How To Earn 100,000 or More Citi ThankYou Rewards Points in 90 Days

Citi ThankYou Rewards is one of the major transferable rewards programs, and it provides members a great way to accumulate lots of points that can be redeemed for luxury travel experiences in business and first class.

But before you can redeem Citi ThankYou Points, you need to earn them.

In this guide, we’ll show you the best strategy for earning 100,000 ThankYou Points through credit cards and other methods in just 90 days.

Why Earn 100,000 or More Citi ThankYou Rewards Points?

While Citi ThankYou Rewards isn’t as well known as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, it still has an excellent set of transfer partners that you can use to book airfare across all of the major airline alliances.

Citi ThankYou transfer partners include American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Turkish Miles&Smiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and many others. Some of the best redemptions include booking ANA first class through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Lufthansa first class through Avianca Lifemiles, and low-cost awards to Europe through Air France-KLM Flying Blue. That’s not all you can do, though. We’ll get more into specific ways to redeem your ThankYou Points below.

Hot Tip:

You won’t want to miss our complete guide to earning ThankYou Points for even more ways to earn tons of points!

Earning 100,000 or More Citi ThankYou Rewards Points

1. Apply for Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards

First thing’s first: You need a Citi ThankYou Points-earning credit card before you can start earning (and redeeming!) Citi ThankYou Points. Each of these cards earns points on all purchases and usually offers a welcome offer to new cardholders.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com

60,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$960

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.74% to 27.74% Variable APR

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is a great all-around travel rewards card that allows you to earn big rewards on a variety of purchases like air travel, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and more, along with flexible redemption options, all for a modest annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
• 3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging stations
• $100 annual hotel benefit

Cons

• $95 annual fee

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
• Earn 10X points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
• Earn 3X points per $1 on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations.
• Earn 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.74% to 27.74% Variable APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $1,600

Annual Fee

$595

APR

20.74% to 28.74%

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is a great option for frequent travelers, foodies, and those who are fans of the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem thanks to its combination of bonus categories, perks, and annual credits.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 12x points on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel
• 6x points on airfare through Citi Travel
• 6x points on dining on Citi Nights (Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and 3x points on dining at all other times

Cons

• $595 annual fee
• Boosted dining rewards are limited to 2 nights per week

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Card Highlights

• Earn 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first 3 months of account opening
• 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
• 6x points on air travel booked on cititravel.com
• 6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, and 3x points any other time
• 1.5x points on all other purchases
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Up to $300 annual hotel benefit
• Up to $200 annual Splurge credit
• Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit
• 4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes every calendar year
• Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to partners like American Airlines
• Complimentary Priority Pass membership
• No foreign transaction fees

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.74% to 28.74%
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Citi Strata℠ Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Citi Strata℠ Card

Welcome Offer

Earn 30,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

30,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$480

Annual Fee

$0

APR

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then a variable APR 18.74% to 28.74%.

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata card offers a fresh way to earn Citi ThankYou Points with a $0 annual fee, allowing you to maximize your spend at gas stations, supermarkets, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
• 3x points at supermarkets, select transit, gas and EV charging stations, and an eligible self-select category of your choice (fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salon or pet supply stores)
• 2x points at restaurants

Cons

• Doesn’t offer the best transfer ratio to Citi’s airline and hotel partners
• Charges foreign transaction fees

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
• Earn 5x points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
• Earn 3x points per $1 on supermarkets, select transit, gas, and EV charging stations, and an eligible self-select category of your choice every quarter (fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salons, or pet supply stores).
• Earn 2x points per $1 at restaurants.
• Earn 1x point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then a variable APR 18.74% to 28.74%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase

Rewards Center

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi Double Cash^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!

Citi Double Cash^® Card

Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!

Welcome Offer

Earn $200 cash-back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.

$200 cash-back

Annual Fee

$0

APR

17.74% to 27.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Fair to Excellent (580-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Double Cash^® Card has long been one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market, and the card now has the ability to earn Citi ThankYou Points!

This means that cardholders of the Double Cash card will now earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points. This means each billing cycle, you will earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on purchases and an additional ThankYou point for every $1 paid on your purchase balance as long as there is a corresponding balance in your Purchase Tracker.

