To my regular readers, this post is a little off topic today; but I feel it’s an important Public Service Announcement.
Background of Citi Rewards Card
I’m a huge proponent of mindful use of credit cards to earn and maximize credit card rewards. As part of my sabbatical and having more time and space in my life, I recently did a credit card review and inventory.
I signed up for the Citi Premier card as they were offering 80,000 bonus points if you spent $4,000 within 4 months of signing up. Given that our health insurance premium is over $800/month, I knew we would easily meet this. Even with a $95 annual fee, that’s still $700 bonus dollars (tax free!)
I downloaded and activated the Citi Mobile App. I found it a great way to manage my payments.
How to Redeem Citi ThankYou Points for Cash
Skip ahead a few months- I earned the 80,000 bonus points (also called ThankYou points) and I was ready to use them. But get this, I go to the rewards section of the App and this is what I see:
That’s right, there’s no cash back option.
When you click on “pay with points” you can choose to pay off some of your purchases, but it’s not a 1:1 ratio. For example, a $40.41 charge at the gas station would cost 5,051 points (instead of 4041 points if using a 1:1 ratio).
You can convert points to gift cards on the app, but I didn’t need $800 worth of Target or Best Buy gift cards. (And Amazon is not a good value either – you get less than a 1:1 ratio)
I was not happy. I did some googling, and everyone seemed to say you could get cash back with the Citi ThankYou points. I checked my app about 10 times and I still couldn’t find the option.
So then I logged into my account on my browser. And ahaha – Citi is extremely tricky and deceiving. Maybe they don’t want consumers to get cash back, so they hide it from you? Or maybe there is a glitch in the system.
But when you login to the Browser, you can convert your points to Cash.
Step By Step- Redeem City Premier Card Thank You Points for Cash or Statement Credit
If you are looking to redeem your Citi Premier card points for cash, here are the exact steps to do it:
- Login to Your Account on Citi.com
- Click on “Your Card”
- Click on Thank You Points
- Then Click on Cash.
- (If you still don’t see Cash, click on “More Ways to Redeem”)
- Your options for Cash are a direct deposit, check or statement credit. All of these are at a 1:1 ratio.
So, shame on Citi for not making it accessible on the App. Hopefully this will get fixed.
The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line is not just that you are able to redeem Citi Premier Card Points for Cash/Statement Credit, but it’s more than that. If you think something is not right, it’s probably not. Do some research. Ask around. And advocate for yourself if needed. You are worth getting what is right.
