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Always a fan of flying, Spencer wanted to find ways to upgrade his travel experience. Over the years, Spencer has been a guest speaker on multiple YouTube shows as well as podcasts on maximizing point...
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Citi has an assembly of cards that earn Citi ThankYou Points, and one of the best ways to use these points is to transfer them to airline programs — that’s how you’re going to get the most value.
Unfortunately, not all redemption options are of equal value, but Citi offers many ways to use your Citi ThankYou Points for some amazing trips!
Those with the Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Rewards+® Card, Sears Mastercard® with ThankYou® Rewards, and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card (no longer open to new applicants) can only transfer ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio.
Transferring Citi ThankYou Points to Travel Partners
The Citi ThankYou Program provides 2 ways to redeem ThankYou Points for flights:
Citi ThankYou cardholders can redeem points for flights through the Citi ThankYou travel portal at a rate of 1 cent per point.
The Citi ThankYou travel portal is a useful tool because it will give you access to using your reward points with airlines beyond the Citi ThankYou airline partners.
Citi ThankYou travel portal. Image Credit: Citi
A great perk of using ThankYou Points to purchase flights via the Citi ThankYou travel portal is that you will earn miles with the airline you fly (or the airline you choose to credit the flight). In effect, this provides a nice rebate when you use ThankYou Points to book airfare.
Cardmembers can redeem ThankYou Points for flights at around a rate of 1 cent per point. This means that a $100 flight will cost 10,000 ThankYou Points.
Sure, you could use your points for statement credits, gift cards, or one of the other redemption options. But to get the maximum value from your Citi ThankYou Points, you should transfer your points to frequent flyer programs.
These redemptions are especially valuable for international flights.
Please keep in mind that these options aren’t the only options for redemption, but are some of the best ways to use your Citi ThankYou Points to boost your points’ value.
Singapore Airlines’ new A380 Suites features a double bed and separate lounge chair. Image Credit: Greg Stone
Many people transfer points to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer so that they can experience Singapore Suites, one of the premier first class products available. If you have a travel date, you can even enjoy a double bed in the sky! It’s safe to say this is one experience you don’t want to miss.
There is only 1 option to fly Singapore Suites from the U.S., and that’s out of New York. For 97,000 miles you can try Suites from New York to Frankfurt.
If 7 hours in suites class isn’t enough, you can continue on to Singapore for a total of 148,500 miles. Feeling adventurous? You can fly from New York to Sydney for 188,000 miles, which would give you over 24 hours in luxury!
If you aren’t based in New York, you can still enjoy suites after connecting there to start your journey.
2. Fly United Domestic Economy or Business Class (KrisFlyer)
If you’re looking for a transcontinental flight on United you can use KrisFlyer miles.
One-way in business class costs 26,000 KrisFlyer miles, and one-way in economy class will cost 14,000 KrisFlyer miles.
3. Fly Between the Continental U.S. and Hawaii (KrisFlyer)
Use your Citi ThankYou Points to travel to Hawaii for vacation! Options are available in economy and business/first class if you transfer your points to KrisFlyer. Image Credit: Darren Lawrence via Unsplash
Flying to Hawaii is without a doubt one of the most popular uses of miles and reward points. KrisFlyer again provides a great way to utilize the Star Alliance network.
For economy or business/first class flights, you will need 19,500 miles or 39,000 miles, respectively. United charges much more than that for the same flights in many cases.
4. Fly to Europe From the U.S. (KrisFlyer)
Looking for a cheap way to get to Europe? You can get a one-way flight in economy class on a Star Alliance partner for only 30,500 KrisFlyer miles.
5. Fly to the Middle East or North Africa From the U.S. (KrisFlyer)
The KrisFlyer program has some amazing partner redemption options to the Middle East and North Africa: one-way in economy class for 52,000 miles, one-way in business for 88,000 miles, or one-way in first class for 114,000 miles.
6. Fly From the U.S. to Central or South Africa (KrisFlyer)
Flying to Central and South Africa is not always easy and often expensive, but KrisFlyer provides a great option in business class. You can book a one-way flight on a Star Alliance partner in business class for 111,000 miles.
