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Citi has two hotel programs for those with ThankYou points-earning credit cards: the Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection.
These programs launched in 2023 with limited footprints — just the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean for now. Citi is adding additional hotels on a rolling basis.
Citi’s Hotel Collection is the lower tier collection, in the same realm as Capital One’s Lifestyle Collection and Amex’s The Hotel Collection. The Citi Luxury Collection, meanwhile, is more exclusive and competitive with Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts, Capital One’s Premier Collection and The Edit by Chase Travel.
Since these are new programs, you may wonder what they are and how they work. Should you book your next stay with one of these programs instead of directly with the hotel? And can you pay with your Citi ThankYou points?
Here’s a detailed look at Citi’s Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection — and whether you should use them.
What is the Citi Hotel Collection?
Citi’s Hotel Collection is a curated list of hotels and resorts available in Citi Travel with Booking.com, Citi’s travel portal. These are all four- and five-star properties.
Anyone with a credit card earning Citi ThankYou points can access this portal and Citi’s Hotel Collection. This includes not just the popular Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees) but also no-annual-fee options like the Citi Rewards+® Card (see rates and fees) and Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees).
Hotel Collection reservations include additional benefits over other hotel bookings in Citi’s travel portal.
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What is the Citi Luxury Collection?
As the name implies, the Luxury Collection is Citi’s premium accommodation offering. Booking these four- and five-star properties comes with top-tier benefits.
In exchange for providing additional benefits over those in Citi’s Hotel Collection, only those with the Citi Premier Card and Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants) can access these bookings. For additional details on these cards, read our full review of the Citi Premier and our full review of the Citi Prestige.
The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Main perks and benefits
Both Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection reservations offer the following guaranteed benefits:
- Daily breakfast for two people
- Complimentary Wi-Fi for the length of your stay
- No minimum stay requirements
You also may receive early check-in or late checkout privileges — based on availability.
Luxury Collection bookings include the following additional perks:
- $100 on-property credit; uses vary by property and cover eligible expenses charged to your room
- Room upgrades at check-in when available
There are some caveats to understand with these benefits. First, certain benefits are based on availability and aren’t guaranteed. The only guaranteed benefits are complimentary Wi-Fi, free breakfast and the $100 on-property credit (on Luxury Collection bookings only).
Second, you cannot receive duplicate $100 credits by making separate back-to-back reservations. Citi’s terms say that multiple reservations at the same hotel on continuous dates count as one stay, even if you check out and check in again. You’ll also need to contact the property directly to know what the on-property credit covers, as this information is not listed in Citi’s portal.
Lastly, Citi’s terms allow hotels to provide the $100 on-property credit and/or breakfast as a gift card or a credit on your final bill. Ensure you clearly understand your benefits before arriving at the hotel for check-in.
You can read the terms of these benefits by clicking on “See offers” next to any Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection labeling in Citi’s portal.
This is visible in the list of hotels in your search results (above) and when viewing details of a particular property (below).
How to book Citi Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection stays
To book a hotel in the Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection, start your search on Citi Travel with Booking.com by providing your destination, dates and the number of guests.
In the results, you’ll notice hotels with a Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection tag if available.
Interestingly, you’ll notice that some results are tagged as both Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection. If they’re tagged as both, ensure you’re getting the Luxury Collection benefits on the payment page.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to filter for just Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection properties. In contrast, The Edit by Chase Travel and Capital One’s Premier Collection both provide a unique page showing only hotels in those programs. Similarly, Amex Travel allows you to filter for only Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties. These approaches are much simpler than scrolling and looking for the labels in Citi’s portal.
Additionally, not all room rates at your chosen property are available for Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection extra benefits. Ensure you choose an eligible room rate — which could cost significantly more. You can see in the example below that a Hotel Collection-eligible room costs more than a base room.
Related: A comparison of luxury hotel programs from credit card issuers: Amex, Capital One, Chase and Citi
Which Citi card to book with?
You are eligible for Citi’s Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection if you’re a cardholder of any Citi card that earns ThankYou points. If you hold several ThankYou points-earning Citi cards, it may with worth looking into which card will get you the most return on your chases.
The Citi Premier currently earns 10 points per dollar on hotels when booked through the Citi ThankYou portal through June 30. After the promotional earning bonus, all hotel purchases will earn 3 points per dollar. Similarly, Citi Rewards+ currently earns 5 points per dollar on hotel purchases booked through CitiTravel.com until Dec. 31, 2025. Hotel purchases will earn 1 point per dollar after this promotional period.
Citi’s cash back cards also earn ThankYou points. The Citi Double Cash earns up to 5% cash back on select hotels booked on CitiTravel.com through Dec. 31, 2024. After this promotional period, you’ll earn 2% cash back for making a purchase and paying it off. Meanwhile, the Citi Custom Cash® (see rates and fees) provides 5% cash back on your top eligible spend category (up to $500 spent) each billing cycle and 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases.
