Which credit cards are best for overseas everyday spending?
There are increasingly more and more credit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees when you use them abroad, and that's a trend that has been very good for those of us who like to travel. But when it comes to general everyday spending when you're outside of the US, most of these cards don't offer a great return. So which cards do?
The Citi® Double Cash Card review (2024) – The all-round cash back card
The Citi Double Cash Card is a no-frills, no annual fee cash back card that doesn't offer any big impressive benefits or headline-grabbing earning rates in a select spending category but is still one of the very best cash back cards that you can hold. For the miles & points enthusiast as well as for someone just looking for a good cash back card, the Citi Double Cash Card can be a compelling proposition.
How to use Citi ThankYou Points to book great value American Airlines awards
One of the oddities in the miles and points world has long been the fact that Citi's ThankYou points don't transfer over to the American Airlines AAdvantage program. For years, Citi had a monopoly on the issuance of American Airlines co-branded credit cards (it still issues four of the airline's six available credit cards) but apart from a brief period in 2021, AAdvantage has never been a full-time ThankYou transfer partner.
How to transfer Citi ThankYou Points to airline loyalty programs (2023)
Like all the major transferable currencies Citi ThankYou points are relatively easy to earn (if you have the right credit cards) and because they can be transferred to an impressive number of airline loyalty programs, they're a key element to most people's miles & points strategy.
Citi Adds Choice Privileges as a ThankYou transfer partner
Citi's ThankYou points are one of the four major transferable currencies used in the miles and points world and the ThankYou program just got a little better with Citi adding Choice Privileges as its first hotel transfer partner. Better yet, the ratio for transfers between Citi and Choice can be more favorable than a lot of people may expect.
Unexpected Enhancement: You Can Now Transfer Citi Points To AAdvantage (For A Limited Time)
Citi’s ThankYou Points can be incredibly useful in certain situations but up until now I have found them to be less useful than the points issued by Amex and Chase. Now, however, courtesy of a very surprising program enhancement (of the good kind!) Citi’s ThankYou points have suddenly been made considerably more useful…albeit for a limited time only.
Citi ThankYou: Transfer Partners & Transfer Times [2023 Edition]
Citi ThankYou points are one of the four big transferable currencies in the miles & points world and can be earned by using select Citi credit cards (e.g. the Citi Premier® Card), and these points can be transferred across to a variety of other travel loyalty programs.
The Citi Prestige 2021 Travel Credit Is Also Valid For Dining & Groceries
The Citi Prestige Card must be one of the most highly devalued cards of recent years (it’s gone from being a “must-have” card to a card whose existence can, for some, be hard to justify) so it's nice to be able to confirm that the card is bringing back a very useful benefit that we first saw in 2020.
Citi Offering Bonus ThankYou Points On Select Credit Cards [Targeted]
Citi is in the process of sending out emails to select credit card holders offering them bonus points for spending in select categories. This is far from the first time Citi has done this in the past 8 months although the credit cards that have been targeted have varied.
Earn 5 Points/Dollar On Online, Cable & Streaming Spending With The Citi Prestige Card...
Citi has been pretty quiet for a few months and the last bonus or added benefit we saw the bank offer holders of the Citi Prestige Card expired at the end of August. Now, however, the bank is back with another small bonus as it tries to keep holders of its premium travel card engaged at a time where travel isn't an option for most people.
Citi Is Emailing Out Authorized User Bonuses [Targeted]
Citi is in the process of emailing cardholders with offers of bonus ThankYou points for adding authorized users to various credit cards. The offers appear to be varying from person to person so there's no one single definitive offer out there but it's worth keeping an eye on your inbox if you're considering adding someone to your account.
Select Citi Cards Offering Bonus Points In New Shopping Categories [Capped & Targeted]
I’ve had a number of targeted offers set to me by Citi in recent months and the last offer I used (targeted to my now closed Prestige Card) even worked for purchases outside of the US. Now Citi is back with another round of offers which, if you’ve been targeted in the past, you may well recognize.
