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If you travel on a regular basis, the Citi Premier® Card, issued by our partner Citi, offers an elevated rewards rate on travel, gas station, dining and entertainment purchases, as well as a generous sign-up bonus worth $800 when redeemed for travel through the ThankYou Travel Center.
We break down the pros and cons of the Citi Premier® Card, and show how it compares to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – which also offers premium travel and dining benefits, but at a much lower annual fee.
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Intro BT APR
N/A
Annual Fee
$95
Regular Purchase APR
15.99% - 23.99% (Variable)
Cash Advance Fee
5% of each cash advance; $10 minimum
Foreign Transaction Fee
0%
Balance Transfer Fee
3% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
Sign-up bonus
Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
ThankYou points, which can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, travel and more, are typically worth 1 cent each – making the sign-up bonus worth $800.
Rewards rate
Earn 3X points per $1 spent on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels and 1X per $1 spent on all other purchases .
Travel transfer partners
ThankYou points can also be transferred to several airline partners at a 1:1 rate, including:
No intro APR
If you’re planning to finance a large purchase, such as a trip, or transfer high interest debt from a different credit card, the Citi Premier® Card may not be ideal, since it doesn’t offer an intro APR on purchases or balance transfers.
Limited travel benefits
The Citi Premier® Card does not have many of the same benefits often associated with travel credit cards, such as auto rental insurance, lost luggage reimbursement and travel assistance.
Annual fee
With the Citi Premier® Card, you will be charged an annual fee of $95. However, the value you can get from the card’s sign-up bonus more than covers that amount during the first year of card membership.
If you want to get comparable value from your sign-up bonus as well as access to more robust benefits, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead.
Similar to the Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash, gift cards and more.
However, when Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members redeem points for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals or cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, they are valued 1.25 cents each – making the card’s sign-up bonus worth $1,250 in travel. The current sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is: Our best offer ever! Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also offers a number of travel benefits, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and travel and emergency assistance services. Plus, cardholders receive purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to several airline loyalty partners at a rate of 1:1, including Flying Blue Air France KLM, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Plus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also offers three hotel transfer partners: IHG® Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy™ and World of Hyatt®.
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| Citi Premier® Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | American Express® Gold Card |
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Apply Now on Citibank's secure site
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Apply Now on Chase's secure site
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Apply Now on Capital One's secure site
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Apply Now on American Express's secure site
Terms Apply
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| Welcome Offer | |||
| Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening | Our best offer ever! Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. | Enjoy a one-time bonus of 60,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $600 in travel | 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months. |
| Rewards Rate | |||
| Earn 3X points per $1 spent on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels and 1X per $1 spent on all other purchases | 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery, 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. |
| Annual Fee | |||
| $95 | $95 | $95 | $250 |
| Intro Purchase APR | |||
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Regular APR | |||
| 15.99% - 23.99% (Variable) | 15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 17.24% - 24.49% (Variable) | See Pay Over Time APR |
| Intro Balance Transfer Rate | |||
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Regular Balance Transfer Rate | |||
| 15.99% - 23.99% (Variable) | 15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 17.24% - 24.49% (Variable) | N/A |
| Balance Transfer Fee | |||
| 3% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum. | Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. | $0 at this Transfer APR | N/A |
| Recommended Credit | |||
| Excellent/Good | Excellent | Excellent/Good | Excellent/Good |
| Card Details | |||
| Citi Premier® Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | American Express® Gold Card |
If you’re in the market for a travel rewards card, the Citi Premier® Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card are both hard to beat. Each card offers a generous sign-up bonus, rewards on travel purchases, 0% foreign transaction fees and several travel transfer partners.
But if you want access to more benefits, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card may be the better choice, since it comes with a number of noteworthy travel perks – all for the same $95 annual fee as the Citi Premier® Card.