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Citi ThankYou Rewards Program Review – Earning, Redeeming, Transfer Partners & More

Alex Miller

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How To Sign In to Citi ThankYou Rewards

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To round out our series of reviews on the best travel rewards programs, we’ve put together this review on Citi ThankYou Rewards.

We will review the various reward credit cards that will help you earn Citi ThankYou Points, as well as the travel partners you can use to redeem them.

This should help you plan out any potential future trips if you need to know where to earn reward points!

What Is Citi ThankYou Rewards?

Citi ThankYou Rewards is the bank loyalty program offered by Citi. You collect Citi ThankYou Points that can be used for a number of rewards, including on Amazon and Best Buy , for gift cards, a statement credit, and even travel rewards!

To sign up for the program, you must be approved for one of the Citi ThankYou credit cards. As soon as you have your new card and make your first purchase, you will begin earning points.

Depending on the category, you may earn bonus points, though cards always earn at least 1x point per dollar.

You can manage your reward credit cards from the Citi online credit card portal , view your expenses, and pay your balance. To manage your rewards, you need to go through ThankYou.com .

Citi ThankYou Points’ standard worth is 1 cent each. You get this value when you redeem for gift cards, shop with points, or redeem them towards a statement credit.

We  value Citi ThankYou Points at 1.6 cents each, because you can often get that level of value, or more, when redeeming through one of the ThankYou transfer partners.

Points will not expire as long as you keep your accounts open, though certain types of points, like shared points that you transfer from one person to another, come with an expiration date of 90 days.

If you close all of your ThankYou accounts, you will have 30 days to use your reward points before they expire.

How To Earn Citi ThankYou Points Using Credit Cards

You can earn Citi ThankYou Points in many different ways. These include using credit cards, travel purchases, and banking relationship opportunities.

Citibank has  numerous reward program cards that earn points. Each one has slightly different bonuses and a different earning style, so it’s best to choose the one that fits your spending habits. To open a ThankYou Rewards account, you will need to apply and be approved for one of the ThankYou travel rewards credit cards:

Citi Premier ® Card

Citi double cash ® card, citi rewards+ ® card, citi custom cash ® card.

There are 2 additional cards, the Citi ThankYou ® Preferred Card and the Citi Prestige ® Card, though those are no longer available for new applicants.

The best way to earn the most points is by combining multiple cards so you hit all the available bonus categories. Citi has a unique earning category not available on most cards: entertainment. If you’re a big movie-goer or spend frequently on other entertainment events, cards with this bonus category may be just right for you!

Frequent flyers will enjoy 3x ThankYou Points at restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets, air travel, and hotels.

The Citi Premier ® Card is an excellent option for anyone looking for an all-around travel rewards credit card. The card helps you earn points fast with great 3x bonus categories such as restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airfare, and hotels. Plus, it offers access to airline and hotel transfer partners, doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, and has a reasonable annual fee!

• 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airfare, and hotel purchases
• Access to Citi transfer partners
• Annual hotel credit
• No foreign transaction fees
• $95 annual fee
• Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou ® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.
• Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Other Hotels
• Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
• Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
• 60,000 ThankYou ® Points are redeemable for $600 in gift cards redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com
• No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 21.24% - 29.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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The Citi Premier card  earns 3x points per $1 spent on air travel and hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations, with 1x points per $1 on all other purchases.

The card charges a $95 annual fee and offers benefits like $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more each cardmember year, no foreign transaction fees, and access to the full suite of Citi ThankYou transfer partners .

Great card for the average spender with no specific focus category; worry-free cash-back earning on everything!

The Citi Double Cash ® Card  has long been one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market, and the card now has the ability to earn Citi ThankYou Points!

This means that cardholders of the Double Cash card will now earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of ThankYou Points . This means each billing cycle, you will earn 1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on purchases and an additional ThankYou point for every $1 paid on your purchase balance as long as there is a corresponding balance in your Purchase Tracker.

Citi has turned the Double Cash card into a top choice for those who are looking for an everyday, no-fuss credit card.

• Uncapped 2% for every $1 spent (1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay)
• Flexible redemption options
• No annual fee
• No bonus categories
• 3% foreign transaction fees
• Lack of premium travel benefits
• Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
• To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
• Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% – 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
• Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
• If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
• There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
• APR: 0% Intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers, then 19.24% - 29.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase
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A popular option is the no-annual-fee Citi Double Cash card that earns 2% cash-back per dollar spent (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay, earned as ThankYou Points).

On its own, cardholders have access to Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards as transfer partners, but you’ll still need a premium ThankYou card (like the Citi Premier card) to pair with it to access all transfer partner redemptions.

This no annual fee card rewards cardholders for everyday purchases. Earn bonus points at supermarkets and gas stations, plus your points are rounded up on every purchase.

• 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
• Plus, as a special offer, earn a total of 5 Thank You ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025.*
• 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 18.74% – 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
• 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 Citi Rewards+ ® Card – the only credit card that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase – with no cap.
• No Annual Fee
• APR: 0% intro APR on balance transfers and on purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR of 18.74% - 28.74%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of each purchase transaction in US dollars

A rather new entrant into the Citi credit card lineup is the Citi Rewards+ card , which offers 2 very unique benefits.

For starters, the card earns 2x points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year and 1x points per $1 spent thereafter. Beyond that, it earns 1x points per $1 on all other purchases.

What is interesting about the rewards scheme, though, is that the card will round up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase . This means that instead of a $2 coffee earning 2 points, you’d earn 10 points. The perk by far makes it the best card out there for small purchases like these.

Cardholders also receive 10% of their redeemed points back each year on up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year.

Transfer partners include Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards, though you can access the entire roster of Citi transfer partners when pairing this card with a premium ThankYou card.

Earn big on purchases in your top eligible spend category, up to the first $500 each billing cycle, with no annual fee!

The Citi Custom Cash ® Card is inventive when it comes to cash-back credit cards. Instead of earning a set amount of cash-back on predetermined bonus categories, the Citi Custom Cash card earns 5% cash-back on your highest eligible spend category each billing cycle, without an annual fee.

Thanks to that unique perk, you’ll never need to worry about whether you’re using the right card for the right purchase, as your Citi Custom Cash card will always pay you 5% back on whichever category you end up spending the most on each month.

• 5% cash-back (on up to $500 each billing cycle) from your largest purchase category, including restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment
• Multiple redemption options
• No redemption minimums
• Your 5% category is limited to $500 in spend ($25 in cash-back) each month
• Not particularly rewarding for any purchases outside of your top 5% cash-back category
• Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 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 19.24% – 29.24%, 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. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked via the Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.
• 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.
• Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash ® Card account per person.
• APR: 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.24%.
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 3%
• Citi Custom Cash Card Launches [Earn 5% Back on Your Top Purchases]

While not traditionally a ThankYou Points-earning card, the cash-back you earn with the Citi Custom Cash card can be converted into ThankYou Points if you hold a premium ThankYou card like the Citi Premier card. This setup is similar to the relationship between the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card .

With the card, you’ll earn 5% back (or 5x points) on your highest spend category each billing cycle on up to $500, and 1% back thereafter. Which categories apply to the 5x category? Quite a lot, actually, including:

• Fitness clubs
• Gas stations
• Grocery stores
• Home improvement stores
• Live entertainment
• Restaurants
• Select streaming services
• Select transit
• Select travel

Better yet, the card has no annual fee, making it a great companion to a premium ThankYou Points-earning card.

The Citi AT&T Access card earns 2x points per $1 for all AT&T purchases, along with 2x points per $1 on eligible retail and travel website purchases and 1x point per $1 on all other purchases.

Perhaps the most interesting is the eligible retail category since this is another unique category not offered on most other credit cards.

There is no annual fee on this reward credit card.

Similar to the Citi Custom Cash card, you can only utilize Citi’s transfer partners when you pair this card with a premium Citi ThankYou card.

Cardholders of the Citi ThankYou Preferred card (no longer available to new applicants) will earn 2x points on dining and entertainment, as well as 1x reward points for all other purchases.

The entertainment category covers live entertainment, live theater, concerts, sporting events, movie theaters, amusement parks (including things like zoos), tourist attractions, record stores, and on-demand internet streaming like Netflix and HBO Go.

Perhaps the best part is that this card has no annual fee!

Existing cardholders have access to transfer their points to Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards, but must pair this card with a premium ThankYou card to access the full list of partners.

The ultra-premium card in the lineup is the Citi Prestige card (no longer available to new applicants). While this card carries a large annual fee of $495 , it has some outstanding benefits.

In fact, the card works like a combination of the American Express ® Gold Card and The Platinum Card ® from American Express .

You will earn 5x points on airlines and dining, 3x points on hotels and cruise lines, and 1x point for all other purchases.

In addition, you will also have access to a range of luxury travel benefits. These include a $250 air travel credit, a $100 Global Entry fee credit , a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership , and a fourth night free when booking stays through ThankYou.com (limited to 2 uses per calendar year). Cardholders also have access to all of Citi’s transfer partners.

This is one of the great travel rewards cards !

How To Redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards

There are 2 main ways to redeem your Citi ThankYou Points for the best value:

• Use the Citi Travel Portal
• Transfer points to Citi airline and hotel travel partners

However, there are other options for redeeming points as well, including gift cards, shopping with points, cash redemptions, and more.

Hot Tip: Citi ThankYou Points work like Chase Ultimate Rewards rather than  Amex Membership Rewards — your points do not “pool” together automatically and are not all worth the same amount. Instead, you must combine points within the Citi ThankYou portal or use points individually.

The Citi Travel portal works similarly to the Chase Travel portal — you can search for flights and book them using your Citi ThankYou Points for 1 cent per point. How much the points are worth depends on the airline.

Compare this to the 1-cent redemption rate for flights through the AmexTravel.com  portal and 1.25 cents with Chase Ultimate Rewards (if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card). Also, AmexTravel.com only offers 0.7 cents per point when used for anything non-flight-related.

Travel transfer partners  are where you can earn the most bang for your buck. Points transferred to partners can typically be redeemed for at least 2 cents each (or more), making them quite a bit more powerful!

Keep in mind that these rates are for those who hold either the Citi Premier card or the Citi Prestige card.

Holders of the Citi Double Cash card, Citi ThankYou Preferred card, and Citi Rewards+ card can transfer ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio .

One thing to note is that the variety of travel partners covers all 3 major airline alliances:   Oneworld , SkyTeam , and Star Alliance .

What this means is that you can use your reward points on any airline in the world. As long as you have miles within an airline alliance, you can call and book your award travel in available space on any alliance member’s flights.

More importantly, this means that even though some of the big U.S. carriers are not direct partners, you can still use your points on American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and more by transferring points to travel partners.

Citi also has 3 hotel transfer partners :

• ALL Accor Live Limitless : 1,000 Citi points = 500 Accor points
• Choice Privileges : 1,000 Citi points = 2,000 Choice points (or 1,500 Choice points for select cardholders)
• Wyndham Rewards : 1,000 Citi points = 1,000 Wyndham points

You can use your accumulated Citi ThankYou Points to shop with popular merchants like Amazon , Best Buy , CVS , and even through PayPal .

To use it, simply head to the Shop With Points section of the Citi ThankYou website. From there, select one of the eligible partners and shop online as you usually would. Afterward, you can use your points to cover the whole purchase, part of the purchase, or even as a statement credit after the fact at a rate of 1 cent per point.

Similar to Shop With Points, you can use your Citi ThankYou Points to purchase gift cards with dozens of merchants on the platform. This includes popular merchants like Apple, Best Buy, Nike, and Starbucks.

You can purchase gift cards with your point balance in increments of $25, $50, or $100. However, if you are signed in to your account, you may see different options depending on your point balance.

Your ThankYou Points will provide you 1 cent per point in value towards gift cards, but on occasion, Citi will run sales with certain merchants that will allow you to get a bit more value.

If you’d prefer to directly use your points as a statement credit or redeem them as cash via a direct deposit to your checking account, or even a check by mail, you can do so from your Citi account. Log in, select Use Your Points Now , select your eligible purchases, then select Redeem.

Your points will be worth 0.5 cents to 1 cent each. If looking for cash-back rewards, you’ll get the most value through the Double Cash card.

While you can’t transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to someone else’s hotel or airline loyalty program account, you can share your Citi ThankYou Rewards points with any other ThankYou Rewards member through the program’s Points Sharing feature. Here is how to do it:

• First, visit log in to your account on the ThankYou website.
• Select the ThankYou account you want to use.
• Then click More Ways to Redeem from the menu bar and select Points Sharing .
• From there, enter how many points to share, along with the first name, last name, and account number of the person you’re sharing with.
• Lastly, click confirm and you’ll be all set! The recipient should receive the points nearly instantly.

