Why I Think the Citi Rewards+ Card Is Vastly Underrated

As someone with lots of credit cards, I find that the best features are those that work together to help me earn more points or accentuate the benefits other cards provide. And none fits this bill better than the Citi Rewards+^® Card, which provides me with a massive points-earning potential each year

Even though the credit card carries a $0 annual fee, it gets very little attention. Here’s why I think the Citi Rewards+ card deserves a spot in your wallet.

Citi Rewards+ Card Overview

The Citi Rewards+ card has a $0 annual fee, but I think it punches above its weight class when you understand the card’s benefits. The card offers a few key benefits that I really enjoy:

• 10% points rebate: You get 10% of your Citi ThankYou Points back when redeeming them. This applies to the first 100,000 points redeemed annually, meaning you can get 10,000 points back to use again. Do note that you don’t get a points rebate when sharing points with other people.
• Round up your earning rate: You never earn less than 10 points on a purchase with this card. Your earnings are automatically rounded up to the nearest 10 points, so a purchase of just 1 cent would still earn 10 points. Additionally, a purchase of $11 earns 20 points, and there’s no limit to how many points you can earn from your rewards being rounded up.
• Interesting earning categories: The card earns 5 ThankYou Points per $1 spent on hotels and rental cars in Citi’s travel portal and 2x points at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 of spending each year, then 1x points.

Pair the Citi Rewards+ Card With the Citi Strata Premier Card

Citi Rewards+^® 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.

This no annual fee card rewards cardholders for everyday purchases. Earn bonus points at supermarkets and gas stations, plus your points are rounded up on every purchase.

Citi Rewards+^® Card

This no annual fee card rewards cardholders for everyday purchases. Earn bonus points at supermarkets and gas stations, plus your points are rounded up on every purchase.

Welcome Offer

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.

20,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$320

Annual Fee

$0

APR

0% intro APR on balance transfers and on purchases for 15 months. After that, a variable APR of 17.74% to 27.74%.

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 cardapplication.

Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-840)

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Rewards+ card is an excellent way to earn Citi ThankYou points with a $0 annual fee while receiving perks like point round-ups, a 10% point redemption rebate, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025
• 2x points on at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year
• Round up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase

Cons

• Doesn’t offer access to the entire collection of Citi transfer partners
• Charges foreign transaction fees

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• 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
• Plus, as a special offer, earn a total of 5 Thank You^® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025.*
• 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 17.74% to 27.74%, based on your creditworthiness. 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).
• Earn 2X ThankYou^® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou^® Points on All Other Purchases.
• The Citi Rewards+^® Card – the only credit card that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase – with no cap.
• No Annual Fee

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 0% intro APR on balance transfers and on purchases for 15 months. After that, a variable APR of 17.74% to 27.74%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of each purchase transaction in US dollars

The Citi Rewards+ card isn’t necessarily jawdropping with its earning categories — not when it’s working by itself. There are certainly better credit cards for your grocery purchases, gas purchases, and general travel purchases. Many of those cards have an annual fee, though, which is important to highlight.

Where the Citi Rewards+ card shines, however, is on small purchases and redeeming points from your other Citi credit cards.

Are you running to a convenience store for a pack of gum or maybe stopping in for a cup of coffee on the way to work? Why not earn 10 points on that small purchase with the Citi Rewards+ card? Anytime I have a small transaction, this is immediately the card I’m reaching for in my wallet.

However, the most valuable benefit of this card for me is the 10% points rebate. Here’s why it’s so valuable: It doesn’t just apply to points earned with this card.

I have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, which gives me access to the full list of Citi’s point transfer partners. I also have this card linked to my Citi Rewards+ card, giving me a single online account and a single pool for all of my ThankYou Points.

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

For a limited time: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards on thankyou.com.

75,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.24% - 28.24% 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

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• For a limited time: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards on 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: 20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

When transferring my ThankYou Points to an airline or hotel program, that still qualifies for the 10% points rebate — even though I’m transferring those points from the Citi Strata Premier card and even if I didn’t earn those points from purchases on my Citi Rewards+ card.

Consider my recent points transfer to Choice Privileges to book an upcoming hotel stay. I got an email a few minutes after the transfer confirming that I’d get 10% of my points back from this transaction.

That gave me 800 points back after transferring 8,000 points. That’s pretty great considering I didn’t actually use the Citi Rewards+ card here — just had it linked to the card involved in the points redemption.

Final Thoughts

By itself, the earning rates on the Citi Rewards+ card aren’t the greatest, and your redemptions are limited to cash-back or gift cards if you don’t have other Citi credit cards.

However, the ability to round up your earnings to the nearest 10 points on each transaction and get 10% of your redeemed points back each year — valid on up to 100,000 points redeemed across your linked ThankYou Points accounts is fantastic. Paired with other cards, though, the Citi Rewards+ card turns into a long-term keeper.