How to use Citi Merchant Offers to snag statement credits on travel, dining and more
Editor's Note
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.
Citi Merchant Offers is a way Citi cardholders can save serious money on purchases they already plan to make. Citi Merchant Offers launched for select card accounts in late 2020 and expanded to most Citi credit cards in 2022.
Citi Merchant Offers are similar to Amex Offers and Chase Offers, but some key differences exist. In this guide, I'll discuss everything you need to know about using and maximizing Citi Merchant Offers.
What is Citi Merchant Offers?
Citi Merchant Offers is a program that provides statement credits when you make select purchases with your Citi card. As with Amex Offers and Chase Offers, you must add an offer to your card before making a purchase.
Related: Why the Citi Premier and Rewards+ cards are a great pair
What cards provide access to Citi Merchant Offers?
Citi doesn't have a list of eligible cards for Citi Merchant Offers, but most Citi credit cards provide access to Merchant Offers. Go to the Citi website to check which of your cards have Merchant Offers. For example, when I go to this site, log in and click the card drop-down, I see:
When I select each of my five Citi cards in the drop-down menu, I see more than 100 available offers for each card.
We can only confirm the availability of Citi Merchant Offers on personal accounts. When I log in to my CitiBusiness account using the above link, the spot where I see offers and a card selection drop-down on my personal account is empty.
Related: The best time to apply for these popular Citi credit cards, based on offer history
How to find and use Citi Merchant Offers
There are three primary ways to see the Citi Merchant Offers available on your cards:
- Go directly to this link and log in.
- Navigate Citi's website after logging in to your account.
- Use Citi's mobile app.
Clicking the above link is easiest, but here's how to see Citi Merchant Offers via the other two methods.
If you want to view your offers on Citi's website, log in to your Citi card account. Then, hover over "Rewards & Offers" on the top menu and select "Offers for You." If you have more than one Citi card, this page will show offers for each card. Look through the offers on this page, and you may see a tile promoting Citi Merchant Offers.
Sometimes, you won't see a tile for Citi Merchant Offers even if your card is eligible. This is why I recommend using this direct link to your offers.
To check your offers in the Citi Mobile app, log in and click "Services" at the bottom of the homepage. Next, click on "Products & Offers." You'll see a "Merchant Offers" tab at the top. Swipe across your cards at the top to see the offers on your eligible Citi cards.
You can also download the free Citi Shop browser extension. When you shop online, the extension alerts you to available Citi offers for a percentage off your purchase or money back as a statement credit. To take advantage of it, just activate the offer and use your eligible Citi credit card to pay for your purchase.
Related: Who should get the Citi Rewards+ Card?
What kinds of deals does Citi Merchant Offers have?
Citi Merchant Offers divides its offers into the following categories:
- Travel
- Dining and entertainment
- Shopping
- Health and wellness
- Other
Here's a quick look at the travel offers currently showing for my Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees).
Of course, you can't see each offer's details from this view. Click on "See Details" to learn the specifics of each offer and enroll if you like what you see. For example, I could enroll in an offer to get a $20 statement credit if I use my Citi Premier Card when spending at least $50 with LugLess online before the end of the year.
Likewise, here are the dining and entertainment offers for my Citi Premier Card. Until recently, most dining offers were only valid at one specific location. Now, I see far fewer dining offers, but the offers on my account for major restaurant chains aren't limited to a specific location anymore.
My Citi Premier Card has a lot of shopping offers currently. Here are a few of the 175 shopping offers on my card now.
Finally, here are the health, wellness and other offers on my Citi Premier Card.
Related: Is the Citi Premier worth the annual fee?
What to know about Citi Merchant Offers
It's essential to read the offer details and terms of use for each offer and carefully consider your options before enrolling. In particular, here are some things to look out for when using Citi Merchant Offers.
You may not be able to stack promotions
My Citi Premier Card has an offer for Holiday Inn Express locations in the U.S. that allows me to earn $20 back on a purchase of $100 or more. However, the terms of use state, "Offers cannot be combined or stacked with other offers."
So, if I click through an online shopping portal or enroll the same card in a SimplyMiles offer for Holiday Inn Express, I may only get rewards from one program. Many consumers have found that enrolling in SimplyMiles and Citi Merchant Offers for the same merchant will cause one offer to be deactivated. So, if you plan to stack SimplyMiles and Citi Merchant Offers, double-check that both still show as enrolled after you log out and log back in to both accounts.
Some offers may only be for select users of a service
My Citi Premier Card has an offer for Rover, a service that connects pet sitters and dog walkers with pet owners.
However, the offer's terms of use note the offer is only for "Rover users in good standing who have not booked on Rover.com in the past 12 months using the enrolled Mastercard." So, if you've used your card in the last 12 months on Rover, you won't get the $10 statement credit.
You can redeem some offers multiple times
I have an offer for Circle K fuel on my Citi Premier Card for 10% back on an in-store fuel purchase of $35 or more (up to $5 back).
Interestingly, the terms of this offer state it "May be redeemed up to 2 times." So, I could get 10% back on two fill-ups of $35 or more (up to $5 back).
You can add the same offer to multiple cards
Citi has no restrictions about redeeming the same offer on multiple cards. For example, if you have three Citi cards showing an offer for Holiday Inn Express, you can add and redeem that offer on all three cards. Chase Offers also allows the same offer to be added to multiple cards. On the other hand, Amex Offers restricts its offers to one enrollment per card.
How to maximize Citi Merchant Offers
If you're going to use a Citi Merchant Offer, you may wonder how to maximize your purchase. First, it's best to use Citi Merchant Offers for purchases you'd make without the offer. But you can also maximize Citi Merchant Offers by:
- Enrolling and using your Citi card that offers the highest earning rate for the merchant's category
- Clicking through an online shopping portal before making a purchase online (unless the offer says you must use a specific link or that you can't stack promotions)
- Checking regularly for new offers on your eligible cards
- Enrolling in loyalty programs from restaurants, online travel agencies and hotels
Finally, it's important to remember that these offers may tempt you to make purchases you wouldn't otherwise make. For example, I've purchased wine and meal preparation kits that I wouldn't have otherwise ordered due to Amex Offers. I considered my out-of-pocket cost after the Amex Offers and decided these purchases were worthwhile. However, it's essential to consider the all-in cost of your purchases before buying.
Related: Everything you need to know about credit card merchant offers
Bottom line
Most Citi cards are eligible for Citi Merchant Offers, so it's worth checking your offers. But don't check just once. I recommend looking through your offers weekly to see whether any can save you money on purchases you already plan to make.