The Citi Thank You Redemptions Network reward program was last reviewed
2nd September 2008
Summary - The Citi Thank You Network is one of the most comprehensive credit card reward programs in the market today. It will appeal to those looking for an all-round reward program that includes both travel and shopping rewards. The reward program includes the following features :
Airline ticket rewards - both domestic and internationalHotel rewards with Marriot, Hyatt and the Ritz CarltonCar rentals with Avis and BudgetVacation packagesGift certificatesCash rebatesAPR reductionUse of points for charity donationsFulfill Your Wish program that allows you to request any rewards that is not in the catalog
Let us look at this reward program in greater detail.
Airline Travel - Cardholders have two choices.
Variable Option Plan - Firstly, have a variable option plan where they can book any ticket or itinery online through expedia. The number of points required to redeem for your ticket purchases will depend on the price. But you will have the flexibility to book any tickets you want.
Fixed Option Plan - The other options is the fixed price option whereby the number of points for a particular destination is fixed. At this moment, the ThankYou Redemptions have one of the best deals in the market. For example, you only need 20,000 points for an airline ticket within the continental US or Alaska versus 25,000 points for most program. With this program, you need to book your tickets through a thankyou specialist over the phone. There are also no seat limits, blackout dates, advance booking requirements or saturday night stays requirements.
However, to qualify for the fixed price option, you either have to a Salomon Smith Barney FMA client, have a citibank account or have an eligible citicard. Eligible Cards include the Citi® PremierPass(SM) Card, the Citi® Professional® Card and the CitiBusiness® Card with ThankYou Network®. Below are the point requirements for the fixed option.
| Destination |
Coach Restricted
Points |
Coach Unrestricted
Points |
Business Class
Restricted
Points |
Business Class
Unrestricted
Points |
| US Canada and 48 |
25,000 |
50,000 |
60,000 |
90,000 |
| Hawaii and Alaska |
35,000 |
70,000 |
75,000 |
150,000 |
| Mexico and Caribbean |
30,000 |
60,000 |
120,000 |
| Central America |
35,000 |
|
60,000 |
|
| South America |
90,000 |
|
160,000 |
|
| Asia |
60,000 |
|
165,000 |
|
| South Pacific |
100,000 |
|
|
|
| Europe |
50,000 |
|
165,000 |
|
| Continental Europe |
|
180,000 |
|
300,000 |
| Restrictions |
Saturday night stay, 14 day advance booking. |
| Other Travel Rewards |
Business or Coach class tickets to other destinations can be fulfilled through "Your Wish Fulfilled" request
First Class tickets are also fulfilled through "Your Wish Fulfilled" request |
Hotel Travel - The Thank You Redemptions Network has pretty much similar hotel rewards compared to other programs. You can redeem certificates with the Marriot, Hyatt Hotels and the Ritz Carlton. The following table is compilation of their hotel reward redemtions from their website. Aside from these 3 hotels, the Thank You Redemptions Network also lets you redeem points for vacation packages, which may involve stays in other hotels and resorts.
| Points |
Hotel Redemption |
| 5,000 |
$50 certificate for Marriot, Hyatt or Ritz Carlton |
| 10,000 |
$100 certificate for Marriot, Hyatt or Ritz Carlton |
| 20,000 |
$200 certificate for Marriot, Hyatt or Ritz
Carlton |
Cruise Travel - You can redeem points for Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises. For 10,000
points, you get a $100 certificate for either company. For 84,900 points, you get one 3-night
Cruise package to the Bahamas or Baja, Mexico.
Car Rental Rewards - The rental companies in the ThankYou Redemption Network are Avis and Budget.
You can redeem points for either Avis or Budget Gift Certificates.
Shopping Rewards - The Citi ThankYou Redemption Network has many merchant partners in their program. There too many to mention, but it is a very comprehensive list.
Cash Rebate - With the ThankYou Redemptions Network, you can also redeem points for a reduction in your credit statement. Not exactly cash on hand, but nevertheless still considered a form of cash rebate. The table below summarizes the rebate payout percentages.
| Points |
Cash Rebate |
| 3,000 |
$15 Statement Credit (0.5%) |
| 5,000 |
$25 Statement Credit (0.5%) |
| 9,000 |
$50 statement credit (0.5556%) |
| 17,000 |
$100 statement credit (0.5882%) |
| 30,000 |
$175 statement credit (0.5833%) |
| 38,000 |
$250 statement credit (0.6579%) |
Lower you interest rate (APR) - This is a unique feature of this program. You can also use your points to lower your interest rates. The table below highlights how this works. This is the only reward program we know that has this feature.
| Points |
APR reduction |
| 2,500 |
1 point APR Buydown for 3 months |
| 5,000 |
1 point APR Buydown for 6 months |
| 7,500 |
2 point APR Buydown for 6 months |
| 10,000 |
3 point APR Buydown for 6 months |
| 20,000 |
3 point APR Buydown for 12 months |
| 30,000 |
4 point APR Buydown for 12 months |
Fulfill Your Wish - If the reward you want is not in the catalog, you can make a request under the Fulfill Your Wish program and the Thank You Redemption Network will do their best to fulfill your request.
Conclusion - The Citi Thank You Redemptions Network is one of the most comprehensive credit card reward programs (only the Membership Rewards from American Express beats it in terms of sheer number of shopping and entertainment rewards). You get a full range of rewards that will suit everyone. It's unique feature is that you can use points to reduce your apr rate. You could also request a reward that is not on the catalog through their Fulfill Your Wish program.
Best of all, the Citi Thank You Redemptions Network reward program is available in a few of Citi's personal and business credit cards. You can even have a personal and a business credit card with the reward program under your name and combine points. Aside from being a very good reward program, the various Citi cards have different formulas for earning points to cater to different cardholders. Let's explore these cards now.
Citi Cards with ThankYou Redemptions Network Reward Program
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