There are a few rules to be aware of though, namely that you can only share a total of 100,000 ThankYou Points in a calendar year, and any points you share with another person are only valid for 90 days .

Lastly, there are a few other ways you can redeem Citi ThankYou Points, but we generally don’t recommend them if you’re looking to get as much value as possible.

If you’re feeling generous, you could redeem your points towards a charity of your choosing, from one of the charities listed on the Citi ThankYou website.

Donations start at 2,500 points for a $25 donation, giving you a value of 1 cent per point. However, if you’re looking to get as much value from your points as possible, you’d be better off donating cash and redeeming your points towards something else — not to mention that cash donations can be tax-deductible where points donations usually are not.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is a very powerful program that allows you to earn points that can be redeemed on nearly any airline in the world.

Of course, you have multiple redemption options with your Citi ThankYou Rewards, but usually, your best option to receive the most value is transferring to a travel partner.

While ThankYou Rewards credit cards can be overlooked compared to others, they are excellent credit cards with unique bonus categories that will allow you to fill in even more gaps in your points strategy.

The information regarding the AT&T Access Card From Citi was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

The information for the Citi ThankYou ® Preferred Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information for the Citi Prestige ® Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the American Express ® Gold Card, click  here . For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is citi thankyou rewards.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is the loyalty program for Citibank’s travel rewards cards. You can utilize the points in the Citi Travel Center or you can transfer points to travel partners, mostly at a 1:1 ratio.

What are Citi ThankYou Points worth?

If you’re using them in the travel center they are worth 1 cent each.

However, points are most valuable when transferred to travel partners. An average point can be redeemed for 1.5 to 2 cents in this way, and sometimes you can get better deals.

When do Citi ThankYou Points expire?

As long as you have at least one of your cards open, your points will never expire. After canceling your last card, you will have 30 days to use them before they expire.

Shared points will expire 90 days from the date they are received.

What is Citi ThankYou Pay With Points?

After you’ve made a purchase, you’ll be notified in your Citi mobile app if your recent purchase is eligible to be covered by ThankYou Points. If so, you can redeem your points as a statement credit to offset that purchase.

How do you maximize Citi ThankYou Points?

To maximize the number of points you get, you should utilize sign-up bonuses (when available), as well as utilizing the credit card(s) for all travel, dining, and entertainment expenses.

To learn more, check out our article on earning Citi ThankYou Points .

How do you redeem Citi ThankYou Points?

You can redeem Citi ThankYou Points through ThankYou.com for:

• Travel transfer partners
• Citi Travel portal
• Cash-back or statement credits
• Charitable donations

How do you transfer Citi ThankYou Points?

Points transfers are made from ThankYou.com. Log in to your account and you will see the partner transfer option , select how many points you want to transfer, and complete the transfer. Points will transfer immediately or may take up to a couple of days or weeks.

How do you use Citi ThankYou Points on Amazon?

Go to Amazon.com/Citi to sign in and link your Citi account to your Amazon account. Whenever you make a payment, you can add your Citi ThankYou card as an eligible form of payment which will connect your points balance to your account.

You can use as many points as you want to offset the balance of the order.

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About Alex Miller

Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.

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Credit Cards

Guide to Citi ThankYou travel portal

Carissa Rawson

Ashley Barnett

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Robin Saks Frankel

Published 6:47 a.m. UTC Feb. 26, 2024

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Like other card issuers such as American Express , Capital One and Chase , Citi® maintains a travel portal through which cardholders can book hotels, rental cars, flights and activities. Whether or not this is a good idea depends on how you travel.

Let’s take a look at the Citi ThankYou® travel portal, how it works and who can access its booking features.

• The Citi ThankYou travel portal offers flights, hotels, rental cars and activities. 
• Eligible cardholders can earn elevated rewards on bookings through Citi travel.
• The Citi ThankYou travel portal provides access to extra hotel benefits via the Luxury Collection and the Hotel Collection.

How to book travel through the Citi travel portal

Booking travel through Citi’s portal is simple. First, you’ll want to navigate to the Citi ThankYou travel portal website . You’ll be prompted to sign in with your online account and choose which Citi card you’ll be using to book your travel. Once signed in, you’ll be directed to the travel portal’s home page.

From here, you can choose what type of travel you’re looking to book, whether that’s a hotel, flight, rental car or activity.

For example, if you were looking to book a hotel through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, you’d simply need to enter your destination, dates of travel and how many people you’re traveling with.

The portal will then pull up a page showing all the results that match your search. You can also check out what properties are available by using an interactive map. The search includes a long list of filters by which you can sort properties, including star rating, neighborhood, cancellation options, bed type, property amenities and hotel brand.

Once you’ve selected the travel you’re looking for, you’ll be taken through the checkout process. This includes providing personal and payment information, like your frequent flyer number for a flight.

Note that you’ll need to use your eligible Citi card to pay for your booking. It’s also during checkout that you can decide whether or not you’d like to redeem your Citi ThankYou points.

Once you’ve completed your booking, you’ll receive a confirmation email. You can also find your upcoming bookings within the travel portal via a drop-down menu in the upper right corner.

Who can use the portal?

The Citi ThankYou travel portal is available to cardholders who have the following Citi cards :

• Citi Premier® Card * The information for the Citi Premier® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Citi Rewards+® Card * The information for the Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Citi Double Cash® Card

Citi Custom Cash® Card

• Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants).

our partner

Blueprint receives compensation from our partners for featured offers, which impacts how and where the placement is displayed.

Welcome Bonus

Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

Regular APR

Credit score.

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

Editor’s Take

• No annual fees.
• Easy-to-redeem cash-back rewards.
• Introductory APR period.
• Charges foreign transaction fees.
• There’s a balance transfer fee.
• Limited cash-back reward categories.

Card Details

• Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 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 19.24% – 29.24%, 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. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.
• 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.

Is the portal worth using?

The Citi ThankYou travel portal isn’t always the best way to book your travel. This is because it doesn’t offer a best-price guarantee, so the pricing you see on the portal may not reflect the lowest available prices.

There may also be an issue if you book hotels or rental cars through the Citi ThankYou travel portal and want to receive any elite status benefits. Generally speaking, hotel and rental car companies exclude third party bookings from elite status perks. This also means you won’t earn any bonus points or elite status credit from your bookings.

However, any flight you book through the Citi ThankYou travel portal will earn miles and will also be eligible for elite status benefits. But, if your plans change, you’ll need to negotiate with Citi travel rather than directly with the airline for your flights.

That being said, Citi heavily rewards those who choose to book within its travel portal. Depending on which card you hold, you can earn up to 10 Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent on eligible bookings through the travel portal (through June 30, 2024).

How to maximize your Citi travel benefits through the portal

Although the Citi ThankYou travel portal may not provide the best prices, there are two key benefits it offers that provide serious benefits. The first is the ability to book certain tickets and attractions through the portal.

This includes tickets to popular amusement parks such as Universal Studios Orlando.

Eligible cardholders can easily redeem their Citi ThankYou points for theme park tickets using this method. Those who hold the Citi Premier Card can also earn 10 points per $1 spent through June 30, 2024.

The second key benefit is that the Citi ThankYou travel portal offers access to the Luxury Collection and the Hotel Collection. Those with a Citi Prestige Card or a Citi Premier Card can book both of these options. The Luxury Collection mimics elite status benefits at high-end hotels and can provide room upgrades, a $100 experience credit, complimentary breakfast, late check-out and more. 

The Hotel Collection is available to all cardholders with access to the Citi ThankYou travel portal. Its benefits include daily breakfast, free Wi-Fi, early check-in and late check-out.

Quick guide to Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi ThankYou Rewards can be earned from a variety of different credit cards, as we noted above. These points can be highly valuable, especially when they’re transferred to Citi’s hotel and airline partners. This is generally considered to be the best way to use your Citi points since you can score outsized value when redeeming your points for reward redemptions.

Other ways to redeem Citi ThankYou points include:

• Online shopping.
• Gift cards.
• The Citi ThankYou travel portal.
• Donations. 
• Statement credits. 
• Cash. 

You’ll always want to do the math before redeeming your points. For example, you’ll receive just one cent in value when redeeming your Citi points via the ThankYou travel portal, while choosing to transfer your points to a partner can yield a much higher value.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Yes, it’s possible to book a flight and use your Citi points to pay. There are a few different ways to do this. The first is to transfer your points over to any of Citi’s airline transfer partners. You can then make an award redemption for a flight.

The second is to book your flight using the Citi ThankYou travel portal and redeeming your Citi points to pay for it. This has the advantage of still earning airline miles on your ticket, but it doesn’t necessarily represent the best value for your points.

The third is to purchase an airline ticket using your card and then redeeming points as a statement credit. This last option typically provides the least value and should only be used in limited circumstances.

Citi ThankYou points can be redeemed in a variety of ways, including transfers, gift cards, statement credits and more. To do so, you’ll want to navigate to Citi’s ThankYou redemption site . Once you’ve signed in to your account, you’ll be able to redeem your points online.

Like many of the best credit cards , Citi has 14 airline transfer partners, including:

• Air France/KLM
• Turkish Airlines 
• Qatar Airways
• Virgin Atlantic
• Thai Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• Qantas Airways
• Cathay Pacific 

You can also use your Citi ThankYou points via the travel portal to book flights with many different airlines.

While it’s not necessary to tell Citi if you’re traveling internationally, it may be a good idea. Setting up a travel notice lets your bank know that you’ll be out of town. This, in turn, can help avoid your card being declined or flagged for fraud on unfamiliar charges.

If you’re booking travel on Expedia’s website, the only way to redeem your points is as a statement credit. You’ll first want to pay using your Citi card. Then, you can redeem those points against the purchase to wipe it away.

*The information for the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Carissa Rawson is a credit cards and award travel expert with nearly a decade of experience. You can find her work in a variety of publications, including Forbes Advisor, Business Insider, The Points Guy, Investopedia, and more. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her in your nearest airport lounge sipping a coffee before her next flight.

Ashley Barnett has been writing and editing personal finance articles for the internet since 2008. Before editing for USA TODAY Blueprint, she was the Content Director for an international media company leading the content on their suite of personal finance sites. She lives in Phoenix, AZ where you can find her rereading Harry Potter for the 100th time.

Robin Saks Frankel is a credit cards lead editor at USA TODAY Blueprint. Previously, she was a credit cards and personal finance deputy editor for Forbes Advisor. She has also covered credit cards and related content for other national web publications including NerdWallet, Bankrate and HerMoney. She's been featured as a personal finance expert in outlets including CNBC, Business Insider, CBS Marketplace, NASDAQ's Trade Talks and has appeared on or contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, NPR, International Business Times and NBC, ABC and CBS TV affiliates nationwide. She holds an M.S. in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University. Follow her on Twitter at @robinsaks.

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Find the best credit card for you

Citi launches new travel portal with booking.com, offers up to 10x points for certain credit cardholders, citi thankyou rewards card members have a new platform to shop around for the best travel options..

Citi is an advertising partner .

Citi has rolled out a brand new travel booking portal powered by Booking.com and its Rocket Travel subsidiary, making it easier for Citi credit cardholders to plan their next getaway , whether paying with cash or points.

The new Citi Travel with Booking.com portal allows cardholders to book flights , hotels, car rentals and even attractions — Kennedy Space Center or Manhattan Sky Tour, anyone? It's currently accessible via Citi's website and will be available to eligible cardholders via the Citi mobile app by the end of March.

All Citi ThankYou® Rewards credit card cardholders have access, which include those with the Citi Rewards+® Card , Citi Double Cash® Card , Citi Custom Cash® Card , Citi Premier® Card , AT&T Points Plus℠ Card From Citi and some discontinued cards. Plus, for a limited time, eligible cardholders can earn up to 10X points on their bookings.

Citi Rewards+® Card

As a special offer, earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025. 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

Welcome bonus

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 for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening.

Regular APR

18.74% - 28.74% variable

Balance transfer fee

There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5)

Foreign transaction fee

Credit needed.

Good/Excellent

See rates and fees . Terms apply.

Citi Double Cash® Card

Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24

Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

0% for the first 18 months on balance transfers; N/A for purchases

19.24% - 29.24% variable

For balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening, an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies; after that, a balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies

Fair/Good/Excellent

Read our Citi Double Cash® Card review.

Citi Custom Cash® Card

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. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.

Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for first 15 months

5% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum)

Excellent, Good, Fair

Read our Citi Custom Cash ® Card review .

Citi Premier® Card

3X points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and on hotels and air travel, 1X points on all other purchases

Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

21.24% - 29.24% variable

5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum

Read our Citi Premier® Card review.

Citi Travel's features

Citi Travel with Booking.com offers cardholders an all-in-one view of flights, hotels, car rentals and attractions, including access to over 1.4 million hotels and resorts worldwide. Cardholders can pay with points, cash or some combination of the two.

Along with the launch of its new booking platform, Citi Travel is also introducing its first Hotel and Luxury Collection property offerings — following in the footsteps of other credit card issuers like American Express, Chase and Capital One who already have similar programs . The programs will offer elite-like benefits at participating properties, such as free daily breakfast, early check-in, late check-out and more.

The portal also integrates existing benefits, such as the Citi Premier Card's annual $100 hotel credit when booking a single stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) through  thankyou.com and the fourth night free perk offered by the Citi Prestige® Card (discontinued for new applicants).

Citi Travel bonus points promotion

Perhaps the most exciting part about the launch of the new Citi Travel is a new points promotion.

Now through June 2024, Citi Premier and Citi Prestige card members can earn a total of 10X ThankYou® Points on hotels, rental cars and eligible attractions booked through Citi Travel, which we consider a great deal. Meanwhile, Citi Rewards+ (through December 31, 2025) and Citi ThankYou Preferred (discontinued for new applicants) card members can earn a total of 5X ThankYou® Points on the same bookings.

Keep in mind that Citi ThankYou cards generally don't offer travel protections , such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance or car rental insurance , so if those things are important to you, consider sticking to a different travel credit card that offers these benefits.

Should you redeem ThankYou® Points through Citi Travel?

While the new Citi Travel with Booking.com platform makes it easy to directly redeem ThankYou® Points for 1 cent apiece on travel, cardholders will often still get a better deal by instead transferring their points to a travel partner. In fact, the best use of Citi points is through its ThankYou® Rewards transfer partners. Cardholders can get significantly more than 1 cent per point in value by taking advantage of Citi's 17 airline and hotel transfer partners, especially when booking premium seats.

Citi ThankYou transfer partners

• Accor Live Limitless
• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Choice Privileges
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Wyndham Rewards

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Bottom line

Citi's new travel portal makes it easier for Citi ThankYou® Rewards card members to book a vacation by seeing where their ThankYou® Points can take them. But to really maximize their Citi points and get multiple cents in value for each point, cardholders are better off transferring their rewards to one of ThankYou® Rewards' airline or hotel partners.

Catch up on Select's in-depth coverage of  personal finance ,  tech and tools ,  wellness  and more, and follow us on  Facebook ,  Instagram  and  Twitter  to stay up to date.

Information about the Citi Prestige card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

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Showdown: The Best Credit Card Travel Portals for Booking Flights

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Table of Contents

Lowest airfare prices: Citi and Chase portals (Tie)

Best load time: citi thankyou, most user-friendly: capital one travel, best travel booking portal overall: citi thankyou, final thoughts on the best travel portals.

Credit card travel portals, like the AmEx or Chase travel portal, occupy a somewhat obscure corner of the rewards world. Unless you’re a true points and miles obsessive, you’re probably only familiar with one or two of these travel search tools. And even then, you might not be sure when you need to book through them or what they’re for.

Credit card travel portals serve two basic functions:

Booking travel with points. For example, if you want to use Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to book a flight directly (rather than transferring to a travel partner), you’ll do so through Chase's travel portal.

Earning extra points on travel paid for in cash. The Platinum Card® from American Express , for example, earns 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com. Terms apply.

Since these booking platforms act as literal portals between your points and travel, their functionality and performance matter quite a bit. The value of any collection of credit card points depends not only on the raw dollar amount you can get for those points, but also on how useful the tools are for redeeming them.

With that in mind, we compared four major travel portals, provided by issuers American Express, Chase, Capital One and Citi. For the sake of simplicity, we focused on booking air travel rather than hotels through each portal, and rated three key components of each:

Airfare price.

There are more considerations to keep in mind when choosing a credit card rewards program, such as the quality of customer service and the value of the rewards points themselves. But this comparison provides a high-level view of which programs have created a consumer-friendly product and which have not.

Airline search tools are ubiquitous and powerful these days, so it’s easy to assume they all reveal roughly the same fares on the same airlines. But that wasn’t what we found when it came to credit card travel portals.

We compared cash prices for the same nine round-trip routes for the same dates. This is not a comprehensive data analysis, but does provide a telling snapshot.

Effectively, Chase and Citi tied, with Capital One fares coming in slightly higher and American Express fares coming in more than $100 more expensive than Chase and Citi, on average.

What’s going on here? Why is the AmEx travel portal more expensive?

American Express didn’t provide any basic economy fares in our searches, meaning the results were for main cabin or regular economy seats. In some sense, this makes the difference more understandable, since a $100 markup for main cabin seats is typical.

On the other hand, it’s not clear why AmEx chose not to offer these rock-bottom fares for customers. Although they’re not for everyone, basic economy fares do make sense under certain circumstances . So, why doesn’t AmEx even offer them?

Also, as further discussed in the usability section below, AmEx lists its so-called “insider fares” at the top of all search results. These fares, which can be booked with either cash or points, are presumably discounted for Membership Rewards members. But they were usually not the lowest fares overall in our searches, which meant that the top search results were often hundreds of dollars more expensive than the most affordable fares available on AmEx searches.

Since we always selected the lowest available fares, these insider fares (which were sometimes higher in cost) didn’t affect our data analysis. But the way these fares are displayed is a major hurdle for AmEx users trying to find affordable airfare, since it requires scrolling past several suboptimal fares to find the best ones.

» Learn more: AmEx points vs. Chase points

If you haven’t used credit card travel portals much, you might consider this a strange category to include. Most travel apps and websites are pretty fast these days, so how much could this really matter?

But load times can be a major issue for travel portals, especially when trying to find the best prices across a range of dates or other variables. For all but the most dedicated frugal travelers, long load times can make the difference between finding the absolute best route and price and settling for something subpar.

AmEx once again drops to the back with its abysmal 19.5-second load time. This is a serious technical issue that needs to be resolved before travelers can usefully search on AmEx Travel. Though 10 or 20 seconds might not sound like much, in internet time, it can feel like an eternity.

We collected these load time data ourselves, which means the speed of our internet at the time of collection could affect the raw numbers. However, we started our watches when the search loading screen appeared (not when we clicked "search"), and the relative difference between portals should remain the same, regardless of internet speed.

That is, the AmEx portal will load more slowly than the Citi portal, regardless of the speed of one's internet connection.

This is the most subjective of the three categories. As we searched for flights on each platform, we noted which offered intuitive interfaces and powerful features and which didn’t.

Capital One Travel was the clear winner here. Because of its integration with Hopper, a travel booking app, Capital One’s portal offers some slick features, such as a flight calendar view that quickly reveals the cheapest dates for travel.

Capital One Travel's flight calendar view puts a visual to price fluctuations over time.

Capital One’s Hopper integration also supports advanced features, like price prediction and price alerts.

Capital One's partnership with Hopper has several user-friendly features.

The Citi and Chase travel portals also feature intuitive interfaces, but without all the bells and whistles. Both credit card portals helpfully break down the differences between tickets — particularly for main cabin and basic economy fares. Since every airline has its own rules for these fares, this can save travelers a headache.

Here’s how this looks for a Chase travel booking:

Chase's portal features a sleek, intuitive interface.

And bringing up the rear in our usability category is — you guessed it — AmEx. Its travel portal offers none of these features, making it difficult to find the lowest fare or understand the difference between fares. And, most egregiously, it automatically lists its “insider fares” at the top of airfare search results, even when these are not the lowest priced or best options.

This means you have to wade through several promotional fares to find the one you might actually want to book. And since the real price of these fares is hidden, comparing between them takes multiple clicks and the patience of a zen monk. (Have we mentioned the load times in the AmEx travel portal?)

All this, combined with a generally clunky interface, places AmEx at the bottom of this category.

When we rank each program across each category, Citi edges out Chase for best travel portal overall.

(These are ranks, so lower is better.)

The Citi ThankYou portal isn’t the slickest or nicest to look at, but it gets the job done, as the numbers show. If you’re considering getting a card that earns Citi ThankYou points , you won’t have to worry about the performance of its travel portal.

In general, these results are a mixed bag, with the best three programs edging each other out in each category. But then there is AmEx, which ranked dead last in each category. Ranking last in any single category wouldn’t be a red flag, but doing so in every category certainly is. It shows that AmEx needs to do some serious work overhauling its flight search capabilities and interface in order for the AmEx travel portal to compete.

Credit card travel portals are, in some ways, walled gardens that keep some or all of your travel booking in one place. This means that the quality of the portal can have a direct impact on the quality of the flights you’re able to book — not to mention the quality of your life while you do so.

Capital One, Chase and Citi-issued cardholders should be fine with their respective online travel booking sites. Capital One offers the most robust features and intuitive interface, but Chase and Citi edge it out in price and performance. Overall, the Citi ThankYou portal is the best option when considering which offers the lowest prices, the quickest load times and the most user-friendliness.

The only portal you’ll want to avoid if you can is AmEx. Its 20-second load times are a serious issue, one that it doesn’t make up for in any other aspect. In fact, the AmEx travel tool is highly inefficient (and potentially frustrating) for all but the most basic flight searches.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2023 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee:   Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards:  Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card  

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

$300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Introduction to the Citi Travel Portal

Accessing the citi travel portal, citi credit cards that earn thankyou points, what to know about the citi travel portal, citi travel portal: your guide to booking and rewards.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews .

The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige® Card, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Rewards+® Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

• If you have a Citi credit card that earns ThankYou points, you can book your travel with them.
• The Citi Travel Portal is like an online travel agency, allowing you to make bookings with ease.
• You can pay with points (worth 1 cent each), your Citi credit card, or a combination of both.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is a flexible points program that allows you to earn points from eligible Citi credit cards and banking products. You can redeem points in a number of ways, including for travel, cash back, or gift cards.

One of the best ways to use points is for travel, either by transferring Citi ThankYou points to airline partners for award flights (only available with certain Citi credit cards), or through an even easier option available to all program members — the Citi Travel portal.

Citi Travel recently got a big overhaul, and it's now partnered with Booking.com and powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda technology. Here's what to know about the new Citi Travel portal and what to expect if you decide to book.

Overview of the Portal

The Citi Travel Portal is an online travel booking platform that works in a similar way to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Orbitz or Expedia. You can search for flights, hotels, rental cars, and attractions based on your destination, travel dates, and other preferences, and you have the option to pay with Citi ThankYou points, your Citi card, or a combination of both.

Benefits of Booking Through the Portal

Although Citi Travel doesn't get as much attention as American Express Travel or the Chase Ultimate Rewards® Travel Portal , it has many of the same benefits:

• You can book travel with no blackout dates
• There's no need to worry about loyalty program award charts or availability 
• Your points are worth a flat 1 cent each toward travel, and you can combine them with cash if you don't have enough for a booking
• You'll still earn airline miles and elite-qualifying miles when you book flights, even when you pay entirely with points
• It's possible to pool Citi points from different credit cards (or even share with friends and family who have Citi ThankYou accounts)

A downside to using the Citi Travel Portal is you won't earn points or elite status credit for hotel stays, and you might not have your elite status recognized because it's considered a third-party booking.

If you're looking for the easiest way to cash in Citi points for travel, the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal is a better choice for most people. That said, it's possible to get more than 1 cent per point in value if you skip the Citi Portal and instead transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to an airline or hotel partner for award travel — but that involves more legwork.

The full range of partners is available if you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants). Otherwise, JetBlue, Choice, and Wyndham are the only airline and hotel options, with a reduced transfer ratio.

How to Log In

To access the Citi Travel Portal, you must be a Citi customer with a ThankYou rewards account. Once you sign in to your Citi account online and click the "View/Redeem" button in the rewards section, you'll land on a screen with several redemption options. Click "Book Travel" in the lower left-hand corner.

Alternatively, you can get to the same screen by signing in with your Citi login details at ThankYou.com . 

Once you click "Book Travel," you'll be prompted to select the Citi card account you want to book with if you have multiple Citi cards. Then you'll land on the main Citi Travel search screen.

How to Book Flights with Citi Travel

To search for flights, click the "Flights" tab and enter your departure and destination airport and dates of travel. You'll also have options to select round-trip or one-way flights, class of service, number of passengers, and if you prefer non-stop flights. Then hit "Search."