AAdvantage credit cards now earn miles towards Million Miler status
Up until 2011, all miles earned through credit card spending counted towards American Airlines Million Miler status while the miles earned from the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card counted through 2012. Since then, only miles earned by flying (better known as "butt-in-seat" miles) have qualified to move the needle in the Million Miler program...until now.
Citi Extends Its Welcome Offer Earning Period & Improves The Prestige Card
Citi has just announced two new measures to make life easier for new credit card holders and its Prestige cardholders. The measures are nowhere near as significant as the measures we have already seen announced by Amex and Chase earlier in the day, but they're important nevertheless.
A bit of good news for Citi Premier® Card holders
Last week Citi revealed that it will be overhauling the Citi Premier Card and making significant changes to the card's bonus categories and to the bonus points on offer. One key piece of news was that from later this year the Citi Premier Card will no longer earn bonus points on all travel...but a lot of us missed one key element to that part of the announcement.
The Citi Premier® Card is changing…for better & for worse
I'm new to the Citi Premier® Card. I've had it for less than two months and it's only in my credit card portfolio because I'd had enough of the Citi Prestige® Card but didn't want to give up on Citi's ThankYou program entirely. Now we're hearing news that the Citi Premie®r Card is changing and that it's changing significantly enough to affect most cardholders.
Get A Very Easy $5 Statement Credit From Citi [Targeted]
I don't know how busy Citi's call centers are right now but the credit card issuer appears to be trying to bribe some (possibly all) of its customers to use its website or app to manage their accounts instead of calling in.
I Downgraded My Citi Prestige Card And Confirmed Something Good
Over the past month, I've been reviewing my credit card portfolio and the result of the review has been that I've canceled once credit card, upgraded two and downgraded one and, in the process, I confirmed (re-confirmed may be a better term) something about the Citi Prestige card that I think is worth passing on.
GOOD DEAL: Citi Is Back With More Spending Offers On ThankYou Cards [Targeted]
I've had a number of targeted offers set to me by Citi in recent months and the last offer I used (targeted to my now closed Prestige Card) even worked for purchases outside of the US. Now Citi is back with another round of offers which, if you've been targeted in the past, you may well recognize.
Book Great “Round The World” Awards With This Citi Transfer Bonus
We've used to seeing Amex Membership Rewards offering frequent transfer bonuses to some of the loyalty programs it partners with but transfer bonuses offered by Citi's ThankYou program don't appear all that often...so it's always nice when one turns up.
Earn 70,000 Or 75,000 AAdvantage Miles With These Two Credit Card Offers
Citi has brought out a couple of new welcome offers on its CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard and although both offers are very similar there's a slight difference between them that may see you prefer one offer over the other.
Is It Time To Say Goodbye To The Citi Prestige Card?
I've been on the verge of canceling or downgrading my Citi Prestige Card a number of times over the past few years but each time I got close to making the call I either talked myself out of it or Citi put through a genuine enhancement that persuaded me to give the card another go.
Now, with my cardholder year ending in a few months' time and with Citi having just gutted most of the Prestige Card's protection benefits, I'm once again wondering if it makes sense to keep the card for another year.
Earn Points & Help A Great Cause With Citi Credit Cards
I’ve just got an email from Citi announcing a great opportunity for anyone with a Citi credit card or Citibank debit card to help out with a great cause. The cause is the “No Kid Hungry” campaign and it takes minimal effort on the part of cardholders to do a little good so there’s very little excuse not to join in.
AMEX Platinum, Chase Reserve & Citi Prestige – Which Card Offers Which Protections?
Right now the three most high-profile (and probably most widely held) premium bank cards are the Platinum Card from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and the Citi Prestige card so, with the Citi Prestige card seeing its protection benefits slashed, I thought I’d take a high-level look at the main protection benefits each card offers.
Get Up To 30% Back When You Add Select Citi Cards To Apple Pay...
