Earn 60,000 bonus points with the Citi Premier card

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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 recently-added 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 points for spending $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership.

Not only will the card’s ongoing rewards categories offer solid long-term value, but thanks to the card’s 25% bonus for redemptions made through its travel portal (available through April 10, 2021), you should also be able stretch the sign-up bonus a long way.

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 spend.

See related: Cash back vs. points

Citi Premier card sign-up bonus value: 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 air fare and hotels to gas, dining and supermarket spending. Citi ThankYou points also come with a 25% higher redemption value on travel.

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
Rewards rate	3 points per dollar on air travel and hotel stays 3 points per dollar on gas purchases 3 points per dollar on restaurant and supermarket purchases 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus	60,000 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 hotel stay of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, through thankyou.com, once per calendar year 25% bonus point value when redeemed through Citi travel portal (expires April 10, 2021) Transfer to 15 travel partners
Estimated earnings in first year ($15,900 spend)	$848

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.

Citi Premier card recent changes

Change date	Sign-up bonus
Jun. 13, 2019	60,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Oct. 23, 2018	50,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Aug. 1, 2018	60,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Feb. 28, 2018	50,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Jan. 25, 2018	30,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months
Sept. 27, 2017	No sign-up bonus
July 18, 2017	50,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months
Jan. 24, 2017	30,000 ThankYou® points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months

Keep in mind that the increased sign-up bonuses also come with higher spend requirements. To receive the 50,000-point or 60,000-point bonuses, 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+^®, Citi ThankYou^® Preferred, Citi ThankYou^® Premier/Citi Premier^® 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 airfare through the Citi ThankYou portal is your best bet. Through April 10, 2021, Citi Premier card members get a 25% boost on their points when they redeem them this way, so 60,000 bonus points can get you $750 worth of airfare.

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

Citi Premier card redemption options

Citi also has several airline partners that you can transfer points to at a 1:1 ratio (with the exception of JetBlue). It’s possible to stretch your points further with a point transfer, since you can look for values within each airline partner’s redemption chart. Unfortunately, the options are slightly limited, consisting mostly of small overseas airlines:

Citi Premier card transfer options

Should you apply for the Citi Premier card now?

The bonus on the Citi Premier card is currently at its highest throughout the card’s history, so now is a great time to apply if you want to secure a lot of ThankYou points. The card’s recently-added bonus categories should also offer impressive long-term value, even with the annual fee and the coming expiration of the card’s 25% point value bonus on Citi travel portal redemptions.

See related: American Express Platinum card offers 125,000 bonus points through CardMatch