Citi ThankYou Points, like any currency, can vary significantly in value depending on how you use them. On average, they are worth 1 to 5 cents per point, with redemptions through the Citi Travel portal providing a baseline of 1 cent per point. Transferring points to select travel partners can offer much higher value. In this guide, we’ll explore how to get the most out of your Citi ThankYou Points, covering different redemption methods and strategies to ensure you’re maximizing their potential.
Whether you’re booking flights, hotels, or other awards, understanding these ranges will help you unlock the best value for your points.
Table of contents
The value of Citi points when booking using the Citi travel portal
Luckily, Citi has made this simple. However, that simplicity comes with a tradeoff.
Points are always worth 1 cent apiece in the travel portal, and that applies whether you’re booking hotels, flights, rental cars, activities, or theme park tickets. There’s no guesswork involved in figuring out what your points are worth.
You’ll see the price in cash and points on the first page, showing your search results, and again on the payment page.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough points to cover the whole reservation – you can choose to pay with just one point.
Credit card points from other programs can be worth more in a travel portal, sometimes depending on which credit card you hold. For example, points are always worth 1.25 cents each in the Bilt Rewards portal and can be worth up to 1.5 cents in the Chase Travel portal with a Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
What you get in simplicity comes at the expense of not being able to achieve higher value for your points. It’s possible to use more time-consuming strategies for redemptions (covered in the next section), but these can provide higher redemption value if you know how to use them. As a baseline, it’s possible to redeem your Citi points at one cent apiece in the travel portal. So you should ensure your ThankYou Point redemptions are always worth at least that much.
The value of Citi points when transferring to a partner
Learning to use Citi ThankYou transfer partners can feel daunting. There are admittedly a lot of them, and no two programs are the same. You also have to factor in their partners. For example, you can book an American Airlines flight using miles from American and also Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, and more.
However, learning to use these transfer programs is worth it. The time you spend here can help you redeem your points for much more than one cent apiece. Getting two cents per point is not uncommon, and, with a bit of work, you can even redeem business and first-class flights at a value of five cents per point.
Citi’s list of transfer partners includes multiple airline and hotel programs. Unlike other credit card points programs, Citi also has a shopping partner you can transfer points to, though points are worth less than simply cashing them out.
Transfer partners and their transfer rates are as follows:
- Aeromexico Rewards — 1:1 transfer
- Avianca LifeMiles — 1:1 transfer
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — 1:1 transfer
- Emirates Skywards — 1:1 transfer
- Etihad Guest — 1:1 transfer
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands — 1:1 transfer
- Flying Blue (the joint program of Air France and KLM) — 1:1 transfer
- JetBlue TrueBlue — 1:1 transfer
- Qantas Frequent Flyer — 1:1 transfer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club — 1:1 transfer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer — 1:1 transfer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus — 1:1 transfer
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles — 1:1 transfer
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club — 1:1 transfer
- Accor Live Limitless — 2:1 transfer
- Choice Privileges — 1:2 transfer
- I Prefer Hotel Rewards (loyalty program for Preferred Hotels & Resorts) – 1:4 transfer
- Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club — 5:1 transfer
- Wyndham Rewards — 1:1 transfer
- Shop Your Way — 1:10 transfer
Note that these transfer rates only apply if you have a Citi ThankYou Points-earning credit card with an annual fee. If not, and your only card is one without an annual fee, then you have access to fewer transfer partners and reduced transfer rates. Those include the following programs:
- JetBlue TrueBlue — 5:4 transfer
- Choice Privileges — 1:1.5 transfer
- Wyndham Rewards — 1:0.96 transfer
How do you know what a good redemption is? Here’s how to calculate the value of points on an award redemption. If you need 10,000 points for a flight that costs $100, your points are worth one cent apiece.
You get this rate by simply dividing the money by the cash rate ($100) by the number of points you’re using (10,000). Be sure to subtract the cost of taxes and fees before dividing.
Let’s look at some solid uses of your Citi ThankYou Points.
You can fly from numerous U.S. cities directly to Paris or Amsterdam with Air France and KLM, respectively. Those flights cost 20,000 miles in economy class, plus $97.70 in taxes and fees.
The same flight is selling for $700, meaning your points are worth just over three cents each here.
You also can book business class flights to Europe for 50,000 miles per person plus about $230 in taxes and fees. The cash price of these flights is over $3,000, making your points worth 5.5 cents apiece.
Flying isn’t the only time you’ll get good value for your Citi ThankYou points. Consider the fantastic 2:1 transfer ratio to Choice Privileges.
While Choice isn’t a brand renowned for luxury hotels, it has properties near National Parks that can get very pricey around holidays — a great time to use points. You’ll also find fantastic rates at hotels in Japan, which is another tourist destination with costly hotel rates.
You need just 4,000 Citi points for Choice hotels that cost 8,000 points per night. With cash prices between $95 and $110 at these hotels, you’re using Citi points at 2.4-2.75 cents apiece.
