I Opened the Citi Premier Just for Its Incredible Gas Station Bonus Category – And I Earned ~$130 per Year!

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I opened the Citi Premier℠ Card back when my job required a LOT of driving.  And I earned ~$130 annually in travel from 1 simple perk.

The Citi Premier is one of the best (if not THE best) credit card to use for gasoline.  That’s because you’ll earn 3 Citi ThankYou points per $1 at gas stations.  And because Citi ThankYou points are worth at least 1.25 cents toward travel, you’ll get a return of 3.75 cents at the pump.

So this card is exceptional for road warriors!

Using the Citi Premier, I Earned Nearly Enough Points With Gasoline Expenses Alone for a Free Flight to Maui

Citi Premier:   Your Go-To Card for Gas Stations

Before working at Million Mile Secrets, I worked construction that put ~180 miles per day on my car.  That’s 46,000+ miles per year, just for work!

So one of the big draws of the Citi Premier for me was that it earned 3 points per $1 at gas stations.  Not to mention its sign-up bonus and tons of other crazy good benefits.  I had to apply.

Side Note:   I was NOT immediately approved for the card online, so I called the reconsideration line.  The representative had NO additional questions for me.  She just approved me immediately!

Because I was spending ~$3,500 per year on gas, I earned ~10,500 ThankYou points each year.  That’s a hefty return for purchases I had to make anyway.

For example, you can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii with as little as 12,000 Citi ThankYou points when you transfer them to Singapore Airlines.  Or, because ThankYou points are worth 1.25 cents each through the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal, I could book flights, hotels, rental cars, etc., and receive ~$130 off (10,500 points X 1.25 cents each)!

$130 back each year is pretty great.  It more than makes up for the card’s $95 annual fee (which is waived the first 12 months, by the way), so I can use the rest of the card’s benefits guilt-free.  Check out those benefits here.

The Citi Premier currently comes with a sign-up bonus much better than when I applied.  You’ll earn 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.  That’s $750 in guaranteed free travel!

Be sure to read our full review of the Citi Premier here.

Joseph Hostetler is a full-time writer for Million Mile Secrets, covering miles and points tips and tricks, as well as helpful travel-related news and deals. He has also authored and edited for The Points Guy.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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