In addition to the 50,000 bonus ThankYou point promo Citi is offering on its Premier Card, Citi has temporarily sweetened its deal on the ThankYou Preferred Card. Until June 30, 2011, you’ll earn 26,000 bonus ThankYou points, redeemable for $250 in gift cards when you open a new Citi ThankYou Preferred Card and spend at least $1,000 within 3 months.
(Update 5/15/12: Currently, you’ll earn 25,000 points redeemable for $250 in gift cards once you spend at least $2,000 within 4 months of opening a Citi ThankYou Preferred Card account.)

One important reason that you may want to consider this card rather than the Premier, despite offering a less lucrative bonus, is that it does not carry an annual fee.

However, the Preferred card is bare bones in features compared to the Premier card. The Premier card offers the following benefits that the Preferred does not:

• 1.2 points per dollar at supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations
• 1 Flight point per mile flown that must be matched by spending
• No foreign transaction fees

The Premier card, of course, is also currently offering twice as large a signup bonus. Whether these perks are worth $125/year is up to you. To apply for either, see the links below:

• Citi ThankYou Preferred Card: $250 in gift cards, no annual fee
• Citi ThankYou Premier Card: $665 in airfare, $125 annual fee