Just as an FYI - Citi just IMPROVED their redemption options for two types of "cash" back - Mortgage Rebates and Student Loan Rebates.

About a year (maybe two) ago, they used to be 1 point = 1 penny, making the cards about 1% back (plus, if you have a Premier card, 1 point for every mile of a ticket you buy), so you could get about 2% back. For example: 2,500 points = $25 rebate check.

Then they devalued the points and while it varied at the various redemption levels, it was about 3,300 points per $25.

I checked yesterday and noticed that the rates on the website were back to the old redemption values. First time I've heard of them improving redemption rates. Be careful though, when you call in. Their computers were not properly reconfigured, so they were still showing the higher amounts. If you give them the item # from the website and tell them what the website is advertising though, they can check another system and see the new redemption rate. They can then override the order to accept the lower number of points.