Premium rewards cards often get a lot of attention thanks to their great benefits and points programs, but they also charge annual fees of hundreds of dollars per year. Fortunately, credit card issuers offer similar cards that don’t charge annual fees (and recommend a “good” credit score for approval), including both American Express and Citi.
The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express is a no-annual-fee alternative (see rates and fees) to some of Amex’s other powerful products. Like Amex’s more premium cards, it earns transferable American Express Membership Rewards points and offers category and transaction bonuses. For these reasons, it is popular thanks to a simple earning formula and a decent return on expenses.
The Citi Rewards+® Card (see rates and fees) also packs a punch with earning bonuses at grocery stores and gas stations, a 10-point rounding feature, and a 10% points refund on the first 100,000 ThankYou points you redeem each year. Although the points you earn from it are (mostly) non-transferable to Citi ThankYou’s airline partners, if you have a premium Citi ThankYou card, such as the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees) or Citi Prestige® Card (not available for new applicants), you can combine your points and transfer them from there.
If you’re considering applying for either of these two cards, it’s worth seeing how they fit together and which one best suits your needs.
The information for the Amex EveryDay and Citi Prestige cards was independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been verified or provided by the card issuer.
Comparison of Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+
Amex every day | Citi Rewards+ | |
---|---|---|
Annual contribution | $0 (see rates and fees) | $0 |
Welcome bonus | 10,000 points after you use your new card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first six months of your card membership | 20,000 points after you spend $1,500 on purchases with your card within the first three months of account opening |
To deserve | 2 points per dollar on purchases at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 in spending per year; 1 point per dollar thereafter)
1 point per dollar on all other purchases Terms and conditions apply |
5 points for hotel, car rental and attractions booked on the Citi Travel portal (through June 30, 2024)
2 points per dollar on purchases at grocery stores and gas stations (up to $6,000 in spending per year; 1 point per dollar thereafter) 1 point per dollar on all other purchases |
Additional benefits | 20% more points when you use your card 20 or more times for purchases during a billing period. Terms and conditions apply
Access to Amex’s Membership Rewards program Loss and damage insurance for car rental* Global Assist Hotline* |
For each purchase that earns ThankYou Points, your ThankYou Points will be rounded up to the nearest 10 points
10% points back for the first 100,000 ThankYou points redeemed per calendar year |
*Eligibility and benefit level vary by card. Terms and conditions and restrictions apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more information. The policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company.
Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+ welcome offer
The Amex EveryDay offers 10,000 points after you use your new card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first six months of your card membership. That’s a bid worth $200, per TPG valuation.
The Citi Rewards+meanwhile, offers 20,000 points after you spend $1,500 on purchases with your card within the first three months of opening your account. If you only hold the Rewards+, you will receive $200 worth of gift cards with this offer. However, if you also have a Premier or Prestige card, your points are worth $360 according to our valuations.
Winner: Citi Rewards+
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Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+ benefits
The Amex EveryDay* offers relatively standard benefits such as car rental loss, damage insurance and access to the Global Assist Hotline**, plus access to Amex’s Membership Rewards program. You also have the option to use the Pay with Points program to book your next flight or hotel stay.
*Certain benefits require registration.
**Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms and conditions and restrictions apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more information. The policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company.
The Citi Rewards+ is relatively light on the benefits. However, you benefit from an unusual perk called “Round Up”: for every purchase that earns ThankYou points, your ThankYou points are rounded up to the nearest 10 points. That means even a one-dollar purchase earns 10 points, which is impressive for a card with no annual fee.
You’ll also get 10% points back on your first 100,000 ThankYou points redeemed per calendar year.
Winner: Tie. They have very different types of benefits.
Earn points with the Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+
The two cards offer similar and easy-to-understand earning rates.
The Amex EverDay offers 2 points per dollar on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in spend per year; 1 point per dollar thereafter), plus 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
The Citi Rewards+Similarly, offers 2 points per dollar at grocery stores and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year (1 point per dollar thereafter), plus 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. But for a limited time – through June 30, 2024 – you’ll also get 5 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal.
Winner: Citi Rewards+. With the upper hand at gas stations, plus the temporary Citi Travel portal category, Citi Rewards+ takes the cake here.
Redeem points with the Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+
Rewards earned with Amex EveryDay can be redeemed for cash back and toward Amazon purchases, gift cards and more, but you typically get the maximum value when you redeem your points for travel through Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners.
Citi Rewards+ points are considered “basic” Citi ThankYou points, which can be redeemed for purchases at Amazon and Best Buy for less than 1 cent each. Redeeming for gift cards at 1 cent each is a better option, although transferring is a better option here too.
Also note that when you redeem your Citi Rewards+ points, you will get 10% points back for the first 100,000 points redeemed per calendar year.
Winner: Amex every day
Transfer points with the Amex EveryDay vs. Citi Rewards+
Amex allows transfers to popular U.S. programs like Delta SkyMiles and JetBlue TrueBlue, but you often get even more value by using international airline programs. TPG values Amex points at 2.0 cents each, an extremely high rate mainly due to the value of the points once transferred to its broad travel partners.
If you have the Citi Prestige or the Citi Premier with you Rewards+, you can move your points to your Prestige or Premier account and transfer them to partners like Avianca LifeMiles and Etihad Guest. That increases the value of your points from 1 cent each to about 1.8 cents each according to our valuations.
TPG senior points and miles writer Katie Genter likes to transfer her Citi ThankYou points and uses transfer partners like Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Avianca LifeMiles for flights and Choice Privileges for hotels.
While both Amex points and Citi points are valuable, Amex gets a slight edge here. You also don’t need another Amex card to transfer your points, but you do need another Citi card to transfer your Rewards+ points.
Winner: Amex every day
Should I get the Amex EveryDay or Citi Rewards+?
If you’re just getting started in the world of points and miles, any of these cards are a good choice and allow you to try out a great points program with no annual fees. The Amex EveryDay offers some decent travel protections and earning opportunities, plus the ability to take advantage of the Membership Rewards program’s phenomenal transfer partners, while the Citi Rewards+ offers a solid cashback value and interesting category bonuses at both supermarkets and gas stations.
In short
If you’re considering purchasing one of these cards, make sure you can meet the spending requirements for their bonuses. Both the Amex EveryDay and the Citi Rewards+On the other hand, it could be a valuable way to get started with Amex Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards while giving you time to decide which program deserves more attention.
Both cards are attractive offers if you spend more on everyday purchases – especially groceries – than on the travel and dining categories that the more expensive cards from Amex and Citi emphasize.
To learn more, read our full reviews of the Amex EveryDay and Citi Rewards+.
Submit your application here: Citi Rewards+ card with 20,000 points after you spend $1,500 on purchases with your card within the first three months of account opening.
For Amex EveryDay rates and fees, click here.