As a lot as we love premium bank cards, it’s possible you’ll discover you could’t maximize their advantages or wish to maintain your annual payment prices low. If that’s the case, a mid-tier journey card is ideal for you.
Right this moment, we’re taking a look at two fashionable mid-tier journey rewards playing cards: the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked Card and the Citi Premier® Card (see charges and charges). Each include useful welcome bonuses, strong incomes constructions and intensive redemption choices for an affordable $95 annual payment.
Which is healthier to your pockets? This information will enable you to make that call.
Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier comparability
Let’s begin with a side-by-side comparability of the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked and Citi Premier:
| Card particulars | Chase Sapphire Most well-liked | Citi Premier |
|---|---|---|
| Annual payment | $95. | $95. |
| Signal-up bonus | 60,000 bonus factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, value $1,200 in keeping with TPG valuations | 60,000 ThankYou factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, value $1,080 in keeping with TPG valuations |
| Incomes construction | 5 factors per greenback on Lyft rides (by means of March 2025) and journey booked by means of Chase Final Rewards
3 factors per greenback on eating, choose streaming and on-line grocery purchases 2 factors per greenback on all different journey purchases 1 level per greenback on all different purchases |
10 factors per greenback on resorts, rental vehicles and eligible sights booked by means of the Citi journey portal (by means of June 30, 2024)
3 factors per greenback on eating places, supermarkets, fuel stations, air journey and resorts 1 level per greenback on all different purchases
|
| Different advantages | 25% redemption bonus while you guide journey by means of the Chase portal
$50 Annual Final Rewards resort credit score 10% anniversary factors enhance 6 months of complimentary Instacart+ and as much as $15 in quarterly Instacart assertion credit (by means of July 2024) Complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of one 12 months (while you activate by Dec. 31, 2024) $10 Gopuff month-to-month assertion credit score (by means of Dec. 2023) Strong journey protections |
$100 off a single resort keep of $500 or extra when booked by means of the ThankYou journey website (obtainable as soon as per calendar 12 months)
World Elite Mastercard advantages Citi Leisure entry Prolonged guarantee |
As you may see, each playing cards supply an identical rewards construction and comparable advantages — which means they’re geared towards the identical sort of traveler. However there are just a few variations to think about earlier than making use of for one over the opposite. Let’s dig into the small print of each of those nice mid-tier journey playing cards.
Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier welcome bonus
Whereas the sign-up bonus definitely is not the one issue you need to contemplate when selecting a bank card, it is necessary. And each playing cards supply sign-up bonuses with extraordinary worth, particularly given their low annual charges.
The Citi Premier, in the meantime, is presently providing an identical welcome bonus of 60,000 factors after you spend $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. Nonetheless, TPG values Citi ThankYou factors at a barely decrease 1.8 cents every, making this bonus value simply $1,080. After accounting for the $95 annual payment, this bonus internet first-year worth is $985.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Most well-liked. The upper valuation of Chase Final Rewards offers it the sting.
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Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier advantages
With the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked, you may get these advantages:
The Chase Sapphire Most well-liked’s assertion credit and anniversary factors enhance are nice perks with critical worth, however the card’s journey protections actually make it shine. Realizing you are lined if one thing goes mistaken in your journey gives you peace of thoughts along with potential financial worth, and it is uncommon to see such a protection on a mid-tier card.
Should you go for the Citi Premier, you may get these advantages:
Whereas the listing is not as intensive because the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked’s, the Citi Premier has some strong advantages. You will get a resort credit score value double than that on the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked in addition to World Elite Mastercard perks like cellphone safety and reductions on DoorDash and HelloFresh. And in at this time’s world of live performance pre-sale tickets, gaining access to Citi Leisure can assist make sure you’ll get to your dream live performance.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Most well-liked. Its assertion credit and journey protections give it a extra strong advantages listing than the Citi Premier.
