you for travel purchases, the Citi Premier^® Card is more focused on everyday spending. You’ll 10X total ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024. 3X -- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Other Hotels 3X -- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets 1X -- Earn 1 Point on All Other Purchases Annual Hotel Savings Benefit.

  A 3X bonus on everyday purchases like groceries, can really add up, especially with grocery prices so high. With Americans spending an average of $5,259 on food at home, $3,030 on dining out and $2,148 on gas annually (for 2021), that’s $865 per month on just these key spending areas. At 3 points per dollar, the rewards for that spend can be worth $313 per year.

• You can transfer points to Citi Premier® card transfer partners

  Squeezing even more value out of travel rewards points is something that savvy cardholders try to do, and transferring to travel partners could be one way to do it. Citi has 16 travel partners to which you can move your ThankYou® Points over 1:1.

  You may be able to bump up the value of your points on certain flight or hotel bookings, making them worth potentially more than 1 cent each. Take a look at this list of travel partners to help you decide if a ThankYou® points card like Citi Premier^® Card is a good choice for you:

  • Aeromexico
  • Avianca LifeMiles
  • Cathay Pacific
  • Choice Privileges
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad Guest
  • Eva Air
  • Flying Blue
  • JetBlue TrueBlue
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer
  • Qatar Privilege Club
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Thai Royal Orchid Plus
  • Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles
  • Wyndham Rewards
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

• $100 annual hotel credit

  You’ll get a $100 hotel credit with ThankYou.com each year you hold the card. This benefit can easily outweigh the $95 annual fee. All you have to do is book a single hotel stay of $500 or more through the ThankYou.com portal, and you’ll get a $100 discount applied to the booking. You can pay with your card, use your ThankYou® points, or a combination. Just note that you have to prepay for the complete stay to earn the credit.

• No foreign transaction fee

  If you plan to travel abroad, the Citi Premier^® Card is a good choice for your wallet since you can avoid foreign transaction fees. Some cards charge an average of 3% when you use them outside of the U.S. so this benefit can add up to significant savings if you like to go overseas or island hopping.

• No lounge access or elite status

  To get VIP-level travel perks, you typically have to choose premium level cards that have much higher annual fees. That said, if you’re looking for status perks for airline or hotel loyalty programs or airport lounge access, you won’t get them on this card. You also won’t get travel insurance, which is available on comparable cards.

• Annual fee is not waived in the first year

  Some cards that charge an annual fee give you the first year free, but Citi Premier^® Card is not one of them. You’ll be charged the $95 fee when you get your first bill. If you earn the sign-up bonus, however, that alone covers the first six years of fees.

• No purchase protection or extended warranty

  Another popular perk that the Citi Premier^® Card is lacking that you may find on some rewards credit cards are those related to consumer protections. This includes getting reimbursed for damaged or stolen merchandise you purchase with the card and getting extra time on warranties for items purchased with the card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

For the same $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card offers a stronger set of travel partners, including United, Southwest and JetBlue, as well as Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG hotels.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card does not offer bonus points on gas purchases or in-person supermarket shopping, but does for streaming and online grocery delivery — making it a better choice for those who shop for food online. Lastly, the $95 provides valuable travel protections, including travel insurance, trip protection and primary auto rental insurance.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is another $95 annual fee travel card that’s a good choice for those who prefer the same rewards on most purchases.

Cardholders earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Also, just like the Citi Premier^® Card, you can transfer these rewards to a variety of hotel and airline programs. However, cardholders get a couple of additional travel perks: a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and two free airport lounge visits.

American Express^® Gold Card

For a higher annual fee ($250), the American Express^® Gold Card offers even better rewards on restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases than the Citi Premier^® Card. You’ll earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply.

You might find the higher annual fee worth it if you’re a foodie who will also take advantage of the card’s dining credit worth up to $120 each year ($10 monthly for qualifying restaurants). But for an entry-level travel card, the Citi Premier^® Card is probably the way to go.

If you want to start earning travel rewards and you happen to spend a good amount on groceries, gas and dining out, the Citi Premier^® Card could be a great fit for your wallet. You’ll start off with a generous sign-up bonus, enjoy 0% foreign transaction fees and can transfer points to several travel partners.

If you are interested in accessing travel benefits, though, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card may be the better choice for the same annual fee, since it comes with travel protections and primary rental car insurance.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.