Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
Extended warranty may be the most under-appreciated credit card benefit. A free credit card extended warranty can cover repair or replacement of expensive electronics or other things you buy on your card. And these benefits can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars if something you buy fails.
Citi’s offers extended warranty only on a limited number of cards. Currently only the Citi Rewards+® Card offers this benefit and is available to new cardmembers. But the Citi extended warranty benefit is one of the most generous credit card extended warranty benefits. It offers you an extra 24 months or extended warranty coverage on most things you buy with your card.
Here’s what you need to know about the Citi extended warranty benefit.
What is an extended warranty?
An extended warranty benefit increases the amount of time eligible items you buy with your card are covered by a warranty. Once your manufacturer’s warranty expires, a credit card extended warranty benefit takes over, possibly extending your warranty coverage for up to an additional two years.
Why extended warranty benefits matter
Extended warranty benefits are frequently under-appreciated and underused, but can save you a ton of money if an expensive item fails shortly after the original manufacturer’s warranty expires. An extended warranty benefit won’t cover a shattered phone screen or a dropped laptop, but it can provide for a repair or replacement of many items if they fail under normal usage.
If you’re purchasing an expensive electronic device like a laptop or cell phone, getting an extra year or two of warranty coverage can save you hundreds of dollars (or more) if you need to use it. For most people, it can make sense to forego some rewards in order to purchase items that have warranties with a credit card that offers an extended warranty benefit.
Citi extended warranty coverage at a glance
Here’s an overview of the terms offered by Citi extended warranty coverage.
| Additional coverage | Extra 24 months, after your manufacturer’s warranty or a purchased extended warranty ends. | |
| Maximum total coverage | Total warranty coverage no more than seven years from the purchase date. | |
| Purchase location | Inside or outside the U.S. | |
| Coverage limits | Per item: $10,000 |
Why Citi extended warranty coverage is the best
Citi’s extended warranty coverage provides the longest warranty protection of any credit card warranty. And it doesn’t shortchange you by “doubling” a shorter warranty. If an item you purchase is eligible, you always get and extra two years of protection.
2 years of warranty coverage, even on items with warranties shorter than a year. You get an extra two years of extended warranty coverage, as long as an eligible item you purchase has a warranty at all. If you purchase an electronic device with a 90 day warranty, you’ll get an extra two years of warranty coverage on top of that 90 days. Some other cards only give you an additional year. Most will only double the 90 day warranty.
Extends warranty coverage including purchased warranties. If you purchase an extended warranty plan, the extended warranty plan won’t reduce the coverage you get from Citi. Even if you purchase an extended warranty, your purchased item still gets 24 months of coverage from Citi’s extended warranty benefit.
Extra two years. Not one. Most other credit card warranty coverages offer an extra year of extended warranty protection. Citi offers two.
Items with a longer (3-5 year) warranty get coverage. If you buy something with a longer warranty, Citi has you covered. Chase will only extend manufacturer’s warranties up to an additional year if the original warranty is 3 years or less.
Coverage length
Citi’s extended warranty benefit offers the most generous coverage length of any credit card extended warranty benefit we know about. If you purchase an eligible item with a Citi credit card that offers an extended warranty, you get an extra 24 months of warranty protection, regardless of the length of the extended warranty.
This means that, if you purchase an item with a 90 day manufacturer’s warranty, you’ll get a total of almost 27 months of warranty protection. (90 days + 24 months.) The graphic on the right is from the benefits guide for the Citi Rewards+® Card, showing several warranty scenarios.
Citi limits the total warranty coverage to a maximum of 7 years from the purchase date.
What is covered?
Like most credit card extended warranty benefits, Citi’s warranty protection will cover the cost to repair or replace the item, up to the amount you charged to your Citi card. Specifically, the terms state that the benefit will pay the lesser of:
- The cost to repair or replace the item.
