How to Use the Citi Travel Portal to Book Flights, Hotels, Rental Cars, and Attractions

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• If you have a Citi credit card that earns ThankYou points, you can book travel through the newly refreshed Citi Travel With Booking.com.
• The Citi Travel Portal is like an online travel agency, and it allows you to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and attractions.
• You can pay with points (worth 1 cent each), your Citi credit card, or a combination of both.
• Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.

Citi is an Insider advertising partner.

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.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

What Is the Citi Travel 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.

Citi Travel Portal Benefits

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.

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.

Citi Credit Cards That Earn ThankYou Points

Citi offers several different cards that earn Citi ThankYou points:

• Citi Premier® Card: Earn Citi Premier® Card 
• Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: Earn Citi Custom Cash℠ Card 
• Citi® Double Cash Card - Product Name Only
• Citi Rewards+® Card: Earn Citi Rewards+® Card 
• 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.

How to Use the Citi Travel Portal

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.

What to Know About the Citi Travel Portal

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.