Citi ThankYou points: Your guide for the travel rewards program

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The Citi ThankYou Rewards program has evolved over the past decade and is now a formidable competitor with established programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Citi’s got a relatively small portfolio of quality credit cards and a rewarding program to boot. In fact, its credit cards offer some of the most generous category bonuses in exchange for reasonable annual fees.

When it comes to redeeming your hard-earned points, Citi has an impressive transfer partner list that makes it possible to maximize your rewards for travel bookings. And if you don’t want to learn the ins and outs of various loyalty programs, Citi also gives you the option to use points for statement credits and direct travel bookings.

If you’re curious about how the Citi ThankYou program works, here’s everything you need to know about how to get the most out of the program for travel.

You can earn Citi ThankYou points in numerous ways. The easiest is through credit card sign-up bonuses, which range depending on the card. But that’s not the only way to earn points in this program. Between checking account bonuses and authorized user incentives, there are many ways to earn ThankYou points beyond credit cards.

Citi has a small but mighty credit card lineup, offering generous welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards. The issuer’s credit cards are generally split into two categories: traditional ThankYou points-earning cards and cash back cards. However, recently, Citi made a change to its program that now sees its cash back credit cards earning ThankYou Rewards points, which can also be redeemed for traditional cash back.

Citi has two cards that earn ThankYou points directly. These cards are ideal for maximizing rewards on everyday purchases, with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Rewards+® Card specifically offering significant bonuses in those everyday categories.

Sign-up bonus Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou points per dollar spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions (excluding air travel) booked through the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024.
Category bonus earning Earn 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and on air travel and hotels; 1x on all other purchases.
Annual fee $95
Sign-up bonus Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 within the first three months of account opening. Plus, you’ll earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel Portal through June 30, 2024.
Category bonus earning Earn 2x points at supermarkets and gas stations (up to $6,000 per year); 1x points on all other purchases. Plus, round up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase; get 10% of redeemed points back, up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year.
Annual fee $0

As mentioned, there are also a number of other traditional cash back credit cards in the Citi portfolio that allow you to boost your earnings. They can be incredibly valuable, considering the Citi® Double Cash Card earns 2% on everything. By adding this card to your wallet, you’ll earn a minimum of 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on all purchases that aren’t eligible for the bonus categories on the Citi Premier or Rewards+ cards.

Considering Citi’s cash back cards have no annual fees, adding one to your wallet could make a lot of sense. You’ll enhance your point earning across the board without additional annual fees.

Sign-up bonus $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.
Category bonus earnings Earn up to 2% cash back on all spending: 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
Annual fee $0
Sign-up bonus Earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 within the first three months of account opening.
Category bonus earnings Earn 5% cash back on your highest eligible spend category each billing cycle up to $500 spent; 1% cash back thereafter.
Annual fee $0

By combining the Citi cards you have in your wallet, you can maximize your earnings and ensure you continue to work your way toward your next redemption.

Adding an authorized user can help you earn more Citi points in two ways: bonus points for adding someone and for all of their purchases. First, you’ll sometimes get bonus points just for adding someone to your account. Citi frequently sends out authorized user bonuses to targeted card holders. These bonuses are typically around 2,500 bonus points but can vary.

Secondly, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points based on all the spending your authorized user puts on their card. Of course, you’ll only want to consider adding a member of your household or someone you trust to pay you back as an authorized user on your account. Authorized users can make charges on the credit card they’ve been added to but have no liability when it comes to paying the bill — that onus falls on you, the primary card holder.

If you’d like to earn even more ThankYou points, you can do so with a checking account. That’s because Citi offers several checking accounts that earn ThankYou points as a benefit: The Citigold, Citi Priority, Citi Private Bank and Citibank Account. With these accounts, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month on everyday banking activities. The exact number of ThankYou points you’ll earn depends on your account type and qualifying activities. Generally, Citigold, Citi Priority and Citi Private Bank accounts earn the most points.

Sharing points is a great way to consolidate existing points with a significant other or family member. Citi ThankYou is one of the few programs that allows members to share points free of charge. The only stipulation is that you can only share points with someone who has a Citi ThankYou card, and Citi Custom Cash card holders are not eligible.

It’s worth noting that shared points expire 90 days after receipt. So you shouldn’t transfer points unless you or the person you’re sending them to has an immediate use for them. Also, note that you can’t send or receive more than 100,000 points per calendar year.

Once you’ve earned a slew of Citi ThankYou points comes the fun part of redeeming them. And thankfully, Citi offers many different ways for you to redeem your ThankYou points. You’ll get the most bang for your buck by redeeming points for travel, though that’s certainly not the only option.

Here’s a look at your Citi ThankYou travel redemption options and how they work.