7. Fly From Los Angeles to Tokyo (KrisFlyer)
Check out Singapore Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo. For 120,500 miles, you can enjoy a great first class experience.
8. Fly From San Francisco to Hong Kong (KrisFlyer)
Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 business class. Image Credit: Greg Stone
If you’re looking for a premium experience to Southeast Asia, you can use KrisFlyer miles to fly Singapore business class to Hong Kong for 100,500 miles, or get to Singapore for 146,500 miles.
Without a doubt, Lufthansa first class is an aspirational experience that should be on your list. For 87,000 Avianca LifeMiles, you can fly to Europe and enjoy one of the best first class products in the sky.
To top it off, if you connect in Frankfurt, you will have a chance to visit the Lufthansa First Class Terminal. This is a lounge experience of a lifetime, so make sure your connection leaves you a few hours.
Best of all, you won’t be hit with enormous fuel surcharges!
11. Fly Between the South Pacific Islands (KrisFlyer)
If you’d like to visit some South Pacific islands, KrisFlyer miles can be a great choice.
Singapore charges 13,500 miles in economy. At 34,500 miles for business, KrisFlyer is no longer the great deal it used to be. United charges 30,000 miles for business class, in comparison.
Availability on this one can be tough, but it will be worth the effort if you can make it work with your schedule. You can learn about more KrisFlyer redemptions by using Singapore Airlines’ Star Alliance award chart.
12. Fly Air France or KLM With Promo Rewards (Flying Blue)
Use your Citi ThankYou Points to access Air France business class! Image Credit: Air France
Air France/KLM Flying Blue utilizes a variable award pricing calculator, which it says is tied to revenue prices. This simply isn’t true; as a result, it’s very difficult to pin down an exact cost, as there are many award pricing levels now.
Probably the best way to use the Flying Blue program is its Promo Rewards. These awards run throughout the year and change every few months. You will generally receive a 25% to 50% discount on economy and business class award tickets from Europe to specific cities.
Typically, Flying Blue awards between the U.S. and Europe cost 21,500 to 27,000 miles for economy class and 53,000 to 71,000 miles for business class. With just a 25% discount, that drops the mileage cost to 16,125 to 20,250 miles and 39,750 to 53,250 miles, respectively.
Flying Blue award flights do incur surcharges, so keep that in mind when booking these. Even with the surcharges, though, these awards can provide great value.
13. Take Advantage of a Broad Definition of Europe (Flying Blue)
Flying Blue really shines with its broad definition of Europe. This gives you access to countries such as Algeria, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Canary Islands at a lower redemption level.
You could see the rooftops of Israel, North Africa, or Europe for only 25,000 miles (or less with a Promo Reward)! Image Credit: Rostislav Ageev via Shutterstock
As mentioned above, a one-way business class award flight to “Europe” will cost 53,000 to 71,000 miles, which is a solid redemption. If you’re booking an economy class award flight, 21,500 to 27,000 miles for a one-way flight to Israel or North Africa is a fantastic deal.
14. Fly to Hawaii From the Continental U.S. (Flying Blue)
Another great redemption option is for flights from the continental U.S. to Hawaii. At only 15,000 miles for economy class and 30,000 miles for business class award flights on Flying Blue partner Delta, these are among the cheapest options available.
This is actually cheaper than using Delta’s own SkyMiles program to book an award flight with Delta! Read this article for more ideas on using Flying Blue miles.
15. Fly to Mexico at Domestic Redemption Rates (Flying Blue)
Unlike many programs, Flying Blue includes Mexico in the same region as the U.S. rather than the Caribbean and Central America. Because of this, you can book a one-way award flight from the U.S. to Mexico for only 12,500 miles.
16. Fly From the U.S. to the Caribbean (Flying Blue)
Speaking of the Caribbean, you can book an award flight from the U.S. for 15,000 miles one-way. This means you will save at least 5,000 miles per round-trip flight compared to using a U.S. carrier’s program.
17. Cheap Awards to Australia and the South Pacific (Flying Blue)
Flying Blue provides a solid redemption option to the South Pacific, with one-way business class award flights costing 75,000 miles. The program also provides the cheapest award option in economy class at 48,000 miles one-way.
