Citi ThankYou® Rewards might not be viewed as the flashiest program in the points and miles world, but I’ve personally held a Citi card for years and have found great value in it.
Though you might know the least about Citi points, I want to change your mind today and tell you why joining this credit card family could help you reach your travel goals.
Let’s break down what makes Citi ThankYou points special, how to earn them, and the smartest ways to redeem them.
What are Citi ThankYou® Rewards?
Citi ThankYou® Rewards are the flexible points you earn with eligible Citi credit cards. The most common way to earn Citi points is by making purchases with one of these cards. The type of card you carry will impact your earning potential and redemption options.
Some Citi cards let you transfer points to airline and hotel partners, while others limit you to fixed-value redemptions, such as statement credits. We’ll get into the details below, but know this: the right card setup makes a huge difference.
What are Citi ThankYou® Rewards Worth?
As with any points currency, the value of Citi ThankYou points depends on how you redeem them. This could be more or less, depending on each situation.
Here’s a general breakdown:
Redemption Method | Value Per Point (Est.) |
|---|---|
Statement credits / cash rewards / gift cards | 1.0¢ |
Travel via the Citi Travel portal | 1.0¢ |
Travel via transfer partners | Up to 2.0¢+ |
If you’re aiming for maximum value, transferring your points to airline partners (especially for premium cabin redemptions) is usually the way to go.
💡 Pro Tip: If you want to avoid doing the math yourself, we have a useful cents-per-point calculator that will find your points’ value for you.
How to Earn Citi ThankYou Rewards
This is perhaps one of the most important questions to ask… because you need points to spend points. 🙃
These are a few examples of our go-to methods.
Open a Citi ThankYou Rewards Card
Photo by Daily Drop
If you can responsibly manage a card or two, this is the fastest way to build a stash of points that you can then redeem later for a free or significantly discounted travel experience.
But you’ll soon see that not all Citi cards are created equal. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites:
Citi Strata Premier® Card: Best for earning fully transferable ThankYou points
Citi Double Cash® Card: Best for everyday spending
Citi Custom Cash® Card: Best for earning in different bonus categories
The Citi Premier is Citi’s flagship card that comes with an annual fee of just $95 and will be the gateway to earning and redeeming true Citi ThankYou points.
What I mean is that to unlock full access to Citi’s entire list of transfer partners, you must hold a premium Citi ThankYou Rewards card, like the Citi Premier (and previously the Citi Prestige card, which is no longer open to new applicants).
Both the Citi Double Cash and the Citi Custom Cash can offer additional earning opportunities for everyday spending.
However, if you only have one of these without a premium Citi card, you’ll earn Citi points in a more basic, limited way. You can transfer to all of Citi’s airline and hotel partners, but at a lower ratio. For example, a Citi Strata Premier cardholder may be able to transfer to a partner at a 1:1 ratio, while a Citi Double Cash cardholder would only be able to transfer to that same partner at a 1: 0.7 ratio.
So, yeah… not great.
But if you have one of the aforementioned premium cards, you can combine your Citi ThankYou points to get the most out of them.
💡 Good to Know: Citi also has a few co-branded American Airlines cards if you’re interested in entering AA’s stratosphere.
Refer a Friend (sometimes)
Citi’s referral program is neither the best nor the most predictable. I’ll be upfront about that.
But occasionally, you can get a referral bonus (points or cash back) when someone signs up and gets approved for a card using your referral link.
It’s a bit confusing because these referral bonuses aren’t widely stated. You may sometimes be selected to receive a referral link on your account, or it may be a targeted offer you see in an email.
This can be nice when available, but don’t count on it as a regular way to earn tons of points.
How to Redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards
There are technically a handful of ways to use Citi points, but for me, I only consider two of them as options — and one is king.
Book flights, hotels, and car rentals through Citi Travel
Transfer your points to airline or hotel partners (best value)
Some of the less valuable redemption options include using points to purchase gift cards, reducing the balance on your Citi card, or converting those points into a check or direct deposit to go into your savings or checking account.
I don’t recommend these. The two main redemptions you should consider are:
1. Book Flights, Hotels, and Car Rentals Through Citi TravelSM
Citi’s TravelSM portal is like any other bank’s travel portal. You can book various travel experiences at a redemption rate of one point per dollar.
It’s easy, convenient, and stress-free, and that's why most people would choose to use their points this way.
However, you won’t get the best value for your points by using the travel portal — if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine! Enjoy that flight that you paid next to nothing for.
But if you want to squeeze the most value out of your hard-earned points, you should transfer them to one of Citi’s travel partners.
2. Transfer Points to Airline or Hotel Partners (Best Value)
This option allows you to maximize the value of your points (whoo!).
Citi may not have the most transfer partners, but they have some of the biggest airline names on the list.
Here are Citi’s current transfer partners:
Program Name | Transfer Ratio* |
|---|---|
1:1 | |
1:1 | |
ALL - Accor Live Limitless | 1:0.5 |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 |
Choice Privileges | 1:2 |
1:0.8 | |
Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1:1 |
JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:1 |
Leading Hotels of the World | 1:0.2 |
Preferred Hotels and Resorts | 1:4 |
1:1 | |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 |
1:1 | |
Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
*These transfer ratios are only applicable for cardholders of the Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and Citi Prestige® (no longer open to new applicants). Cardholders of other Citi cards have lower transfer ratios — see thankyou.com for more details.
A handful of those airlines have some of the best business class seats in the sky — like Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, and Singapore.
Don’t tempt me, Citi… or maybe do tempt me. 😬
In fact, one of my first business-class experiences was a 15-hour flight with the ever-so-glorious Emirates, and you know what? I booked it using Citi points from the Citi Premier.
Remember that transfers are a one-way street, so ensure you have a redemption in mind before transferring your points.
If you’d like a step-by-step guide on how to actually transfer your points, you can reference our Go-To Guide for Credit Card Transfer Partners.
When is It Worth Using Citi Points?
If you’re looking at booking a flight or hotel via a transfer partner, and you’re unsure if you are getting a good value for your points, we have a simple calculation that can help you decide:
(cash price) - (taxes and fees) / (points cost) = value per point
If I look at an example of this airline booking via Air France, and I’m not sure if I should pay cash for the flight or use some of my Citi points, I can plug the numbers into this equation and get a better idea 👇
Screenshot from airfrance.com
$1,017 - $86.50 / 12,750 = .073
The result gives us 7.3 cents per point, which is fantastic. I’d be satisfied with 2 cents per point here, which is pretty standard, but you can see how it’s possible to do much better depending on the particular booking you find.
Bottom Line
Citi ThankYou Rewards may not be as buzzed-about as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, but it offers comparable value in its transfer partners and redemption options.
There are a few cards in this program that I consider quite valuable, so if you are looking for a simpler and more straightforward program and card structure, Citi might be your perfect match!