Next, you'll see a list of flight search results — starting with your outbound flight — which you can sort by price, number of stops, departure time, arrival time, duration, or "best overall" (cheap, short flights). On the left sidebar, there are also filters for the departure and arrival times, airline, number of stops, price range, and total journey duration. To choose a flight, click on the "Select" button, then repeat the process for your return leg if you've searched for a round-trip itinerary.

Once you've selected your flights, you'll be prompted to enter passenger details and will be given options to upgrade your fare (most folks will skip this step). Then, on the final booking screen, you'll have the opportunity to select your payment method — either using your Citi card, ThankYou points, or a combination of both. 

How to Book Hotels with Citi Travel

The process of finding a hotel to book through the Citi Travel portal is similar to searching for flights. After selecting the "Hotels" option from the main menu, enter your destination, stay dates, and the number of guests in the search fields.

The results page allows you to sort by property class, price, distance, hotel name, and recommended results. You can filter by price, class, TripAdvisor rating, amenities, nearby landmarks, and even hotels offering deals. One useful feature is the ability to quickly identify properties that have discounted rates by looking for the "Sale" flag in the corner of the hotel listing. 

To find out more about the hotel you're interested in, click on the hotel name and you'll be shown different bed options, rate types with cancellation policies, and available packages (breakfast included, for instance) if applicable. Select "Check out" next to the room you want to book. You'll then be asked for guest details (name, address, phone number, and email).

Once you've entered your information, you'll come to the final booking screen where, again, you can choose your method of payment.

How to Rent a Car with Citi Travel

Searching for a car rental through Citi Travel is similarly easy. Once you've clicked "Cars" on the main menu, enter your pick-up location (you can select a different drop-off location if needed), rental dates and times, and the driver's age.

The results list allows you to sort by price, rental company, or car type. 

Once you find a car you like, click on its listing to learn more about the rental and enter the driver's name and details.

On the final booking screen, you'll choose your method of payment — again, your Citi card, ThankYou points, or a combination of both.

How to Book Attractions Through Citi Travel

Select the "Attractions" tab on the main search page, and enter the city name where you want to search.

Depending on the destination, you'll get a list of all kinds of activities — from tours and sightseeing tickets to airport transfers and excursions. 

When you click on the attraction, you'll get more details about what's included in the activity.

Click "See options" to choose your activity dates, times, and the number of participants. 

Once you select "Choose" you'll have the opportunity to enter your traveler details. Then, you'll be brought to the final booking screen where you can select your payment method.

Before you choose between booking through the Citi Portal or transferring points to a partner for an award flight, be sure to compare the number of points required in each case — and verify that an award flight is actually available before you decide on that route.

Earn 10x ThankYou® Points per dollar on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2024. Earn 3x ThankYou® points on restaurant, supermarket, gas station, air travel, and hotel purchases. Earn 1x ThankYou® points on all other purchases.

21.24% - 29.24% Variable

Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® points

Good to Excellent

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Strong bonus
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Generous bonus categories
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Doesn't offer much in the way of statement credits or other perks
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Citi ThankYou Rewards may not be as convenient as other points for US-based travelers

If you're looking for an all-purpose travel credit card with strong rewards, many ways to use your points, and an annual fee under $100, the Citi Premier should be on your shortlist. Beyond the welcome bonus offer, the Citi Premier® Card offers great 3x earning categories that just about anyone can take advantage of — and the rewards it earns are incredibly flexible.

Citi offers several different cards that earn Citi ThankYou points:

• Citi Premier® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening 
• Citi Custom Cash℠ Card : Earn $200 cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening 
• Citi® Double Cash Card
• Citi Rewards+® Card : Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in the first three months of account opening 
• Citi Prestige® Card: No longer available to new applicants 

If you have the Citi Premier® Card, there's an additional incentive to book through the Citi ThankYou portal. Once per calendar year, cardholders can get $100 off a hotel stay of $500 or more (before taxes and fees) when they book through the Citi portal — whether the stay is booked with points, charged to the Citi Premier® Card, or a combination of both.

The Citi Travel Portal is a terrific tool if you're looking for a way to redeem points for flights, hotels, car rentals, and attractions without worrying about blackout dates or fussing with loyalty program award charts. You'll even earn frequent flyer miles and elite credits for flight bookings (but you won't earn hotel points or elite nights on hotel stays, because it's a third-party booking).

Anyone with an eligible Citi ThankYou credit card can redeem their points through the portal at a rate of 1 cent each. Or, if you don't have enough points to cover the entire booking, you can pay with your Citi card in combination with rewards to make up the difference.

Even though using the Citi Travel Portal is easy and convenient, it is usually possible to get more value from your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to Citi's airline and hotel partners. This method requires jumping through more hoops and searching for award availability, so if you'd rather avoid that inconvenience, the Citi Travel Portal is an ideal booking method.

Citi cardholders can access the travel portal by logging into their online account and navigating to the travel section or directly through the Citi Travel website.

Yes, you can use your Citi points to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and more through the portal. Points can cover all or part of the booking cost.

Typically, bookings made through the portal using your Citi card will earn points according to your card's rewards program.

The portal does not usually charge additional booking fees, but it's always best to review the terms and conditions for any specific charges that may apply.

Yes, you can cancel or modify bookings, but the ability to do so without penalty depends on the specific terms of your booking. Always check the cancellation policy at the time of booking.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards .

Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

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Earning transferable points is one of the key strategies for traveling for less. The flexibility to transfer points to a plethora of airlines or hotels is far superior to staking your travel future on one airline.

The most popular flexible points are Ultimate Rewards from Chase and Membership Rewards from American Express. Because conversations about flexible points normally involve one of these two currencies, you may have overlooked Citi ThankYou Points and the Citi Premier® Card .

Is it fair to overlook the Citi Premier® Card ? Or is it the best-kept secret in the travel credit card space?

Let’s explore everything you need to know about the Citi Premier® Card to determine if it’s a dud or a stud of the flexible points credit card landscape.

Citi Premier® Card

Citi ThankYou Points

after making $4,000 in purchases with your card within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

Annual Fee: $95

Citi Premier Card Card Overview

Since Citi stopped receiving applications for the Citi Prestige, the Citi Premier® Card is the only travel card in Citi’s lineup that earns flexible points. It offers powerful earning potential on common spending categories and a solid list of transfer partners.

It’s competitively priced in the mid-tier credit card space with a $95 annual fee, and a $100 hotel statement credit can offset this out-of-pocket expense.

The Citi Premier® Card® Card earns 1X point on all spending and the following bonus rates on select categories:

• 3X at restaurants
• 3X at supermarkets
• 3X at gas stations
• 3X on air travel
• 3X on hotel stays

For many travelers, these categories represent the bulk of their credit card spending. There’s a lot to like about the Citi Premier® Card’s rewards structure, but there’s more to choosing the right card than simply racking up points.

Let’s take a look at what ThankYou Points can buy.

Redeeming ThankYou Points

Thankyou portal.

You can redeem Citi ThankYou Points through Citi’s ThankYou Travel Center where 1 point equals 1 cent. The ThankYou Rewards portal is powered by cxLoyalty, the same engine that Chase uses for the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. If you’re familiar with redeeming Ultimate Rewards, you’ll see identical availability on the Citi travel portal.

You can book everything from hotel stays, rental cars, flights or travel experiences on the Citi ThankYou portal. However, before you book a hotel stay or a flight, you may want to see if you could benefit from utilizing one of Citi’s transfer partners.

Citi Premier® Card Transfer Partners

Citi ThankYou Points can be transferred to 13 airlines, one retailer and three hotels, for a total of 17 transfer partners. Citi’s transfer partner list is strong for international travelers but misses some familiar favorites like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. However, many of these partners are covered by airline alliances through the transfer partner list.

For instance, you can utilize Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles to book a United flight to Hawaii because they’re both Star Alliance partners. Turkish Airlines uses a fixed award chart and is often cheaper than booking through United directly.

You could also transfer Qatar Airways Avios to the British Airways Executive Club program to book American Airlines tickets through the Oneworld alliance. Although these transfers may not be immediately obvious, they’re often cheaper than going through the airline reward program you intend to fly.

Most partners receive Citi ThankYou Points at a 1:1 ratio, except where noted below.

Another underappreciated use of Citi points is transfers to Choice or Wyndham hotels. While transfers to hotels are less glamorous than first-class transpacific flights, the 1:2 transfer ratio to Choice hotels allows you to snag a low-cost hotel room as a base of operation for your international travels.

For instance, the Quality Inn Real San Jose requires only 16,000 points per night. You’d have to transfer just 8,000 ThankYou Points for this stay in Costa Rica.

Wyndham Rewards allows you to book Vacasa rental properties for 15,000 points per bedroom per night. If you want to take your family on a ski vacation in Salt Lake City, you could redeem 120,000 ThankYou Points to cover this $3663.96 stay. That’s more than 3 cents per point in value!

Redeem for Cash or Gift Cards

You can redeem Citi ThankYou Points for cash via a check or statement credit. Each point is worth 1 cent. Additionally, you can order gift cards to a large variety of retailers. In general, points are worth 1 cent each, but sometimes you can find sales that will allow your points to go further. Either way, you likely can find more value transferring your points to a partner airline or hotel. However, if you need cash, Citi ThankYou Points can help.

Shop with Points

Shop with points allows you to connect your Citi ThankYou account with the loyalty account of your chosen retailer. Upon checkout, you’ll be able to select “Pay with Points.” There are currently six participating vendors.

The Shop with Points partner retailers are:

• 1-800-Flowers
• BP and Amoco gas stations
• Shell gas stations

Give to Charity

Using your ThankYou Points to send money to a charity is just as easy as requesting cash and then sending it to the charity yourself. For record-keeping purposes, it would likely be easier to donate from a cash account rather than using ThankYou Points. However, if you want to initiate your generosity with your Citi ThankYou Points, you’ll get a value of 1 cent per point.

Citi Premier Card Card Extra Perks

The Citi Premier® Card is marketed as a rewards card as opposed to a travel card. The Citi Premier® Card used to offer travel-oriented benefits, such as travel insurance, auto collision damage waiver and luggage insurance. All those perks were canceled in 2019. Although those travel benefits are gone, the Citi Premier® Card does offer a few extra perks to help offset its annual fee.

• $100 hotel statement credit on a single hotel stay totaling more than $500 (not including taxes or fees) booked through the ThankYou travel portal
• No foreign transaction fees

While the $100 hotel credit seems like an easy offset for the annual fee, it’s hard to use. Points and miles enthusiasts typically avoid $500 hotel bills the best they can. Even when they do have such bills, they often want to book through the hotel directly instead of a third-party travel agent like the ThankYou Travel Center. This way they get points for their stay.

However, this credit is perfect for those small non-chain hotels or Airbnb’s without rewards programs. If that’s a way you often travel, this credit may be easy to use.

Citi Entertainment

Citi entertainment allows you early access to a long list of popular events across the country. You can access Citi Entertainment with any Citi card. Some tickets are available for presale, giving you early access to purchasing marquee tickets, while others are preferred, a special allotment of tickets exclusively for Citi cardholders. Additionally, Citi Entertainment offers complimentary tickets for events like concerts, music festivals or VIP access. You can only access one complimentary ticket in any six-month period.

Is the Citi Premier Card Worth the Annual Fee?

The Citi Premier® Card is a solid rewards card, but it’s hardly a travel card. Although you can offset the annual fee with a $100 hotel credit, the credit is pretty restrictive and not everyone will get use out of it.

Whether you should pay the $95 fee to take advantage of the points earning potential alone depends on your spending patterns. Although building a sizable points balance with the Citi Premier® Card is easy, you can find cards that offer nearly equal points potential that include bells and whistles like travel insurance, rental car insurance or easily used statement credits.

If you think you can use the hotel credit every year, then the Citi Premier® Card can’t hurt to put in your wallet. If not, you probably won’t get the value out of your $95 fee.

Should You Apply for the Citi Premier® Card?

The Citi Premier® Card has lost a lot of its luster since getting rid of all the travel benefits and reducing the value of ThankYou Point redemptions through the portal from 1.25 cents to 1 cent.

The Citi Premier® Card regularly offers a fairly attractive welcome bonus. Even if you don’t use the statement credit, it’s likely worth applying for an elevated welcome bonus if you’re above 5/24. As a permanent card in your wallet, we’d suggest you look elsewhere.

