No the title is not a typo and I didn’t mean to say Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Citi recently shocked customers by announcing a new offer for the 4th quarter of 2017. The offer, which is similar to Chase, is for Citi ThankYou Premier card holders to earn 5X ThankYou points at department stores. Specifically card holders can earn up to 2,500 TYPs at clothing stores, computer & electronics stores, toy stores, and department stores. Eligible card holders must opt-in to this promotion which is live today (9/2/17) through the end of 2017.
This is a surprising move and one that clearly in place to compete with the Chase Freedom Q4 2017 bonus. Chase Freedom card holders receive a quarterly bonus of 5X points on select categories. Chase limits that bonus to the first $1,500 spent at qualifying establishments each quarter. Chase’s offer is a little more generous because card members have the ability to earn up to 7,500 points a quarter by maximizing this benefit. Citi limits customers to 2,500 points by comparison. Both offers give consumers the ability to rack up a lot of points for holiday spending in 2017.
Opt-In To The Citi 5X ThankYou Points Offer
As is the case with the Chase Freedom bonus, Citi card holders must opt-in to this promotion. Citi’s opt-in process is a little more complicated online than Chase’s. To opt-in to this offer card holders must first visit Citi’s website and log in to their account. Once logged in, click on the “card benefits” tab to begin the opt-in process. Once on the benefits tab, scroll down to the “Shopping Benefits” drop down item and click on it. After clicking you’ll see a few more action items. At the bottom of the list is the “Offers For You” option. Click on the offers hyperlink to see a list of your current offers.
At the bottom of the offers page you should find an item which is simply titled “Earn Bonus Rewards.” Quickly read the description to make sure you are looking at the correct offer.
Next, click on the “Activate Now” button to reach the offers landing page. From there you should find the exact details and disclaimer for the offer.
Lastly, click the “Activate In One Click” button and you’ll activate the 5X bonus on your Citi ThankYou Premier card.
Personally, I don’t understand why Citi makes the online opt-in process so difficult to find. The good news is you can easily call Citi instead. I found the process much easier to simply dial the number on the back of my card and request to opt-in to this promotion. The whole process took just a few minutes.
Citi ThankYou Premier Offer vs. Chase Freedom Offer
I want to avoid going into a full-blown comparison of these cards at the moment, but it’s worth noting that I’m a big fan of the Citi ThankYou Premier card. The Citi card earns 3X points on travel (including gas), 2X points on dining and entertainment, and 1X points on all other purchases. Not to mention the card only carries $95 annual fee. Most importantly, the Citi ThankYou Premier card earns ThankYou points which are transferable to various loyalty programs. If you’re looking for a good all around credit card I think it’s silly to not consider this card.
The Chase Freedom card is nice, but only earns 1% cash back on all purchases. The card does offer quarterly bonus categories of 5% cash back, but limits that bonus to just the first $1,500 of quarterly bonus spend. I say the card earns cash back because as a stand alone card it does. You can only earn Ultimate Rewards points if you also carry a Chase Sapphire credit card. Most likely you’ll choose the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card and pay a $450 or $95 annual fee, respectively.
Clearly if your goal is to get a simple, easy to use, points earning card, the Citi ThankYou Premier card comes out on top. But in terms of this offer alone, in a vacuum, the Citi offer falls flat. With the Citi offer card holders only earn 2,500 TYPs compared to the 7,500 UR points possible from Chase. Ideally you carry both of these cards and now earn 5X points on up to $2,000 of Q4 department store shopping. As that is my situation it looks like I need to go out and buy my new computer before the end of the year to maximize these opportunities!
Good Things To Come From Citi
This isn’t the first 5X ThankYou points offer from Citi. In prior months and years Citi targeted customers with similar offers. These offers included bonus categories such as grocery stores, hotel chains, and even on gas. What’s unique about this particular offer is the timing. The promotional period for this offer (assuming you sign-up ASAP) is the exact same as the Chase Freedom Q4 bonus. Not to mention the offer covers the same categories. Clearly Citi is trying to get customers to stick with the ThankYou Premier card for their holiday spending this year. Hopefully this means we’ll see even more of these opportunities in the future.
Final Thoughts
I personally find Chase Ultimate Rewards points more valuable so I’ll make sure to maximize the Chase Freedom offer first. After I max out the Chase quarterly bonus I’ll begin putting any additional department store spend on the ThankYou Premier card.
I’m excited about this offer because it’s just another reason I carry and recommend the Citi ThankYou Premier card. Whenever someone asks me about a good all-around credit card I always make sure to mention this card. While the card lacks the recognition of the Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve, I honestly believe it’s a better card for more people.
What I’m not excited about is how difficult Citi makes the opt-in process. Not to mention that I didn’t even know Citi targeted me for the offer. Hats off to MilesToMemories for informing me of this offer. If I hadn’t stumbled upon their post in my twitter feed earlier today I might have missed this opportunity. When I learned about this offer I also began to wonder if I’ve missed past promotions. I guess the lesson learned is that I need to make sure to check my Citi’s offer page more diligently. It seems I’ve probably missed a few 5X points earning opportunities during the years I’ve carried this card.
(Tip of the Hat To MilesToMemories)