At the beginning of the month, Citi emailed ThankYou Preferred and Citi Rewards+ cardholders an offer in which they can earn between 5 and 10 ThankYou points per dollar spent in select categories, and now more emails are going out offering a similar selection of cardholders the chance to get a statement credit after adding their cards to Apple Pay.
Citi Is Offering 5x Points On Its ThankYou Preferred Credit Card [Targeted]
Citi is in the process of emailing holders of the Citi ThankYou Preferred card with a bonus offer that runs through to the end of September. Cardholders can earn 5 points/dollar for spending in select categories and, considering the poor Chase Freedom categories on offer this quarter, this may be one of the easier promotions in which to earn points over the summer.
Massive Devaluation To Citi Credit Card Benefits
Citi has announced a raft of changes to the benefits that accompany a significant number of its credit cards and they are changes that will disappoint a lot of Citi's cardholders and bring into question the value that some cards will offer going forward.
Fly One-Way USA – Europe Business Class For Just 42,400 Points
I'm a big fan of the transferable currencies various credit cards offer and a major reason why I love collecting these currencies is that they help me get outsize value when I use them for premium cabin travel.
Right now Citi is offering a 25% bonus when you transfer its ThankYou points over to the Air France/KLM Flying Blue program and this represents a very good opportunity to book some great Business Class cabins for comparatively few points.
Citi Is Starting To Restrict Sign-Up Bonuses To One Every 48 Months (But There’s...
With an ever increasing number of people happy to churn credit cards (open a card, earn the bonus, close the card and repeat) in the quest for cheap travel, most financial institutions have been bringing in rules to limit the number of sign-up bonuses one person can earn.
Here’s A Big Reason Why I’m Already Booking My Trips For 2020
I happily admit to being one of life's planners so it's not entirely out of character for me to be planning trips a year into the future. Right now, however, there's an extra special reason why I'm already checking out flights and hotels for the first few months of 2020.
Improved 65,000 Points Sign-Up Bonus On This AAdvantage Credit Card [Targeted]
Citi is emailing out customers with a slightly improved sign-up offer on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard but the nature of the offer means that not everyone who's in the market for this card will want to take it up - it will suit some more than others.
This I Why I May Get The Citi Rewards+ Credit Card
A number of blogs have been writing about the Citi Rewards+ credit card of late and, if I'm being totally honest, this is a card that I haven't really given all that much thought to since it launched at the beginning of the year....but now I'm giving it a serious look.
Citi Prestige Cell Phone Protection Details Released
Citi announced a series of big changes to its Prestige card back in November last year and, although details of most of these changes were revealed at the time of the announcement, there was one benefit that remained a mystery - the cell phone protection that the Citi Prestige card will offer from 1 May.
The Citi Prestige Card Is Open For New Applications – Here’s What You Need...
The Citi Prestige Card has been closed to new applicants for quite some time and, while the card has remained unavailable, Citi has been making some serious changes to the Prestige's offering so this isn't the Citi Prestige Card of old.
On 31 January 2019 (yesterday) Citi reopened the Prestige card to new applicants and, at the same time, launched a 50,000 point sign-up bonus to attract new customers.....but what exactly does the revamped Citi Prestige Card offer?
Citibank ThankYou 25% Transfer Bonus To Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Citibank has launched a 25% transfer bonus for anyone converting its ThankYou Points to Turkish Airlines' Miles & Smiles program through 20 February 2019.
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles may not come up in conversation all that often but the combination of a friendly award chart, a friendly companion rule and a very good Business Class offering onboard make this Citi transfer bonus once that's well worth a closer look.
When Two Free Nights Will Cost You More Than One Free Night At The...
Friends of ours will be visiting Los Angeles in December and they asked if I would give them some advice on booking their trip and help them out with their accommodation. Naturally I said yes and I started exploring a few options on their behalf....but things didn't quite turn out as I expected them to turn out.
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard – Improved 60,000 Sign-Up Bonus Available
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How I’m Incorporating The Citi Prestige Card Into My Spending
I'm a very big fan of transferable currencies and that's one of the reasons why I currently hold the three best known premium credit cards which between them cost me over $1,500 in annual fees.