The Citi Premier® Card isn’t a bad card by any stretch of the imagination. It simply doesn’t stand apart from the competition of similarly priced cards. It seems that every other issuer is packing additional benefits into their cards while Citi is stripping them out. Until this changes, the card is worth grabbing when there’s an enticing welcome bonus, but we wouldn’t suggest renewing the card.

Other Cards in the Same Price Range

Since the Citi Premier® Card can’t earn a place in your wallet, you should turn to other options. Luckily, the mid-price travel card space is jam-packed with competitors, so you’ll have lots to choose from. Let’s dive into some of the best alternatives to the Citi Premier® Card.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is best known for its 2X miles on all purchases. While this falls short of the Citi Premier® Card’s 3X rewards for some categories, the extra miles on categories that the Citi Premier® Card doesn’t elevate likely evens out.

You’ll also earn extra points on two bonus categories:

• 5X on Turo rentals
• 5X on hotels and car rentals through the Capital One travel portal

after you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

Like the Citi Premier® Card, this card carries a $95 annual fee, but offers travel benefits that make the fee worth it.

• TSA PreCheck ($85) or Global Entry ($100) statement credit once every four years
• Two Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounge visits
• Secondary auto rental collision coverage

Carrying a card with some form of rental coverage is better than none. A $95 fee is worth this coverage alone. Although the Citi Premier® Card offers up to 3X on spending, the Capital One Ventures indiscriminate 2X miles will likely net you a similar point total, and you won’t have to worry about pulling out the right card every time you spend.

American Express ® Green Card

At $150, the American Express ® Green Cards’ annual fee is a bit higher than the Citi Premier®. However, the Amex Green Card adds travel benefits that the Citi Premier® Card skips, and it doesn’t slouch on points-earning potential either.

All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by 10xTravel.

With the American Express® Green Card , you’ll earn:

• 3X Membership Rewards points on travel
• 3X points at restaurants
• 3X points on transit
• 1X point on all other purchases

American Express® Green Card

Membership Rewards® Points

after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by 10xTravel.

Annual Fee: $150 Terms Apply.

Membership Rewards are powerful points that can be transferred to 18 transfer partners. Although many overlap with Citi, some standout transfer partners exclusive to Membership Rewards are Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines. You also can transfer Membership Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and Radisson Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

Along with solid earning potential and a plethora of partners, the Amex Green Card offers travel benefits that can enhance your travels, including:

• Up to $100 LoungeBuddy credit per year
• $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express® Green Card
• Luggage reimbursement insurance
• Secondary rental car coverage
• Trip delay insurance

If you’re looking for a card with additional travel benefits, the Amex Green Card is a solid offering despite a higher fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the go-to recommendation for points and miles newbies. Not only does it have a solid points earning structure, but each point is worth 1.25 cents on the Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

Combining points from other Ultimate Rewards earning cards, like the Chase Freedom Flex℠, with your Sapphire Preferred account effectively increases their value by 25% if used in the travel portal.

bonus points

after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 1X Ultimate Rewards point per dollar spent but offers bonus earning on the following categories:

• 5X on hotels booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal
• 2X on other travel
• 3X at restaurants or select food delivery services
• 3X on online grocery purchases (except for Amazon or food clubs)
• 3X on select streaming services
• 5X on Lyft rides (through March 2025)

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card makes the $95 annual fee worth it by offering the following perks:

• $50 in statement credits for hotels booked through the Ultimate Reward travel portal
• Free credit score with Chase Credit Journey
• $10 monthly Gopuff statement credit
• 12 months of DoorDash DashPass
• Trip cancellation / interruption insurance
• Auto rental collision coverage (primary coverage)

Final Thoughts

The Citi Premier® Card is a great points earning card, but what you see is what you get. No extra benefits means you’ll have to justify this card on the points earning potential or hotel statement credit alone.

The statement credit is very specific, making it difficult to take advantage of. While a lucrative welcome bonus may make the Citi Premier® Card worth an application, Citi will have to sweeten the pot to convince us to keep it in our wallet.

If you’re above 5/24 and are in points accrual mode, give the Citi Premier® Card a look. Otherwise, look at one of the other options above or peruse our best cards page to find the right card for you.

New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!

Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points

after you spend $4,000 in 3 months

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Venture Miles

after you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.

American Express® Gold Card

after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months. Terms apply.

Anya Kartashova

19 Minute Read

Joseph Sherwood

25 Minute Read

32 Minute Read

Battle of the credit card travel portals: Which is the best for booking flights?

American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi are four of the major players in the travel credit card space . As such, these issuers offer their own travel portals, where users can earn and redeem their points and miles for flights, hotels, car rentals and more.

These issuers also incentivize their cardholders to use the bank's own portal, done by offering bonus points on bookings.

For instance, with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card , you'll earn 10 miles per dollar on hotel and car rentals and 5 miles per dollar on flights — but only when booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Purchases made outside the portal earn 2 miles per dollar.

Likewise, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card , you'll earn 5 points per dollar on all travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Otherwise, you earn 2 points per dollar on those travel purchases.

Given the lucrative earning potential that booking through these portals presents, it begs the question: Is it worth your time to use them rather than booking directly?

In this guide, we put these four travel portals to the test when booking flights. We compared price, ease of use, redemption value and other metrics.

Methodology

For this analysis, we limited our research to flights and didn't include hotels, rental cars or other travel. That's because we generally recommend that you avoid booking hotels through a third party since you likely won't receive elite-status benefits (if you have any) or earn elite-qualifying stay credits.

If you're not concerned with earning hotel elite status or are booking an independent hotel, then booking your stay through a travel portal could be advantageous for you.

It's also worth noting that you can get elite-like perks at hotels, even without elite status, by booking with these programs: Amex's Fine Hotels + Resorts , Amex's The Hotel Collection , Capital One's Premier Collection , Capital One's Lifestyle Collection , Chase's Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection , Citi's Hotel Collection and Citi's Luxury Hotel Collection.

With flights, you may be able to "double-dip" your earnings: You can usually earn bonus points on bookings through your card issuer's portal and earn airline and elite-qualifying miles just as you would by booking directly through the airline. That said, here are the features we examined in each portal:

• Results: Do you get comprehensive results when searching through the portal?
• Price: How do the prices compare to booking directly with an airline versus through a portal?
• Ease of use: Is navigating the portal easy for a user? What unique features or benefits do users get from using this portal?
• Redemption value: Is it worth redeeming your points and miles for travel through a portal?

With these four factors in mind, here's how the individual issuers' travel portals stack up.

American Express Travel portal

Any American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points grants access to the Amex Travel portal . Depending on your specific card, you may earn bonus points for booking through the portal.

The Platinum Card® from American Express , for instance, earns 5 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases annually, then 1 point per dollar) and 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotel bookings made through Amex Travel. The American Express® Gold Card , meanwhile, earns 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel.

You can search for flights, hotels, flight and hotel packages, rental cars and cruises on the Amex portal.

Related: Everything you need to know about Amex Travel

Capital One travel portal

The Capital One travel portal offers a fresh interface powered by the travel tech app Hopper and is accessible with most credit cards earning Capital One miles or cash back.

Bonus earnings are available, depending on which card you have. Using the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to book flights in the portal provides 5 miles per dollar; flights booked elsewhere earn 2 miles per dollar.

Currently, you can only book flights, hotels and rental cars through the portal. The portal also houses the Premier Collection for luxury hotels. However, this is only accessible if you have the Venture X or its counterpart, the Capital One Venture X Business .

Related: How to use the Capital One travel portal — now with more cards and new rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal

Chase's Ultimate Rewards travel portal was powered by Expedia for many years, but the issuer migrated to cxLoyalty in 2021 .

You can access the portal with your Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card , including popular options like the Chase Sapphire Reserve , the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Freedom Unlimited . Cardholders can book flights, hotels, cars, activities and cruises on the Chase travel portal.

Related: Why are some flights more expensive through the Chase travel portal?

Citi travel portal

The overhauled Citi travel portal launched in March 2023 after months of delays. It's powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda , part of the Booking.com family.

You can access the portal with any credit card earning ThankYou points , and several cards earn bonus points on bookings in the portal. Unfortunately, flights aren't included in these bonus offerings.

With Citi's new portal, you can book flights, hotels, rental cars and attractions of numerous types. The portal also offers two hotel programs: Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection.

Related: Ultimate guide to the Citi travel portal

Booking flights

I looked at a variety of round-trip routes with the same dates (roughly six months from now) and gathered the following prices:

All of the travel portals generally fared well when it came to searching economy flights versus booking directly. However, there were a few major caveats worth noting.

Southwest Airlines is not bookable on any of the portals, and tickets for low-cost airlines like Spirit Airlines and Frontier are typically more expensive on the Chase and Capital One travel portals than booking directly. Amex Travel didn't display any Spirit Airways or Frontier Airlines flights.

When it came to international flights, all of the bank portals struggled at times to match prices or give comparable results versus booking directly. For a deeper dive on some of these routes and flight prices, we did a broader comparison across 20 flights in this guide .

As a general word of advice, domestic flights should yield the same results and price, but it gets tricky when searching for international fares. Your best bet would be to compare the prices and only use a portal when the prices are identical.

Ease of use

The Amex portal is my favorite for a comprehensible search experience, fast load times for results and the simplicity of parsing through the various options.

On the other hand, the Capital One portal offers one of the most visually appealing interfaces, with color-coded dates to indicate the lowest prices in a calendar view — plus price drop protection. However, the Capital One portal did not provide as many options as its competitors on some searches. It also yielded higher prices for international routes, but I'm hopeful that the issuer will continue to make improvements in the future.

Based on millions of data points from Hopper, Capital One is supposed to let you know if this is the best time to book via its price watch prediction feature.

To standardize the offerings across various airlines, Capital One also provides detailed insights into what flyers can expect from their chosen fare class. With the rise of "basic economy" fares, it's not always clear what amenities are included in your ticket and what you'll have to pay for as extras.

Capital One does an excellent job of explaining in-depth features such as seat pitch, aircraft type, and food and beverage options on board.

Speaking of basic economy, it's worth noting Amex Travel rarely (if ever) displays these fares. If you're looking for basic economy, you should use another portal.

Citi's new portal does a good job of offering a broad range of results in economy and offering upgrades on the payment page. And being able to book flights plus other travel elements in one transaction is great. However, searching directly for business-class fares is tricky on this portal.

Finally, the Chase portal has seen vast improvements since fully migrating toward its cxLoyalty interface. Previously, when Chase was powered by Expedia, users complained about slow load times and much higher prices than those offered directly by the airlines. Some of those issues seem to have been resolved.

While the Ultimate Rewards portal could use some work in cleaning up the interface, the overall user experience is much better than before. That said, it's also the portal with the highest frequency of price divergence from booking directly — sometimes higher and sometimes lower.

Redemption value

This is not a criterion we used for evaluating these bank travel portals for this particular article. The value of your points or miles can depend on which particular rewards card you carry. Still, it is worth remembering if you intend to use your credit card's travel portal to earn or redeem points and miles.

Your credit card points or miles are typically worth 1 cent each for flights in your respective travel portal. That's the case with Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points and Capital One credit cards . Even with the Capital One's premium card (the Venture X), your points are only worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel through the Capital One portal. The same applies to credit cards earning Citi ThankYou points .

On the other hand, Chase's credit cardholders are incentivized to use the Ultimate Rewards portal via a higher redemption value. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve , your points are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel bookings, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card fetch 1.25 cents per point in value.

While not as consistent of a program, American Express offers "Insider Fares," allowing cardholders to redeem their points for a better value than 1 cent apiece on select domestic and international itineraries. However, these can be quite specific.

Select Amex business credit cardholders can also leverage the Pay with Points benefit to get a 25% to 50% points rebate when booking select airfare through Amex Travel — yet another incentive to book through the portal.

Due to all these card-specific circumstances, we didn't make redemption values a main criterion for judging these portals for booking flights. Rather, we focused on each portal's user interface and the availability of competitive fares — as those two factors will probably be the determinants as to whether travelers end up using them.

Related: Why I love the Amex Business Platinum's Pay With Points perk

Bottom line

Credit card issuers have improved their travel portals over the years, but they're still far from perfect. While there isn't a clear winner for the best travel portal, each has unique features and incentives for its cardholders.

If you decide to book a flight through your issuer's travel portal, be sure to compare that price against booking directly with the airline to get the best deal possible. And don't forget that you may want to book directly anyway to avoid any headaches down the road. If you need to change or cancel your airfare, booking with a third party can complicate matters when plans change.

Additional reporting by Ryan Smith.

