October 20, 2022
Eligible Citi Mastercard cardmembers can now use Citi ThankYou® Points on video games and in-game digital goods. Studios already using Xsolla Payments can offer points as a payment option without building or maintaining a separate loyalty integration.
The launch expands Citi’s Shop with Points for video games through Xsolla’s checkout experience, powered by Mastercard’s digital redemption technology. In the first 10 days, cardmembers redeemed more than 1.2 million ThankYou Points through Xsolla Checkout, and 62% of those orders were paid entirely with points.
What it means for studios
This redemption capability runs through the existing Xsolla Payments integration and is powered by Mastercard’s digital redemption technology. Studios already using Xsolla Payments can offer points as a payment option without building or maintaining a separate loyalty integration.
Our job is to widen the path between players and the games they love, and bringing loyalty currencies into checkout is a direct way to do that for developers. Citi Mastercard cardmembers can now redeem their ThankYou Points on in-game purchases, and studios get that option inside their existing Xsolla Payments integration, with no additional engineering.
How it works for players
Rewarding players at checkout
Studios and developers are looking for more ways to engage and have a relationship with their players. We have been working with Mastercard to create a seamless way to reward players, create long-term loyalty, and reduce friction at checkout. Using points from daily purchases to pay for games delivers on this mission by creating real value for both the game and player.
Redeeming points should feel as rewarding as earning them. We’re proud to build on our partnerships with Citi and Xsolla to give cardmembers new ways to use their rewards.
More possibilities for Citi ThankYou® Points
The Xsolla checkout option gives eligible cardmembers more ways to use their Citi ThankYou Points. This builds on Citi’s Shop with Points offering and its broader strategy to expand redemption choice across the interests and experiences that matter to cardmembers.
Giving cardmembers greater choice and flexibility in how they use their rewards is central to our strategy. Head of Citi ThankYou Rewards. By expanding redemption opportunities with Xsolla, we’re giving eligible cardmembers more ways to put the points they earn to use across the interests that are part of their everyday lives.
For more information, visit Xsolla at x.la/citi
Learn how Xsolla’s video game monetization experts can help accelerate your business. Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a robust set of tools and services designed specifically for the game industry
By submitting this form, you consent to receive the digital guide.You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.
Related articles
Eligible Citi Mastercard cardmembers can now use Citi ThankYou® Points on video games and in-game digital goods. Studios already using Xsolla Payments can offer points as a payment option without building or maintaining a separate loyalty integration.
Shawn Layden is building a financing vehicle for stranded AA games. The teams keep their IP. The hard part is that nobody knows how to underwrite a video game.
-1920x1080.webp)
The calm game launch is never luck; it's the result of work you do long before release day.
-1920x1080.webp)
Adikteev's Emilien Eychenne knows that your biggest game growth lever isn't new installs; it's learning to spot churn early and win mobile players back for good.
-1920x1080.webp)
Xsolla research across Asia reveals a consistent pattern: players do not abandon carts because of price; they leave because the checkout feels foreign. Here is what it takes to earn trust at the moment of purchase.
-1920x1072.webp)
This is where you'll find deep-dive resources and interviews for everything you need to know about the parts of the industry nobody teaches.
Distribution got democratized. Discoverability got concentrated. GAM3S.GG Head of Operations Eliza Crichton-Stuart speaks out on what that gap means for players and developers, and how to close it.
MUD1 co-creator Richard Bartle reflects on the origins of virtual worlds, the player-developer contract, free-to-play, pay-to-win, Web3, and why lasting MMOs need purpose before monetization.
After 15 years and 170M downloads of Magic Jigsaw Puzzles, ZiMAD's Chief BD Officer shares how to protect player trust and lead through fast change.
GDAI's Program Director, Machaiah Kalengada, dives into the unique combination of India's 550 million young gamers and an industry ready to build its own IP. He reveals what's really happening in India's booming game development scene.
Gaggle Studios reveals how they built a party gaming hit and what the game industry can learn from Goose Goose Duck's trajectory.
Andrew Naicker of Skystone Games has spent 14 years watching the "ship faster, market louder" playbook fail. Here's what he actually builds and what it takes to launch in 2026.
Entertainment licensing isn't a AAA-only game anymore. Xsolla Agency global IP licensing advisor Mark Caplan discusses how mobile studios are sitting on one of the best growth levers in the industry and most aren't using it. Here's what developers get wrong and how the right partner changes everything.
Players have more to watch, play, and scroll through than ever. They have less time to give any of it. Lexi Sydow, founder of The ATTN Economy, explains why that gap is the real battleground for every game in 2026.
Sega's head of development studios on LiveOps, global growth, and going direct to players.
Are you a game industry expert with insights that inform? Help us grow Game Business Institute and earn revenue for contributions that have direct impact.
Game Biz Institute
The game industry's most extensive library of business insights.
© 2006 — 2026 Xsolla (USA), Inc.
-1-400x400-400x400.webp)
-808x789.webp)
-501x501.webp)
-500x500.webp)
-800x800.webp)
-2-1920x1920.webp)
