#1 Among Transferable Points
Point Value
1.60 ¢
Hobby Score
8.0
Citi points are increasing in value with the addition of American Airlines as a transfer partner, though limited partner-transfer cards still hold them back.
Opening new credit cards and earning welcome offers is the fastest, easiest way to earn points, and Citi is no exception. With fewer cards offering high bonuses than Chase, Amex, or Capital One, your earning potential is more limited.
You can earn ThankYou points through welcome offers and certain cards’ spending multipliers, but you won’t stockpile points as quickly as with other banks.
Special Offers Related to Citi ThankYou Rewards. Click the arrow to see more.
- Citi Premier MasterCard - Limited Time Offer - 75,000 Points, after spending $4000 in 3 months, $95 Annual fee.
- Citi AAdvantage Platinum - Special Offer - $75,000 AA Miles, after spending $3500 in 4 months, $0 Annual fee for the first year, then $99.
- Chase Sapphire Visa - Limited Time Offer - 80,000 Points, after spending $4000 in 3 months, $95 Annual fee.
- Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard - Limited Time Offer - 70,000 Points, after spending $2000 in 3 months, $89 Annual fee.
Earn 80,000 points after spending $4000 in 3 months with the Citi Premier Card, $85 annual fee is not waived.
- IHG extends anniversary night certificates until 12/2022 & Elite Status until 02/2023.
- Citi Thank You Rewards adding Wyndham as a transfer partner.
- Expiration of AAdvantage Miles paused until 3/31/2022.
- Earn Flying Blue Elite Status twice as fast through June 2022.
From now until November 13, 2021 Citi ThankYou Points are Transferrable to American Airlines. For Citi Chairman, Prestige & Premier Members the transfer rate is 1:1. For Preferred & Citi Rewards+ the transfer rate is 2:1.
Citi’s transfer partner network has improved in recent years. While it doesn’t yet rival Chase or American Express, it’s getting closer. As with all programs that have partners, transferring points usually provides the best value. If you have multiple Citi cards, move points to the Strata Premier or Strata Elite to access all partners at the best transfer rate.
You can redeem through the Citi Travel Portal at 1¢ per point, but value is limited and you won’t earn loyalty points on these bookings.
The best reason you'd want to use the portal is if you hold one of Citi’s premium cards. These offer portal-only hotel credits as part of their benefits:
Both credits must be booked through the Citi Travel Portal. These mirror the portal booking perks offered by:
The Citi Double Cash can transfer points to partners, but only to three programs: JetBlue, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham. The transfer ratio is also reduced compared to what you get with the Citi Strata Elite or Strata Premier.
Because of this, it’s important to combine any points you earn from lower level, no-fee Citi cards with the Strata Elite or Premier so you can transfer to all partners at the highest value.
These options give poor value compared to transferring points to partners:
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
Take advantage of Citi’s regular, 1:2 transfer ratio with Choice Hotels, where you can find some great sweet spots
Citi ranks behind Chase, American Express, and Capital One when it comes to transferable miles systems. Their program has grown in recent years, and their travel partners now offer some strong sweet spot redemption opportunities. Unfortunately, they still lag because of limited card choices. With only two high-quality credit cards ( Citi Strata Elite and Citi Strata Premier), it’s harder to build a large cache of points.
The Citi ThankYou Rewards system is best for someone who has been in the hobby for a while and needs to diversify beyond the other three banks. Citi has some great partner redemptions, especially now that they transfer to American Airlines, making Citi the only major issuer with that option. The system can work for beginners, since their cash back cards and earning multipliers are easy to understand, but you’ll get far more value by starting with Chase, then moving to Amex and Capital One, and turning to Citi only when it fits your broader strategy.
Citi ThankYou points are tied to specific cards. If you want to cancel a no-fee card, you can transfer all your points to the Strata Elite or Strata Premier so you can still transfer to any partners. Keep in mind that points from the canceled card will expire after 60 days, so be sure to use them.
Transferring points to an airline or hotel partner will keep them safe, though they will then follow that program’s expiration rules. We do recommend having a plan to use them before transferring. You can also transfer points to a spouse, family member, or friend with a Citi ThankYou account, but transferred points will expire after 90 days.*
*Note that the Custom Cash Card does not allow you to share points with another person. You can combine those points with other Citi cards you own, but if you close the Custom Cash Card, the points you moved will expire 60 days after canceling.