Citi has turned the Double Cash card into a top choice for those who are looking for an everyday, no-fuss credit card.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Uncapped 2% for every $1 spent (1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay)
• Flexible redemption options
• No annual fee

Cons

• No bonus categories
• 3% foreign transaction fees

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou^® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
• Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
• Earn a total of 5 ThankYou^® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental, and attractions, excluding air travel, when booked through the Citi Travel^® portal.
• To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
• Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% Intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers; after that, the variable APR will be 17.74% to 27.74%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
• If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
• There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 17.74% to 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase

Rewards Center

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi Custom Cash^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Earn big on purchases in your top eligible spend category, up to the first $500 each billing cycle, without an annual fee!

Citi Custom Cash^® Card

Earn big on purchases in your top eligible spend category, up to the first $500 each billing cycle, without an annual fee!

Welcome Offer

Earn $200 cash-back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou^® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash-back.

$200

Annual Fee

$0

APR

0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.99% - 27.99%.

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Fair to Excellent (580-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Custom Cash^® Card is inventive when it comes to cash-back credit cards. Instead of earning a set amount of cash-back on predetermined bonus categories, the Citi Custom Cash card earns 5% cash-back on your highest eligible spend category each billing cycle, with a $0 annual fee.

Thanks to that unique perk, you’ll never need to worry about whether you’re using the right card for the right purchase, as your Citi Custom Cash card will always pay you 5% back on whichever category you end up spending the most on each month.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5% cash-back (on up to $500 each billing cycle) from your largest purchase category, including restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment
• $0 annual fee
• Multiple redemption options

Cons

• Your 5% category is limited to $500 in spend ($25 in cash-back) each month
• Not particularly rewarding for any purchases outside of your top 5% cash-back category

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou^® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
• Get 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.99% - 27.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
• Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
• No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
• $0 annual fee.
• Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash^® Card account per person.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.99% - 27.99%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3%

The Citi Strata Premier℠ card is a midtier travel rewards card that earns 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, EV charging stations, hotels, and air travel. This makes the card good for everyday spending — especially if you spend lots on eating out, groceries, or big-ticket travel purchases. You get 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel.

We’ve seen welcome offers for the Citi Strata Premier card go as high as 100,000 points, but it usually sits around 50,000. The welcome offer is awarded to new cardholders after meeting a spending threshold, usually somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000.

Keep in mind that you are not eligible for the welcome offer from a Citi ThankYou Points card if you have opened or closed any of these cards in the last 24 months. It can take up to 8 weeks for bonus points to be added to your balance once they’ve been earned, but you usually get them when your statement closes.

Depending on the welcome bonus offer, you could get over halfway to your 100k bonus very quickly.

2. Leverage the Citi Double Cash Card

Historically, the Citi Double Cash^® Card has been a cash-back product, though you could convert your cash-back earnings into ThankYou Points.

Now, however, the Citi Double Cash card earns ThankYou Points directly. With the card, you earn 1 point per $1 spent on all transactions, and then another 1x points when you pay the bill, effectively equal to 2x on all purchases. This makes the card perfect for purchases that don’t fit a bonus category covered by the Citi Strata Premier card or Citi Strata Elite℠ card.

On its own, points from the Citi Double Cash card can transfer to all of the same airline and hotel programs. The transfer ratios for Citi Double Cash cardholders are lower, though, than with the premium cards mentioned above.

However, if you also have a premium Citi ThankYou card like the Citi Strata Premier card, it’s possible to pool and transfer the points to Citi’s full suite of transfer partners at the best transfer ratio available.

If you have both the Citi Strata Premier card and the Citi Double Cash card, you set yourself up to always earn at least 2x ThankYou Points on all purchases, which is an amazing 3.2% return on spending based on our valuations.

3. Maximize Bonus Categories To Boost Your Earnings

You can earn points quickly when you use your Citi ThankYou credit cards to make everyday purchases.

This is especially true when you use the right ThankYou card to make purchases. Remember, each ThankYou card has its own set of bonus categories. Get the card that best fits your spending patterns and use it to make purchases in the bonus categories.

Then, put all nonbonus spending on your Citi Double Cash card, if you have it. This ensures that you’re earning at least 2 points per $1 on all of your purchases (1 point per $1 when you spend, another point per $1 when you pay your bill).

Here’s a breakdown of the bonus categories for each card:

* The Citi Custom Cash^® Card earns 5x ThankYou Points on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, then 1x ThankYou Points thereafter. All other purchases earn 1x ThankYou Points.

**The Citi Double Cash card earns 1x ThankYou Points when you make the purchase and 1x ThankYou Points when you pay your bill, adding to an effective rate of 2x.

