Citi ThankYou Rewards makes it easy to earn points that can be transferred to various travel partners or redeemed for free flights, hotels, and other trip elements via the Citi Travel portal.
In addition to Citi’s 18 transfer partners, members can transfer points to Shop Your Way, a partner program that allows you to redeem them for gift cards at more than 100 retail shops. So, even if you’re not going to be traveling for a while, it’s still possible to save money on everyday purchases.
While the idea of transferring your hard-earned points to a partner program might sound overwhelming to anyone who is just starting out with points and miles, we’re here to walk you through it. Here’s our guide to Citi’s best transfer partners and everything you need to know to maximize your ThankYou points.
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The value of Citi points
As with other popular points programs, you’ll get the best value by transferring Citi ThankYou points directly to one of its travel partners. Many offer a transfer ratio of 1:1.
Citi’s website doesn’t release an exact valuation for its ThankYou points, stating it all depends on the credit card you have and how the points are redeemed. However, as a general guideline for determining redemption rates, One Mile at a Time values Citi ThankYou points at 1.7 cents per point.
For a value of about one cent per point, they can be redeemed for flights, hotels, and rental cars through the Citi Travel portal, for gift cards via the Shop Your Way program, statement credits, cash rewards in the form of a check in the mail or direct deposit, or when shopping with retailers such as Best Buy or Amazon.
Benefits of transferring Citi points
Flexibility is the name of the game, and with 14 airline and four hotel partners, you’ll have plenty of options to play with. Not only that, whenever you transfer Citi points to an airline partner, you also gain access to that carrier’s alliance partners, providing even more options for booking a reward flight.
You’ll likely find better redemption rates for Delta Air Lines flights by transferring Citi points to SkyTeam alliance members like Air France/KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. You can also get better rates for United Airlines flights by transferring ThankYou points to Star Alliance partners like Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles or Avianca LifeMiles.
Alternatively, Citi members can redeem ThankYou points for car rentals, hotels, flights, and select attractions through the Citi Travel portal, though for a lower redemption value of about one cent per point (versus 1.7 cents per point when you transfer to partners). The Citi Travel portal is powered by Booking.com, which may have a wider range of airline options than Citi’s transfer partners and their alliance members.
Citi transfer partners overview
With Citi ThankYou Rewards, you’ll have 14 airline partners, four hotel partners, and a shopping partner program to transfer points to directly.
Citi’s website states that while most point transfers happen within 24 hours, it can sometimes take up to five business days. There are two notable exceptions: transfers to Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus can take 7-14 days, while transfers to Shop Your Way take 3-5 days.
Unlike other popular travel rewards programs, not all transfer rates for Citi’s happen at a 1:1 ratio, and some partners will offer a better deal than others. The Citi credit card you have also determines the transfer ratio you’ll get.
Citi sometimes offers transfer bonuses. For instance, through Oct. 19, 2024, members receive a 25% bonus for transferring ThankYou points to Leaders Club (the loyalty program of The Leading Hotels of the World) or to Avianca LifeMiles.
Citi Airline transfer partners
- AeroMexico Rewards — 1:1 transfer ratio.
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Avianca LifeMiles — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Emirates Skywards — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Etihad Guest — 1:1 transfer ratio
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands — 1:1 transfer ratio
- JetBlue TrueBlue — 1:1 transfer ratio for Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier, and AT&T Access More cardholders; 1:0.8 for those with the Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Rewards+, Citi Double Cash, and others
- Qantas Frequent Flyer — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles — 1:1 transfer ratio
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club — 1:1 transfer ratio
Citi Hotel transfer partners
- Accor Live Limitless — 2:1 transfer ratio
- Choice Privileges — 1:2 transfer ratio for Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier, and AT&T Access More cardholders; 1:1.5 for those with the Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Rewards+, Citi Double Cash, and others.
- Leaders Club (The Leading Hotels of the World) — 5:1 transfer ratio normally, 4:1 during the 25 percent bonus promo mentioned above.
- Wyndham Rewards — 1:1 transfer ratio for Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier, and AT&T Access More cardholders; 5:4 for those with the Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Rewards+, Citi Double Cash, and others.
Citi Shopping transfer partner:
- Shop Your Way — 1:10 transfer ratio
The best Citi transfer partners
While the best Citi transfer partners will likely depend on several factors — your preferred airline or alliance, the hub you’re closest to, and the kind of redemption you’re making, whether in economy or business/first class — some are better than others.
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles or Avianca LifeMiles for Star Alliance flights
If you’re planning to fly on Star Alliance carriers like Lufthansa, United Airlines, or Egypt Air, it’s worth trying to redeem points for a flight with Citi partners like Avianca LifeMiles or Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles to get a better value for your points. Doing so also opens up further options through each airline’s alliance partners.
Keep in mind that your final redemption rate will likely be based on where in the U.S. you’re coming from — the West Coast or East Coast.
Make sure you confirm award availability on United.com for the Star Alliance partner you’re interested in flying before transferring points from Citi. The process cannot be reversed once completed.
A recent sample search on point.me for a one-way flight from Washington, D.C. to Dubai listed an EyptAir award booked with Lifemiles as the lowest redemption option. The 34,000-mile cost reflected Citi’s current 25% bonus on transfers to Avianca LifeMiles.
In this case, your best option involves transferring Citi ThankYou points to Avianca LifeMiles to book an award flight from NYC to Dubai via Cairo on EgyptAir. Note that you’ll be responsible for paying any additional taxes and fees. Here, it’s just $36.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for SkyTeam flights
Air France/KLM Flying Blue was the top-scoring loyalty program for U.S. flyers this year. It’s also a transfer partner of every major transferable rewards program and offers periodic Promo Rewards to make flights to Europe and Africa even cheaper. You’ll typically find (one-way) economy hops from the U.S. from 20,000 points, premium economy flights from 35,000 points, and business-class flights from 50,000 points.
