Since at least September 28, you’ve been able to self refer via Rakuten for the Citi Strata Premier credit card with $150 back. Sounds good, right? You’d think so based on a plethora of (late) coverage yesterday, but the answer is no. The current sign-up bonus with your self referral is:
- 60,000 ThankYou points after $4,000 spend in 90 days
- $150 (or 15,000 points) via Rakuten
This card often has a 80,000 point bonus which is *checks notes* 20,000 points more than currently. That bonus especially likes to appear in Q4 too. Even if you only value Citi ThankYou points at their straight-to-cash value of one cent each, waiting for the increased sign-up bonus would give $200 in additional ThankYou Points. Last I checked $200 > $150. Of course Rakuten will still probably offer its regular, non-increased rate of $50 back when the bonus jumps to 80,000. Also, last I checked $200+$50 > $150.
tl;dr: Having an increased bonus on a portal doesn’t mean you’re getting a good deal. (Thanks to reader Harisch for letting me know about the increased offer in September)
Happy Wednesday!
On the other hand, there’s always alternative math.