Citi ThankYou Preferred vs Simplicity?

Anonymous · ‎07-17-2014

Hi, everyone!

So I'm a 21 year old college student who will be studying abroad for the year in Germany starting in about a month. My main source of money will be wiring money from an account in the States to a German bank account, but as an emergency source of funds (just in case anything happens), I'm currently looking for a credit card to take with me.

The two cards I'm currently looking at are the Citi Simplicity card and the Citi ThankYou Preferred card. I like the fact that they both have an EMV chip (which is much more accessable in Germany vs a magnetic strip), and they both have their own individual perks. Simplicity's no late fee deal is nice, but I do like the ThankYou points. I had a Citi Forward card for a while ($4000 CL, insane 23.99% APR), and I did enjoy the ThankYou points from that card. I only had that card for about 2 years, but I intend to keep this next card for a very long time to build my credit history.

My mom will be obtaining the card for me and will be adding me as an authorized user since I have a relatively limited credit history. My question for everyone is which card do you think would be better? It's my understanding that Simplicity is better for balance transfers, and since I don't have a balance to transfer, it would be okay to take advantage of the perks of the ThankYou Preferred as long as I pay it off at the end of the month and don't make late payments. Like I said, this card will be for emergencies only for the most part. I'll be putting $100-$200 on the card every month just to keep it active (I can afford to pay this off at the end of the month myself), but other than that, it will only be used for emergencies. Any emergency charges that get put on the card my mom will help me pay, so I don't have to worry about that.

Thanks for the input!

destine2grow · ‎07-17-2014

I am currently looking at the Citi Thankyou Preferred only because I can use those points to obtain a check to go towards my student loans. I also like the 2 pts doe dining and entertainment purchases. My question to you would be is does it have to be a Citi cc? IMO there are better reward cards out there if you don't plan to use the thankyou points for student loan payments. Chase also offer cc with better rewards and the EMV chip.

Anonymous · ‎07-17-2014

Well I was going to go with Citi since I had an account with them previously (though I won't be the actual main cardholder on this account, I can link my authorized user status to my old account) and the rates Citi is offering my mom are good (13.99% on both cards after the 0% intro). Also, I generally had a good experience with them last time.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I'm seeing, the only cards Chase has with EMV chips are their more premium rewards cards and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, the interest rate wouldn't be as good I don't think. Though I'll keep doing some digging and look at some options with Chase.

Thanks!

destine2grow · ‎07-17-2014

OP I saw threads on here that the Chase Freedom Visa may be offered with an EMV chip.

Anonymous · ‎07-17-2014

Okay cool; I'll definitely check that out!

Anonymous · ‎07-18-2014

@destine2grow wrote:
I am currently looking at the Citi Thankyou Preferred only because I can use those points to obtain a check to go towards my student loans.

This is not an advantage of the TYP IMO. The reason I suggest student loan/mortgage loan is that this is the best redemption option for TYP (among a very weak set of choices!) Most of the time you are getting at most 1c per $ spent even with this best redemption, and usually there are better choices of card.

TrueGeminiNC · ‎07-18-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, everyone!

So I'm a 21 year old college student who will be studying abroad for the year in Germany starting in about a month. My main source of money will be wiring money from an account in the States to a German bank account, but as an emergency source of funds (just in case anything happens), I'm currently looking for a credit card to take with me.

The two cards I'm currently looking at are the Citi Simplicity card and the Citi ThankYou Preferred card. I like the fact that they both have an EMV chip (which is much more accessable in Germany vs a magnetic strip), and they both have their own individual perks. Simplicity's no late fee deal is nice, but I do like the ThankYou points. I had a Citi Forward card for a while ($4000 CL, insane 23.99% APR), and I did enjoy the ThankYou points from that card. I only had that card for about 2 years, but I intend to keep this next card for a very long time to build my credit history.

My mom will be obtaining the card for me and will be adding me as an authorized user since I have a relatively limited credit history. My question for everyone is which card do you think would be better? It's my understanding that Simplicity is better for balance transfers, and since I don't have a balance to transfer, it would be okay to take advantage of the perks of the ThankYou Preferred as long as I pay it off at the end of the month and don't make late payments. Like I said, this card will be for emergencies only for the most part. I'll be putting $100-$200 on the card every month just to keep it active (I can afford to pay this off at the end of the month myself), but other than that, it will only be used for emergencies. Any emergency charges that get put on the card my mom will help me pay, so I don't have to worry about that.

Thanks for the input!

If you are considering the Citi TY Preferred, it may be worth evaluating the Citi TY Premier card. Though the TY Premier card has an annual fee, you want pay foreign transaction fees.

Also, note that US issued EMV cards are Chip + SIgnature. The standard in many European countries is Chip + Pin.