Tag Archives: Citi Bank

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Reader Feedback: How Should I Spend 84K Citi ThankYou Points Before December 31?

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Updated at 6pm PT on 1/2/21: Thanks to everyone who answered the poll question at the bottom of this post.  Even though “Do Nothing Until 2021” was the second most popular answer, that is what I decided to do.  Hopefully I will be able to make some Citi TYP redemptions in 2021.

Good evening everyone, I need some help.  First of all, this post could be classified as a “First World Problem” or a “Good Problem to Have”, but I would still like to get some help on making my decision.  Long story short, I have a Citi Rewards+ Credit Card and one of the benefits of the credit card is the ability to get 10% of your redeemed Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs) back, on the first 100,000 TYPs redeemed per calendar year (10K TYPs rebate max).  Since there are only a few weeks left in the year and I have only redeemed a few thousand TYPs this year, I need to spend 84K TYPs by December 31 in order to max out the 10K TYP rebate.  In this post, I will discuss how I calculated how many TYPs I need to spend and go through all the various redemption options and my thoughts on each option.

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Citi 5% Cash Back on Online Purchases from 11/24 – 11/30 Statement Credits Posted

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  Last week, Citi ran a promo where you could earn 5% cash back for making online purchases between November 24 and November 30 (Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday).  My Citi AT&T Access More Credit Card statement just closed and the 5% cash back statement credit posted to my account.  I made an online purchase on November 24 for $503.95 and the $25 Online Purchase Bonus posted on December 3.  You may need to wait until your credit card statement closes to see the bonus.

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Citi ThankYou Points Cyber Monday Gift Card Sale (Redeem 20% Fewer TYPs on Nov 30)

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Updated on 11/29/20 at 11pm PT: According to the Citi ThankYou Gift Card page, it looks like this 20% discount only applies to Apple, Happy Dining, Fandango, Petsmart, and Top Golf gift cards.  All other gift cards are at the same price.

Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I just received an email from Citi about their upcoming Cyber Monday Gift Card Sale.  If you redeem Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs) on November 30 between 12:00am ET and 11:59pm ET, you will be able to redeem 20% fewer TYPs.  For example, a $25 gift card normally costs 2,500 TYPs (1.0 cents per point), but during this promo, you will only need to redeem 2,000 TYPs (1.25 cents per point).  The 1.25 CPP rate is the same value you would get if you redeemed TYPs for travel.  You may be able to get more than 1.25 CPP if you transfer your TYPs to transfer partners, so keep that in mind.

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Keep, Cancel, or Convert: Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card ($450 Annual Fee)

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Buenos días everyone! I know it’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me – I’ve got a couple of things in the works, but for now, I thought I’d hop on to Grant’s Keep, Cancel, or Convert? Series with my thoughts on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card.

The CSR has had a spot in my wallet since it was first released, but over time, it’s been losing its luster for me as other cards have caught up with it. When Chase announced that the annual fee would be rising to $550, I knew its days in my wallet were numbered. Here’s why:

  • I opened the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card right before Chase stopped offering the card to new applicants, which offers the same travel protections as the CSR and a better Priority Pass membership.
  • Late last year, I opened a Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, which earns 3x on travel and allows me to transfer my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to airline and hotel partners.
  • Earlier this year, I opened a Citi Premier Credit Card, which earns 3x Citi ThankYou Points on restaurants and most travel purchases.
  • My Chase Freedom Credit Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card now earn 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards Points at restaurants (though both cards have foreign transaction fees, so I won’t be using them in Mexico).

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Why I Redeemed 1/3 of my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points with the Pay Yourself Back Feature

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  I recently had a change of heart and decided to redeem 1/3 of my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points with the Pay Yourself Back feature.  Chase introduced the Pay Yourself Back feature on May 31 and I wrote How to Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points via Pay Yourself Back (1.5 Cents Per Point for Restaurants, Grocery Stores & Home Improvement).  Initially, I was not very excited about the new feature, since I convinced myself that I could use my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points in other ways and get more than 1.5 cents per point.

After realizing that I had no concrete travel plans remaining in 2020 (I recently cancelled trips to Boston & New York along with a big trip to Africa), I figured that my stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points would probably not be used much this year.  Before redeeming 1/3 of my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, I looked at Chase’s travel partners to see if there were any major reasons to keep my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.  Chase has 13 airline and hotel partners, but only has 4 exclusive partners (Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, IHG, and Hyatt), the remaining 9 travel partners are accessible with American Express Membership Rewards Points, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Miles.

My wife and I have ~58,000 Southwest Airlines points and ~$150 in travel credit, so I would not need to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Southwest Airlines.  I am not a huge fan of United Airlines and can usually book Star Alliance flights with other travel programs, plus I have ~$178 travel credit from a cancelled United flight.  IHG points are worth ~0.5 cents per point and I have ~222,000 IHG points in my account.  Last but not least, Hyatt is the only travel partner that stands out from the list.  I decided to save at least 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points just in case we stay at a Hyatt later this year).

I figured that normal spending on our Chase Ink Cash Credit Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card, and Chase Freedom Credit Card this year would replenish our Chase Ultimate Rewards Points balance by the end of 2020.

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