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Citi Rewards+® Review: Great for On-the-Go Travelers

The Citi Rewards+® Card is ideal for small purchases, rounding up the points you earn to the nearest 10. It also offers high rewards on Citi Travel purchases, supermarkets and gas stations, but its restrictions may limit its overall value.

Updated: March 20, 2024

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About Doug Milnes, CFA

Doug Milnes is a CFA charter holder with over 10 years of experience in corporate finance and the Head of Credit Cards at MoneyGeek. Formerly, he performed valuations for Duff and Phelps and financial planning and analysis for various companies. His analysis has been cited by U.S. News and World Report, The Hill, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and many other outlets.

Milnes holds a master’s degree in data science from Northwestern University. He geeks out on helping people feel on top of their credit card use, from managing debt to optimizing rewards.

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• Citi . " Citi Rewards+® Credit Card ." Accessed March 1, 2024 .

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Please be advised that verbal and written communications from Citi may be in English as we may not be able to provide servicing related communications in all languages. These communications may include, but are not limited to, account agreements, statements and disclosures, change in terms or fees; or any servicing of your account. If you need assistance in a language other than English, please contact us as we have language services that may be of assistance to you.

CITI TRAVEL with Booking.com

Introducing citi travel℠: your first stop to your next destination.

Earn ThankYou ® Points when you pay for part, or all, of your trip with your eligible Citi Card through the Citi Travel portal. Plus, you can redeem your points towards even more adventures through the Citi Travel portal. With customizable options and booking right from your Citi Mobile ® App for eligible cardholders, the way to go is now way easier.

Earn More ThankYou ® Points on Select Bookings Through the Citi Travel portal

10x the fun with citi premier ®.

Earn a total of 10x ThankYou ® Points on hotels and car rentals when you book on the Citi Travel portal. Offer expires June 30, 2024. 1

5X the Fun with Rewards+ ®

Earn a total of 5x ThankYou ® Points on hotels and car rentals when you book on the Citi Travel portal. Offer expires December 31, 2025. 2

More Points, More Fun with Double Cash ®

Earn a total of 5 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals when you book on the Citi Travel portal. Offers expires December 31, 2024. 3

Offer provides 3 additional points on top of the 1 point per dollar on purchases and 1 point per dollar for payments on purchases

Earn More Points with Custom Cash ®

Earn an unlimited additional 4 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals when you book on the Citi Travel portal. Offers expires June 30, 2025. 4

Additional Citi Travel Portal Benefits

The citi travel portal offers perks to make your travel booking experience easier and more convenient., access to over 1.4 million hotel and resort options, competitive prices when booking flights, hotels, cars and attractions, 24/7 customer service support for your booking needs.

ThankYou ® Cards Make Every Day More Rewarding

It's easy to earn ThankYou ® Points with Citi credit cards. Find the one that helps you earn the most on your daily spending.

Citi Travel: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the citi travel portal.

Citi Travel is a travel booking portal that gives eligible Citi card members access to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and attractions at competitive prices, along with 24/7 customer support. Additionally, when you book through the Citi Travel portal using ThankYou ® rewards cards, you can earn ThankYou ® points on your travel spending which can then be redeemed to be used on your next journey.

How do I book through the Citi Travel portal?

To book through the Citi Travel portal:

• Login into your Citi Mobile App or directly into the Citi Travel portal using your Citi Online User ID and password.
• After that, search for the flights, hotels, car rentals or attractions you want to book and enter the necessary information (such as number of guests or passengers, travel dates, etc.)
• Confirm your booking and choose whether you want to pay with card, points, or a combination of these purchase options.ns.

Can I use any Citi ® card to book through Citi Travel?

All Citi ThankYou ® Rewards Credit Cards

Citi Travel℠ is powered by Rocket Travel Inc., part of the Booking Holdings Inc. group of companies together with Booking.com.

1 Earn a total of 10 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel℠ portal on cititravel.com or by calling 1-833-737-1288 (TTY: 711). Offer is valid through 11:59 PM 06/30/2024. You earn 3 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on the Citi Travel portal bookings. You will earn an additional 7 bonus ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel portal or by calling 1-833-737-1288 (TTY: 711) through 11:59 PM 06/30/2024. The booking must post to your account during the promotional period to qualify. This offer may overlap with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. You must use your Citi Premier ® Card registered at the Citi Travel portal to earn the bonus points. For bookings made with a combination of points and your Citi Premier ® Card, only the portion paid with your card will earn points. Bonus points will take up to 3 billing cycles to post to your account. To qualify for this offer, this account must be open and current. Points will not be earned on canceled bookings. If your account is closed for any reason, including if you convert to another card product, you will no longer be eligible for this offer. Citi Travel is powered by Rocket Travel Inc., part of the Booking Holdings Inc. group of companies together with Booking.com.

2 Earn a total of 5 ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel℠ portal on cititravel.com or by calling 1-833-737-1288 and saying "Travel". Offer is valid through 11:59 PM 12/31/2025. You earn 1 ThankYou ® Point per $1 spent on the Citi Travel portal bookings. You will earn an additional 4 bonus ThankYou ® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel portal or by calling 1-833-737-1288 through 11:59 PM 12/31/2025. The booking must post to your account during the promotional period to qualify. This offer may overlap with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. You must use your Citi Rewards+ ® Card registered at the Citi Travel portal to earn the bonus points . For bookings made with a combination of points and your Citi Rewards+ ® Card, only the portion paid with your card will earn points. Bonus points will take up to 3 billing cycles to post to your account. To qualify for this offer, this account must be open and current. Points will not be earned on canceled bookings. If your account is closed for any reason, including if you convert to another card product, you will no longer be eligible for this offer. Citi Travel is powered by Rocket Travel Inc., part of the Booking Holdings Inc. group of companies together with booking.com.

3 Earn a total of 5 ThankYou Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental, and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel℠ portal on cititravel.com or by calling 1-833-737-1288 and saying "Travel". Offer is valid through 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) 12/31/2024. You earn 1 ThankYou Point per $1 spent on the Citi Travel portal bookings and an additional 1 ThankYou Point per $1 paid on Eligible Payments (as defined in the Citi ThankYou ® Rewards Terms and Conditions for Citi Double Cash ® Card Accounts) made to your Citi Double Cash card account. You will earn an additional 3 bonus ThankYou Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental, and attractions excluding air travel when booked through the Citi Travel portal or by calling 1-833-737-1288 through 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) 12/31/2024. The booking must post to your account during the promotional period to qualify. This offer may overlap with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. You must use your Citi Double Cash Card registered at the Citi Travel portal to earn the bonus points . For bookings made with a combination of points and your eligible Citi Double Cash card, only the portion paid with your card will earn the additional points. Bonus points may take one or two billing cycles to post to your account. To qualify for this offer, this account must be open and current. Points will not be earned on canceled bookings. If your account is closed for any reason, including if you convert to another card product, you will no longer be eligible for this offer. Citi Travel is powered by Rocket Travel Inc., part of the Booking Holdings Inc. group of companies together with booking.com.

4 Earn an additional 4 Thank You Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rental, and attractions excluding air travel through the Citi Travel℠ portal or by calling 1-833-737-1288 (TTY: 711). Offer is valid through 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) 6/30/2025. The booking must post to your account during the promotional period to qualify. This offer may overlap with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. You must use your Citi Custom Cash ® Card registered at the Citi Travel portal to earn the bonus points . For bookings made with a combination of points and your eligible Citi card, only the portion paid with your card will earn the additional points. Bonus points may take one or two billing cycles to post to your account. To qualify for this offer, this account must be open and current. Points will not be earned on canceled bookings. If your account is closed for any reason, including if you convert to another card product, you will no longer be eligible for this offer. Citi Travel is powered by Rocket Travel Inc., part of the Booking Holdings Inc. group of companies together with booking.com.

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The Secret to Frying Fish in a Tiny Kitchen? A 5-Pound AirHood

In my narrow Philadelphia row-home kitchen , I have a very sensitive smoke alarm — and a Chihuahua whose nemesis is said sensitive smoke alarm. The alarm goes off at a mere hint of smoke, despite the fact that my stove has an over-the-range hood. Instead of actually venting smoke outside, the hood just captures grease (sort of) and recirculates air, often leaving my white cabinets with a smear of leftover oil after, say, a marathon falafel-frying session. Not to mention that frying fish or smoking meats would leave a lingering smell on my curtains and rug for days after.

So I was intrigued when I heard about the AirHood, a portable exhaust hood you can move around your kitchen, whether you place it next to your stove or beside a cutting board of fragrant garlic. It’s billed as “The World’s First Portable Kitchen Air Cleaner” and works by using replaceable charcoal filters to clean the air it sucks up and flows back out. At $159.99, it seemed a remarkably cheap fix for simultaneously capturing smoke, protecting my cupboards from oil slicks, and putting my Chihuahua out of her misery. I wondered: Could this be the solution to my conundrum? And so I set out to test the AirHood.

When it arrived, I was charmed by its Cadmium Orange color and how surprisingly small it was — it looked like a tiny Martian on my counter. It weighs just a hair over five pounds, and the fan part is eight inches in diameter while the entire unit is 14 inches tall. The 70-inch cord gave ample length to plug it in on my kitchen cart or counter — which is where I decided to place it for the first test run: frying potato croquettes and sautéing tomatoes.

When I turned on the AirHood, it was no louder than my over-the-range hood. As I fried the croquettes — which in the past have set off my smoke alarm and left my apartment smelling like oil — I noticed that the AirHood’s suction, working together with my stove’s hood, removed any presence of smoke in my kitchen. It also whisked away the steam that was produced as the tomatoes sautéed. After the meal, there was no leftover scent in my kitchen or my apartment, and cleanup was easy: I just cleaned the AirHood’s metal filter with a sponge and dish soap (although it’s dishwasher safe, too).

Okay, so it passed the dinner-for-two test, but I wanted to know how it would work for a larger group. One weekend, I invited 45 people over for a big dinner of croquettes, seared salmon, and baked pasta made with a funky cheese, and I aimed the AirHood at my four-burner stove. I was careful to place it about 18 inches away from my gas stove (the company’s website cautions against placing it too close to flames), turned each burner on, and set the AirHood to its highest (and loudest) setting, and I got to cooking.

Two hours of intermittent frying, searing, and baking later, the AirHood was still humming and my smoke alarm remained quiet. My white cabinets were devoid of grease smears, and my kitchen — and house — smelled like delicious cooked food and not oil. There were no lingering fishy or funky cheese smells. My guests didn’t even notice the AirHood on my countertop, nor did they remark upon any extra noise it made.

So what’s the verdict? I think I love the AirHood. It’s part of my kitchen now and whenever I’m frying fish or am cooking something that produces above average smoke, I turn both it and my range hood on. I can even see myself packing it along with my knife kit to my next private-chef gig to avoid setting off someone else’s smoke alarm. And yes, my Chihuahua loves it, too.

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When covering investment and personal finance stories, we aim to inform our readers rather than recommend specific financial product or asset classes. While we may highlight certain positives of a financial product or asset class, there is no guarantee that readers will benefit from the product or investment approach and may, in fact, make a loss if they acquire the product or adopt the approach.

To the extent any recommendations or statements of opinion or fact made in a story may constitute financial advice, they constitute general information and not personal financial advice in any form. As such, any recommendations or statements do not take into account the financial circumstances, investment objectives, tax implications, or any specific requirements of readers.

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WAS Discovery Travel Insurance Review: Features, Pros and Cons

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 9:08am

Reviewed By

The Discovery Plan from WAS Travel Insurance could be a good choice for Aussies looking for a no-frills travel insurance policy. However, it only offers a number of standard features of comprehensive policies as optional add-ons and that can make the policy much more expensive than first meets the eye. Regardless, its unlimited medical cover, high age limit of 99 years, and positive customer reviews makes it a viable option for those in the market for a medically focused, no-frills travel insurance policy.

Related: Best Comprehensive Travel Insurance Providers for Australian

• Unlimited medical
• Generous dental of $2,000
• High age limit
• Luggage and cancellation cover not automatic
• Children not included
• More expensive than competitors

Table of Contents

• Featured Partner Offers

About WAS Travel Insurance

What does was travel insurance cover, does was travel insurance cover me for covid, was pricing comparison, was customer service, the bottom line.

