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Big news for anyone holding a Citi Shop Your Way Mastercard! Citi is swapping out your existing card for a new, plain-old Citi Mastercard by the end of 2025. The good news? You don't have to do anything. Your card number, interest rates (APRs), and account history will all stay the same. You can still manage your account as usual, and Citi says you'll continue to be considered for exclusive cardmember offers.
The key change is the rewards program. Starting November 3, 2025, you'll no longer earn Shop Your Way points through the "Additional Category Earn Program." This means you'll stop earning extra points in specific categories. Any Shop Your Way points you've already earned are safe and will still be valid for about 15 months after you earned them. What the new rewards program will look like is unclear, but hopefully it will offer similar value.
Ultimately, this is happening because the Citi Sears card will be converted and the SYWR card will too. The big question for award travelers is whether the new card will continue to offer those juicy, targeted spending bonuses that some cardholders have enjoyed. Citi's wording is vague ("considered for exclusive offers"), so we'll have to wait and see if those lucrative deals stick around. Keep an eye on your mail for that new card!
Why This Matters for Your Strategy
News in the points-and-miles world moves fast, and promotional changes often have a short window. If this announcement affects a card or program you hold, log into your awardtrail dashboard to check your current benefit usage, bonus progress, and whether a transfer or redemption makes sense right now — before terms change.
As a general rule: transfer points only when you have a specific redemption in mind — transfers are almost always one-way and non-reversible. If you're unsure of the value, check our redemption guides before acting.
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October 8, 2026, 9:16 PM
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