These bonus categories become even more useful if you frequently make reimbursable purchases for work. Think corporate dinners, flights to trade shows, and hotel rooms. Spending $1,000 on a plane ticket for work through Citi Travel would give you 6,000 ThankYou Points with a Citi Strata Elite card.

All points earned from your purchases post to your ThankYou account when your statement closes for the month.

Depending on your spending habits, allocating your spending to the right ThankYou cards could put you within range of your 100,000-point goal after just 1 month of making everyday purchases.

4. Take Advantage of Unique Bonus Categories

Two of the cards mentioned above have unique spending propositions, and it’s wise to be aware of them.

First, the Citi Custom Cash card earns 5x ThankYou Points on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent. Any purchases above $500 each billing cycle earn only 1x ThankYou Point. If you spent at least $500 in 1 category each cycle, you’d get 2,500 ThankYou Points a month, or 30,000 points per year. There is no need to select the category, as you automatically get 5x points on whichever category you spend the most on.

The Citi Strata℠ Card has a similar benefit, though it’s slightly different. With the Strata card, you get 3x points on an eligible category of your choice every quarter. You must choose the category from the following:

• Fitness clubs
• Select streaming services
• Live entertainment
• Cosmetic stores, barber shops, hair salons
• Pet supply stores

Hot Tip:

Prior to July 2022, Citibank checking account holders could link their accounts and earn ThankYou Points by completing qualifying activities. However, this option is no longer available to newcomers. If you linked your checking account to the ThankYou Rewards program before July 2022, though, you can continue doing so, and this can still be a great way to earn extra ThankYou Rewards Points.

Using 100,000 or More Citi ThankYou Rewards Points

With the strategies outlined above, you’ll accumulate lots of Citi ThankYou Points in a short period of time. Once the points are in your account, make sure to put them to good use.

Citi ThankYou Transfer Partners

You usually get the best value from your ThankYou Points by transferring them to one of Citi’s airline and hotel partners. Citi partners with several outstanding frequent flyer programs, including American Airlines AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue, Avianca Lifemiles, and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

Citi has 2 different partner transfer ratios, depending on the card you hold. The Citi Strata Elite card and Citi Strata Premier card are considered premium cards and usually transfer 1:1 to partners. If you have one of the other cards that earn ThankYou Points, you generally get a lower ratio when transferring ThankYou Points.

Hot Tip:

If you have both a premium and nonpremium card, you can earn ThankYou Points on both cards. Then you can combine your points and transfer at the higher ratios. This lets you get the best of both worlds!

Read our full guide to the best Citi ThankYou redemptions for many more ideas, but for now, here are some of our favorites:

• Fly to Europe: For 106,500 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, you can try one of the best first class products in the sky between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt (FRA). If you can’t find award space on the outbound flight, give it a shot on the return flight.
• Visit Hawaii: Transfer 30,000 ThankYou Points to Turkish Miles&Smiles and redeem for a round-trip economy ticket to Hawaii from the mainland U.S. on United Airlines. This includes nonstop services like Chicago (ORD) to Honolulu (HNL).
• Book cheap domestic tickets: Transfer ThankYou Points to Star Alliance partner Avianca Lifemiles and book cheap domestic tickets on United Airlines. Awards are priced by region, but domestic tickets start at just 7,500 points each way.
• Head to the Caribbean: Dreaming of the Caribbean? Award tickets on Delta Air Lines start at just 15,000 each way when you transfer ThankYou Points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. Just note that Flying Blue prices awards dynamically, so check the cost before you transfer your points.

According to our valuations, you should be able to get a minimum of 1.6 cents per point in value from your Citi ThankYou Points so long as you transfer them to airline partners.

You can also redeem ThankYou Points for flights booked through the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal, but be aware that this is usually not the best way to redeem those hard-earned points. Citi cardholders can redeem ThankYou Points at 1 cent per point for flights through the portal (depending on the card).

Bottom Line:

Do you still have more questions? Check out this post containing FAQs about Citi ThankYou Points for everything you need to know!

Final Thoughts

As we’ve laid out in this guide, it’s not out of the question to earn at least 100,000 Citi ThankYou Points in 90 days or less.

The first step to getting you on your way is opening a credit card, using it for your everyday purchases, and meeting the minimum spending requirement so you can earn the welcome offer. That, combined with checking account bonuses for those still eligible, means you can meet or exceed the 100,000-point goal relatively quickly.