Update April 14, 2020: In addition to the travel category including hotels, airlines and gas stations, Greg has noticed that it also includes travel agencies. That should mean that OTAs like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. also earn 3x.
That also opens back up other travel spending as potentially eligible for earning 3x. For example, while cruises booked directly with cruise lines won’t earn 3x any longer, cruises booked through an OTA might earn 3x.
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Citi has announced some interesting changes to its Premier card today which will come into effect on August 23, 2020. On balance, these changes are positive, although there will be some cardholders that are negatively affected by these changes depending on their travel spending and how they redeem ThankYou Rewards.
There are a number of changes coming later this year – here’s what to expect.
New 3x Categories
The Citi Premier card will be adding grocery stores and restaurant spending from August 23, 2020. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on earnings in these categories which could make the card much more enticing for some.
Amended 3x Category
The Citi Premier card currently earns 3x ThankYou Rewards on travel spending. This travel category will become a little more restricted in August. Flights, hotels, travel agencies and gas stations will still earn 3x, but you’ll no longer earn a bonus on other types of travel like cruises, ride sharing, tolls, etc.
Removed 2x Category
The card currently earns 2x on entertainment spending, but that category will be removed. While that won’t be a huge loss for most people, it will be disappointing for people that spend a lot in that category. For example, this could be a good card for ticket resellers, although there’s not much of that activity going on right now anyway.
1.25cpp Redemptions Being Removed
This is likely the biggest downside for cardholders. Citi Premier cardholders can currently redeem ThankYou Rewards for 1.25cpp when booking travel in the ThankYou Travel Center, similar to how you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for 1.25cpp in the Chase travel portal if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Those 1.25cpp redemptions will be eliminated from April 10, 2021, so you still have a year to take advantage of that increased redemption opportunity.
$100 Hotel Credit
If you spend $500+ on a hotel stay booked through the ThankYou Travel Center, you’ll receive a $100 statement credit. This credit can be earned once per calendar year.
April 10, 2020 Threshold
If you apply for the Citi Premier card before April 10, 2020, you’ll be grandfathered in on the current earning structure until April 10, 2021 which means you’ll get the best of both worlds. You’ll continue to earn 3x on all travel and 2x on entertainment until next April, but you’ll earn 3x at grocery stores and restaurants starting on August 23, 2020.
Quick Thoughts
My Citi Premier card is coming up for renewal in a couple of months and these changes are encouraging me to renew it. In particular, earning 3x at grocery stores – which appears to be uncapped – is a welcome addition, especially seeing as it’s only American Express cards (for the most part) that offer grocery stores as a bonus category year-round. While I definitely prefer earning 4x Membership Rewards at grocery stores with my Amex Gold card, that’s capped at $25,000 of spend per year and the card has a $250 annual fee. Uncapped earning at 3x with a $95 annual fee will be a more enticing prospect for some, although it can be a both/and situation rather than either/or.
The removal of parking, ride sharing, tolls and cruises from earning 3x isn’t a huge loss for me personally, although it obviously will be for some people that have high spending in those categories. The fact that flights, hotels and gas are staying at 3x is great news though, as that likely constitutes a much more likely source of travel spending for most people.
Losing the 2x entertainment category will hurt for some people, although it’s the 1.25cpp redemptions being eliminated which is the card’s biggest loss. I’ve never used that benefit personally, but if you spend a lot on flights then it can be a good option, especially seeing as those are revenue flights which can earn you miles, contribute towards elite status, etc.
My initial impression of the $100 hotel credit was “meh”, but it’s grown on my while writing this post. Even if it’s not a benefit you’ll use every year, it’s always good when benefits are added rather than removed, especially seeing as using it more than covers the card’s annual fee. The fact that you have to book the stay through the Citi portal means you won’t earn points, elite night credits, etc., nor will you be eligible for status benefits which is why I wasn’t enamored with the benefit at first glance. However, if you have a $500+ stay at a hotel where you don’t have status and don’t care about earning points, saving $100 on that stay is a great option.
If I ever found myself in that position in the past, I’d have booked the stay through Hotels.com to earn 10% back in Welcome Rewards while paying with a Hotels.com gift card I’d bought at 15-20% off. Seeing as I have a Citi Premier card though, I’ll definitely look at the Citi portal for this type of scenario in the future as I could then save the Hotels.com gift cards for stays costing less than $500.
It’s also positive that Citi is grandfathering in current cardholders to the current earning structure through April 10, 2021, while simultaneously adding grocery stores and dining as 3x categories for them on August 23, 2020. As mentioned earlier, that’s the best of both worlds. In a recent podcast, Greg and Nick discussed the Citi Premier card, suggesting that it could be worth applying for it ASAP in case its current 60,000 point welcome offer was suddenly pulled. That suggestion seems even more worthwhile now because applying for it in the next couple of days means you’ll lock in the increased earnings on all travel and entertainment for another year.
These changes set up the Citi Premier card as an interesting alternative to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, especially in the current environment. Both cards earn 3x on travel (albeit in more limited categories on the Premier card in the future), while both will also earn 3x on dining from August. With the Citi Premier card adding 3x at grocery stores too, its $95 annual fee looks much more reasonable than the Sapphire Reserve’s $550 fee seeing as many of that card’s benefits – travel credit, lounge access, primary car rental coverage, etc. – are harder to use right now. For Sapphire Reserve cardholders balking at the prospect of renewing with a $550 fee (or even a decreased $450 fee) but still wanting to retain travel and dining spend as 3x categories, the Citi Premier card could be a good alternative.
