Guide to Citi ThankYou transfer partners
Published 12:12 p.m. UTC July 11, 2024
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Citi ThankYou® Points are a flexible rewards currency that offers numerous redemption options for cardholders. One of the best ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Points is by transferring them to its nearly two dozen hotel, airline and retail partners. However, not all of the Citi ThankYou transfer partners offer exceptional value, so it pays to focus on those that provide the biggest bang for your buck.
Our favorite Citi ThankYou transfer partners
It might be difficult for cardholders to determine which transfer partners provide the most value. Every loyalty program values its points differently, and redemption choices vary greatly.
These are some of our favorite Citi ThankYou transfer partners, along with some examples of redemptions that offer great value.
Citi ThankYou points transfer to all its airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. It’s important to note that transfer ratios can vary based on the cards you have. In order to transfer Citi ThankYou points to the partners mentioned in this guide, it is necessary to have a premium Citi ThankYou card like the Citi Prestige® Card (which is no longer available for new applications) or the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card * The information for the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. .
With other cards like the Citi Rewards+® Card * The information for the Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , Citi Double Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Double Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. or the Citi Custom Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , your options for transfer partners may be limited or the transfer ratios may not be as favorable.
Avianca LifeMiles
When you transfer points to Avianca, there are plenty of excellent redemption options to choose from. One of our favorites is booking business class flights without fuel surcharges. You can fly to Europe from the U.S. in Business Class for 87,000 LifeMiles plus taxes and fees each way.
Cathay Pacific
Have you ever wanted to fly first class to Asia, but didn’t have thousands of dollars to spend on the flight? With Cathay Pacific, you can book a first class flight from the U.S. to Asia for just 125,000 miles each way. To qualify, the distance between your origin and destination must be within 5,000 to 7,500 miles. Eligible routes include Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver to Hong Kong.
Choice Privileges
While many travelers know Choice Privileges for its budget-friendly hotels, the brand recently acquired Radisson Americas and has been investing heavily in its luxury resorts. For even more value from your points, consider booking an all-inclusive resort. As of this writing, The Emotions All Inclusive Juan Dolio, Ascend Hotel Collection in Dominican Republic is available for just 30,000 points per night for a family of four in an oceanfront room.
Emirates Skywards
Emirates is renowned for its exceptional service in first class, which provides an indulgent experience for fortunate travelers who are able to secure a ticket.
Starting at 102,000 miles, you can fly in an opulent first class cabin from New York’s JFK Airport to Milan, Italy. Booking this flight with miles offers incredible value since the cash cost is well over $11,000 one-way.
Etihad Guest
Etihad has a zone-based award chart, meaning it displays how many miles you’ll need to book flights based on the distance traveled, zones you’re flying to and from, and which class of ticket you want. The airline also has a miles calculator, so you’ll know how many miles you’ll need to book a ticket. Etihad’s first class cabin on its Airbus A380 aircraft, known as the “Apartment” due to its spaciousness, is a luxurious experience that can be enjoyed for 160,000 miles each way on flights between New York’s JFK Airport and Abu Dhabi.
Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the airline loyalty program of Air France and KLM. This program offers Promo Rewards, a monthly promotion in which select flights to various destinations are discounted each month. You can save up to 25% off economy and business class flights on destinations featured in the monthly Promo Rewards offer. . For example, you can fly from Los Angeles or Minneapolis to Europe for as low as 15,000 miles in Economy.
Singapore Airlines
The Singapore KrisFlyer loyalty program is an excellent option for travelers visiting Asia. Booking Singapore Suites Class is available for just 45,000 miles one-way om a first-class sver award between Singapore and Hong Kong. While this is a short four-hour flight, the experience is truly worthwhile and a special treat for a reasonable number of miles.
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
For travelers flying within the U.S., the Turkish Miles & Smiles program can save you a ton of miles over booking with domestic airlines. You can book transcontinental flights between Los Angeles and Newark for as little as 10,000 miles in economy and 25,000 miles in first class. Redemption options also include United’s revered Polaris business class for just 15,000 miles each way.
Other Citi ThankYou transfer partners
Citi ThankYou points also transfer to these other airline, hotel and retail partners:
- AeroMexico Rewards (1,000:1,000). An airline based in Mexico that flies within Latin America.
- Accor Live Limitless (1,000:500). A hotel loyalty program with more than 40 brands, including Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel and Novotel.
- Eva Air (1,000:1,000). An airline that flies to more than 60 cities across Asia, Europe and North America.
- JetBlue TrueBlue (1,000:1,000 for Prestige, Premier and AT&T Access More cardholders; 1,000:800 for all others). A U.S. based airline that serves more than 100 destinations across the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.
- Leaders Club (1,000:200). The hotel loyalty program for The Leading Hotels of the World with more than 400 independent hotels.
- Qantas Frequent Flyer (1,000:1,000). The national airline of Australia that flies to more than 1,200 destinations worldwide.
- Qatar Privilege Club (1,000:1,000). Qatar Airways is headquartered in Doha and flies to more than 170 international destinations.
- Shop Your Way (1:10). The retail loyalty program for Sears.
- Thai Royal Orchid Plus (1,000:1,000). The national airline of Thailand offers domestic, regional and intercontinental flights.