Will I earn elite status or loyalty benefits at hotels?
If you have (or are working toward) elite status in a hotel program, here’s how that interacts with Citi’s Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection.
First, you cannot provide your loyalty number during the booking process. The option doesn’t exist on Citi’s travel portal.
You could contact the hotel directly or try adding the reservation to your loyalty account with Marriott or Hilton, for example. However, it’s unlikely that your status will be recognized during the stay or that you’ll get credit for this stay in your desired rewards program.
That’s because hotel rewards programs usually require booking directly with them to receive elite status benefits. While we have seen mixed results with American Express stays (through Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection), we are less optimistic with Citi. That’s due to discussions with Citi and the inability to add your rewards number when making a reservation.
If your elite status is important to you, consider that before making a reservation through this channel.
Related: 9 things to consider when choosing to book via a portal vs. booking directly
Can I use Citi points to book?
You can use your Citi ThankYou points to pay for anything you book in Citi’s portal — including stays at Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection properties.
You can redeem points at a value of 1 cent apiece. You can use as little as 1 point or as much as all of your points to offset the cost of your booking.
The convenience of paying for bookings with points at checkout is a highlight. However, it’s worth noting that this may not be the best value for your points. TPG values ThankYou points at 1.8 cents apiece, so redeeming them for 1 cent apiece isn’t ideal.
Using the Citi Premier $100 hotel credit
Citi Premier cardholders can get $100 back on a hotel booking of $500 or more in Citi’s travel portal once per calendar year. You can use this benefit annually, and it can be stacked with Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection bookings.
Thus, you could combine benefits like free breakfast, $100 on-property credits or room upgrades with a $100 savings on your bookings — thanks to benefits provided by these hotel programs and your credit card.
When beginning your hotel search, you’ll see these benefits highlighted if your Premier card is the active card.
Using the Citi Prestige 4th-night-free benefit
Similarly, Citi Prestige cardholders can stack their cardholder benefits with Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection benefits. Twice per year, Prestige cardholders can get a fourth night free on bookings of four nights or more. You must book through Citi’s portal to use this perk.
This is a valuable benefit in its own right. Stacking a free fourth night with other benefits from Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection stays multiplies the value.
On the payment page, a check box allows you to choose whether you’ll use the complimentary fourth night.
Are these programs worth it?
When you hear that you’ll get additional benefits when you book through Citi’s Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection, it might sound like an obvious win. However, it isn’t necessarily worth taking advantage of.
It’s worth using these programs if the price is similar to booking elsewhere or if the additional benefits overcome a higher price advertised in Citi’s portal. Compare the money you’ll save with free breakfast added to your booking against any higher upfront price when making the reservation. Which booking method saves you money in the long run?
However, you may not save money by booking through one of these collections. Since not all room rates are eligible for Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection benefits, you’ll pay more to get these perks.
Plus, multiple all-inclusive resorts are included in Citi’s Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection. These properties already include all meals with your room rate and provide Wi-Fi to all guests. Citi’s terms say you won’t receive substitute benefits and can’t cash out unused perks.
If the math of booking through one of Citi’s collections doesn’t work out in your favor, book directly with the hotel instead. The same applies to those who want elite status benefits.
It’s also not worth booking here if you can use fewer points to achieve the same result. Depending on the property, you might be able to leverage Citi’s transfer partners to book an award stay using fewer points. If you have elite status with that hotel, you might receive some of these same perks.
When to use the Citi Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection
Conversely, there are times when you should use Citi’s portal and make a Hotel Collection or Luxury Collection booking.
Use these benefits at boutique hotels where the question of elite status is irrelevant. Moreover, if the price is the same as booking another way (but without the added benefits), using these programs makes sense.
It also makes sense if you can use your Citi Premier or Citi Prestige cardholder benefits to defray the cost of your stay and make the math work in your favor. If booking with Citi is now cheaper, thanks to your credit card benefits, it’s a win.
Additionally, it makes sense if you want to use points and one of two situations applies. Book this way if you’ll use fewer points here than through a transfer partner or if this is your only way to pay with points. If you’re booking a boutique hotel property — so a transfer partner option doesn’t exist — this may be your only option for paying with points. Check your options to ensure you’re paying the lesser amount.
Bottom line
Citi has two hotel programs: the Hotel Collection and the Luxury Collection. The latter offers additional benefits, but it’s also more exclusive. Both programs offer benefits and the option to pay for your hotel stay with points. However, be sure this is the right way to book your next hotel stay by checking costs and what benefits you might sacrifice — or what benefits you might pay for without receiving.
Related: A comparison of luxury hotel programs from credit card issuers: Amex, Capital One, Chase and Citi
