Guide To Citi ThankYou Rewards Transfer Partners

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Citi ThankYou Rewards is known for flexible redemption options. You can redeem Citi ThankYou points for the usual options like cash back, gift cards or merchandise, plus the most lucrative redemption option: transferring points to Citi ThankYou Rewards partners.

Like other flexible rewards programs, Citi ThankYou Rewards has a number of airline and hotel transfer partners; it even has one retail transfer partner. Here’s how to make the most of the program.

How to earn Citi ThankYou points

Because Citi ThankYou Rewards is a credit card loyalty program, you can earn points by using the right credit card to pay for your purchases. Citi credit cards that let you rack up ThankYou points each have a unique earning structure that may work for your needs. Some offer a welcome bonus you can earn after meeting time-bound spending requirements, allowing you to earn even more points.

Best credit cards for earning Citi ThankYou points

The best Citi credit cards for earning rewards in this program are:

Citi ThankYou transfer partners

If you want to make the most of Citi transfer partners, keep in mind you’ll need to create a free loyalty account with any airline, hotel or retail programs you plan to transfer points to. You can do this by heading to the desired program website, finding the sign-up page and entering basic personal information to create your account.

Citi ThankYou airline transfer partners

Each of the following Citi travel partners lets you transfer Citi ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio with the for Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card and 1,000:700 with with Citi cards (unless otherwise specified):

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Aeromexico Rewards
• American Airlines (Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card only)
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates Skywards (1,000:800 for Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card, 1,000:560 for other cards)
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

As for the best Citi ThankYou transfer partners, it depends on where you live and where you plan to fly the most. While any points transfer to an airline partner can be lucrative, the following airlines offer some of the best deals:

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
  

  While this program doesn’t offer an award chart, you can frequently fly round-trip to Europe from the United States for as little as 20,000 miles. Award seats also tend to be plentiful when you book early, which is a major benefit for large families.

• JetBlue TrueBlue
  

  There’s no award chart with the JetBlue TrueBlue program because it’s based on the cash price of the ticket, but you can frequently find round-trip domestic flights for 20,000 points or fewer. Round-trip international flights to Central America or the Caribbean tend to be affordable with points, and some flights may be as cheap as domestic itineraries.

• Emirates Skywards
  

  Emirates Skywards boasts one of the most luxurious travel experiences in the skies and offers significant value. First-class awards tend to be on the pricey side, but travel enthusiasts love to use Emirates Skywards miles to book premium flights with partners like Japan Airlines.

Citi ThankYou hotel transfer partners

Citi has four hotel transfer partners, all of which include different points transfer ratios:

• ALL – Accor Live Limitless
  

  Accor has over 40 hotel brands, including Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, and Novotel. ALL Reward points can be redeemed toward unique experiences, charitable donations and merchandise. Transfer ratios from Citi ThankYou points to ALL Reward points are:

  • 1,000:500 for Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card
  • 1,000:350 for other cards

• Choice Privileges
  

  Choice Hotels has 22 hotel brands — including Comfort Hotels, Country Inn & Suites, Radisson Blu and the Ascend Hotel Collection — so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Transfer ratios from Citi ThankYou points to Choice Privileges points are:

  • 1:2 for Citi Prestige and Citi Strata Premier
  • 1,000:1,400 for other cards

• Leaders Club
  

  Leaders Club, the loyalty program for The Leading Hotels of the World, allows Citi cardmembers to redeem points at over 400 hotels in over 80 destinations. Transfer ratios from Citi ThankYou points to Leaders Club Points are:

  • 1,000:250 for Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card
  • 1,000:175 for other cards

• Wyndham Rewards
  

  Wyndham Rewards members can redeem points at any eligible Wyndham Hotels & Resorts brand, including La Quinta, Days Inn, Wyndham Grand and Super 8. Transfer ratios from Citi ThankYou points to Wyndham Rewards points are:

  • 1:1 for Citi Prestige and Citi Strata Premier
  • 1,000:700 for other cards

Citi ThankYou retail transfer partners

Sears Shop Your Way program

The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has one non-travel transfer partner you can transfer points to — the Sears Shop Your Way program. With this rewards program, you can earn Shop Your Way points on qualifying purchases, redeem points for gift cards or even transfer Citi ThankYou points to Shop Your Way points. 1X Citi ThankYou point is worth 10X Shop Your Way points.

How to transfer Citi ThankYou points

You’ll typically receive more value from your points if you transfer them to one of Citi’s frequent flyer partners. After all, most Citi redemption options — like cash back and gift cards — come with a valuation of 1 cent per point, whereas Citi ThankYou points are worth roughly up to 1.6 cents each for travel, according to valuations from Bankrate.

For the Citi Double Cash, you can convert your cash back to the same basic ThankYou points. However, you can combine any of these cards with a premier travel credit card — like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card — to transfer your rewards to airlines.

To redeem your Citi ThankYou points online, follow these steps:

1. Head to the Citi ThankYou website and log in to your account. From there, you can choose to transfer points to Citi partners.
2. To do so, click “More ways to redeem,” followed by “Points transfer.”
3. Decide where you want to transfer your points, such as to an airline or hotel loyalty program. Keep in mind you’ll need to enter your airline or hotel loyalty program information for the transfer to take place.
4. Enter the number of points you want to transfer.
5. Read and agree to the terms and conditions.
6. Confirm the transfer request.

How to redeem Citi ThankYou points in other ways

The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has more redemption options than many people realize. Outside of transfer partners, you can redeem your points for:

• Statement credits
• Direct deposits
• Checks
• Gift cards
• Merchandise
• Charitable contributions
• Travel through the Citi portal
• Shopping on Amazon.com, Best Buy, PayPal, Walmart and more

To redeem points in any of the above ways, log in to your account and choose which redemption method you’re interested in from the toolbar.

The bottom line

If you’re looking to get the most value out of your ThankYou points, transferring them to a Citi partner — especially an airline partner — is the best course of action. With that in mind, you may want to consider pairing two or more Citi credit cards, such as a no-annual-fee Citi card and a premium Citi card, if you want to maximize your earnings and transfer points to airlines or other partners.

*Information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.