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Brittney started her writing career in the world of science, putting her physics degree to good use. Her journey into finance started with building her personal credit, but soon grew into a borderline obsession with credit cards and travel rewards. For the last 7 years, she has enjoyed the ability to share her expertise with readers, as well as the opportunity to interview companies and individuals making an impact on our financial lives. She wholly believe most problems can be solved with the right research -- and a good spreadsheet -- and she specializes in translating complex financial topics into actionable advice to help educate and empower readers.
Nathan Alderman has worked with The Motley Fool since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As The Ascent's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.
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Citi's rewards credit cards earn rewards in the form of ThankYou points. Citi ThankYou points can be redeemed for cash back, but they can also be used towards travel or, in some cases, transferred to travel partners. More specifically, when applicable, Citi ThankYou points can be transferred to 18 different airline and hotel partners. In this guide, we'll cover your transfer options, and how to do it.
The Citi ThankYou rewards program has 15 airline partners and three hotel partners:
Transfer Partner
Transfer Ratio
ALL – Accor Live Limitless
1:1
Aeromexico Club Premier
1:1
Avianca LifeMiles
1:1
Cathay Pacific
1:1
Choice Privileges®
1:2 up to 1:5
Emirates Skywards
1:1
Etihad Guest
1:1
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
1:1
Flying Blue Air France KLM
1:1
Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club
5:1
Qantas Frequent Flyer
1:1
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
1:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
1:1
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
1:1
Jet Blue TrueBlue
1:0.8 up to 1:1
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
1:1
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
1:1
Wyndham Rewards®
1:0.8 up to 1:1
Data source: Citi.
As you can see, most partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio, meaning you get one frequent flyer or hotel point per ThankYou point transferred. Some partners have a different ratio that may give you more or less for each ThankYou point.
Which are the best transfer partners?
The value you get from your transferred rewards will vary depending on everything from the partner to route/location to the time of year. That said, here's a look at a few standout uses of your ThankYou points:
Air France-KLM Flying Blue: This program has some of the best U.S. to Europe business class availability I've come across. You can get from the east coast of the U.S. to Paris for just 50,000 miles and around $200 in taxes/fees.
Jet Blue TrueBlue: This is Citi's only direct domestic transfer partner, and while you won't get outrageous value, you can get a consistently good redemption rate around $0.012 per point. Fly from U.S. coast to coast in a lie-flat Mint first class seat for 53,300 points and just $5.60 in fees.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Virgin's best use is typically as a way to book its partner airlines (Virgin isn't officially part of an alliance, but it has multiple SkyTeam partners). For instance, you can book Delta domestic flights -- Boston to Chicago in economy is just 11,000 Virgin miles plus $5.60 -- or AirFrance international flights (that'll be 48,500 miles and around $276 in fees).
Which Citi credit cards earn ThankYou points?
The best card for earning and transferring ThankYou points is the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Credit Score:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Credit Score
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
21.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
Rewards
10x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
1x - 10x points
Annual Fee
$95
Welcome Offer
Earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $700 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
70,000 ThankYou® Points
Citi Strata Premier offers 3X points on restaurants, supermarkets, at gas stations, for air travel, and other hotel purchases – a unique combination of bonus categories for a low annual fee card. It comes with a welcome bonus that's redeemable for $700 in gift cards or travel rewards, no foreign transaction fee, and access to Citi's ThankYou® Rewards program, a standout in the industry.
Big sign-up bonus
Annual hotel savings offer
Travel and dining rewards
Grocery and gas rewards
Flexible travel rewards points
Travel insurance protections
Annual fee
Earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $700 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com
Earn 10 points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
Earn 3 points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
$100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
You need the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (or the not-currently-available Citi Prestige® Card) in order to transfer your ThankYou points to the full list of transfer partners.
However, the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card isn't the only card that earns ThankYou points. These other Citi credit cards also technically earn ThankYou points:
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Fair to Excellent (580-850)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Fair to Excellent (580-850)
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Welcome Offer:
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
20,000 ThankYou® Points
Welcome Offer:
Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com.
Special offer: earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025.
