Citi ThankYou points guide

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The Citi ThankYou Rewards program offers features that are on par with some of the top credit card rewards programs on the market. Depending on the Citi card you have, you can enjoy benefits like having your points rounded up on every transaction or the ability to transfer points to an airline or hotel loyalty program at a transfer ratio of 1:1.

Whether you’re new to Citi ThankYou Rewards, a longtime member or are shopping around for a solid rewards credit card, our comprehensive guide can provide deeper insight into how the Citi ThankYou Rewards program works.

Most importantly, we’ll cover how to use Citi ThankYou points, and the best ways to earn them, so you can fast-track your rewards and maximize their value.

Citi ThankYou Rewards Program basics

The Citi ThankYou Rewards program is Citi’s credit card rewards program that issues ThankYou points. Most of the time, Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1 cent each but can be slightly more or less depending on how you redeem them.

You can earn ThankYou points with several different Citi credit cards and redeem them for rewards that can include travel, transfer partner travel, statement credits, gift cards and more — though redemption options will vary by card. The best value, however, comes from transferring rewards to one of Citi’s travel partners. We’ll cover that and more in detail:

Basic vs. full-fledged ThankYou points

There’s an important detail you need to know regarding Citi ThankYou points. Our sister site, The Points Guy, uses the terms “basic” and “full-fledged” ThankYou points to describe the difference in Citi’s rewards currency. These phrases are not used by Citi or recognized in their terms and conditions, but they can help you understand how Citi’s points work.

In essence, “basic” ThankYou points are transferable to a more limited set of travel partners, although you can still use them to book travel through Citi at a 1 cent value. You can, however, transfer “full-fledged” ThankYou points to travel partners through Citi’s travel portal, which may significantly boost the value of your points, depending on the partner.

As a rule of thumb, Citi’s no-annual-fee cards earn “basic” ThankYou points, while those with an annual fee offer “full-fledged” ThankYou points.

How to earn Citi ThankYou points

There are a few ways to earn Citi ThankYou points. Here’s a quick list.

Make purchases on any rewards Citi rewards card

If you have a Citi card that offers rewards in bonus categories or a flat-rate structure, then simply making purchases on your card will rack up ThankYou points.

With the Citi® Double Cash Card, for example, you can earn up to 2 percent cash back on every purchase — 1 percent back when you buy, plus an additional 1 percent as you pay — with no limit to how much you can earn. On the other hand, the Citi Custom Cash® Card earns 5 percent cash back on your top spending category each billing cycle, but up to a cap of $500, then 1 percent, for that cycle.

Earn a card’s welcome bonus

As a new cardholder, you could also earn a sign-up bonus on your Citi card, provided you meet its minimum spending requirement. To ensure you qualify for these additional rewards, you could time your credit card application with an upcoming big purchase, like tuition or tax payments.

The Citi Custom Cash Card, for example, offers a $200 cash back bonus after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening (fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou points). Spending $250 a month for six months in a row is an attainable requirement for many consumers, especially if they charge their household bills to the card.

Open a qualifying Citi checking account

If you want to earn more points even more quickly, you can open a qualifying Citi checking account and use it for direct deposits and bill payments. Personal banking relationship rewards [PDF] could earn you as much as 1,600 points per month.

How to redeem Citi ThankYou points

Citi rewards cards are especially attractive due to their flexibility and ease of redemption. You can redeem ThankYou points via the ThankYou Rewards portal or by calling the ThankYou Service Center, which is open seven days a week. There is also a live chat function accessible from the rewards website.

Here’s a rundown of the ways you can redeem your Citi ThankYou points:

Cash

You can redeem your rewards for cash in a few ways. First, you can get a statement credit to reduce your Citi credit card account balance. There’s also the option to request a check or a direct deposit to the account of your choice.

Travel

Redeem your ThankYou points to pay for travel or transfer them to select loyalty programs with eligible transfer partners. Note, you can transfer points to all airline or hotel partners if you have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card or Citi Prestige® Card* (the Citi Prestige is no longer open to new applicants). If you have another Citi card, the transfer partner options and ratios are more limited as you’re earning “basic” ThankYou points.

Gift cards and shopping with points

You can purchase gift cards in categories such as dining, shopping and entertainment. You can also use ThankYou points at checkout with participating online retailers, including Amazon.com and PayPal.

Further, you can redeem your ThankYou points through Citi’s Shop with Points program, which you can use for online and in-store purchases as well as gas purchases.

Transfer, share and donate

As mentioned, transferring your points to participating loyalty programs — often travel-related brands — to book airline and hotel accommodations is a popular redemption route. Sharing points with other Citi cardholders is also possible, but you should know that these points expire 90 days after sharing them. Finally, you can also redeem your points to make charitable contributions.

How much are Citi ThankYou points worth?

