Citi ThankYou Premier Review (Before July 2014)
Updated July 15, 2014. Please see our updated review here.
The Facts
The Math
If you redeem ThankYou points for airfare (1 point = 1.25 cents), this card essentially returns 3.75% on dining and entertainment, 2.5% on airfare and hotels, and 1.25% on other purchases. This is by no means amazing considering the fact that several less expensive or even no-annual-fee cards return 2% cashback on everything and Citi Foward returns at least 5% on dining and entertainment.
New ThankYou Premier vs. ThankYou Premier before October 2013: First of all, let's start with the positive changes. 3x and 2x bonus categories are of course better than the old 1.2x bonus categories. Authorized users are now free (it used to cost $50 each). However, we consider these positive changes too little to overcome the negative ones. The biggest feature that goes away is the flight point matching. In fact this feature is the main reason why old ThankYou Premier is so unique and competitive since you have the potential to score 2.67% on general spending if you have sufficient flight points. To be fair, not many customers can take full advantage of this feature but for those who can this card might be "the king of cashback". The loss of the annual companion pass and 15% saving on airfare is also huge - for many who can use these two features wisely they more than cancel out the annual fee and can even earn several hundred dollars each year. Other downgrades include when redeemed for airfare through ThankYou one point now worth 1.25 cents instead of 1.33 cents and loss of up to 5% anniversary bonus. In summary, the old ThankYou Premier is a very unique product due to the flight point matching, annual companion pass, and 15% airfare saving; it is not for everyone but for those who can take advantage of these features it is almighty. The new ThankYou Premier, however, does not look much different from similar products offered by other banks. That is why we decide to remove it from our Top List.
The Conclusion
In the October 2013 overall, Citi takes away the unique features that make the old ThankYou Premier stand out. The new ThankYou Premier is no longer a very attractive product and thus removed from our Top List.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: 1st year free and $125 thereafter
- Signup Bonus: 50,000 points (see our blog article for details)
- Rewards: 3x dining and entertainment, 2x airfare and hotels, 1x everywhere else
- Best Use of ThankYou Points: ThankYou (TY) is the rewards program run by Citi and the points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, and travel, returning up to 1 cent per point. However, better than the regular TY cards such as ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier offers two additional options: one is to redeem for flights through ThankYou and you get 25% more value, making 1 ThankYou point = 1.25 cents; the other is to transfer ThankYou points to Hilton HHonors points at 1:1.5 ratio. Up till now, Hilton is the sole program that Citi partners with to allow transfer to frequent traveler miles/points, and we certainly hope that Citi continues to make this program more competitive since both Amex and Chase have great programs that allow points to be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points.
- Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees.
- Other Facts: Before October 2013, Citi ThankYou Premier has been an interesting product, and for some that can use full potential of the card it has been one of the best cashback equivalent credit cards in the market. That is why it was placed on our prestigious Top List. Unfortunately in 2013 Citi overhauled this product: as of October 20, 2013 both the new and existing cardholders have the new features listed above; old features including flight point earning, 33% more value when redeemed for airfare, and 1.2x on gas, grocery, drugstores, parking, and commuter transportation, were discontinued as of October 20, 2013; for existing cardholders, anniversary bonus feature will be discontinued on the next anniversary date after October 20, 2013; for existing cardholders, annual companion ticket and 15% saving on airfare will be discontinued on the next anniversary date after October 20, 2013 and you must book your flight by this date.
The Math
If you redeem ThankYou points for airfare (1 point = 1.25 cents), this card essentially returns 3.75% on dining and entertainment, 2.5% on airfare and hotels, and 1.25% on other purchases. This is by no means amazing considering the fact that several less expensive or even no-annual-fee cards return 2% cashback on everything and Citi Foward returns at least 5% on dining and entertainment.
New ThankYou Premier vs. ThankYou Premier before October 2013: First of all, let's start with the positive changes. 3x and 2x bonus categories are of course better than the old 1.2x bonus categories. Authorized users are now free (it used to cost $50 each). However, we consider these positive changes too little to overcome the negative ones. The biggest feature that goes away is the flight point matching. In fact this feature is the main reason why old ThankYou Premier is so unique and competitive since you have the potential to score 2.67% on general spending if you have sufficient flight points. To be fair, not many customers can take full advantage of this feature but for those who can this card might be "the king of cashback". The loss of the annual companion pass and 15% saving on airfare is also huge - for many who can use these two features wisely they more than cancel out the annual fee and can even earn several hundred dollars each year. Other downgrades include when redeemed for airfare through ThankYou one point now worth 1.25 cents instead of 1.33 cents and loss of up to 5% anniversary bonus. In summary, the old ThankYou Premier is a very unique product due to the flight point matching, annual companion pass, and 15% airfare saving; it is not for everyone but for those who can take advantage of these features it is almighty. The new ThankYou Premier, however, does not look much different from similar products offered by other banks. That is why we decide to remove it from our Top List.
The Conclusion
In the October 2013 overall, Citi takes away the unique features that make the old ThankYou Premier stand out. The new ThankYou Premier is no longer a very attractive product and thus removed from our Top List.