When the Citi Thank You network was first launched it was hailed as being the future of banking: relationship-based rewards for having multiple accounts. Yet now, nearly a decade later (it was launched in ’04) we have seen very few major banks come out with similar programs. Why not? And what are the pros and cons? Just because I advertise their cards doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back on telling you both the good and bad that comes with this rewards program…

Pros

• If you have a qualified Citibank checking account and Citi credit card, the points you earn from them go into one Thank You account. Obviously, this makes it easier to rack up rewards fast.
• The Citi Thank You rewards program continues to grow larger and I expect the variety of redemption options to keep getting bigger. Why? Because Citi seems to be transitioning more of their cards to the Thank You points network (as evidenced by the launch of the new Citi Thank You Premier, Preferred and Prestige cards during the end of 2010).
• Like many card issuers, Citi has a bonus points “mall” that allows you to earn extra Thank You Points for online shopping. What’s nice about the Citi program is that it’s the largest with over 600 merchants participating.

I wouldn’t recommend every Citi card that uses Thank You Points, but there is one in particular that is extremely generous with its 5x points on restaurants, fast food, and entertainment categories, which is the no annual fee Forward card.

Cons

• The biggest drawback in my opinion is that your redemption options are not always 1 point = 1 cent. For example, a $25 Starbucks gift cards cost 35,000 points (that’s about 0.71 cents per point). However if you go with gift cards in higher increments of $100+ you can usually get a full 1 cent per point conversion.
• The Citi Thank You Bonus Points Center for online shopping does indeed have the biggest selection of merchants, but the rewards you earn tend to usually be quite a bit lower than ShopDiscover (for Discover credit cards). For example, Citi gives 3 pts/dollar at Target.com while Discover gives 5% cash back.
• The bulk of your Thank You points will likely come from your Citi credit card spending, not your checking account. While it is generous for Citi to reward you for things like debit card purchases, online bill payments, etc. the truth of the matter is these are lower-margin areas of Citi’s business (especially with the debit card fee crackdown) so don’t expect to get huge rewards on them. My guess is that’s the reason other banks haven’t adapted similar programs – not because customers don’t like them, but simply because it’s less profitable to pay rewards on checking account activity.

Best ways to spend your Thank You points?

When it comes time to redeem, how can you get the highest Citi Thank You point value possible? Well I touched on a couple pointers above but here’s closer look at what is and isn’t the best value:

Bad ideas…

• Avoid gas cards. Yes, you can buy a Sunoco $100 gift card for 10,000 points (1 cent per point value) but when you do that, you’re missing out on the 3-5% in rewards you would be earning by paying with a good gas rebate credit card. Same applies to department stores and restaurants, if you have a credit card that gives higher rewards for those categories.
• Avoid cash and equivalents. A $100 cash reward will cost you 16,000 points (0.625 cents per point). The statement credit options for higher amounts do give you a slightly better conversion, but still fall far short of getting a penny per point (35,000 points = $250 statement credit = 0.714 cents/point).
• Avoid most merchandise. Not to single out the Citi Thank You network, because this holds true for most credit card rewards programs. More often than not the merchandise doesn’t give you the best bang for your buck. Here’s an example…

Good ideas…

• Music downloads. For all increments – even as little as $1.00 worth of music – you get 1 cent value per point. If you only have a few points and are itching to spend them, this is a good deal. You can get downloads from artists on Sony and Universal labels (hint: Although these aren’t through iTunes you can still put them on your iPod/iPhone).
• Charitable donations. On donations of 5,000 points and up, you get 1 cent/point for donations to Red Cross. The drawback though is this will not count as a tax-deductible donation (but that only matters if you itemize your deductions, anyway).
• $100+ gift cards. In my opinion, the best way to use Citi Thank You points (how I usually spend mine) is the $100 gift cards from partners. But as mentioned, it’s best to choose retailers that wouldn’t take away from high reward earning opportunities you get through credit card spending (i.e. the gas card example).