At these rates to Australia, Flying Blue becomes a competitive program for flights down under. You can also fly directly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tahiti (PPT) for 25,500 Flying Blue miles!
18. A Cheap Business Class Flight to Europe (Etihad)
Using Etihad Guest miles to fly Brussels Airlines business class is a great way to visit Europe. Image Credit: Brussels Airlines
While Etihad may not be a member of a major airline alliance, it does have tons of partners. It also has a different award chart for each partner airline. Though the booking process may be tedious, there are some solid awards to be found.
One of these bookings is a round-trip business class trip on Brussels Airlines between New York (JFK) and Brussels (BRU) for 88,000 miles. You can book a round-trip economy class award flight for only 54,000 miles if economy is more your style. The same redemption rates can also be found from Toronto (YYZ) and Washington, D.C. (IAD).
Availability can be tough to find, but for one of the best award flight deals, it’s definitely worth the patience!
19. Fly American Airlines in Flagship Business or Flagship First (Etihad)
Flying American Airlines in business class using Etihad Guest is a steal! Image Credit: American Airlines
Etihad’s award chart for American allows you to book flights on American Airlines at some exceptional prices.
Maybe you haven’t heard much about Royal Air Maroc, but keep them in mind if you want to visit Morocco! Image Credit: Royal Air Maroc
Etihad’s award chart for Royal Air Maroc is distance-based. This is different than the region-based award chart for its partnership with American Airlines. It’s also different than an award chart with specific routes, like its partnerships with Brussels Airlines and Czech Airlines.
For flights of 2,001 miles or more on Royal Air Maroc, you can book a one-way ticket in economy for 22,000 miles or business for 44,000 miles. This includes the routes between New York (JFK) to Casablanca (CMN), Miami (MIA) to Casablanca (CMN), and Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Casablanca (CMN), which is an amazing way to reach North Africa!
21. Fly Oman Air in Business Class (Etihad)
Experience a great business class product on an under-the-radar airline, Oman Air. Image Credit: Oman Air
Etihad has 2 great award flights on Oman Air. If you are in London, you can fly from London to Muscat one-way in business class for 44,000 miles.
If you are already in the Middle East, check out Oman Air’s route between Muscat and Singapore. For only 42,000 Etihad miles, you can fly one-way in business class on Oman Air.
While not as well known as some major international airlines, Oman Air’s business class has received great reviews.
22. Fly Delta One Suites Round-trip (Virgin Atlantic)
Delta One Suites A350-900. Image Credit: Stephen Au
Always wanted to try Delta One Suites, the phenomenal business class product from Delta Air Lines? You’re in luck! Virgin Atlantic, a Delta partner, has some of the best redemption rates for Delta One Suites.
Here are the routes you can take:
A350 Routes
Atlanta (ATL) – Seoul (ICN)
Detroit (DTW) – Amsterdam (AMS)
Detroit (DTW) – Beijing (PEK)
Detroit (DTW) – Seoul (ICN)
Detroit (DTW) – Shanghai (PVG)
Detroit (DTW) – Tokyo (NRT)
Los Angeles (LAX) – Shanghai (PVG)
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (HND)
Seattle (SEA) – Tokyo (NRT)
777 Routes and Flight Start Dates
Atlanta (ATL) – Paris (CDG)
Atlanta (ATL) – Tokyo (NRT)
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Minneapolis (MSP) – Paris (CDG)
Minneapolis (MSP) – Seoul (ICN)
Minneapolis (MSP) – Tokyo (HND)
In general, the best sweet spots are flights between the U.S. and Europe (excluding the United Kingdom), which cost 50,000 miles one-way in Delta One Suites. All other flights will be significantly more expensive, including flights to the U.K., Asia, and Australia.
If you’d like to see some other great ways to book Delta One flights, check out our booking guide!
23. U.S. to Australia on Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)
On Cathay Pacific, U.S. to Australia awards now price under the ultra-long-haul one-way price of 85,000 miles in business or 125,000 in first.
