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Citi Rewards+ Card Review: Is the Round-Up Rewards Card Still Worth It in 2026?
Citi Rewards+ turned everyday grocery and gas spending into rounded-up, no-annual-fee rewards — but in 2026 it's being folded into the new Citi Strata Card, so here's what to know before you apply.
Updated for 2026 · Page 1 of 1
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If you've ever felt like a no-annual-fee rewards card forces a trade-off — earn well on groceries and gas, or earn well everywhere else, but not both — the Citi Rewards+ Card was built to close that gap. It combined a modest but useful bonus category on supermarkets and gas stations with a quirky mechanic no other major card offered: rounding up the points on every single purchase to the next multiple of 10, plus giving cardholders 10% of their points back on redemptions each year.
This is an independent, third-party guide. It is not published by Citi, and it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by Citi in any way. Our goal is simply to explain how the card has worked, who it tends to fit, and what to watch out for, using publicly available terms.
All figures here — the annual fee, rewards rates, welcome bonus, APR, and foreign transaction fee — were verified against current public sources as of 2025-2026. Rewards cards change their offers and terms often, and Citi has specifically been in the process of transitioning Rewards+ into a new, redesigned Citi Strata Card during 2026, which affects whether this exact product is still available to new applicants. Because of that, we strongly recommend confirming the live terms and current card name on Citi's own website before applying.
Below, you'll find a breakdown of how the Citi Rewards+ Card earns and redeems rewards, what it costs to carry, who tends to get the most value from it, how it stacks up against other no-annual-fee options, and — importantly — what the shift to Citi Strata means if you're considering applying today.
How the Citi Rewards+ Card Earns Rewards
The core earning structure is simple: you earn 2 ThankYou Points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations, on up to $6,000 in combined purchases per year (then 1 point per $1 after that cap), and 1 point per $1 on everything else with no cap. It's not the highest grocery or gas rate on the market, but it's earned automatically with no rotating categories or activation required.
What sets the card apart is two smaller mechanics layered on top. First, Citi rounds up the points earned on every purchase to the next multiple of 10 — an $8-point purchase becomes 10, a $34-point purchase becomes 40, and so on. Second, once a year Citi gives back 10% of the points on the first 100,000 you redeem, which can effectively add up to 10,000 bonus points annually for cardholders who redeem meaningfully.
New cardholders have also been able to earn a welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for roughly $200 in gift cards through Citi's ThankYou rewards portal. ThankYou Points earned on this card have generally been redeemable for cash back, gift cards, and travel booked through Citi, though they haven't carried the same transfer-partner flexibility as Citi's premium ThankYou cards.
Fees, APR, and the Fine Print
Citi Rewards+ has carried a $0 annual fee, which is a big part of its appeal — there's no cost to keep the card open long-term, even if you don't use it heavily every month. New cardholders have also had access to an introductory 0% APR for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers, which can be useful for financing a purchase or consolidating debt shortly after opening the account.
After the intro period ends, the card's ongoing APR becomes a variable rate, which has been reported in the roughly 17.74%–27.74% range depending on your creditworthiness — a fairly standard range for a mainstream no-annual-fee rewards card, but one that makes carrying a balance expensive over time. Balance transfers have carried a fee, typically 3% (with a $5 minimum) if completed within the first 4 months, rising to 5% (with a $5 minimum) afterward.
One fee that matters a lot for travelers: Citi Rewards+ charges a 3% foreign transaction fee on purchases made abroad or in a foreign currency. That single line item can erase a meaningful chunk of the value earned on international purchases, so this card is best treated as a domestic-spending tool rather than a travel companion.
Who the Citi Rewards+ Card Is Best For
This card has tended to fit best with everyday domestic spenders who want a simple, no-annual-fee way to earn rewards without tracking rotating categories, and who spend a meaningful share of their budget at supermarkets and gas stations — enough to make the 2x category and the $6,000 annual cap worthwhile.
It's also a reasonable fit for people who already hold other Citi ThankYou cards, since points can typically be pooled across ThankYou-earning accounts, and the round-up plus 10% points-back mechanics compound modestly over time for cardholders who redeem points regularly rather than letting them sit unused.
It's a weaker fit for big spenders chasing the single highest cash-back rate in one category (dedicated category cards like Citi Custom Cash have offered a higher rate), and a poor fit for frequent international travelers, given the 3% foreign transaction fee and lack of premium travel protections.
