Citi Rewards+ Card Review: Round Up Points With No Annual Fee

Link: Apply now for the Citi Rewards+® Card

The Citi Rewards+® Card is one of the best no annual fee credit cards out there. If you have a credit card that earns Citi ThankYou points, then you should also have the Citi Rewards+ Card, since the card can be worth having even if you don’t spend much money on it. Let’s take a closer look at the details of this card.

Citi Rewards+ Card Details For April 2024

The Citi Rewards+ Card is a no annual fee card that a lot of people could benefit from. It has some features that you won’t find on other cards, like the ability to round up points on every purchase, valuable bonus categories, and a rebate on points redemptions.

This card is also a fantastic complement to cards earning Citi ThankYou points, like the Citi Premier^® Card (review), which is worth considering.

Citi Rewards+ Card Welcome Bonus Of 20K Points & More

The Citi Rewards+ Card is currently offering a welcome bonus where you can earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou points after spending $1,500 within the first three months.

This is a decent bonus for a no annual fee card. Note that terms were recently changed so that you’re eligible for this card and bonus even if you’ve had it in the past. This card used to be subjected to Citi’s 24-month rule, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Citi’s typical application rules still apply, like that you can be approved for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days.

This card is also potentially available to you as a downgrade option. For example, if you have the Citi Premier or Citi Prestige and keep it for at least a year, you should be able to later downgrade it to the Citi Rewards+.

Citi Rewards+ Card 2x Points Bonus Categories

The Citi Rewards+ Card has a couple of useful bonuses that make this card worthwhile. The card offers 2x ThankYou points at supermarkets and gas stations, for the first $6,000 spent per calendar year (and then 1x points after that)

Supermarkets and gas stations are both potentially valuable bonus categories, given that these are common everyday expenses for many families. Do note that the Citi Rewards+ has foreign transaction fees, so I wouldn’t recommend using the card abroad.

Citi Rewards+ Card Rounds Up Purchases

The Citi Rewards+ Card has a further interesting rewards bonus — it rounds up purchases to the nearest 10 ThankYou points.

The round up feature of this card is especially useful, since even a $1 purchase would net you 10 ThankYou points. You can even combine the two bonus categories. If you spend $6 at a supermarket (and were under the $6,000 spend cap) you’d earn 20 points — 12 points for earning 2x points, and then it would be rounded up to 20 points.

I like when card issuers think outside the box, and in this case, Citi was clearly thinking outside the box. Getting these kinds of bonus categories for a no annual fee card is great.

Citi Rewards+ Card 10% Points Back On Redemptions

In addition to the 2x points and “rounding up” feature, the Citi Rewards+ Card also offers a nice perk when redeeming points, which is my favorite feature of this card.

When you have the Citi Rewards+ Card you get 10% points back for the first 100,000 ThankYou points you redeem per calendar year.

In other words, assuming you redeem at least 100,000 ThankYou points per year (even if they’re earned with the Citi Premier Card), just having the Citi Rewards+ will earn you the equivalent of 10,000 points every year. That’s a fantastic incentive to hold onto this no annual fee card. Even transferring points to the ThankYou airline and hotel partners would trigger this.

Citi Rewards+ Card No Annual Fee

I said it above, and I want to emphasize it again — the Citi Rewards+ Card has no annual fee, so this is a card you can hold onto without it costing you anything. Having some cards long term can also be great for your credit score, since it helps your average age of accounts.

What Points Does The Citi Rewards+ Card Earn?

While the Citi Rewards+ Card earns ThankYou points, independently these points can’t be transferred to Citi ThankYou airline and hotel partners, which is my preferred use of ThankYou points.

However, if you have this card in conjunction with the Citi Premier Card or Citi Prestige Card, then you can pool points at thankyou.com, and redeem points that way. You should be able to link this card with other Citi cards using your Citibank login.

Assuming you plan on having the Citi Premier Card or Citi Prestige Card, this card will essentially earn points that can be transferred to airlines and hotel partners, which is fantastic.

How Much Are Citi ThankYou Points Worth?

Personally I value Citi ThankYou points at 1.7 cents each when they can be transferred to an airline or hotel partner. That’s how much I value most of the major transferrable points currencies. It’s awesome to be able to transfer Citi ThankYou points to programs like Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and more.

The points you earn on the Citi Rewards+ Card can be worth that if you have the card in conjunction with the Citi Premier Card. However, independently points earned on the card are only worth a cent each, so that’s not quite as valuable. If you’re going to get the Citi Rewards+ Card, I’d mainly recommend doing so in conjunction with the Citi Premier Card.

Is The Citi Rewards+ Card Worth It?

The Citi Rewards+ Card is a fantastic complement to the Citi Premier Card. This is true even if you don’t plan on spending much money on the Citi Rewards+ Card, as you’ll basically receive 10,000 ThankYou points back every year just for having this card, assuming you redeem at least 100,000 ThankYou points per year.

On top of that, the Citi Rewards+ Card can be worth it for small purchases with the ability to have your purchases rounded up to the nearest 10 ThankYou points. If you’re in the Citi ThankYou points ecosystem, then you absolutely should have this card so that you’re maximizing your value.

Citi Rewards+ Vs. Citi Double Cash

My two favorite no annual fee Citi cards are the Citi Rewards+ Card and the Citi Double Cash® Card (review). The way I view it, the Citi Double Cash is the all-around best no annual fee card:

• The Citi Double Cash earns 1x ThankYou points when you make a purchase, and 1x ThankYou points when you pay for that purchase
• In conjunction with the Citi Premier, rewards earned on the Citi Double Cash can also be transferred to airline & hotel partners, making them significantly more valuable than one cent each (otherwise each point can be redeemed for one cent)
• This essentially means that the Citi Double Cash can earn you two transferable ThankYou points per dollar spent

With that in mind, I think both of these cards can make a lot of sense:

• The Citi Double Cash is an incredibly well-rounded card for everyday spending, whether you’re looking to earn cash back or rewards points
• The Citi Rewards+ is great for small purchases and for the 10% rebate on redemptions, and a fantastic complement to the Citi Premier

Personally, I would recommend having both of these cards if possible — after all, there’s no real cost to holding onto them, given the lack of annual fees. At a minimum, you’ll want to pick up one of the cards as a complement to the Citi Premier Card, given the huge value of having a good credit card duo.

Bottom Line

The Citi Rewards+ Card is a no annual fee card that can add value for earning and redeeming ThankYou points, so it’s a great complement to the Citi Premier Card. You can earn bonus points in certain categories, and have your purchases rounded up to the nearest 10 points.

On top of that, having this card will get you up to 10,000 points back per year, thanks to the 10% refund credit on redemptions. It’s fantastic to see the way that Citi has continued to build its portfolio of cards that earn ThankYou points.

All that being said, if I could just choose one Citi no annual fee card, I’d go with the Citi Double Cash Card, as it’s one of my go-to card for everyday spending.

If you want to learn more about the Citi Rewards+ Card or apply, follow this link.