Incomes factors with the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier
With the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked, you may earn 5 factors per greenback on journey booked by means of the Final Rewards portal and three factors per greenback on eating, choose streaming companies, on-line grocery purchases and Lyft (by means of March 2025). You will additionally earn 2 factors per greenback on journey purchases and 1 level per greenback on all different purchases.
With the Citi Premier, you may earn 10 factors per greenback on resorts, automobile leases and eligible sights booked by means of the Citi Journey portal (by means of June 2024), 3 factors per greenback on journey, eating, grocery store and fuel station purchases, and 1 level per greenback on all different purchases.
Whereas each playing cards earn bonus factors on eating and journey purchases, the Citi Premier additionally earns bonus factors on grocery store and fuel station purchases, which means you may possible have the ability to rack up factors extra rapidly with it than with the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked.
Winner: Citi Premier. Its wider vary of bonus-earning classes offers you extra incomes alternatives.
Redeeming factors with the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier
You even have the choice to make use of Chase’s Pay Your self Again function to redeem your factors at a charge of 1.25 cents per level or for cash-back or reward playing cards at a charge of 1 cent per level. Nonetheless, your most beneficial redemption possibility is to switch your factors to Chase’s companions, which we’ll evaluate within the subsequent part.
With the Citi Premier, you may redeem your factors for journey by transferring them to any of Citi’s 17 resort and airline companions or guide by means of ThankYou journey at a charge of 1 cent per level. Moreover, you may redeem them for reward playing cards or an announcement credit score for a price of 1 cent per level.
You too can use Citi’s Store with Factors possibility and use your factors to pay immediately at checkout at retailers like Amazon, Walmart and fuel stations. Nonetheless, you may get lower than one cent per level going this route, so that you’re higher off utilizing your factors as an announcement credit score to cowl your purchases after you have made them. Nonetheless, if you wish to get the complete 1.8 cents from every level that we do, transferring your factors to journey companions is your best choice.
Winner: Tie. Each playing cards help you switch your rewards to journey companions, guide by means of their journey portal or redeem your factors for money again and reward playing cards.
Associated: Tips on how to redeem Chase Final Rewards factors and Citi ThankYou factors for optimum worth
Transferring factors with the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Citi Premier
You will get unbelievable worth from choices like transferring your factors to Iberia Plus and reserving Miami to Madrid for as little as 21,250 factors every manner or transferring your factors to United MileagePlus and making the most of its Excursionist Perk.
With the Citi Premier, you may earn Citi ThankYou factors to switch to 17 airline and resort companions, together with JetBlue TrueBlue, Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles and Alternative Privileges.
You will get nice worth out of your factors by transferring them to airways that help you guide flights on its accomplice airways, like transferring your factors to Avianca LifeMiles and utilizing them to guide a home short-haul flight on United or a first-class flight to Europe on Lufthansa.
Winner: Tie. Each playing cards help you switch your factors to useful switch companions.
Ought to I get the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked or the Citi Premier?
As an example, I ceaselessly fly Southwest Airways and keep at Hyatt properties, so I favor incomes Chase Final Rewards and transferring my factors to those packages.
TPG senior factors and miles reporter Katie Genter, alternatively, loves incomes ThankYou factors for the choices they offer her to switch her factors to companions she makes use of probably the most, which embody Avianca LIfeMiles and Alternative Privileges.
And, after all, for optimum versatility, it’s possible you’ll determine you wish to get each playing cards. Should you go this route, be sure that you’ll earn the precious welcome bonuses on each.
Backside line
The Citi Premier and Chase Sapphire Most well-liked are two leaders on the subject of inexpensive, mid-level playing cards that earn useful transferable factors. Every card wins in numerous classes in our evaluation, so the very best card for you’ll rely on which advantages and redemption choices you worth most. Regardless of which manner you go, you may really feel nice figuring out you are including a incredible mid-tier card to your pockets.
For extra particulars, try our full evaluate of the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked and our full evaluate of the Citi Premier.
Official software hyperlink: Chase Sapphire Most well-liked
Official software hyperlink: Citi Premier
Further reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon, Jennifer Yellin and Madison Blancaflor.