The Platinum Card from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Citi Prestige card don't actually cost me over $1,500 between them as they all offer me travel rebates that I use every year (although sometimes I come close to forgetting to use them!) and they all offer me benefits to which I can easily assign a monetary value....but I still have to justify holding three such expensive cards.
Award Wallet Saved Me $250…And Quite A Bit Of Embarrassment
As you have probably noticed, I write about miles & points quite a bit and, despite the fact that I have a large number of credit cards and loyalty program accounts (31 at the last count), I like to think that I'm good at keeping on top of my accounts, tracking spending and earnings and generally knowing where I stand at any given moment in time.
Earn More Points With The Citi Prestige Credit Card From Today
The Citi Prestige credit card may not yet be open to new applicants (we're expecting an announcement on that any day now) but current cardholders can start to make the most of some of the card's new benefits from today - 4 January 2019.
An In-Depth Look At The Changes Coming To The Citi Prestige Card
Long time readers may remember that I've blown hot and cold about the Citi Prestige card for quite some time. I defended the value of the credit card following the devaluations which saw Admirals Club membership withdrawn as a benefit but, by the beginning of this year, I was set to swap my Citi Prestige card for the cheaper Citi Premier ThankYou card....but that downgrade never actually happened.
American Airlines Launches The AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card
If I wasn't expecting a the relaunch of the Chase Hyatt credit card last week I certainly wasn't expecting to hear news that American Airlines and Citi have decided to rebrand and relaunch the AAdvantage Bronze credit card....but that's exactly what has just happened.
How To Combine The Citi Prestige Card With Hyatt Points For A Great Trip
At the beginning of the year I was set to swap my Citi Prestige card for the cheaper Citi Premier card but, thanks to a points bonus that Citi unexpectedly threw my way, the card got a stay of execution and it's still in my wallet.
I've now earned the maximum bonus Citi offered me so the card is back in the firing line and needs to earn its place in my wallet....and it may have just done so.
DEAL: $50 Off Two Or More Hotel Nights With Citi ThankYou (Book By 30...
Citi is currently running a promotion offering ThankYou card holders $50 off a hotel booking of 2 nights or longer. There don't seem to be any major strings attached to this promotion so, if you have a hotel stay you're looking to book, this could be an easy $50 saving.
Why My Citi Prestige Card Has To Go
I recently wrote a post discussing annual fees and explaining how I go about deciding if I should keep a credit or charge card when the annual fee becomes due and, just recently, it was decision time on the Citi Prestige card.
I’ve been a fan of the Citi Prestige card since it was first launched and, even after the devaluation back in July this year, I still thought the card was worth keeping.
But things change and my recent review of what exactly I’m getting for my $450 annual fee didn’t come out looking too positive.
How You Should Book The Citi Prestige 4th Night Free Benefit
Last week the Park Hyatt offers I wrote about reminded me of one of the major reasons I liked the Citi Prestige card in the first place - the 4th Night Free benefit - and they also reminded me to write a post explaining why one of the two ways you can book the 4th night free benefit is a lot better than the other.
Citi Has Added Avianca LifeMiles As A Transfer Partner – Please Be Careful
Citibank will be losing Hilton Honors as a transfer partner in just a few weeks time but, while that will leave the ThankYou Points program without any hotel partners at all, at least Citi is still working on the airline side of things.
Citi ThankYou Program Drops Hilton As A Partner
As of January 2018 Citi will lode the right to issue Hilton co-branded credit cards as the hotel chain gives American Express exclusivity over its credit cards. With that in mind it's not all that big of a surprise that Citi has announced that it will be dropping Hilton as a transfer partner for its ThankYou points program.
Here’s How To Earn More Citi ThankYou Points
Last week I took at look the transfer partners of the four major transferable loyalty currencies - Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood's Starpoints. All are currencies I value highly and all a currencies I prefer to individual airline miles or hotel points.