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Does the 3x restaurants work internationally?
What about 3x supermarkets?
[…] Note that this feature is available only through April 10, 2021. See this post for details. […]
[…] thought it would stay that way with such a large bonus multiplier. However, given the fact that the Citi Premier now offers 3x at grocery stores, the Freedom cards come with a limited-time first year bonus of 5x on up to $12K, and the Sapphire […]
I was getting close to the sign up bonus deadline and was having trouble reaching the 4k spend. I used the online chat to ask for more time. They granted me a 14 day extention.
I’m happy!
[…] Note that this feature is available only through April 10, 2021. See this post for details. […]
[…] couple of months ago Citi announced that they’d be changing the earning structure on the Citi Premier […]
[…] upcoming changes to the Citi ThankYou Preferred card. This comes on the heels of (in my opinion) exciting changes to the Citi Premier card that came in just the other day (and caused me to finally dump my Prestige card and at least feel a […]
[…] kudos for spotting what I’m about to discuss has to go to Greg from Frequent Miler and I have to admit that I have no idea how he noticed what he did because it’s far from […]
@Stephen Pepper Forgot to ask until now and do not see it mentioned anywhere here… but, WHAT ABOUT TRAINS? Is the method of travel for 3x ONLY Planes, or do Trains count as well? Wondering because when I go to Europe, I use trains like mad.
No, trains are no longer included unless you’re able to book them through a travel agency, with the payment itself being processed by the travel agency rather than the train company.
Crap. Well, that sucks. I buy my tickets at the kiosks in the stations most of the time. I wonder if Rome 2 Rio or RailEurope would suffice as Travel Agencies? They do charge a small fee when I use them. What’s your thoughts on that? This card is really on the edge with me right now so am trying to decide before the AF comes around.
I’m afraid I’ve got no clue. Seeing as you’ve purchased from them before, are you able to look back to see their merchant code, or were those transactions too far in the past now? Other than that, the only thing I can suggest is waiting to see how it codes the next time you use them, but that won’t be much help if your annual fee comes around before then.
Hmmm…Not sure how to find or read the merchant code, but I don’t keep statements so will have to try this online. It would be from late last year. Thanks for the tip!
I checked Award Wallet’s Merchant Lookup tool, but all it says is that Rome2Rio & RailEurope are travel, rather than stating if that’s Travel Agency, Rail, etc. https://awardwallet.com/merchants
Well, guess I will try to look back on old statements and otherwise if I keep the card, test it out! Might buy a really cheap ticket online here as a throwaway to find out.
[…] are a big win. Most of the changes will hit on August 23rd 2020. We detailed the changes previously, but here’s a summary of the August 23rd […]
Greg, a longtime reader here. I love your blog and your podcast. Just a reminder: after the recent layout change, the blog looks like TPG’s (uh) especially on mobile. Please consider simplify it.
This is a deal breaker for me. I’ve had this card for many years, but use it primarily for entertainment (I spend a lot on theater and concerts) and the occasional chartered cruise. I have Amex gold, Ink, and Sapphire so I guess I’ll find a 2x all spend card for entertainment. It’s been nice knowing you Citi. (I canceled my prestige card when they raised fee and limited 4th night free.)
Capital One Savor or SavorOne?
Just get a Citi Double Cash card and you will get 2% cash back or 2x TY points on every purchase, including entertainment.
[…] More Citi Premier card changes: Citi Adding Grocery Stores & Restaurants To 3x Category, 3x Travel Structure Changing. […]
If I applied today, I can redeem 1.25cpp at the Citi portal until April 10, 2021, right? Just want to confirm because the new Citi application page doesn’t mention 1.25cpp at all. Thanks.
My understanding is that yes, you’ll have access to 1.25cpp until April 10, 2021.
I’m looking at the application page as of 10:46pm Eastern time on 4/9 and under the benefits section it says “Points are worth 25% more toward airfare”. 25% more = 1.25cpp.
Just to slightly change subject from what you say, but I’ve not seen this mentioned. They state gas stations. I have ONE old fashioned gas station in town that does all my auto repairs. Just had $1500 worth of work done on my car last month and charged it on the Premier. lo, and behold…. 4500 TY points. So if you have or can find a gas station that does car work….and they are good, use them!
I had a similar thing recently – we took our car to a brake shop and it coded as a gas station. Unfortunately we put it on a card that only earned 1x on gas.
Well, nice to know a brake shop might code that way! My place IS a gas station (Shell) but old school with a couple mechanic’s bays and they do a lot of car work. Like I said, old school. If you can find a place like that, it’s great!
I don’t see “Points are worth 25% more toward airfare”. Would you mind sharing the link? Thanks.
That was valid until April 10, so any new application/product changes won’t receive that benefit.
The Citi Premier card has been a very good “simple to use” travel card. If you combined it with a supermarket card (like AMEX Honors Surpass), you were pretty much set for most types of spend. I’ve also found that, if you call, Citi would waive the annual fee for modest spend (I’d pick up a couple of 3x Visa gift cards at a gas station, and be done). Citi has now basically gutted this as an all-purpose travel/entertainment card that you could then use at 1.25 cents to, say, buy airline tickets. I think the Premier card is way less useful to most of your readers.