How Citi Rewards+ Compares to Other No-Annual-Fee Cards
Against Citi's own lineup, Citi Double Cash has generally offered a flat, higher effective cash-back-style rate on every purchase with no category tracking, while Citi Custom Cash has offered a higher rate automatically in whichever single eligible category you spend the most in each billing cycle, up to a spending cap. Citi Rewards+ trades a bit of that raw rate for its round-up and points-back mechanics plus a defined grocery/gas bonus category.
Outside the Citi family, cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Discover it Cash Back have competed directly on flat or rotating cash-back rates with their own bonus structures and no annual fee, so shoppers comparing options should weigh straightforward earning simplicity against Rewards+'s smaller, compounding perks.
The most important comparison right now, though, is internal: the Citi Strata Card. Strata keeps the $0 annual fee and ThankYou Points earning but has launched with an elevated welcome bonus and revised bonus categories, while reportedly dropping the round-up-to-10 and 10% points-back features that defined Rewards+. Anyone comparing the two should look at current, side-by-side terms rather than assume the old Rewards+ perks carried over.
Important 2026 Update: The Shift from Rewards+ to Citi Strata
Citi has been in the process of retiring the Citi Rewards+ Card and converting it into a newly designed Citi Strata Card during 2026. Reporting on the transition indicates the rebrand rolled out around mid-2026, with existing Rewards+ cardholders being automatically moved onto Strata terms and new applicants increasingly being directed to apply for Strata instead of Rewards+.
Practically, this means two things for readers researching this card today. First, if you're an existing Rewards+ cardholder, check your account notices carefully, since your card's specific benefits — including the round-up and 10% points-back features — may change once your account transitions. Second, if you're considering applying fresh, there's a real chance the application you land on is actually for Citi Strata rather than classic Rewards+, even if a page or ad still references the Rewards+ name.
Because this transition has been actively unfolding, treat any specific bonus, rate, or feature comparison between the two cards as a snapshot rather than a permanent fact, and verify the exact current offer on Citi's official site before applying or making a decision based on this guide.
Downsides and Watch-Outs
The base 1-point-per-$1 rate on non-bonus spending is unremarkable next to flat-rate cash-back cards, and the 2x grocery/gas category is capped at $6,000 in combined annual spending, after which it drops back to 1x — heavy grocery or gas spenders can outgrow the bonus tier quickly.
The 3% foreign transaction fee makes this a poor choice to bring on international trips, and the variable ongoing APR, once the 15-month intro period ends, sits high enough that carrying a balance will typically cost more in interest than any rewards earned are worth.
Perhaps the biggest watch-out right now is simply uncertainty: with Citi actively transitioning this card into Citi Strata, the specific terms, bonus categories, and signature perks described in reviews (including this one) may not be what a new applicant actually receives. Confirming live terms before applying isn't optional here — it's necessary.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Citi Rewards+ Card still available to apply for in 2026?
- It's in transition. Citi rebranded Rewards+ as the new Citi Strata Card in 2026, and by mid-year new applicants were generally being directed to Strata rather than the legacy Rewards+ product. Existing Rewards+ cardholders have been automatically transitioned to Strata on their card's terms. If you want the specific Rewards+ product, confirm directly with Citi whether it's still being issued to new customers before you count on it.
- What credit score do I need for the Citi Rewards+ Card?
- Citi doesn't publish an exact minimum score, but this card has generally been positioned for applicants with good to excellent credit, commonly cited as a FICO score of roughly 700 or higher. Income and existing debt relative to income also factor into the decision, so a strong score alone doesn't guarantee approval.
- How does the points round-up feature actually work?
- On every purchase, Citi Rewards+ rounds the points you earn up to the next multiple of 10. For example, a purchase that earns 8 points is bumped up to 10, and one that earns 22 points becomes 30. It sounds small per transaction, but across dozens of purchases a month it adds a modest but steady boost to your total earnings at no extra cost.
- What is the 10% points back benefit?
- Each calendar year, Citi Rewards+ has given cardholders 10% of the points back on the first 100,000 ThankYou Points they redeem — effectively a rebate of up to 10,000 points annually if you redeem enough. This has been one of the card's more distinctive perks, though buyers should confirm whether this benefit is carried over for accounts converted to the new Citi Strata Card.
- Does Citi Rewards+ charge a foreign transaction fee?
- Yes. The card has charged a 3% foreign transaction fee on purchases made outside the U.S. or in a foreign currency, which makes it a weaker choice for international travel compared to no-foreign-fee travel cards.
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Advertiser disclosure: general information only, not financial advice. Confirm current terms on the issuer's official site before applying.