Remember that for each of these award prices, you will need to stop in Hong Kong before continuing to Australia. Here are a few routes you can use:
Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Adelaide (ADL)
Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Melbourne (MEL)
Los Angeles (LAX) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Brisbane (BNE)
New York (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Perth (PER)
San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Sydney (SYD)
24. See 2 Asian Cities and 3 Pacific Islands (EVA Air)
EVA Air 777-300ER Business Class. Image Credit: Stephen Au
EVA Air’s Infinity MileageLands program doesn’t provide many great options for award bookings, but it does have some solid options in Asia. It also allows 2 stopovers and an open-jaw on round-trip Star Alliance award flights.
To see 3 islands and 2 Asian cities, you can fly round-trip in business class on United Airlines and Asiana for 55,000 miles.
For example, you can start in Tokyo and stopover in Guam with Saipan as your destination. You can then open-jaw to Palau by using 12,500 United miles for an economy class flight. From Palau, you can then fly to Seoul for your second stopover before returning to Tokyo.
25. Fly to Hawaii, Then Central America (EVA Air)
If you want a fun island adventure, you can fly round-trip in business class for 80,000 EVA Air miles to see Hawaii and 2 Caribbean islands.
Here’s an example of a possible routing: fly from San Francisco to St. Thomas with a stopover in Hawaii, then open-jaw to St. Maarten, and finally stopover in Toronto before returning to San Francisco.
26. Fly Around Europe (EVA Air)
Another fun option with EVA Infinity MileageLand miles is to fly around Europe. For 30,000 miles in economy class or 55,000 miles in business class, you can see several cities in Europe.
EVA Air’s award chart includes both Iceland and Russia in “Europe,” so you have a lot of options!
A sample routing could include a flight from Istanbul to Rome (stopover) and then on to Frankfurt (destination). You could then open-jaw to Berlin before flying to Copenhagen (stopover) and back to Istanbul. This route would include flights on Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, and SAS.
Other than the above options, Singapore Airlines is probably the better deal for transferring points from the Citi ThankYou reward program to a partner airline. For more award flights, see EVA’s award charts.
For 70,000 Avios, you can book a one-way award flight from the U.S. to Doha on Qatar Airways and experience one of the best business class products in the sky.
You can even try one of the most coveted business class products in the world: Qatar Airways Qsuites.
28. East Coast to Dubai Round-trip on Emirates (Qantas)
Emirates A380 business class. Image Credit: Cherag Dubash
There are several East Coast cities in this points range that fly direct to Dubai, including Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), and Toronto (YYZ). For Emirates award flights, you should reference the first Qantas award chart; since the one-way distance is less than 7,000 flown miles, Zone 7 pricing applies.
Click on “Points Transfer” to proceed to the screen where you can transfer your points. Image Credit: Citi
Now, it’s time to choose which airline you want to transfer your ThankYou Points to.
You will see a list of all the airlines you can transfer your points to and the rates of each transfer. Each transfer starts at a minimum of 1,000 points. Image Credit: Citi
Once you select a transfer partner, you’ll need to choose how many points you would like to transfer.
You can choose the number of points to transfer using the slider or by manually entering a number. It will tell you how many points you have available to transfer. Image Credit: Citi
Then it’s time to enter your loyalty program number.
Enter your loyalty account information for your desired airline. You can save it for later! Image Credit: Citi
Once you accept the terms and conditions, you are only 1 step away from completing the transfer.
Accept the transfer amount and the terms and conditions to complete the transfer. Image Credit: Citi
Once you confirm the transfer, there is no way to reverse it. Make sure you want to transfer the points before confirming!
Transferring your Citi ThankYou Points to one of its partner airlines can provide some fantastic travel options, and is in our opinion the best way to use Citi points.
Make sure you do your research when deciding between transferring your miles to a partner’s program and using the Citi ThankYou travel portal.
With a little planning, you’ll be on your way to Frankfurt in Singapore’s luxury suites class or to Brussels in business class for the fewest points possible.
The information regarding the Sears Mastercard® with ThankYou® Rewards was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information for the Citi Prestige® Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information for the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Citi’s primary rewards program is ThankYou Rewards and the points you earn are Citi ThankYou Points.
