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Citi issues five credit cards that earn Citi ThankYou® Rewards points. The one with the most lucrative welcome bonus is Citi Premier® Card with 60,000 ThankYou points when you spend $4,000 within your first three months.
See our best credit card bonuses here.
What’s the best way to use this generous offer? We’ll go through all that below…
Citibank also offers great sign-up bonuses for their Checking/Savings accounts.
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| Credit Cards | Citi Prestige® Card Citi Premier® Card Citi Rewards+® Card Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card AT&T Access Card from Citi |
| Redemption Options | Award travel, statement credits, check by mail, gift cards, bill/mortgage/student loan payments, charitable donations, Shop with Points (Amazon & Best Buy), ThankYou Select & Credit, transfers to partner programs |
| Average Point Value | $0.017 |
Citi ThankYou Credit Cards
Citi issues a variety of credit cards, but only five earn ThankYou points including the Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige® Card, Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card, and AT&T Access Card from Citi.
The Citi Rewards+, Citi Rewards+ Student and the AT&T Access cards earn “basic” ThankYou points, which are non-transferable and aren’t worth as much as the points earned with Citi Prestige and Citi Premier. Continue reading for more information on the two cards that earn the more valuable, transferable ThankYou points.
CITI PREMIER® CARD
The Citi Premier® Card offers a 80,000 ThankYou Points after you make at least $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. These points are worth $800 in gift cards through Citi.
This card offers 3 points for every $1 spent on travel including gas stations, 2 points for every $1 spent at restaurants and on entertainment, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
The card has an annual fee of $95 that is waived for the first 12 months.
CITI PRESTIGE® CREDIT CARD
The Citi Prestige® Card has a 50,000 bonus points offer. Spend $4,000 within 3 months of account opening to qualify. These 50k bonus points are worth $500 in travel.
For the most value out of your points, redeem for flights through Citi, where your bonus will be worth 1.33 cents per point. This is another card that competes in the premium travel category, and the annual fee will signify that at $495.
In effect, this card is only a good option for frequent travelers who can take advantage of the premium benefits : 5X points on air travel & restaurants, 3X points on hotels & cruise lines, $250 Air Travel Credit annually, and free access to 1,300+ airport lounges with Priority Pass Select. For those in this niche market, this card will provide high perceived value.
There are plenty of other ways to earn ThankYou points. For more details, click here.
The Best Ways to Redeem Citi ThankYou Points
The value of your ThankYou points depends on how you redeem them. Your two best options are:
Use your ThankYou points to book airfare, hotel stays, rental cars, cruises and more via the ThankYou Travel Center.
The value of your points is tied to the type of ThankYou credit card you have:
| ThankYou Card | Value Per Point | Value of 60k Points |
| Citi Premier | $0.0125 | $750 |
| All Other Cards | $0.01 | $600 |
This is the easiest way to maximize the value of your Citi ThankYou points. Simply book your travel as you normally would. There are no blackout dates and no last-minute booking fees.
If you’re looking for the most value for your points, you should transfer them to a partner frequent flyer program at a 1:1 ratio. If you do the legwork and strategize your redemptions, you’ll be able to get great value for your ThankYou points.
ThankYou airline transfer partners include:
Keep in mind, you can only transfer your ThankYou points if you have the Citi Prestige or the Citi Premier card.
The Best Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partners
With 15 airline partners to transfer to, you have a variety of ways to maximize the value of your ThankYou points. Check out our favorite ThankYou airline partners and their under-60k sweet spots below:
We like the Avianca LifeMiles program because:
- There aren’t any additional fuel surcharges on award flights.
- You can easily book with any Star Alliance partner online.
- There are no close-in booking fees on last-minute award reservations.