A quick search on point.me for a one-way economy ticket from New York to Amsterdam in early April revealed a Flying Blue option for 20,000 points plus $98 in taxes. The search results also recommended a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award costing 22,000 points, plus $159 in taxes.
The other two options from Qantas Frequent Flyer and Etihad Guest — each Citi transfer partners — are a good deal if you’re racking up points from either program and don’t mind paying $269 or $107 in taxes, respectively. Still, Flying Blue and Flying Club are usually the most affordable options, even with taxes factored in.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Etihad Guest for Oneworld and non-alliance flights
Knowing which airlines are connected to certain alliances — and which ones are non-alliance partners — can also help you save money on an award redemption.
For example, you could transfer Citi points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club and use them to book flights with its Oneworld partners, including Aer Lingus, Iberia, and British Airways, among others. The same could be said for Qantas Frequent Flyer and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, which are both Citi ThankYou partners and Oneworld alliance members.
In a point.me sample search for a one-way trip between San Francisco and Tokyo, results included a flight on Japan Airlines, bookable via Oneworld alliance partners like Cathay Pacific and Qanta and non-alliance partner Air France.
In the example above, your choice will likely come down to which carrier you’ve been racking up points with and the price of taxes and fees, which vary greatly.
It’s also possible to transfer Citi points to JetBlue TrueBlue for flights with the carrier, or you could redeem them for flights aboard Qatar Airways, thanks to a separate partnership between the two airlines.
While Etihad Airways isn’t part of an airline alliance, you can still use its loyalty program to book reward flights with any of its own partners, such as Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Air France, and SAS.
A recent point.me search for a one-way economy flight from Washington, D.C. to Dubai showed an Etihad Airways bookable for 55,000 Etihad miles and $209 in taxes. The same flight booked through Etihad’s partner Flying Blue requires 44,000 points and $109 in taxes.
Other good Citi transfer partners
While they don’t necessarily offer the best value for your points, Citi has several other airline partners that allow you to transfer points at a 1:1 ratio.
Those include Thai Airways Royal Orchid Club and EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (both members of the Star Alliance), and Aeromexico Rewards (part of SkyTeam). So, if you’re accumulating miles with any of those programs or their alliance partners, transferring Citi ThankYou points could still be a lucrative redemption option.
Citi transfer partners to be cautious about
While you might be able to make Singapore Airlines flight redemptions work despite the excessive amount of points you’ll need to transfer (especially for bucket-list-worthy premium class flights where award availability is largely limited to its own KrisFlyer loyalty program), it’s not as good a value compared to the other partners listed above.
The same goes for Emirates, which typically charges 60,000 Skywards miles for round-trip economy Saver flights or 100,000 for Flex Plus award seats. That said, it is possible to “pool” your points with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer or Emirates Skywards if you have other transferable rewards credit cards that include them as transfer partners.
Citi has four hotel partners to choose from: Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, Leaders Club, and Wyndham Rewards. Based on the transfer ratios listed above, you’ll likely get the most value by sticking to Choice or Wyndham as your Citi transfer options.
Both programs offer a range of accommodations worldwide, from pricey luxury hotels to budget brands and upscale vacation rentals. Just remember that you’ll end up getting more bang for your buck by transferring Citi points to airline partners, not hotels.
It may not be the most lucrative points redemption, but if you’re not traveling for a while, you can treat yourself to some retail therapy by transferring ThankYou points for gift cards to more than 100 stores at a 1:10 ratio through the Shop Your Way program.
Tips for maximizing your Citi ThankYou points
When transferring Citi Thank You points, note that points must be transferred in 1,000-point increments and there’s a minimum of 1,000 points and a maximum of 500,000 for each transaction.
For Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Qantas Frequent Flyer, you’re only allowed to transfer Citi points once within 24 hours. Otherwise, there are no limits to how many times you can transfer points to partners.
Also keep in mind that transferring points from Citi to any of its partners cannot be reversed. So make sure you have a solid redemption plan in mind before you go for it.
Earning Citi ThankYou points
You can rack up Citi ThankYou points by using the following cards:
- Citi Prestige (no longer available to new applicants)
- Citi Strata Premier Card
- AT&T Access More
- Citi ThankYou Preferred Card
- Citi Rewards+
- Citi Double Cash Card (cashback is awarded in the form of ThankYou points).
- Citi Custom Cash Card (cashback is awarded in the form of ThankYou points).
Be aware that only cardholders of the Citi Prestige, Citi Strata Premier Card, or AT&T Access More credit cards will be able to earn ThankYou points and transfer them to every airline and hotel partner.
If you have the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card, Citi Rewards+, the Citi Double Cash Card, or the Citi Custom Cash Card, among others, you’ll only be able to transfer ThankYou points to JetBlue TrueBlue, Choice Privileges, or Wyndham Rewards.
That said, if you have one of these as well as the Citi Strata Premier Card or Citi Prestige, you can move all your points over to your Strata or Prestige account first to gain access to Citi’s full line of transfer partners.
Many Citi transfer partners also have partnerships with programs like Amex Membership Rewards and others. You can pool your Citi ThankYou points with rewards earned from the following cards and transfer them to many of the same airlines:
American Express Membership Rewards:
- The Platinum Card from American Express
- American Express Gold Card
- American Express Green Card
- Bilt Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X Rewards
- Capital One Venture Rewards
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
- Cards like Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Flex, Ink Business Unlimited, and Ink Business Cash, which require you to also have one of the first three cards to transfer points (cashback is awarded in the form of Ultimate Rewards points).
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