Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The Citi Rewards+ card comes with no annual fee but offers a unique value proposition among the sea of rewards credit cards on the market. In fact, it’s the only credit card to automatically round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases made with the card. This can be vastly beneficial for small purchases you make on the card, as you’ll get to supercharge your ThankYou points® earning ability with the Citi Rewards+.
The card’s only bonus categories are gas stations and grocery stores, which will be useful for most households. You’ll earn 2x points on the first $6,000 spent every year in these categories combined, which breaks down to roughly $500 in monthly spend. If you exceed this spending cap, you’ll only earn 1x points per $1 spent.
Redeeming your ThankYou points is easy through your online Citi account, where you’ll get the best redemption value from travel or gift cards at 1 cent per point. While other rewards like “Shop with Points” or redeeming for a statement credit may be enticing, these redemption options present a poor value at just 0.8 cents and 0.5 cents, respectively. (Note: When we value the “minimum” redemption value of this card in our calculator at 1 cent per point, we are assuming you will take the maximum redemption option of gift cards.)
No matter how you redeem your points, you’ll get to earn 10% of all the points you redeem every year — up to the first 100,000 points annually. That’s a nice little boost to your ThankYou points balance.
Not only is the Citi Rewards+ a good choice for everyday purchases, but it also makes for a great supplementary card to any other Citi rewards cards you may have in your wallet since you can pool your points together.
If you already have the Citi Premier, a popular travel rewards card, you’ll earn 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations, air travel and hotels, and 1x point on all other purchases. That’s where the Citi Rewards+ comes in: you can use the card for small purchases or non-bonus categories to take advantage of that favorable 10% automatic round-up feature.
Plus, if you also have a Citi Premier, you can cash out all of your Citi ThankYou points for 1 cent each or transfer them to ThankYou airline and hotel transfer partners.
(Please note: Without also holding a Citi Premier or Citi Prestige card, you will not be able to transfer these points to Citi’s ThankYou® airline and hotel transfer partners.)
Finally, you’ll have peace-of-mind with important coverages like purchase protection and extended warranty that can come in handy when your eligible card purchases are damaged or stolen.
Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 2X points.
Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 2X points.
Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 2X points.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
We consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® the best starter travel rewards credit card available today. For a modest $95 annual fee, you’ll earn bonus points in several categories, get up to a $50 statement credit for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠, plus get a slew of travel protections.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card earns bonus points on travel purchases, dining, online grocery shopping, and select streaming services. Plus you’ll earn an annual Ultimate Rewards bonus of 10% of the prior year’s spending. Although the credit card doesn’t earn bonus points on other purchases, you can pair the card with other Chase credit cards to boost your Chase Ultimate Rewards earning rate.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points have a cash value of 1 cent each. But, you can get more value when you redeem points for travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (1.25 cents), through Chase Pay Yourself Back, or when you transfer points to airline and hotel partners.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card justifies its annual fee year after year by providing the best set of travel protections on a card with under a $100 annual fee. Your car rentals will be automatically covered against theft and damage when you use your card and primary coverage (secondary for New York residence with their own vehicle insurance) means your own insurance won’t have to get involved. You’ll be protected against weather delays, lost luggage, and trip interruptions or outright cancellations.
Additionally, you’ll get benefits from several partners. For example, earn 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides through March 2025. Plus, you can get lower service fees when you use DoorDash by enrolling to get one complimentary year of DashPass through December 2027.