Featured Partners

Fast Cover Travel Insurance

On Fast Cover’s Secure Website

Medical cover

Unlimited, 24/7 Emergency Assistance

Cancellations

Unlimited, (Trip Disruption $50,000)

Key Features

25-Day Cooling Off Period, Australian Based Call Centre, 4.6 Star Product Review Rating

Cover-More Travel Insurance

On Cover-more’s secure website

Unlimited, with a $2000 limit to dental

Yes, amount chosen by customer

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Medical Cover

Including medical treatment, doctors’ visits, prescribed medication, specialist treatment & medical transport costs

$2,500 with option to increase to unlimited

Wise And Silent Travel Insurance, known as WAS, is a Brisbane-based travel insurance company that offers “tailored coverage” to its customers. This tailoring differs from the standard comprehensive travel insurance policies on the market, which usually have a set minimum for standard inclusions for policies, such as lost luggage cover and cancellations.

WAS Travel Insurance is underwritten by Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd, an Australian insurance company based in Newcastle. While WAS isn’t listed on ProductReview, it has scored a 4.7 star review on TrustPilot from an albeit small number of 39 customer reviews.

Customers highlighted WAS’ staff communication, the ease of applying for coverage, and a “smooth and efficient” claims process.

WAS offers two types of plans, Covid Essentials and Discovery Plan. For the purpose of this review, we analysed the comprehensive option, the Discovery Plan.

As stated, WAS Travel Insurance works a little differently to most travel insurers. Its comprehensive policy is known as the ‘Discovery Plan’, which is available to those aged up to 99 years old and includes unlimited medical in its base cover.

For families travelling together, it’s important to note that children can be added to the policy at a lower rate, but they are not included within a parent/guardians policy as is the industry norm.

Once you start to add to the base cover, WAS Travel Insurance becomes even more complex, with only a handful of medical outcomes covered as standard and far more classified as optional.

For example, credit card fraud is not covered as a standard inclusion; instead, unauthorised use of credit cards can be covered as part of luggage and personal effects, should the policyholder choose to take out this optional extra. Personal liability is not covered automatically, but needs to be selected for coverage up to $2.5 million.

Any trip cancellations are only covered up to the amount chosen by the customer (ranging from $1,000 to $40,000 per customer) and travel delays are covered as optional extras, up to $2,000 per customer. Delays are reimbursed at a rate of $50 per six hours, which is below the industry standard of $200 for every six hours, however no excess applies to these claims. (For missed flight connections, these are only covered should the policyholder choose to add travel interruption cover to their plan.

Rental vehicle excess is also an optional add-on, with the maximum cover of $6,000 for those looking to hire a car during their holiday. In many policies this is covered as standard and does not require the traveller to add it as an optional extra.

Lost Luggage

When it comes to lost luggage, those with WAS Discovery Travel Insurance will need to choose it as an add-on as they are not automatically covered. The lowest option is $1000, while the highest is $10,000 (per traveller).

WAS will only cover an individual item to a limit of $1,000.

WAS Travel Insurance include unlimited medical cover within its comprehensive policy, which extends to additional expenses such as transportation to a medical facility or, in the necessary event, back to Australia.

There is also cover for a medical companion to stay with you during treatment and/or necessary medical-related travel, even if they themselves are not listed on your policy.

Certain pre-existing conditions are also covered if they meet the necessary criteria. The 44 automatically covered conditions include anxiety and depression, diabetes, sleep apnoea and many more.

Other conditions outside of the pre-existing conditions list will not be covered by WAS Travel Insurance.

Covid-19 is included in the unlimited medical cover, which is explained in further depth below.

Is Dental Cover Included?

Dental cover is included in the WAS Travel Insurance Discovery Plan, but not under the unlimited medical expenses. Instead, there is up to $2,000 covered for emergency dental treatment, which is more generous than most insurance policies, which generally top put at $1,000.

Yes, WAS Travel Insurance includes Covid-19 medical expenses within its unlimited medical coverage. It also includes cancellations related to Covid-19, however, that is dependent on how much cancellation cover the policyholder requests.

Related: Travel Insurance And Covid: Are You Covered?

What About Pregnancy?

Pregnancy is covered by WAS Travel Insurance there are unexpected serious complications of pregnancy occuring:

• Up to the 24th week of pregnancy if you’re pregnant with a single child; or
• Up to the 19th week of pregnancy if you’re pregnant with twins or multiple children.

The exclusions include childbirth; the healthcare of a newborn child; pregnancies with existing complications; or pregnancies in which the person has previously had complications with previous pregnancies.

What About Sports and Activities?

WAS covers a range of sports and activities, however, rather than specifying what is covered, it provides a list of the excluded activities being:

• Snow sports;
• Motorcycle or moped riding;
• Racing (except on foot);
• Polo playing;
• Mountain climbing requiring the use of equipment such as pick-axes, anchors, bolts, crampons, carabiners, lead or top-rope anchoring or other specialist equipment;
• Motor sport or motor racing (including training or practice);
• Running with the bulls;
• Professional sports (including training or practice);
• Parachuting, hang-gliding or paragliding; or
• Scuba diving, unless you hold an open water diving certificate or diving with a qualified diving instructor

However, policyholders can choose to add additional adventure packs—snow, motor and cruise—which will then cover them for those sports.

WAS Travel Insurance prides itself on offering budget-friendly insurance policies to Australians; however, the cost of a policy with WAS isn’t as clear cut as many others—largely due to the many different inclusions that one needs to opt-in to.

Forbes Advisor Australia has run quotes against two of our top picks of travel insurance providers for Australians— Travel Insurance Direct and Allianz Travel Insurance —to compare the prices of WAS Travel Insurance when opting-in for a level of cover similar to what these two competitors offer automatically.

As Bali is a top destination for many Aussies, the data below is based on a 28-year-old Australian travelling to Indonesia for a week.

Related: A Guide To Travel Insurance For Bali

This analysis does not include other additional costs that would need to be considered, including sports cover, children travelling, pre-existing medical conditions and so on.

As you can see from the table above, opting in for the same level of cover that is offered as standard by competitors makes the WAS Travel Insurance policy the most expensive of the three.

It’s important to note that policy prices for travel insurance will change for a range of factors, including age, destination, length of trip and any specific needs required by the traveller. The above data is to be used as a guide only.

From the limited reviews online, WAS’ customer service staff members have been hailed as being “very patient and helpful”, with their knowledge “making the experience [of submitting a claim] much less stressful”.

WAS can be contacted by phone or email, with different email addresses and phone numbers unique to the service required (emergency assistance, claims, or general enquiries). The full list can be found online here .

Customers can also submit a form online to be emailed back, and are able to submit claims online or over the phone.

WAS may be a risky choice for some customers who choose to opt-out of the optional extra cover for the sake of saving money and end up being under-insured. Some travellers may not realise the importance of personal liability insurance and fail to select it, which could land them in hot water if an accident was to occur overseas. As a comparison, most other insurers include personal liability insurance as standard in their comprehensive policy: Travel Insurance Direct offers $2.5 million in personal liability, while Allianz offers $5 million—with caveats around snow and adventure packs.

Nevertheless, WAS may be attractive to budget travellers who are happy with a no-frills policy, but want to ensure they’re covered for the basics of medical and dental.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is was travel insurance good.

WAS Travel Insurance did not make Forbes Advisor Australia’s top picks for comprehensive travel insurance , but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good option for Aussies looking for international cover. The comprehensive policy offered by WAS is a build-your-own type of plan, meaning it is tailored to the customer individually in terms of cancellation cover, luggage cover, rental car excess and more.

It may be suitable for budget-conscious travellers looking for a no-frills policy that is focused on medical and dental. However, it’s worth noting that when compared to other insurers on the market, WAS ended up being more expensive once the add-ons were included in the quote.

From 38 customer reviews on TrustPilot, WAS received a rating of 4.7 stars.

What policies does WAS Travel Insurance offer?

WAS Travel Insurance offers two policies: Covid Essentials and Discovery. The Discovery Plan is what would be considered its ‘comprehensive’ offering, considering it allows customers to tailor the plan to suit their needs.

How much does WAS Travel Insurance cost?

The cost of WAS Travel Insurance—like any travel insurance provider—is dependent on many factors: your age, your destination, the length of your trip, and any personal requirements such as higher lost luggage cover for specific equipment or items, whether or not you need cover for certain sports and activities, any pre-existing conditions you need covered, and more.

From a quote Forbes Advisor Australia ran of a 28-year-old going to Bali for one week, paying an excess of $250 and opting in to $2000 of cancellation cover, $10,000 of lost luggage cover, and rental car excess, the total WAS quote came to $141.80, which was higher than competitors.

Related: How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

Sophie Venz is an experienced editor and features reporter, and has previously worked in the small business and start-up reporting space. Previously the Associate Editor of SmartCompany site, Sophie has worked closely with finance experts and columnists around Australia and internationally. Sophie grew up on the Gold Coast and now lives in Melbourne.

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36 Hours in Toronto

By Ingrid K. Williams April 11, 2024

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By Ingrid K. Williams Photographs by Eugen Sakhnenko

Locals may insist (politely, of course) that Toronto doesn’t belong atop any traveler’s wish list, but don’t fall for that Canadian modesty. Proudly multicultural with an outstanding art scene, fantastic food and a patchwork of diverse neighborhoods to explore, this sprawling city — Canada’s most populous — has more to offer than one could possibly digest in a single weekend. But that’s enough time to sample the local smorgasbord, from the many new restaurants and shops to the latest art exhibitions and a newly revitalized landmark theater. Anyone in town for Hot Docs , North America’s biggest documentary festival, which begins on April 25, will find plenty of reasons to roam beyond the downtown core, from the beaches in the east to drinking and dining hotspots that have sprouted in some unexpected places in the west.

Recommendations

• Trillium Park , west of Toronto’s inner harbor, is relatively crowd-free despite having an outstanding view of the downtown skyline.
• Sunny’s Chinese , a popular restaurant hidden inside a mini-mall in the Kensington Market neighborhood, serves fun plates like Hong Kong-style French toast with black-sesame jam.
• The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto is currently hosting “Greater Toronto Art 2024,” the second installment of its triennial.
• Cry Baby Gallery is an art space with a cocktail bar hidden behind a curtain in the back.
• Massey Hall , a landmark theater, reopened in 2021 after a three-year renovation and modernization project.
• Evergreen Brick Works is a cultural community center with a popular year-round farmers’ market.
• The Gardiner Museum is dedicated to the artistry and craft of ceramics.
• The Philosopher’s Walk winds through the leafy St. George campus of the University of Toronto.
• The Bata Shoe Museum has an unexpectedly fascinating exhibit exploring the history of what we put on our feet.
• The Beach (also called the Beaches), on the eastern edge of the city, is a neighborhood abutting Lake Ontario with sandy shorelines and a wood-plank boardwalk.
• The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is a sprawling gallery surrounded by acres of pristine woodland.
• Zaal Art Gallery has paintings, sculptures and fashion from contemporary Iranian artists.
• Patois is a festive restaurant serving Caribbean-Asian dishes like jerk chicken chow mein.
• Bad Attitude Bread is a plant-based bakery with specialties like vegan Cheddar biscuits with Old Bay seasoning.
• Milky’s , a cool cafe, brews up specialty drinks like a spiced maple syrup latte.
• Taverne Bernhardt’s is a cozy neighborhood bistro featuring local produce and rotisserie-style chicken.
• Bowie , a vibey bar beneath a laundromat, offers great people-watching behind an unmarked entrance.
• Bathurst Local is a laid-back bar with a maze of private karaoke rooms.
• White Lily Diner is an all-day restaurant serving comfort food, with produce supplied by its own Ontario farm.
• Easy Tiger Goods is a sunny boutique that sells cute made-in-Toronto ceramics.
• Issues Magazine Shop stocks rare print titles.
• Etc Home , a home décor shop, sells hand-crocheted coasters, embroidered tote bags and more.
• A solid option downtown, the Ace Hotel opened in 2022 in a newly constructed building designed by the Toronto firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects. Beyond the lobby framed by soaring concrete arches, the hotel features 123 cozy guest rooms as well as a restaurant and a rooftop lounge. Rooms start at around 499 Canadian dollars, or around $367.
• In the trendy West Queen West area, the Drake Hotel is a longtime favorite for its cultural events, concerts and art-filled interiors. With the addition of a new five-story wing, which opened in 2021, the property now has 51 rooms in addition to a popular lounge, cafe and rooftop terrace. Rooms start at around 360 dollars.
• On vibrant Dundas Street West in Little Portugal is the family-run Ode , which opened in 2021 with eight private guest rooms, each designed in collaboration with a different local artist. Rooms start at 260 dollars.
• Look for a short-term rental in the Trinity-Bellwoods neighborhood, which is surrounded by great restaurants, shops, bars, bakeries, breweries and the popular Trinity Bellwoods Park .
• It's easy to get around Toronto by public transportation — there are subways , buses and streetcars — and on foot . You can also find taxis and use ride-hailing apps , including Lyft and Uber, and there are bike-share stations throughout the city (a day pass is 15 dollars). From Toronto Pearson International Airport, the UP Express train takes 25 minutes to arrive at Union Station downtown. Even closer is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, a regional hub on the Toronto Islands that is connected to downtown by ferry and a pedestrian tunnel.