20,000 points
Rewards Program:
2% cash back: 1% when you buy plus 1% as you pay
Up to 2% cash back
Rewards Program:
2X ThankYou® Points at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year, 1X ThankYou® points on other purchases
1x - 2x points
Intro APR:
N/A
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: 0%, 18 months
Intro APR:
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Regular APR:
19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
Regular APR:
18.74% - 28.74% (Variable)
Annual Fee:
$0
Annual Fee:
$0
Highlights:
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.
Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness.
Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
Highlights:
Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com
Plus, as a special offer, earn a total of 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025.
0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from date of first transfer and on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 18.74% - 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou® Points on All Other Purchases.
The Citi Rewards+® Card - the only credit card that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase - with no cap.
You can connect multiple ThankYou points accounts into one account. Once your points are all in one place, you can use your Citi Strata Premier℠ Card to redeem them for travel or transfer to the full list of travel partners.
How to combine Citi credit card rewards
You can usually combine rewards online in a few easy steps:
Log into your Citi account
Click on your rewards balance to go to the ThankYou Rewards portal
Click the dropdown menu next to your name to access the My Citi Accounts page
On the next page, you can select Combine My Accounts
Choose the account to combine
In some cases, you may not be able to complete the process online. If that happens, you can still combine ThankYou rewards accounts by calling Citi customer service via the number on the back of your card.
How to transfer your Citi ThankYou points
Transferring your ThankYou points is super simple and can be done either online through a browser or by using the Citi mobile banking app.
Log into your Citi account
Click on your rewards balance to go to the ThankYou Rewards portal
Under the Travel menu, select Points Transfer
Choose the transfer partner
Input how many points you want to transfer and your frequent flyer or hotel rewards account number
Confirm your transfer
Remember that transfers are not reversible. Once you submit your transfer, those points are gone from your ThankYou account and cannot be refunded.
How long does a transfer take?
Citi says the transfer should take less than 24 hours, but that it may take up to five business days to fully process. That said, the general consensus is that most transfers will happen more or less immediately.
From personal experience, all of the transfers I've made were completed within about five minutes. However, there does seem to be a lot of reports online that specific airlines can take much longer. The airlines people seem to have the biggest wait with are:
EVA Infinity MileageLands
Qatar Privilege Club
Singapore KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
How else to redeem ThankYou points
If you aren't interested in transferring your ThankYou points, you do have these other redemption options:
As a statement credit to your account
As a paper check mailed to you
For retail partner gift cards
As a payment method during checkout at certain retailers
As a charitable contribution
For travel through Citi's portal
Alternative transferable rewards programs
Citi is one of the four major travel rewards credit card programs. While ranking these programs is a bit subjective, I'd put Citi below American Express and Chase, but tied with Capital One:
Here's a comparison table of transfer partners by program:
Amex Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Capital One Venture Rewards
AeroMexico
1:1
x
1:1
1:1
Air Canada
1:1
x
x
1:1
Alitalia
1:1
x
x
2:1.5
Aer Lingus
1:1
1:1
x
x
American Airlines
x
x
x
x
ANA
1:1
x
x
x
Avianca LifeMiles
1:1
x
1:1
1:1
British Airways
1:1
1:1
x
1:1
Cathay Pacific
1:1
x
1:1
1:1
Delta
1:1
x
x
x
Emirates Skywards
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Etihad Airways
1:1
x
1:1
1:1
EVA Air
x
x
1:1
2:1.5
Finnair Plus
x
x
x
1:1
Flying Blue (AirFrance/KLM)
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Hawaiian
1:1
x
x
x
Iberia Plus
1:1
1:1
x
x
JetBlue
1:0.8
1:1
1:1
x
JetPrivilege
x
x
1:1
x
Lufthansa
x
x
x
x
Malaysia Airlines
x
x
1:1
x
Qantas
1:1
x
1:1
1:1
Qatar Airways
x
x
1:1
x
Singapore Airlines
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
x
1:1
x
x
TAP Air Portugal
x
x
x
1:1
Thai Airways
x
x
1:1
x
Turkish Airlines
x
x
1:1
1:1
United Airlines MileagePlus
x
1:1
x
x
Virgin Atlantic
1:1
1:1
1:1
x
Virgin Red
x
x
x
1:1
Data sources: American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi.
Regardless of which program you choose, you'll have your pick of some of the best travel rewards cards we've seen. Take a look at some of our favorite options.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Brittney Myers has positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Fact Checked
Nathan Alderman