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1,000:1,000). A U.K.-based airline founded by Richard Branson.
- Wyndham Rewards (1,000:1,000 for Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier and AT&T Access More cardholders; 1,000:800 for all others). A hotel loyalty program for budget-friendly brands like La Quinta, Super 8 and Days Inn.
How to earn ThankYou points to use with Citi transfer partners
There are many ways to earn Citi ThankYou points, with the main one being to have an eligible Citi credit card. Currently, Citi offers a selection of five credit cards that allow you to earn ThankYou points.
- Citi Strata Premier℠ Card * The information for the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . A travel rewards credit card that earns 10 ThankYou® points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com, 3 points per $1 on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and EV charging stations and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. It also features an annual $100 hotel benefit when booking through Citi Travel.
- Citi Rewards+® Card * The information for the Citi Rewards+® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . A card that includes a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from the first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 18.74% to 28.74%. An intro balance transfer fee of either 3% of each transfer or $5 in the first four months of account opening applies. After that, the fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). In addition, it earns 2 ThankYou points per $1 at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 spent per year and 1 ThankYou point per $1 on all other purchases, plus earn a total of 5 ThankYou points per $1 on hotel, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025 and rounds up those points to the nearest dollar on each purchase.
- Citi Double Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Double Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . Earns 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off, plus, for a limited time, 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. The card also includes a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the standard variable APR will be 19.24% to 29.24%. An intro balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3%, whichever is greater, applies to transfers completed in the first four months. After that, the fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Citi Custom Cash® Card * The information for the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . Get 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent each month and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Plus, an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/25. This bonus applies automatically, and you don’t have to select a bonus category ahead of time.
- AT&T Points Plus® Card from Citi * The information for the AT&T Points Plus® Card from Citi has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . Earn up to 3 ThankYou Points for every $1 spent at gas stations, 2 ThankYou Points for every $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services and 1 ThankYou Point for every $1 spent on all other purchases including AT&T products and services plus receive up to $240 per year towards qualifying AT&T wireless bills after qualifying activities.
Welcome bonus
When you are approved for a new Citi credit card, you have the opportunity to earn a welcome bonus. The bonuses vary depending on which card you open, but you typically must meet a certain minimum spending requirement before the deadline, in order to receive the welcome bonus.
For example, currently, the Citi Strata Premier Card offers a welcome bonus of 75,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Everyday spending and category bonuses
You can use your Citi ThankYou credit card to earn points on everyday purchases. In addition, you have the opportunity to earn additional points when you make purchases within the bonus categories of your card.
Booking travel through Citi Travel
Eligible Citi cardholders can earn up to 10 points per $1 on hotels, rental cars and activities when booking reservations through Citi Travel℠ up until December 31, 2025.
Comparing the best transfer partner offers
The value of points and miles varies among airline, hotel and other loyalty programs. Before transferring Citi ThankYou points to one of these partners, you should calculate the value you may receive.
To calculate the value of a redemption, divide the cash price of the reservation by the total number of points required. For example, if a Choice hotel reservation is $500 or 60,000 points, that would be a value of 0.83 cents per point. This is higher than the average value of 0.5 cents for the Choice Rewards hotel loyalty program.
This redemption provides even greater value when you consider that you’ll receive 2 Choice Privileges Rewards points for every 1 Citi ThankYou point you transfer. To get 60,000 Choice points, you’ll transfer 30,000 Citi points from the Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier or AT&T cards to Choice Privileges Rewards. By doing so, you’ll be getting a 1.67 cents per point redemption,, which is higher than our average of 0.5 to 1 cent per Citi ThankYou point redemption value, depending on the card you have.
Other ways to use your Citi ThankYou Points
Cardholders have several other ways to redeem Citi ThankYou points. With these flexible points, you can select the option that aligns with your current needs. However, you will typically receive greater value from your points when you transfer them to one of Citi’s 19 airline, hotel, and retail partners.
- Book trips with Citi Travel. Use your points to book hotels, flights and rental cars or purchase attraction tickets. Points are generally worth 1 cent each toward travel. Reservations can be made with a combination of cash and points, allowing for travel redemption even if you don’t have enough points.
- Buy gift cards. Redeem points to purchase gift cards for dining, shopping and entertainment for yourself or to use as gifts for family and friends.
- Shop with points. During checkout, eligible cardholders can redeem points instead of paying with cash at participating online retailers. These retailers include Amazon, Best Buy, CVS, PayPal and more.
- Get cash back. Turn your points into cash as a statement credit, direct deposit to your bank account or a check in the mail.
- Pay with points. Cover recent purchases with your points to reduce the amount owed on your credit card.
- Share points with other ThankYou members. Transfer your points to another eligible Citi cardholder. You can transfer up to 100,000 points and receive up to 100,000 points each year. Transferred points expire within 90 days after they are received, so it helps to have a redemption in mind before transferring.
- Charitable donations. Donate your points to help someone in need by giving them to a worthy cause. Points can be donated to eight charities, including the American Red Cross, No Kid Hungry and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
*The information for the AT&T Points Plus® Card from Citi, Citi Custom Cash® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card, Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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