Citi offers a variety of credit cards ranging for co-branded airlines cards to top-rated travel rewards cards. Review the best Citi credit cards and calculate which cards can earn you the most rewards and best return on your spend.
Best Citi Credit Cards
Citi doesn't offer a large list of credit cards, but the cards they do offer can generate some excellent value and offer solid benefits. Overall, Citi is a solid option if you're looking for cards that focus on travel.
Whether that's enjoying the benefit of free checked bags and lounge access with American Airlines credit cards or raking up rewards transferable to partner airlines, you're sure to find a Citi card that's the best fit for you.
This page details our top picks for the best Citi credit cards from our partners. You can use the calculator to estimate which Citi credit cards can earn you the best average return on your spend.
The cards on this page are updated periodically. New cards are introduced from time to time and the benefits of current cards could change at any time. You can use our Credit Card Finder Tool to search by spend across all credit cards in our database.
Best For Travel Rewards
Card Overview: The Citi Premier® Card is the one of the best Citi credit cards for earning travel rewards.
It offers 3X points on restaurant, supermarket, gas station, air travel, and hotel purchases and 1X points on all other purchases.
The card offers an annual $100 hotel savings benefits on hotels booked through thankyou.com and allows you to transfer ThankYou Points to Citi's full list of 15+ travel partners including JetBlue Airways.
The Citi Premier® Card also has no foreign transaction fee which makes it great for earning rewards spending worldwide.
Worth The Fee? If you're looking to earn a great return across several popular everyday and travel categories, the Citi Premier Card is worth picking up.
If you can make use of the $100 hotel savings benefit, that alone will take care of the annual fee in terms of value.
Citi ThankYou Points can only be transferred to Citi's full list of partners if you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card. So you can use this card to increase the value of Citi's non-premium cards such as the Citi Rewards+® Card.
Cash back earned with Citi can be converted to ThankYou Points. So you can also pair the Citi Premier Card with the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card or Citi® Double Cash Card to greatly increase the value of both cash back cards as well.
- Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Annual $100 Hotel Savings Benefit
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Best For General Rewards
Card Overview: The Citi Rewards+ Card is great for earning general rewards on everyday purchases.
It earns 2X points on up to $6,000 in combined annual spend at supermarkets and gas stations (then 1X) and 1X on all other purchases.
The two main benefits of the card is that every purchase automatically round up to the nearest 10 points with no cap and you'll get 10% of your points back when redeeming them which bumps up the value of the card.
Worth It? If you're planning on diving into the Citi ThankYou Rewards program, the Citi Rewards Plus Card is worth picking up thanks to the point round up and 10% point rebate.
It has no annual fee which makes it a great addition to earning points on everyday spending. Just be sure to pair it with the Citi Premier or Citi Prestige Card if you want the ability to transfer points to all of Citi's airline partners.
- For a Limited Time, 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
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 13.49% - 23.49%, based on your creditworthiness.
- The Citi Rewards+® Card - the only credit card that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase - with no cap.
- 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 standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 13.49% - 23.49%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Best For 5% Back On Select Category
Card Overview: The Citi Custom Cash Card earns 5% back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle on up to the first $500 spent (then 1%).
There's a total of 10 eligible categories which are restaurant, gas station, grocery store, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
The card has no annual fee and rewards earned with the card can be converted to ThankYou Rewards Points.
Worth It? If you want to maximize your cash back rewards or ThankYou Rewards with Citi, this is a card you'll want to pick up.
Since it has no annual fee, you're looking at a nice 5%/5x across the eligible category with the most spend.
You'll want to dedicate this card to a single category in which you think you'll spend the most. You can pair this with just about any Citi credit card to create an excellent combo.
- Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 13.99% - 23.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
- Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
- No Annual Fee
- Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash℠ Card account per person.
Best No-Annual Fee 2% Back Card
Card Overview: The Citi Double Cash Card is one of the best flat rate cash back credit cards on the market.
It earns 2% cash back on all purchases in which you'll earn 1% back on the purchase and 1% back when you pay off those purchases.
The card has no annual fee and rewards earned with the card can be converted to ThankYou Rewards Points which gives the card even more value.
Worth It? The Citi Double Cash Card is a great option if you're looking for easy cash back rewards.
With no annual fee, you'll earn a 2% return on all spend. Pair it with a premium credit card, such as the Citi Premier Card, and you'll be able to transfer your earned rewards to 15+ travel partners which bumps the return even higher.
If you're looking to earn cash back with Citi or maximize your rewards in the ThankYou Rewards program, I highly recommend picking up the Citi Double Cash Card.
- To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
- Cash back earned can be converted to the Citi ThankYou Rewards program
Best For Earning AA Miles With No Annual Fee
Card Overview: The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card is a great no-annual fee option for earning AAdvantage Miles on everyday spend.
It earns 2X miles on American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores, and 1X on everything else.
If you're big on in-flight purchases when flying American Airlines, the card also offers 25% off in-flight food and beverage purchases.
Worth It? The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card is worth picking up if you fly American Airlines a handful of time per year and you're looking to earn some bonus miles on your grocery spend.
- Earn 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and receive a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- No Annual Fee
- Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights
- The standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 15.99% - 24.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Best For Admirals Club® Membership
Card Overview: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a premium travel card and is an excellent option if you want access to AA's Admirals Club®.
The card earns 2X AAdvantage Miles on AA purchases and 1X on all other purchases.
In addition to Admirals Club® membership, the card offers your first checked bag free for yourself and up to 4 companions traveling with you, priority perks, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, and more.
Worth Picking Up? If you want Admirals Club® Membership, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is the guaranteed way to go as it allows you and up to two guests or immediately family members access.
Paying for membership out of pocket will cost you $550 to $650 annually for individual membership alone, depending on your status. If you want household membership, it's going to run you between $1,150 and $1,250 annually.
- Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Admirals Club® membership for you and access for up to two guests or immediate family members traveling with you
- Earn 10,000 AAdvantage® Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
- Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases
- First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation
- The standard variable APR for Citi Flex Plan is 15.99% - 24.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Citi Flex Plan offers are made available at Citi's discretion.
Best Citi Credit Cards Summary
| Credit Card | Best For | Annual Fee | See All Available Offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Premier® Card | Best For Travel Rewards | $95 | Learn More |
| Citi Rewards+® Card | Best For General Rewards | $0 | Learn More |
| Citi Custom Cash℠ Card | Best For 5% Back On Select Category | $0 | Learn More |
| Citi® Double Cash Card | Best No-Annual Fee 2% Back Card | $0 | Learn More |
| American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card | Best For Earning AA Miles With No Annual Fee | $0 | Learn More |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® | Best For Admirals Club® Membership | $450 | Learn More |
Find The Best Citi Credit Card For You
Use the rewards calculator to get an idea of which Citi credit cards will offer you the most rewards and best return based on your spend.
Results will consist of top-rated Citi credit cards from our partners. They will be sorted by net return which is the average value of the total rewards earned, plus annual credits, and minus annual fees.
