The Citi Travel Portal enables Citi cardholders to book a variety of trips, from flights and hotels to car rentals, and even travel and attractions tickets. This makes good use of thank you for the simplicity of your travel portal, rather than skipping the step of transferring points to your Citi transfer partner.
Bookings made through Citi Travel are also eligible for boost reward points with select Citi cards and are a reliable way to take advantage of offers such as statement credits and other benefits.
Let’s explore the Citi Travel Portal, how to use it and discuss any potential drawbacks. Additionally, I will look at how to book a trip and explain how cardholders can use their thank you reward points to pay.
What is the Citi Travel Portal?
The Citi Travel Portal offers four types of travel purchases:
- Attractions
- Car Rental
- flight
- hotel
Travel can be purchased on the portal, and can be done using Citi Thanks Points, Credit Cards, or a combination of both.
If you choose to redeem points for purchases made on Citi Travel, it may not maximize your hard-earned thank-you reward points, as the value of redemption is 1 cent per point.
With the latest changes in Citi’s credit card lineup and the introduction of new cards, including Citigroup Elite Card (See rates and fees), the Citi Travel Portal is within the scope of new and prospective cardholders.
The portal is profitable for Citi cardholders who want to buy it. For example, the following Citi cards earn more on Citi Travel Purchase:
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Information on Citi custom cash card has been collected independently by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Citi Thanks for Rewards
How to use the Citi Travel Portal
If you hold a qualified Citi Thank You Rewards Points Credit Card, you can visit Citi Travel. Click this link and log in to your Citi account.
If you have multiple Citi credit cards, you must select the card you want to use. Once you select a card, you can start booking a trip.
How to book a flight using Citi Travel
Booking flights through Citi Travel are similar to other issuer portals such as American Express Travel or ChaseTravel℠. Simply enter your source, destination, number of passengers, dates and service categories.
Currently, you can book both one-way and round trip tickets, but you cannot book multiple itineraries.
Here is an example of a flight search from Chicago to Los Angeles. If you want to search extensively for all airports of your origin and destination, you can enter the name of the city instead of the specific airport. This gives you the flexibility to view different options.
You can filter results by preferred airline, parking, flight time or price. You can also choose Mix and Match to pair it with different airlines to get you the best price.
Unfortunately, you can’t filter basic economic fares, and in order to choose another fare course, you have to choose your own flight and scroll down to see which fare types are available.
I rarely use the Citi Travel Portal to book flights. I have found from past experience that it is more challenging to deal with online travel agencies rather than directly dealing with airlines when dealing with flight changes, cancellations or interruptions.
Please consider transferring points to a transfer partner of Citigroup before paying for flights in full or paying for cash COPAY. The cost of transferring points may be lower than the point that uses points through the portal, and is a better way to get over 1% per point. For reference, based on TPG’s August 2025 valuation, the value of Citi Thanks Rewards Points is 1.9 cents.
Also, I highly recommend comparing prices before booking through the portal. According to data points obtained in August 2024, Citi Travel flights are 10% higher than if they were booked directly on airlines. Booking directly with the airline or other issuer’s travel portal may be cheaper, so be sure to do your research.
Related: The best way to redeem Citi Thanks Reward Points
How to book a hotel with Citi Travel
Booking a hotel through Citi Travel is no different from using other travel portals.
If you have the following Citi cards, you can get some benefits when booking a hotel through the portal:
- Citigroup Elite Card: A prepaid hotel stay (at least two nights) with an annual hotel credit of $300 per year
- Citi strata Prime Minister’s Card: $100 hotel credit per calendar year is $500 or more
- CitiPrestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants): Get the fourth night for free on hotel bookings, with maximum available per calendar year
Information on the Citi reputation card has been collected independently by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Citi Travel also offers two hotel plans that rival similar products: hotel collections and reserves. Reserves only apply Citigroup Elitethis Citigroup Prime Minister and Citi’s reputation.
The reserve of Citi Travel has five-star properties and a 4-star hotel in the hotel collection. Here is how programs compare with each other:
| benefit | Reserve | Hotel Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Daily breakfast | include | include |
| Free Wi-Fi | include | include |
| Early check-in/evening party checkout | Based on availability | Based on availability |
| Room upgrade | Based on availability | No provided |
| Business Credit | $100 Experience Credit (Reden varies by property) | Nothing |
If you are looking for stipends for elevated hotels, filter your performance by hotel collection or reserve property.
Here is an example of a hotel collection property that shows the benefits included:
When booking a hotel through the portal, you will forfeit any income and benefits of the elite status, as most loyalty programs require direct booking to confirm the elite status. Decide whether the benefits you give up are worth the extra thank you bonus points you receive when booking through the portal.
I have Marriott Platinum Elite status so 50% bonus points and enhanced room upgrades are not a fair trade-off, despite getting a bonus thank you for your bonus points as a fair trade-off. Prime Minister of the Stratigraphic cardholder.
How to book a car rental using Citi Travel
Searching for car rental feels simple and familiar with other online travel agencies.
After selecting a car, on the next page, you will see all the details of the lease, including the cancel policy.
When booking a car with Citi Travel, you will also lose the benefits you receive when you take advantage of any car rental company’s elite status and usually book directly.
Related: Roads on holidays? Everything you need to know about the status of the car rental elite
How to book attractions with Citi Travel
A great feature of the Citi Travel Portal is the ability to book attractions. That’s what makes Citi Travel Portal so useful: You can book everything from flights and hotels to a single transaction event.
When you search for a destination, you will see all the options available. For example, when searching in Los Angeles as a destination, you’ll see options like Hollywood Ghost Journey, private car transfers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and Los Angeles Food Tours.
When you see the event or ticket you want to purchase, click on the tiles. This will take you to a page with detailed information about this product and cancellation policy.
Bottom line
The Citi Travel Portal allows you to book travel for flights, hotels, cars, and even attractions. Two major benefits of booking through the portal are the ability to earn bonus points with qualified Citi cards and the ability to purchase with existing Citi Thank You points.
If you hold Citigroup Elitethis Citigroup Prime Minister Or Citi’s reputation, be sure to take advantage of your card trip travel, whether it’s travel credit or a free night that’s eligible to book. Don’t forget to weigh directly with the portal and booking booking trade-offs.
If your decisive factor is yours, this user-friendly portal offers many options when planning an upcoming holiday.
Related: Citigroup Elite Review: Unique Statement Credit and Admiral Club Visit