There are currently several Citi cards that earn ThankYou Points: the Citi Prestige card, Citi Rewards+ card, Double Cash card, and the Sears card with ThankYou Rewards.
The Citi Prestige card and Citi ThankYou Preferred card also earn points but are no longer open to new applicants.
The value of Citi ThankYou points depends on the redemption. Overall, we value Citi ThankYou Points at 1.6 cents per point when redeemed with travel partners. That being said, redemptions for less than 1 cent per point should be avoided.
Airline partners are where you will find the most value for your points, particularly on award flights in international premium cabins. Transferring your ThankYou Points to partners can increase your ROI to around 3 to 10 cents per point!
If you redeem for flights through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, the value of your ThankYou Points will max out at about 1 cent per point when you hold a Citi Premier card. That’s like getting a $100 ticket for the equivalent of about 10,000 ThankYou Points.
While you can redeem points for gift cards and statement credit for 1 cent each, we highly recommend using points for travel rewards.
You can pay with points on Amazon.com at a rate of 0.8 cents per point.
While it may be tempting to use ThankYou Points to buy any number of items on Amazon, you would be better off using your ThankYou Points on travel.
Points earned will appear in your account at the end of each monthly billing cycle.
Citi ThankYou Points will never expire as long as you have an open Citi card that earns ThankYou Points. You will have 30 days from account closing to use your Citi ThankYou Points.
Always a fan of flying, it was only natural that Spencer was drawn to finding a way to improve the travel experience.
Like many, he started this journey searching for cheap flights to take him around the world. This was fun for a while, but Spencer was intrigued by the idea of flying in business and first class!
Throwing himself into what became an extensive research project, Spencer spent 3-4 hours per night learning everything he could about frequent flyer miles over the course of several months (he thinks this is normal). He runs Straight to the Points, an award-seat alert platform.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
26 comments
Teresa
February 28, 2018
I have 60K thank you reward points and I want to use them to book a trip to Iceland..what would be the best option?
Thanks
James J. Lazos
June 06, 2019
Apparently, they don’t partner with hotels, and if they do its only 5 bucks off and you pay more than if you purchased directly from the website.
While it is true that Citi does not offer any hotel transfer partners, you can still use Citi ThankYou points to purchase hotel stays through their travel portal.
Kris B
October 29, 2018
A disappointing and misleading article. Would except to see much more diversity than just transferring points to an airline for travel. What are other non-travel related options for using ThankYou points? Or at least specify that the article is airline/travel focused in the title.
We understand that you might have been expecting non-travel options. However, non-travel redemptions generally get around 1-1.25 cents per point. With transferring ThankYou points, you will be able to multiply that by 10 most times to receive over 10-15 cents per point in value! That’s why we specify the title post of “Max Value”, where transferring to airlines for travel is the absolute best way to redeem points for max value.
Gary
February 26, 2019
Hi guys,
Thanks for the article. I have 55,000 ThankYou points that came from opening a Citi bank account. They CANNOT be transferred to airlines.
What is the best option to use these severely restricted ThankYou points?
Thanks for reading. You can consider opening either the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card to be able to transfer to airlines. Besides that, you can pretty much only redeem for gift cards or statement credits at 1 cent per point.
Jeff
March 12, 2019
Do these transfer partners allow you to book flights for family using miles? Do you know where I could find a list of airlines that let you book for others and those that restrict you?
Hi Jeff and thanks for the question. Most airlines let you book tickets for others. I have booked several tickets for friends and family using miles on both domestic and international airlines. You can also book paid flights for others. The only airline I know of that has any restrictions is Korean Air which in the past has required documentation be sent to them.
Joel
June 03, 2019
Hello, I see that the Citi Premier credit card has a 60k bonus but their website shows for only 50k?
Citi transfer partners that are not available with American Express or Chase include Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, EVA Air, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, and Turkish Airways.
Keep in mind that some of these can be booked with Capital One or Marriott Bonvoy points, but none of them can be booked with Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Thanks for reading!
James Chie
November 01, 2019
Hi, great article.
