Earn 60,000 bonus points with the Citi Premier Card

The travel rewards card is offering one of the highest sign-up bonuses in its history

Summary

Not only can new cardholders earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening, but they can also maximize everyday rewards with the card’s bonus categories.

The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Please review our list of best credit cards, or use our CardMatch™ tool to find cards matched to your needs.

Citi is a CreditCards.com advertising partner.

If you’re looking for a travel rewards card that offers a lot of value in the first year and beyond, the Citi Premier® Card is a great way to go.

In addition to its bonus categories that earn you 3 points per dollar on a variety of everyday expenses like supermarket purchases in addition to select travel expenses, the Premier Card is currently offering an impressive sign-up bonus: 60,000 ThankYou points for spending $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership.

Here we take a look at how much this card’s bonus is worth and what you stand to earn in the first year when you combine it with rewards earned via card spending.

Citi Premier Card sign-up bonus at a glance

Along with its 60,000-point bonus, the Citi Premier Card allows cardholders to earn rewards on a wide array of purchases, ranging from airfare and hotels to gas, dining and supermarket spending.

These benefits come with a price tag, though: cardholders will be charged an annual fee of $95. However, the card’s yearly value should more than make up for its annual fee each year.

Citi Premier® Card
Citi Premier Card
Rewards rate
  • 3X points per $1 spent on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and other hotels
  • For a limited time, earn a total of 10X points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024.
  • 1X point on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
Annual fee$95
Card perks
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Annual hotel savings benefit: Earn $100 off a single, prepaid hotel stay of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, through thankyou.com, once per calendar year
  • Transfer to 16 travel partners
Estimated yearly earnings in first year ($15,900 annual spend)$670

Recent changes to the Citi Premier Card

As you can see from the table below, the card has a history of toggling between a 30,000-point and 60,000-point sign-up bonus. The card has even offered no sign-up bonus in the past.

At the moment, the card is offering one of the higher sign-up bonuses in its history.

Citi Premier Card recent changes

Change dateSign-up bonus
Jan. 10, 202360,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
July 8, 202180,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Jun. 13, 201960,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Oct. 23, 201850,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Aug. 1, 201860,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Feb. 28, 201850,000 ThankYou points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Jan. 25, 201830,000 ThankYou points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months
Sept. 27, 2017No sign-up bonus

Keep in mind that the increased sign-up bonuses often come with higher spend requirements. To receive the 60,000-point bonus, cardholders must spend $4,000 in the first three months, compared to $3,000 for the 30,000-point bonus.

Who is eligible for the sign-up bonus?

The Citi Premier sign-up bonus is only available to new cardholders who have not had a Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card*, Citi ThankYou Premier/Citi Premier Card or Citi Prestige® Card* opened or closed in the past 24 months.

Of course, you must meet certain credit requirements to be approved for the Premier card. To determine your creditworthiness, Citi will consider several factors, including but not limited to, your annual salary and wages and any debt you may have.

Best ways to spend 60,000 ThankYou points

In general, travel redemptions are the best use of Citi ThankYou points, and — if you want to squeeze the most value out of your points — redeeming them for gift cards or airfare through the Citi ThankYou portal is your best bet.

Citi gives you plenty of other choices for redeeming ThankYou points — including merchandise and cash back — but many of these are a poor value, worth less than 1 cent per point.

Citi Premier Card redemption options

Redemption optionPoint valueValue of 60,000-point sign-up bonus
Citi ThankYou portal travel rewards (airfare, hotels, rental cars, cruises, vacations, activities)1 cent$600
Gift cards1 cent$600
Merchandise0.8 cent$480
Shopping partners (1-800Flowers, Amazon, Best Buy, CVS, PayPal, Walmart, etc.)0.8 cent$480
Pay with Points0.75 cent$450
Cash back (statement credit or check)0.5 cent$300
Student loan or mortgage payment1 cent$600
Charity donation1 cent$600

Citi also has several hotel and airline partners that you can transfer points to at a 1:1 ratio, except for a few. It’s possible to stretch your points further with a point transfer since you can look for value within each hotel and airline partner’s redemption chart. Unfortunately, the options are slightly limited, consisting mostly of smaller overseas airlines and hotel chains:

Citi Premier Card transfer options

Airline or hotelTransfer ratioPoint value (including transfer ratio)**Value of 60,000-point sign-up bonus
Aeromexico Club Premier1:10.6 cents$360
Avianca LifeMiles1:10.8 cents$480
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles1:13 cents$1,800
Choice Privileges1:20.6 cents$360
Emirates Skyward1:11.8 cents$1,080
Etihad Guest1:11.8 cents$1,080
EVA Air1:11 cent$600
Flying Blue (Air France, KLM)1:11.3 cents$780
JetBlue TrueBlue1:11.4 cents$840
Qantas Frequent Flyer1:10.4 cents$240
Qatar Privilege Club1:11.8 cents$1,080
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer1:12.2 cents$1,320
Thai Royal Orchid Plus1:10.6 cents$360
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles1:10.6 cents$360
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club1:3 (Limited Time Offer until March 18, 2023)2.6 cents$1,560
Wyndham Rewards1:10.9 cents$540

**Point and mile values are according to the point valuation systems of Bankrate and The Points Guy.

Should you apply for the Citi Premier Card now?

Even though the card’s bonus isn’t the highest it’s ever been, the Citi Premier Card will still provide you great value — especially since Citi points are worth a competitive 1.9 cents on average. The decent introductory bonus makes it a great time to apply for the card, especially if you want to secure a lot of ThankYou points. For a manageable annual fee, you can gain access to the growing Citi ThankYou Rewards program, earn points on everyday categories and receive $100 off in hotel savings per year, when you spend $500 or more on a prepaid hotel stay.

*Information about the Citi Prestige Card and Citi ThankYou Preferred Card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.

Editorial Disclaimer

The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.

Credit Card Rate Report
Reward
18.76%
Student
19.53%
Airline
18.58%
Business
17.05%
Cash Back
18.68%

Questions or comments?

Contact us

Editorial corrections policies

Learn more