According to Bankrate’s latest points and miles valuations, Citi ThankYou points earned with the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card or Citi Prestige — that is “full-fledged” points — are worth around 1.6 cents each. That’s because the points you earn with these cards can be transferred to any Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partner at a ratio ranging from 1:1 to 1:2.

For instance, Choice Privileges offers a 1:2 transfer ratio for Citi Premier and Prestige cardholders. This means that for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points you transfer, you’ll get 2,000 Choice Privileges points — which could help you save substantially on hotel bookings using your rewards. With this example, you can see that transferring to a travel partner tends to be one of the best ways to eke more value out of your rewards.

However, no-annual-fee Citi credit card holders are more limited in transfer partner options and transfer ratios. For these cardholders, ThankYou points are likely worth about 1.6 cents each, even with the available transfer partners. All Citi cards in the ThankYou Rewards program offer gift card and travel purchase redemptions at 1 cent per point, so it’s fair to estimate the minimum Citi ThankYou points value to be 1 cent.

If you compared ThankYou points transfer partner value to other major credit card issuers’ rewards programs, you’d see similar values for high-value transfers (based on Bankrate valuations):

Who is the Citi ThankYou Rewards program best for?

This program is for Citi cardholders who can benefit from a flexible, easy-to-navigate rewards program. Because of the different types of ThankYou points you can earn, this rewards program is especially valuable for cardholders willing to consider advanced card-combining strategies.

A popular card-combining technique, the Citi ThankYou trifecta, involves owning multiple cards to earn more points, then pooling them with your cards with better redemption rates for travel. This is a somewhat advanced approach, but it can be worth it for conscientious cardholders who are especially interested in using rewards for budget-friendly travel accommodations.

Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partners

If you’d like to get more out of your ThankYou points, you should strongly consider transferring your points to one of Citi’s airline or hotel travel partners. Here’s a list of loyalty programs you can transfer points to.

Citi ThankYou airline transfer partners

Each of the following airline transfer partners lets you transfer Citi ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio (unless otherwise specified):

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Asia Miles
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• JetBlue TrueBlue (0.8 cents per point for Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card*, Citi Rewards+® Card, Sears Mastercard* and Citi® Double Cash Card)
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Citi ThankYou hotel transfer partners

Citi has two hotel transfer partners, both of which include different points transfer ratios depending on the Citi credit card you have:

• Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
• Choice Privileges (1:1.5 or higher)
• Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (5:1)
• Wyndham Rewards (5:4 or better)

Accor Live Limitless

Accor Live Limitless is the loyalty program for iconic hotel brands like Fairmont, Sofitel, Raffles and others. The program has over 5,000 hotels in 100 countries worldwide, presenting plenty of opportunities to redeem your points for good value. While the 2:1 transfer ratio from Citi ThankYou points isn’t ideal, Citi occasionally offers transfer bonuses to improve the value proposition. Since ThankYou points are worth one cent each through the Citi ThankYou portal, you’re better off redeeming them this way instead of transferring to Accor Live Limitless.

Choice Privileges

Choice Hotels has a variety of hotel brands — including Comfort Hotels, Quality Inn, Econo Lodge 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 the Citi Prestige and Citi Premier cards and 1:1.5 for the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card*, Citi Rewards+ Card, Sears Mastercard and Citi Double Cash.

Leaders Club

Leaders Club is the loyalty program of Leading Hotels of the World, a marketing company with over 400 boutique hotels across 80 countries worldwide. Their portfolio includes luxury properties like the Ritz Paris, One&Only The Palm, The Greenwich Hotels and others. Leaders Club points can be worth around 0.8 cents each, meaning a $1,000 hotel stay would cost around 8,000 Leaders Club points. At this rate, transferring ThankYou points to Leaders Club at a 5:1 ratio could make sense.

Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham Rewards members can redeem points at any eligible Wyndham Hotels & Resorts brand, including La Quinta, Days Inn, Ramada and Super 8. Transfer ratios from Citi ThankYou points to Wyndham Rewards points are 1:1 for Citi Prestige and Citi Premier cards and 5:4 for the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card, Citi Rewards+ Card, Sears Mastercard and Citi Double Cash.

Citi credit cards for earning ThankYou points

If you’re intrigued by the perks and benefits of the Citi ThankYou Rewards program, you’re probably interested in one of the best Citi credit cards to get going with. Although some Citi business credit cards earn ThankYou points as well, we’ve compiled a list of consumer cards to get you started.

Citi ThankYou Rewards program frequently asked questions

• Do Citi ThankYou points expire?

  As long as your account is active, your ThankYou points will not expire. If you share points with someone else, those points expire after 90 days from the transfer date.

• Can I share points with friends and family members?

  Yes, you can share qualifying points with other ThankYou members. However, keep in mind that these points expire within 90 days if you don’t redeem them.

• Can you buy Citi ThankYou points?

  Citi used to allow customers to purchase points in 1,000 increments for $25. However, this is no longer an option.

*Information about the Citi Premier Card and Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.