I am a mileage member of American, Asia Miles (Oneworld Ruby), United (1K), EVA Air, and Japan Airlines. I live in Singapore and travel to the USA a lot and my favorite stopover is Tokyo.
I saw that my Citi ThankYou points (I have around 1.2 million) and I also have chase sapphire reserve. And points can be transferred to these partners. Seems like not all partners are equal for instance sounds like the sweet spot is using Alaska Airlines points to book trans-pacific award flights, Eva Air for within Asia.
Is it worth it to use points to book flights themselves because I do get miles from flights and depending on fare class there’s some decent booking class bonuses for them. My intuition tells me that go with the option that gets more cents/mile which is the redemption option but wanted to check since some articles online does do the math on when to actually use points to book a flight vs redeeming. Wanted to get your two cents.
Hi James! Thanks for reading. We appreciate your support and feedback. If you maximize your Citi points, they can be worth many times more than the “generally accepted value” of the points themselves. For example, an international flight in Lufthansa First Class booked by transferring Citi points is worth a remarkable 10-20 cents per point. This is a return of nearly 10 times better than using them to book paid flights that earn miles.
If you book a paid flight and earn miles, you might only get 1-1.25 cents per point. With a paid flight, you’ll probably earn around 10% of the actual cash value (1.25 cents per point). 10% of 1.25 cents per point is around .125 cent per point. If you add the cumulative value of those two, you’ll get at best a 1.375 cents per point return based on the example we just discussed.
If you compare the 1.375 cents per point return on a paid travel booking redeemed with points with up to 20 cents per point return with redeeming an award flight, you’ll quickly find that the difference is massive.
Thanks again!
bang quan
November 12, 2019
What is the most economical way to redeem Citi ThankYou points for a R/T business seat from LAX to SGN?
Also, if you’d like to have a service that offers personalized help with booking your flights or earning points and miles, you can e-mail me at stephen@upgradedpoints.com for more information.
Janet
April 17, 2020
Hi, any suggestion on the most economic way to use TYP for award travel from NYC to the Maldives?
Looking at economy as I only have about 100K, and trying to get 3 economy one-way tickets.
Thanks!
If you’re looking to get 3 economy one-way tickets, you should consider transferring your points to either Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Air France Flying Blue. You can redeem as little as 28,000 miles when using Virgin Atlantic miles.
My citi premier becomes 1 year on 6/22/2020 and I wanted to know what was the most flexible airline partner to transfer to in order to conserve my points (since I’m planning on downgrading to rewards + since it has no annual fee).
I go to Korea every year so that would be the most useful, but I’m also interested in miles that can get me to Mexico or Thailand.
It really depends on how many ThankYou points you have. If you have quite a lot and could split them up amongst a few programs, that would give you a lot more flexibility in the future. But if I had to pick just one partner to transfer my ThankYou points to I would pick Avianca. Avianca is excellent for Star Alliance awards, especially to Korea and Thailand, they have solid award prices, and do not charge fuel surcharges on awards (which can be a big cash saver). Check out our post on the best ways to redeem Avianca miles for some ideas!
I hope this helps and thanks for reading!
Genise
April 29, 2021
In your “updated” version dated April 26th, 2021 there should be an update on:
” Citi Premier Card holders can redeem points for flights through the Travel Center at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. ”
This benefit ended on April 10, 2021 – as I have personally experienced.
For Citi Premier cardholders the rate, when redeeming TYPs, is now 1 cent per point.
Thank you for pointing that out. I have corrected the post.
Mo Abd
December 31, 2021
Emirates 4200 points Skywards redeems for $21.00 at the check out for airfare, it is not good to transfer my Thankyou points to Emirates, I’ll stick to statement credit 1:1.
J
August 04, 2023
This article says it is updated but the only current option for points transfer is Jetblue, there are no other air travel options. 1000 points + 800 on Jetblue. The better option currently is to transfer points to Choice Privileges for 1000 +1500 points.