Ultimately, the Citi Thank You rewards program is what you make of it. If you redeem your points in a strategic manner, you can get a great rebate on your spending (especially with the Citi Forward and its 5x points). On the other hand, if you redeem for whatever your heart desires, your Thank You points value may be up to 50% less than what the “good ideas” above will give you.

What do you like best (and least) about this rewards program?

If you’re a fan of Josh Groban, then you probably already know he’s going on tour for the first time in nearly four years! And as you can imagine, that long of a wait makes his concert tickets even more in demand… and more expensive!

However with the Citi Private Pass program, you would have been able to snatch up some Josh Groban tickets before they even went on sale to the general public. Citi credit card and debit cardmembers were able to participate in a special pre-sale that started two full days in advance.

So what is Citi Private Pass offering?

In a nutshell, this is a program that let’s you get special access and prices to concerts, sporting events, dining and more. It’s completely free if you have a Citi credit card or debit card (but obviously the tickets you will have to pay for).

Here are the 4 main perks the program offers:

Presale Tickets: This can be a lifesaver if you want to score tickets to a hot concert without paying nosebleed pricing from a ticket broker. In addition to the Josh Groban example, as I’m writing this scheduled pre-sale tickets include Def Leppard, Rascal Flatts, Rise Against and several others.

Preferred Tickets: Nothing sucks more than going to be a concert and sitting so far away you need binoculars. When Citi Cardmember Preferred Tickets are available, you will be able to access concert tickets that have been set aside specifically for Citi cardmembers. As I’m writing this there were artists like Rihanna, Brandon Flowers, Def Leppard, Lil Wayne and dozens of others.

VIP Packages: For some Citi Private Pass concerts, there are VIP packages available. What they offer all depends on the concert, but here are a couple examples to give you an idea…

Special Pricing: On occasion Citi Private Pass will offer special pricing for events. For example, one summer they teamed up with Live Nation to offer $5 lawn tickets for a number of popular tours and bands including Aerosmith, Nickleback and Kid Rock. The program has also been known to offer 2 for 1 specials.

How do you use Citi Private Pass?

Using the program is pretty straightforward and it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

Step One: First, you need to have a Citi credit card or debit card.
Step Two: Go to CitiPrivatePass.com and click on the concert or event that you want to attend – it will redirect you to a page on Live Nation for Citi cardmembers.
Step Three: Choose your tickets, enter your Citi card’s code (see below) and checkout to buy your tickets.

Verdict?

With today’s economy and high gas prices, scrounging up enough spare cash to treat yourself to a concert isn’t so easy. If you’re planning to see a show it wouldn’t hurt to check out the Citi Private Pass program to see if they are offering any discounted tickets for it. Even if a discount isn’t available, a presale for a hot concert could save you money, if it saves you from being price-gouged by a ticket broker for a sold-out show.

Starting March 1st Citi airline rewards will be a lot less rewarding! Previously the rewards program was based on fixed points given out. Now points are variable.

Now redeeming them will mean 100 points for every $1.00. Do the math and you will see that means 40,000 points will be needed for $400 flight. Before domestic flights up to $400 in value only cost you only 20,000 points.

If you were planning on using your Citi rewards to book a summer flight, book it now before the rewards system gets changed upside down.

On an unrelated note, days ago Citi still announced it is continuing with its $400 million sponsorship for the NY Mets. They can afford to give $400 million to a baseball team but not $400 plane tickets for the previous price cardmembers paid!

The government (our money) put over 306 billion (that’s with a “b”) dollars of liability on the line to bail out Citigroup alone. So what are they doing with that money? Well one thing they’re doing is suing a little mom and pop pawnshop for alleged copyright infringement.

Last week Citigroup filed suid against a Brooklyn pawnshop that goes by the name All Citi Pawn. They aren’t only suing for the use of the name and logo (which the owner voluntarily changed!) they are suing for all of the profits from the start of the business.

Citigroup is using your bailout money to stimulate the economy… the economy for frivalous lawyers!