About the Citi Bonus Cash Center
Frequent flier miles and other loyalty points will always be devalued over time, but cash back is the ultimate credit card reward. Like most other banks, Citi offers a variety of cards that return different levels of cash back based on various merchant categories. Beyond the standard cash back returned, Citi offers additional rewards for purchases made with merchants in their Citi Bonus Cash Center.
How This Program Works
There are four Citi cash back credit cards that are eligible to participate in the Citi Bonus Cash Center; Citi Dividend World MasterCard – their best credit card offer for rewards – , the AT&T Universal Savings Platinum Card, and both the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa and MasterCard for College Students. Cardholders must then log into their Citi credit card account online before visiting the Citi Cash Bonus Center. There, card holders can link to hundreds of popular merchants. While each individual online store offers a different percentage of cash back, the average is 5%. Once a purchase is made, the cash back earned will be visible online within 45 days, however it will take one to three statement cycles before that amount is credited to your account. The bonus cash back earned is in addition to the cash back rewards normally earned from purchases.
Citi’s Bonus Cash Center differs from other credit card shopping portals in that it also offers in-store discounts. Even if the store does not participate in the cash back program for in-store purchases, customers may be able to realize savings through the purchase of discounted gift cards.
Who This Program Is Best For
Citi’s cash back program makes sense for holder of eligible Citi Card holders. By familiarizing themselves with the list of participating merchants, card members can realize additional savings beyond the normal cash back they receive. The key with the online aspect of this program is to make sure that the cardholder logs into their Citi account before making online purchases, and of course, uses their eligible Citi card. With the in-store discounts, there is nothing to do to qualify for the cash back, other than charge the purchase to the account holder’s Citi card.
Since many of the in-store cash back merchants are travel companies, this is an excellent way for business travelers to earn cash back on their credit cards, rather than receive a discount that applies to their expense reports. Like frequent flier miles, these rewards then become the property of the cardholder. The most significant drawback of this program is the time required to receive the cash back. It can take several weeks to verify the cash back award, and months before actually receiving it. If Citi customers have the patience to wait for their cash back, they have every incentive to utilize the Bonus Cash Center and maximize their rewards.