Hi J. As mentioned in the article, different cards have different redemption options: “Those with the Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Rewards+® Card, Sears Mastercard® with ThankYou® Rewards, and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card (no longer open to new applicants) can only transfer ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio”. I just logged into my Citi Premier card account and clicked through to the transfer option. All 14 airline options were available plus the hotel program options. Also, the ratio for this card was 1:1 for JetBlue and ThankYou Points transferred to Choice Privileges at 1,000 points to 2,000 points. Thank you for commenting, however, as others may have missed this differentiation as well.
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.
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26 comments
Teresa
February 28, 2018
I have 60K thank you reward points and I want to use them to book a trip to Iceland..what would be the best option?
Thanks
James J. Lazos
June 06, 2019
Apparently, they don’t partner with hotels, and if they do its only 5 bucks off and you pay more than if you purchased directly from the website.
Jarrod West
June 06, 2019
Hi James,
While it is true that Citi does not offer any hotel transfer partners, you can still use Citi ThankYou points to purchase hotel stays through their travel portal.
Kris B
October 29, 2018
A disappointing and misleading article. Would except to see much more diversity than just transferring points to an airline for travel. What are other non-travel related options for using ThankYou points? Or at least specify that the article is airline/travel focused in the title.
Stephen Au
October 29, 2018
Hey Kris,
We understand that you might have been expecting non-travel options. However, non-travel redemptions generally get around 1-1.25 cents per point. With transferring ThankYou points, you will be able to multiply that by 10 most times to receive over 10-15 cents per point in value! That’s why we specify the title post of “Max Value”, where transferring to airlines for travel is the absolute best way to redeem points for max value.
Gary
February 26, 2019
Hi guys,
Thanks for the article. I have 55,000 ThankYou points that came from opening a Citi bank account. They CANNOT be transferred to airlines.
What is the best option to use these severely restricted ThankYou points?
Thanks again for your expert advice.
Gary
Stephen Au
February 27, 2019
Gary,
Thanks for reading. You can consider opening either the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card to be able to transfer to airlines. Besides that, you can pretty much only redeem for gift cards or statement credits at 1 cent per point.
Jeff
March 12, 2019
Do these transfer partners allow you to book flights for family using miles? Do you know where I could find a list of airlines that let you book for others and those that restrict you?
Thanks!
Christine Krzyszton
March 12, 2019
Hi Jeff and thanks for the question. Most airlines let you book tickets for others. I have booked several tickets for friends and family using miles on both domestic and international airlines. You can also book paid flights for others. The only airline I know of that has any restrictions is Korean Air which in the past has required documentation be sent to them.
Joel
June 03, 2019
Hello, I see that the Citi Premier credit card has a 60k bonus but their website shows for only 50k?
Jarrod West
June 08, 2019
Hi Joel,
Credit card offers change periodically and sometimes without warning.
Joe
September 22, 2019
Which Citi TYP partners are unique to Citi — that is, which partners are only available via Citi and not available via Amex MR or Chase URs?
Jarrod West
September 23, 2019
Hi Joe,
Citi transfer partners that are not available with American Express or Chase include Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, EVA Air, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, and Turkish Airways.
Keep in mind that some of these can be booked with Capital One or Marriott Bonvoy points, but none of them can be booked with Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Thanks for reading!
James Chie
November 01, 2019
Hi, great article.
I am a mileage member of American, Asia Miles (Oneworld Ruby), United (1K), EVA Air, and Japan Airlines. I live in Singapore and travel to the USA a lot and my favorite stopover is Tokyo.
I saw that my Citi ThankYou points (I have around 1.2 million) and I also have chase sapphire reserve. And points can be transferred to these partners. Seems like not all partners are equal for instance sounds like the sweet spot is using Alaska Airlines points to book trans-pacific award flights, Eva Air for within Asia.
Is it worth it to use points to book flights themselves because I do get miles from flights and depending on fare class there’s some decent booking class bonuses for them. My intuition tells me that go with the option that gets more cents/mile which is the redemption option but wanted to check since some articles online does do the math on when to actually use points to book a flight vs redeeming. Wanted to get your two cents.
Thanks!
Stephen Au
November 01, 2019
Hi James! Thanks for reading. We appreciate your support and feedback. If you maximize your Citi points, they can be worth many times more than the “generally accepted value” of the points themselves. For example, an international flight in Lufthansa First Class booked by transferring Citi points is worth a remarkable 10-20 cents per point. This is a return of nearly 10 times better than using them to book paid flights that earn miles.