As a follow up to those articles I'm taking a look at the best ways to earn the four transferable loyalty currencies and hopefully giving you some idea of what you can do to earn more points and to boost your balances quickly and/or frequently.
Citi ThankYou Rewards Transfer Partners – Which Programs Are Included?
This week I'm taking a look at the four major transferable rewards currencies individually and listing out the airline and, where relevant, hotel rewards programs those currencies can be transferred into. In this, the second of four posts, I'm taking a look at Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Is Citi About To Change The Citi Prestige Card Again?
When the Citi Prestige card first launched some of the benefits it offered were genuinely new in the miles & points universe and the card caught a lot of people's imaginations (mine included). Benefits like a 4th night free at hotels and the ability to use Citi ThankYou points at an elevated rate for American Airlines bookings were examples of the new things we saw and the inclusion of an Admirals Club membership, a Priority Pass membership and a $250 per year airline credit all made a pretty compelling case for getting the card.
REMINDER: Citi Prestige Devaluation Approaching – Time To Use Those Points?
When the Citi Prestige card came to market it brought with it some fantastic benefits and bonuses that helped change the landscape of the miles & points credit card world - yes, I think the card has been that important.
Up to the point at which Citi unleashed the Prestige card on the world the best known "high fee" card was probably the Platinum Card from Amex.....and that was a card on a slippery slope to irrelevance.
The Citi Prestige may come with a $450 annual fee (the same as the Platinum Card up until recently) but it was also introduced with benefits, perks and bonuses that more than made up for this outlay
Citi Still Sending $50 Amazon Gift Cards As A “Thank You”
The Citi Prestige Mastercard has taken a bit of a beating recently following the news that a number of its better benefits are either being scaled back or removed completely. The card's cause hasn't been helped by the recent introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit card which has got a lot of people all whipped up in a frenzy. But, as I pointed out in my review, the Prestige card still has some merits and I've just been a recipient of an unexpected one.
The Citi Prestige Credit Card – An Unbiased Opinion
I got the Citi Prestige at the end of last year when I decided that my Citi AAdvantage Executive card wasn't worth the $450/year annual fee and when I could see a real benefit to holding the Citi Prestige credit card instead (which, coincidentally, also costs $450/year).
Citi Introduces New Rule To Limit Sign-Up Bonuses
Travelers who enjoy churning credit cards for their sign-up bonuses have taken a series of hits in the past 18 months and things have just taken another turn for the worse.
The first to put a spanner in the churners' works was American Express when it announced that customers could only earn one sign-up bonus per credit card. Period. Then Citi introduced an 18 month and then 24 month limit on sign-up bonuses for the same credit card. Chase went one further than Citi with its rule that, for the most part, meant it would reject applications from individuals who had applied for more than 5 credit cards, from any bank, in the preceding 24 months.
But now Citi has upped the stakes again with another change to its sign-up bonus rules.
American Airlines Announces New Credit Card Deal With Citi AND Barclaycard
We've known for a while that American Airlines' credit card deal with Citi was being renegotiated as the current deal draws to an end and we've been waiting to hear what any new deal has in store for customers. Today we should start to find out as American Airlines announced a new deal with Citi and, somewhat surprisingly, a new deal with Barclaycard US.
Citi ThankYou Points Coming To Amazon “Shop With Points”
Citi is sending out emails to holders of its ThankYou points-earning credit cards (Citi Prestige, Citi ThankYou etc...) to let them know that they will soon be able to use ThankYou points to make purchases at Amazon.com.
The Credit Card Reshuffle Begins
Earlier this month I wrote a series of posts going though which travel related credit cards I hold and why (Which Credit Cards I Hold & Why?). The posts were as much for me as anyone else because they made me think about the credit cards I hold and made me justify their place in my wallet. At the time I noted that a few cards were reaching the end of their useful life and, when a annual fee became due on one of them, I decided to pull the plug.
What Credit Cards I Hold & Why: Part 3 – Citibank
A look at the Citi Credit cards I hold and why I've been holding them....together with a few reasons why they may soon be making way in my wallet.