With that in mind, here are a handful of great Avianca deals on partner award flights within and from the United States:
| Route | Airline | Points/Miles |
| U.S. to South Asia One Way | Economy | Various airlines | 39,000 |
| U.S. to Australia/New Zealand One Way | Economy | Air New Zealand | 40,000 |
| Hawaii to China/Japan/Korea One Way | Business | Air China ANA Asiana Airlines | 48,000 |
| Transcontinental U.S. Roundtrip | Business | United Airlines | 50,000 |
| U.S. to Southern S. America Roundtrip | Business | Various airlines | 60,000 |
With so many Cathay Pacific Asia Miles airline partners, there are plenty of ways to stretch your miles once you transfer points from your ThankYou account. The following are our favorites award flights from the United States:
| Route | Airline | Points/Miles |
| U.S. to Europe Roundtrip | Economy | American Airlines | 50,000 |
| U.S. to Europe One Way | Business | American Airlines British Airways Iberia | 50,000 |
| U.S. to Southern S. America One Way | Business | American Airlines | 50,000 |
| New York to Vancouver Roundtrip | Business | Cathay Pacific | 50,000 |
We like Etihad Guest because it doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges to its airline partners. Check out the following cheap award flights departing from the United States:
| Route | Airline | Points/Miles |
| U.S. West Coast to Beijing One Way | Economy | Hainan Airlines | 41,000 |
| New York/Washington D.C. to Casablanca Roundtrip | Economy | Royal Air Maroc | 44,000 |
| New York/Washington D.C. to Casablanca One Way | Business | Royal Air Maroc | 44,000 |
| U.S. to Europe One Way | Business | American Airlines | 50,000 |
| U.S. to Japan/Korea/Mongolia One Way | Business | American Airlines | 50,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to Tokyo One Way | Business | ANA | 54,000 |
| U.S. to China/Thailand/Singapore/etc. One Way | Business | American Airlines | 55,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to Tokyo Roundtrip | Economy | ANA | 60,000 |
As a member of the Star Alliance, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has a wide network of partners. We recommend the following award flights within or from the United States.
| Route | Airline | Points/Miles |
| U.S. West Coast to Hawaii Roundtrip | Economy | Alaska Airlines | 24,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to Costa Rica/Cuba/Mexico Roundtrip | Economy | Alaska Airlines | 24,000 |
| Transcontinental U.S. One Way | First | United Airlines | 34,500 |
| U.S. to Europe Roundtrip | Economy | Singapore Airlines Star Alliance partners | 45,000 |
| U.S. to the Middle East/North Africa One Way | Economy | Star Alliance partners | 45,000 |
| Transcontinental U.S. Roundtrip | Business | United Airlines | 46,000 |
| U.S. to Europe One Way | Premium Economy | Singapore Airlines | 47,000 |
| U.S. to Central/South Africa One Way | Economy | Star Alliance partners | 52,000 |
Virgin Atlantic charges high taxes and fees for its award flights, so you definitely don’t want to go that route. But award flights with Flying Club’s partner airlines are excellent options. Below are our favorites within or from the United States:
| Route | Airline | Points/Miles |
| Within the U.S. Roundtrip | Economy | Delta Air Lines | 24,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to Hawaii One Way | Business | Hawaiian Airlines | 40,000 |
| Los Angeles to the South Pacific One Way | Business | Air New Zealand | 45,000 |
| U.S. to Europe One Way | Business | Delta Air Lines Singapore Airlines | 50,000 |
| San Francisco to Hong Kong Roundtrip | Economy | Singapore Airlines | 60,000 |
| Los Angeles to Tokyo Roundtrip | Econoomy | Singapore Airlines | 60,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to Japan Roundtrip | Economy | ANA | 60,000 |
| Detroit to Tokyo One Way | Business | Delta Air Lines | 60,000 |
Bottom Line
The best use for your Citi ThankYou points, with the least amount of thought, is to redeem them for travel via the ThankYou Travel Center. Depending on your Citi ThankYou card, this option will give you a point value of up to $0.0125 each.
But if you’re looking for the most bang for your points, transfer them to a partner frequent flyer program. Yes, it’s much more complicated than redeeming at the Travel Center, but you could get a lot more for your points this way.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Disclaimer: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. It is not the bank advertiser's or any other entity's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.