If you book a paid flight and earn miles, you might only get 1-1.25 cents per point. With a paid flight, you’ll probably earn around 10% of the actual cash value (1.25 cents per point). 10% of 1.25 cents per point is around .125 cent per point. If you add the cumulative value of those two, you’ll get at best a 1.375 cents per point return based on the example we just discussed.
If you compare the 1.375 cents per point return on a paid travel booking redeemed with points with up to 20 cents per point return with redeeming an award flight, you’ll quickly find that the difference is massive.
Thanks again!
bang quan
November 12, 2019
What is the most economical way to redeem Citi ThankYou points for a R/T business seat from LAX to SGN?
Stephen Au
November 12, 2019
Xin chao, Bang!
We’ve written an in-depth guide on the best ways to fly to Vietnam with points and miles, which you can check out here.
/best-ways-to-fly-to-vietnam-with-points-and-miles
Also, if you’d like to have a service that offers personalized help with booking your flights or earning points and miles, you can e-mail me at stephen@upgradedpoints.com for more information.
Janet
April 17, 2020
Hi, any suggestion on the most economic way to use TYP for award travel from NYC to the Maldives?
Looking at economy as I only have about 100K, and trying to get 3 economy one-way tickets.
Thanks!
Stephen Au
April 20, 2020
Janet,
If you’re looking to get 3 economy one-way tickets, you should consider transferring your points to either Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Air France Flying Blue. You can redeem as little as 28,000 miles when using Virgin Atlantic miles.
Find more details on Virgin Atlantic Flying Club here:
https://www.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/partners/airlines/air-france.html
Kelley
June 01, 2020
My citi premier becomes 1 year on 6/22/2020 and I wanted to know what was the most flexible airline partner to transfer to in order to conserve my points (since I’m planning on downgrading to rewards + since it has no annual fee).
I go to Korea every year so that would be the most useful, but I’m also interested in miles that can get me to Mexico or Thailand.
Jarrod West
June 17, 2020
Hi Kelley,
It really depends on how many ThankYou points you have. If you have quite a lot and could split them up amongst a few programs, that would give you a lot more flexibility in the future. But if I had to pick just one partner to transfer my ThankYou points to I would pick Avianca. Avianca is excellent for Star Alliance awards, especially to Korea and Thailand, they have solid award prices, and do not charge fuel surcharges on awards (which can be a big cash saver). Check out our post on the best ways to redeem Avianca miles for some ideas!
I hope this helps and thanks for reading!
Genise
April 29, 2021
In your “updated” version dated April 26th, 2021 there should be an update on:
” Citi Premier Card holders can redeem points for flights through the Travel Center at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. ”
This benefit ended on April 10, 2021 – as I have personally experienced.
For Citi Premier cardholders the rate, when redeeming TYPs, is now 1 cent per point.
Jarrod West
May 04, 2021
Hi Genise,
Thank you for pointing that out. I have corrected the post.
Mo Abd
December 31, 2021
Emirates 4200 points Skywards redeems for $21.00 at the check out for airfare, it is not good to transfer my Thankyou points to Emirates, I’ll stick to statement credit 1:1.
J
August 04, 2023
This article says it is updated but the only current option for points transfer is Jetblue, there are no other air travel options. 1000 points + 800 on Jetblue. The better option currently is to transfer points to Choice Privileges for 1000 +1500 points.
Christine Krzyszton
August 05, 2023
Hi J. As mentioned in the article, different cards have different redemption options: “Those with the Citi® Double Cash Card, Citi Rewards+® Card, Sears Mastercard® with ThankYou® Rewards, and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card (no longer open to new applicants) can only transfer ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio”. I just logged into my Citi Premier card account and clicked through to the transfer option. All 14 airline options were available plus the hotel program options. Also, the ratio for this card was 1:1 for JetBlue and ThankYou Points transferred to Choice Privileges at 1,000 points to 2,000 points. Thank you for commenting, however, as others may have missed this differentiation as well.
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