What can you get with your Citi points?
Outside of using points for top value, what are your options? Let’s take a look at other ways to use Citi ThankYou points.
It’s possible to cash out your points at one cent each – the same value you can get when redeeming through the Citi ThankYou travel portal.
With hotels, you can transfer points to Wyndham Rewards, which has a very simple structure. Hotel rooms cost 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per night, per room. Redeeming points for over one cent apiece in this program is rather easy.
If you want something simpler, Accor Live Limitless is a massive hotel rewards program in Europe and points are used to reduce the cost of your bill. 1,000 points are always worth a flat amount: 20€ (about $21.68).
LifeMiles is another great transfer partner. The program is known for not adding the fees other airlines tack onto award tickets, and you can sometimes redeem miles for United flights at prices lower than what United is charging. That’s especially true for short flights within the U.S., such as this one-way flight from Newark (EWR) to Cleveland (CLE) for 6,500 miles plus $5.60 in mandatory government taxes.
Since we’re talking about United flights, we can’t overlook the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program. You can fly anywhere in the U.S. for 10,000 miles per person in economy. That even includes flights all the way from Newark to Honolulu – a lot of flying for just 10,000 miles per person!
The value of Citi points when redeeming for Amazon.com purchases, statement credits, or gift cards
While you can redeem your Citi points for Amazon purchases, statement credits, and gift cards, they don’t provide nearly the value you can find with transfer partners. The Amazon option provides the lowest value of them all and should definitely be avoided. Here’s how much your points are worth through these redemptions:
Amazon purchases: 0.8 cents per point
Statement credits: 1 cent per point
Direct deposit: 1 cent per point
Gift cards: 1 cent per point
The best use of your Citi points
- Transfer to airline partners
- Transfer to hotel partners other than Accor
The worst use of your Citi points
- Shopping on Amazon
- Sharing with friends who won’t redeem their points in 90 days (since they expire 90 days after transfer).
Frequently asked questions about Citi points
How much are 10,000 Citi points worth?
10,000 Citi points are worth anywhere from $100 to $500. With 10,000 points, you can book a flight to Hawaii from anywhere in the U.S. (often costing over $200) or two nights at an inexpensive hotel in Japan (costing around $100 per night).
How much are 30,000 Citi points worth?
The value of 30,000 Citi points is around $300 as cash or up to $1,500 when redeemed with transfer partners. You could fly two people round-trip on short-haul domestic flights through LifeMiles and still have 4,000 points left – enough to turn into 8,000 Choice points for a one-night hotel stay.
How much are 50,000 Citi points worth?
These points are worth $500 when redeemed as cash or used in the travel portal. With transfer partners, 50,000 points can be worth $2,500 or more, depending on how you redeem them. A solid use of 50,000 points is booking a one-way business-class flight to Europe for 50,000 Flying Blue miles. These flights often cost over $3,000 each way.
How much are 75,000 Citi points worth?
Redeemed as cash, 75,000 Citi points are worth $750. With transfer partners, you could book up to 11 domestic flights through LifeMiles, three round-trip flights to Hawaii and back using Turkish Miles&Smiles, or book five nights at a mid-priced Wyndham hotel.
How much are 100,000 Citi points worth?
These points are worth $1,000 if you cash them out or up to $5,000 with transfer partners. You could book five round-trip flights to Hawaii using Turkish miles or use Flying Blue miles for a round-trip flight to Europe in business class or two round-trip economy class flights to Europe.
How many Citi points does it take for a free flight?
The number of Citi points required for a flight varies a lot. You could book a short flight within the U.S. using 6,500 Lifemiles per person in economy class. A long-distance flight in business or first class requires around 100,000 miles per person.
How many Citi points to fly business class to Europe?
Using Flying Blue, you’ll need 50,000 miles for a business-class flight to Europe. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles charges 65,000 miles per person in business class. With LifeMiles, the price recently increased to 70,000 miles per person.
Do Citi points expire?
Citi ThankYou points don’t expire as long as you keep your account open and active. Some of Citi’s older credit cards, which are no longer open to applicants, had different expiration policies. If you still have one of these, points may expire, and the timelines vary.
Summary
Citi ThankYou Points can be an incredibly versatile reward currency if you know how to use them effectively. While using them in the Citi Travel portal guarantees a simple one cent per point in value, transfers to travel partners can unlock far more value – sometimes up to five cents per point.
Whether you’re booking flights, hotels, or even unique experiences, it’s crucial to evaluate your redemptions to ensure you’re getting the best possible value. Ultimately, maximizing your Citi ThankYou Points means understanding when to settle for simplicity and when to aim for those higher-value redemptions. If a redemption provides less than one cent per point in value, you’ll be better off just paying for that item with your credit card and then cashing out your points to pay yourself back afterward.
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