Trillium Park

Trillium Park , which opened in 2017 just west of Toronto’s inner harbor, remains relatively uncrowded despite having an outstanding view of the skyline. From Queens Quay West, it’s an easy half-hour walk to the park along the popular Martin Goodman Trail. Or rent a bicycle from one of the many bike-share stations and pedal along the lakeshore. After admiring the view of the iconic CN Tower across the water, head back toward downtown, stopping at nearby Inukshuk Park , with its 30-foot-high Inuit stone formation, and at the Toronto Music Garden, a grassy waterfront park where live performances take place during the summer.

Down the hallway of a nondescript mini-mall, a small handwritten sign on a door indicates you’ve found Sunny’s Chinese . Since opening in the eclectic Kensington Market neighborhood in 2022, this buzzy spot has packed its mint green booths with crowds hankering for a spicy, family-style feast. On a recent visit, highlights included the spinach-and-chrysanthemum-stem salad (12 Canadian dollars, or about $9), fiery dan dan noodles (19 dollars), and what a server said “pays our rent”: the sublime Hong Kong-style French toast layered with black-sesame jam and oolong-infused condensed milk (14 dollars). Couldn’t nab a reservation? Try for a last-minute table at nearby Patois , a festive Caribbean-Asian restaurant with a flaky Jamaican-patty sandwich (12 dollars) and jerk chicken chow mein (27 dollars).

Massey Hall

In 2021, Torontonians applauded the reopening of Massey Hall , a landmark theater, after a three-year renovation and modernization project. For over a century, this downtown concert hall has hosted top international performers, including Charlie Parker, Aretha Franklin, Gordon Lightfoot and Jon Batiste. The revitalized theater is now part of a larger performing arts complex, the Allied Music Centre , with a new music venue and recording studios in an adjacent building. But one thing that hasn’t changed: the famously excellent acoustics. To hear for yourself, check the calendar for upcoming events, which include concerts by the Black Crowes, the indie-rock group Waxahatchee and the Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn.

Grange Park, just south of the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Saturday farmers’ market at Evergreen Brick Works

A former quarry and brick factory have been repurposed as Evergreen Brick Works , a cultural community center northeast of downtown. People flock here on Saturdays for the year-round farmers’ market, which reflects the diversity of the city itself. In addition to the usual market stalls — local cheeses, produce, fish, meat and bread — many vendors sell prepared foods that include Persian baklava , Swedish pastries and Tibetan momos (try the beef ones doused with hot sauce; 11.50 dollars for five). Seating is available between the historic brick kilns, but in fair weather, grab your food to go and explore the trails snaking through the surrounding forested ravines.

Many visitors prioritize the best-known museums, but that would mean missing niche standouts like the Gardiner Museum , which specializes in the artistry and craft of ceramics. Inside, explore ancient figures from Mesoamerican cultures and contemporary sculptural vases depicting polar animals by the Inuit ceramicist Roger Aksadjuak (admission, 15 dollars). Afterward, stroll along the Philosopher’s Walk, a nearby path through the leafy St. George campus of the University of Toronto. Then continue to the Bata Shoe Museum , another oft-overlooked institution, where an unexpectedly fascinating, two-floor exhibit traces the history of what we put on our feet (admission, 14 dollars).

Issues Magazine Shop

Little Portugal is packed with quirky independent shops and galleries, many conveniently clustered along Dundas Street West. Start at Easy Tiger Goods , a sunny boutique that sells pastel taper candles and cute made-in-Toronto ceramics. Peruse the rare print titles at Issues Magazine Shop , then shop for hand-crocheted coasters and embroidered tote bags at Etc Home . Consider investing in an artwork at Zaal Art Gallery , a cavernous space that opened last October showcasing paintings, photographs, sculptures and fashion from contemporary Iranian artists. Later, continue farther down the street to Bad Attitude Bread , a vegan bakery, for an Old Bay-seasoned Cheddar-flavored biscuit (5 dollars), and to Milky’s , a cool cafe nearby, for a spiced maple syrup latte (6.50 dollars).

An excellent primer on what’s happening in the city’s art scene is now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto , in a former factory building in the Lower Junction Triangle neighborhood. The current exhibition, “Greater Toronto Art 2024,” is the second installment of the museum’s triennial and features a range of artworks, performances and installations, including photographs by the American-born artist June Clark of her adopted home of Toronto in the 1970s and ’80s; a site-specific greenhouse installed by the Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Lotus L. Kang; and a series of sculptural drawings, traced from an heirloom Persian rug, from the Iraqi-born Canadian artist Sukaina Kubba (through July 28; admission, 14 dollars).

Roast chicken and local produce are the winning formula at Taverne Bernhardt’s , a cozy neighborhood bistro on a quiet lane south of Dundas Street West, where date-night couples sip wine at the pewter-topped bar and groups of friends encircle tables along a soft leather banquette. The short seasonal menu recently included tender roasted carrots with herbs and tahini (20 dollars), in addition to the crisp-skinned, rotisserie-style chicken served on a platter with thick-cut fries, coleslaw and pickles, toasted sesame-seed buns, and a side of gravy (37 dollars). And for dessert, there’s a heaping swirl of soft serve in changing flavors, like Earl Grey (14 dollars).

Exploring Toronto’s nightlife could mean ice bathing at Othership , a sociable sauna downtown, or sipping a white stout at Blood Brothers Brewing in the revitalized northwestern warehouse district. But you needn’t venture that far after dinner to find appealing options, if you know where to look. It’s a short walk from Bernhardt’s to Cry Baby Gallery , a white-walled art space where a curtain in the back hides a moody cocktail bar serving spicy mezcal margaritas (the best is the passion-fruit version, 20 dollars). Even closer is Bowie , a vibey, mirrored lounge that opened last year beneath a laundromat. It offers great people-watching and pink Paloma cocktails (16 dollars), and is accessible via an unmarked entrance (down the alley, below the neon bow-tied mouse sign). Later, visit Bathurst Local , where a laid-back bar leads to a maze of private karaoke rooms, each more colorful than the last.

People strolling in the trendy West Queen West area.

The ocean may be hundreds of miles away, but you can still start the day with a walk on the beach. On the east side of the city, an easy streetcar ride from downtown, the neighborhood abutting Lake Ontario is known as the Beaches (or the Beach, depending on whom you ask ) because of its long, sandy shoreline. Head down to the water to join locals walking their dogs through the sand. From the easternmost edge, it’s a leisurely half-hour promenade along the wood-plank boardwalk to Woodbine Beach, the widest stretch of sand lapped by the lake’s calm waves.

When hunger strikes, hop back on the streetcar headed west to the White Lily Diner , an all-day restaurant in the Riverside neighborhood serving its own brand of comfort food. One must-order is the cheesy patty melt, served with poblano relish on house-made bread (23.25 dollars), which comes with a side salad of crisp greens from the restaurant’s own White Lily Farms , northeast of the city. This snug locale has only five counter seats and seven Dijon yellow booths, so there’s often a wait. But I’d happily queue for even a single bite of the fluffy buttermilk griddle cakes with maple syrup (16.25 dollars).

McMichael Canadian Art Collection

Yes, it’s a trek to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection , a sprawling gallery surrounded by acres of pristine woodland, about 17 miles northwest of downtown. But there’s no prettier place to become acquainted with some of Canada’s most influential artists: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, a collective of landscape painters who rose to fame in the early 20th century with their romantic depictions of Canadian nature. Admire the rural landscape paintings, including glacial mountains by Lawren Harris and placid lakes by A.J. Casson. Then visit galleries dedicated to contemporary Canadian works, including those by Inuit and First Nations artists, such as the brilliantly colorful paintings of Norval Morrisseau . Not keen on splurging for a car ride? There’s an equally edifying collection of Canadian art — minus the sylvan setting — at the Art Gallery of Ontario downtown (admission to the McMichael, 20 dollars; to the AGO, 30 dollars). (The AGO is temporarily closed because of a workers’ strike.)

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‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ Is a Keeper: TV Review

Legendary talk show host and hot wing evangelist returns to television with hilarious new Max travel show

By Stephen Rodrick

Stephen Rodrick

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The key to understanding Conan O’Brien’s comedy is knowing that it comes from a point of kindness. Yes, I know in this age of comics punching down , this kind of compliment may leave you with a neon “Must Avoid!” sign flashing in your bleary eyes — but stay with me.

Popular on Variety

Conan’s three-decade run as a talk show host ended in 2021 under less-than-optimal circumstances , as he wound down his TBS show during the pandemic year. He talked to longtime sidekick Andy Richter , who sat among dozens of cardboard cutout fans. O’Brien quipped that they were last in line for the vaccine because the CDC had looked at the shows and “they said ours is the least essential of pretty much all the non-essential shows.”

There was some truth in that, but Conan had already started his move to other outlets , starting with his “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast in 2018.

The podcast is funny and sweet, especially the pre-interview segments with longtime associate Sona Movsesian and producer Matt Gourley. Conan mocks Sona’s legendarily bad work habits. and Gourley’s flea market predilections, but any kind of comedic acid is reserved for the self-lacerating O’Brien. (On a recent episode, Conan runs down his own looks, and it is cruel and hilarious, but part of me is thinking, “Dude, cut yourself a break.”). The only time things get contentious is when Conan visited by longtime friend Kevin Nealon — perhaps the podcast’s best episodes.

The podcast had an offshoot called “Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan,” on which O’Brien would talk to a fan, often in a faraway land. That led to O’Brien traveling to Norway, Thailand, Ireland and Argentina to meet them. Why? Well, a dour and ominous narrator, aka Werner Herzog, offered this rationale at the beginning of each episode: “Once a proud talk show host, he’s been driven by a changing ecosystem to a drier and harsher climate: the weekly podcast. Here , without the nourishment of his studio audience, this clown with dull , tiny eyes, the eye of a crudely painted doll , is forced to feed on that meagerest of morsels: the random call-in fan. Unhinged by the feral scent of their mild enthusiasm. He scavenges in distant lands uninvited, fueled by a bottomless hunger for recognition , and the occasional selfie.”

It’s a self-deprecating bit, but it’s also the truth. Conan has been doing travel shows for years, most notably one to Movsesian’s native Armenia , as well as a chaotic trip to Finland where O’Brien is treated as a god because of his physical resemblance to the Finnish president who happens to be a woman. He clearly loves the journey. And he loves the comedy set piece–see his classic “Old Timey Baseball” opus — which has always been an essential part of his appeal.

The encounters work because O’Brien doesn’t treat his new friends as fools — rather , he revels in the fact that he is the fool. (See his instant-classic appearance on “Hot Ones,” the show where interviews are conducted while the celebrity consumes increasingly acidic chicken wings. Conan rhapsodizes on comedy being all around us as green-yellow mucus drips down his nose.) Of course, there are exceptions made for old friends. Conan goes out for asada in Buenos Aires with the effete and erudite Jordan Schlansky, a longtime producer and frenemy. Schlansky and Conan are the Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon of American cable , and on his TBS show and podcast the two have tangled over Japanese customs, Conan hosting Schlansky’s bachelor party in his own office, and Schlansky hiding an expensive Espresso machine in an inaccessible part of their offices. (As with the Courtney Thorne-Smith segment, Conan’s visceral malice toward Schlansky works because it is so out-of-character).

During the Argentina episode, they get into a fierce argument about the proper pronunciation of the word “tango,” Conan then licks Schlansky’s favorite cut of meat — wait, that came out wrong. After, they go on an ill-fated trip to the Pampas, where both fail spectacularly at gaucho life.

Not everything works. O’Brien does a self-referential bit about the expensive drone he is using on the first show , and for the next four episodes I am distracted every time I see a beautiful shot thinking about the drone’s specifications and capabilities. Some of the stuff goes on a bit long, but so does my writing.

These are minor quibbles. If you’re a Conan fan, you’ll treasure the trips, just like his completists treasure encounters with a masturbating bear. The series ends with Conan tracing his family’s roots in Ireland. He comes across his ancestor’s land, makes a few jokes, but then looks at the land, clearly moved. Conan O’Brien has played the fool long enough; we grant him this moment of humanity with all our hearts.

All four episodes of “Conan O’Brien Must Go” are now available on Max.

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