Transferring points will get you the most value from your Citi ThankYou points. Citi has 16 airline and hotel partners, most of which you can transfer points to at a 1-to-1 ratio — however, that ratio can vary. You can redeem them for stays at all-inclusive resorts, international business-class tickets, domestic award flights and more. But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.

Ultimately, you’ll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. Like with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Capital One miles and American Express Membership Rewards program, you’ll need to link your accounts with each of the transfer partners, and you’ll also need to search for award availability with the airline of your choice before transferring any points.

If you’re interested in transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner, these are your 16 options as well as the transfer rate.

  • Aeromexico Club Premier: 1:1
  • Asia Miles: 1:1
  • Avianca LifeMiles: 1:1
  • Choice Privileges: 1:1.5
  • Emirates Skywards: 1:1
  • Etihad Guest: 1:1
  • EVA Air MileageLands: 1:1
  • Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 1:1
  • JetBlue TrueBlue: 1:1 (or 5:4 for non-premium cards)
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer: 1:1
  • Qatar Privilege Club: 1:1
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 1:1
  • Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus: 1:1
  • Turkish Miles&Smiles: 1:1
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 1:1
  • Wyndham Rewards: 1:1 (1:0.8 for non-premium cards)

By transferring Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing — in most cases when redeeming travel rewards, you’ll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. As a result, points and miles open up the door for flying experiences that would otherwise be out of reach.

Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem for flights operated by Delta Air Lines.

Citi’s airline partners will get you the most value for your points, especially if you redeem them for business- and first-class travel. That being said, Citi’s airline partners offer several sweet spot awards. These heavily discounted awards will save you points on travel and make earning ThankYou points worthwhile. Some of these sweet spots awards that will get you maximum value for your ThankYou points include the following:

  • Turkish Miles&Smiles: 7,500 miles one way for an economy class ticket to Hawaii with United Airlines.
  • Etihad Guest: 44,000 miles one way for a business-class ticket to Morocco (departing Boston, Montreal, New York or Washington, D.C.) with Royal Air Maroc.
  • Avianca LifeMiles: 87,000 miles one way for a first-class ticket to Europe with Lufthansa.
  • Air France/KLM Flying Blue: From 15,000 miles one way for an economy class ticket between the U.S. and Caribbean with Delta.

Qatar Airways

Use your ThankYou points to fly in Qatar Airways’ Qsuite.

Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it’s not your only option.

Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you use them to book travel through the Citi ThankYou portal. That’s significantly less than the value you’ll get from transfer partner redemptions. While transferring points is the best way to maximize your ThankYou points, doing so isn’t always possible. If that’s the case — or if you’re not interested in researching award availability — redeeming at a fixed value for travel via the ThankYou portal is a decent option.

Citi offers several fixed redemption options, ideal for folks who would rather leverage points for daily expenses than travel bookings. The value you can get from this option ranges from 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point. While redeeming points this way isn’t advisable, as you won’t get as much value out of each point, you should use them however they suit you best.

For example, if you have no travel plans in the foreseeable future but mounting expenses at home, then redeeming your ThankYou points for mortgage or student loan payments might make sense. Here are some additional ways you can redeem your ThankYou points and the value you’ll get per point in each scenario:

  • Mortgage payments: 1 cent
  • Student loan payments: 1 cent
  • Charitable contributions: 1 cent
  • Gift cards: 1 cent
  • Pay with points (for eligible purchases): 0.8 cents
  • Check by mail: 0.5 cents
  • Statement credits: 0.5 cents

Generally speaking, if you’re looking to get the most value out of your Citi ThankYou points, your worst option is when redeeming for a fixed value (for example, for statement credits). However, if you’re willing to sacrifice the value of your points and instead want to save some cash, it could be a solid option. Ultimately, every card holder’s goals for their points will be different, but it’s good that you have options with ThankYou points.

Virgin Atlantic

Use your ThankYou points to fly in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class Suite to London.

Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.7 cents each when you redeem them for travel through transfer partners, according to frequent flyer website The Points Guy. The exact amount varies depending on the cabin and destination you’re flying to. Generally speaking, you’ll get the most value by redeeming points for international business- and first-class flights. While 1.7 cents per point isn’t guaranteed for all redemptions, it’s a number you should aim for if you want to redeem ThankYou points for maximum value.

Aside from travel redemptions, you can use ThankYou points for mortgage payments, student loans or charitable contributions, and they’re worth 1 cent apiece. At 0.5 cents each when redeemed for statement credits or check by mail, you’ll get the lowest value when redeeming Citi points.

Citi ThankYou points are an incredibly valuable currency and can help you meet your most aspirational travel goals. Whether you’re using points for domestic or international travel, Citi’s wide selection of transfer partners offers terrific redemption value. Between a good credit card selection, top-notch travel partners and flexibility in use, Citi ThankYou points are definitely worth adding to your points portfolio.

Looking for a new travel credit card? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards currently available.

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they’re subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

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