- The purchase price of the item
- The amount charged to your Citi card
- $10,000 per item
The benefits mention that Citi gets to decide whether to replace or repair your item, and that items provided as replacements will be of like kind and quality. So, they don’t guarantee that they’ll replace your item with the same color, size, or model.
What is excluded?
All extended warranty benefits exclude some items, and Citi’s benefit is no exception. Citi excludes motorized vehicles, items for resale, used items, and items that don’t come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Here are the specific exclusions mentioned:
- Boats, cars, aircraft or any other motorized land, air or water vehicles and their original equipment. Tires are not covered.
- Services (such as product installation, repairs, maintenance or diagnostics) unless covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
- Used, antique or pre-owned items.
- Items purchased for resale, professional or commercial use.
- Land or buildings; housing properties.
- Plants and live animals.
- Items that do not come with a manufacturer’s warranty
Other important terms
Citi may require you to return the items to them if the item you’re claiming a warranty benefit on is not repairable. If the return of an item is requested, that return is at your own expense.
Coverage is secondary to other insurance, meaning that you must make a claim under any other applicable insurance policy before the Citi extended warranty insurance will pay out. You might be required to submit a claim under your homeowner’s insurance or other insurance if it includes extended warranty protection.
How to file a claim
You can file a Citi extended warranty claim by phone or online.
By phone: Call 1-866-918-4670 Monday – Sunday, 8 a.m. – 12 a.m. eastern time
Online: Go to the Card Benefits Claim Center online and fill out the form.
The quickest way to get your claim started is to submit it online. Here’s what you’ll be asked to provide during the online submission process:
- Information about you and your card, including your name, Zip Code, last 4 digits of your card, phone number, and email address
- Preferred method of payment
- Preferred method and language of communication
- Information about the item, including date of purchase, date of failure, type of item, manufacturer, model number, and cost
- Information about the defect type, including a description of the item failure
Once you submit your claim, the benefits administration will likely contact your for additional information, which could include a copy of the receipt or pictures of the item. In some cases, you might be required to get a quote from an authorized repair center.
Which cards offer Citi extended warranty?
Several years ago, Citi eliminated many of the additional benefits from most of its cards. Consequently, most Citi cards do not offer an extended warranty. Here are the cards that we’ve found that do.
Citi Rewards+® Card
The Citi Rewards+® Card is a rewards card that earns bonus ThankYou® Points on a limited amount of spending at supermarkets and gas stations. The card carries no annual fee.
The card offers 2x ThankYou® Points on up to $6,000 of spending per year about of purchases at supermarkets and gas stations, then 1 ThankYou Point per dollar. Through June 30, 2024, you can get a total of 5 ThankYou Points on hotel car rentals and attractions when you book through Citi Travel.
The Rewards+ is most interesting for its 10% point rebate on your first 100,000 ThankYou Points that you redeem each year. If you hold the Citi Rewards+® Card, you’ll receive this point rebate when you redeem point from any of your cards that offer ThankYou points. This feature makes is an excellent companion to other cards that earn ThankYou points.
Citi Rewards+® Card welcome bonus:
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All information about the Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Last year, Citi offered a slightly higher bonus on this card, but that doesn’t happen often. It’s probably not worth waiting for a larger bonus that is likely to amount to just 5,000 additional points.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
Citi Rewards+® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5x on hotels and car rentals booked through Citi Travel through June 30, 2024. 2x at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year, then 1x. 1x on other purchases.
See our coverage of the Citi Rewards+® Card for additional information on this card’s rewards and additional benefits.
Citi Prestige Card
The Citi Prestige Card offers Citi’s extended warranty benefits, but is not available to new cardmembers.
Frequently asked questions
Citi has removed many of the benefits from most of its cards, including extended warranty protection. The Citi Rewards+® Card is the only Citi card you can apply for today that still offers extended warranty.
In early 2023, Citi discontinued extended warranty benefits on its Costco cobranded credit cards. Costco offers a second year of extended warranty on many items through Costco Concierge Services. You can also purchase an extended warranty through Costco’s partner, Allstate.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.