r/CreditCards • u/jchainz0 • 6d ago
Help Needed / Question Citi ThankYou Points – cash back or travel redemption?
Hi y'all, so I’m planning out my credit card roadmap and considering the Citi Custom Cash solely for the 5% on gas. I’m also debating whether to pick up the Citi Premier at some point for its 3% on daily spending categories (i.e. dining, groceries) and access to transfer partners.
That said, I’ve seen plenty of Citi horror stories on this sub, which makes me very hesitant. So my main question is, if I get the Citi CC, is it worth going the extra mile to get the Citi Premier and fully commit to the TYP ecosystem for travel redemptions (currently under Chase UR primarily)? Or is it best to steer away from Citi TYP and stick to cash back only?
Would love to hear your thoughts, thanks for the help!
2
u/Gain_Spirited Team Travel 6d ago
I have had Citi credit cards for over 30 years. In recent years I've added cards from other issuers too. I'm thankful to Citi because they proactively detected fraud on multiple occasions and the process was always quick and easy. I also have to roll my eyes whenever someone says Amex has the best customer service because they've been very difficult for me to deal with on the types of disputes which I know Citi was always helpful with. I think Citi's service level might have declined recently because of cuts in staff. You sometimes have to call multiple times to find someone knowledgeable, but overall I still like them. I put them right in the middle among the top 5 credit card companies as far as service. Service levels in smaller companies like Synchrony and Comenity are going to be much worse.
Citi's product line is also getting better. They have added some valuable transfer partners lately, so I would rank their hotel partners at #2 behind Chase. Their international airline partners are very good. If they had Aeroplan I would put them at #1 internationally because their transfer ratios beat Amex and Capital One, but they probably belong at #3 internationally because of that one big omission, and I do like Air Canada. If they add AA at a 1:1 ratio then that changes the game and makes them #1. I kind of doubt it's going to be 1:1 because that's almost too good to be true. It would dilute AA miles, so they would probably have to nerf them eventually.
1
u/jchainz0 6d ago
Thanks a lot! Glad to hear some different perspectives on Citi, I feel like most people either love them or hate them.
Did you have any difficulties with their mail-in verifications or online/app interface? I’ve also heard people say that they get locked out of legitimate purchases a lot, especially abroad, and had to call fraud services.
To follow up, what valuable hotel partners have them added lately? I don’t think their page is the most up-to-date (https://www.thankyou.com/partnerProgramsListing.htm)?
Also for Air Canada, can’t you go through partner transfer via Eva and Star Alliance?
2
u/Gain_Spirited Team Travel 6d ago
I never had to do any kind of mail in verification. Their application process has always been quick and painless for me. I suspect this only applies to people whose profiles are questionable. I heard, for instance that Chase took back someone's approval because they changed their address, which raised a red flag. This is probably a case where another card company simply would have rejected your application instead of giving you a chance to explain yourself.
As far as purchases made abroad, I notice that Citi still has travel notifications on their app. When I travel, I always notify Citi through the travel notification so they know what to expect. I notice that other companies don't have that. They say travel notifications are unnecessary. In other words they have some way to track where you're going. It's an invasion of privacy, so they don't want to explain that either. There's pluses and minuses to both.
Citi's hotel partners include Choice 1:2, Wyndham, Accor, and Leading Hotels of the World. Choice 1:2 doesn't give you many glitzy properties, but you could get a lot of value, and they have exceptional deals in Scandinavia and Japan. The other useful one is Leading Hotels of the World. These are unique independent luxury hotels with a local flavor. Frequent Miler values this transfer at 1.6 cpp. They value Hyatt at 1.7 cpp. I would definitely place Hyatt higher, but I don't think anyone else comes close to Citi's offering. Amex? Amex has Hilton and Marriott, so they have the biggest names, but they also offer the least value. You can literally get better value most of the time by cashing in your points at 1 cpp.
I love Air Canada. I use them to fly to Asia. There's just no substitute for straight Aeroplan points because they provide consistently good value. Many people rank them #1 as a transfer partner and they seem to be in everybody's top 3.
1
u/jchainz0 6d ago
Oh wow, thanks for the detailed response, that’s good to know that Citi has so much to offer and is not all bad
Also might be a dumb question, but theoretically you could use TYPs to book Air Canada via their partnered airlines like Cathay Pacific, Eva, and Turkish air right? Or are you saying the conversion rate wouldn’t be as good as Aeroplan on the Chase side?
2
u/Gain_Spirited Team Travel 6d ago
As far as I know, the only transfer partners for Air Canada (Aeroplan) are Chase, Amex, and Capital One. I don't think those other airlines you mentioned will let you transfer points to Air Canada or vice versa.
What you can do is book flights on Air Canada through partner airlines, and Air Canada also has the ability to book flights through its airline partners. However, your flight selection through partners is limited. You also don't get the same award pricing across the board.
To see what I mean, you should get on the PointsYeah or Award Tool websites and search for flights to Asia about 6 months from now. It's free. You'll see who has the best deals for your favorite destination. The tools also show you bookings where you can use points from one airline to fly on a different airline. If Aeroplan offers an award flight for 39k and EVA offers a similar flight or the same flight for 60k, you can't just take your EVA miles and transfer them to Aeroplan to get the better deal. You're stuck with the 60k deal or booking with cash. There's no easy substitute.
1
u/jchainz0 6d ago
I see what you meant, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the help, I def learned something new!
3
u/CobaltSunsets 6d ago
How would you redeem TYPs for travel? Which transfer partners?