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Citi ThankYou® Rewards does not get as much attention as its bank points currency peers Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One Miles. And I can understand why. Citi ThankYou has only five point-earning credit cards, one domestic airline transfer partner and no hotel transfer partners.
But those in the know are keen on ThankYou points, because they’re easy to earn. And, with a few tricks, you can maximize their value to compete with Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles.
Here’s everything you need to know about Citi ThankYou Rewards.
| Credit Cards | Citi Prestige® Credit Card Citi Premier Card Citi Rewards+® Card AT&T Access Card from Citi |
| Redemption Options | Travel via ThankYou Travel Center Statement credits & mailed checks Gift cards Shopping at retail partners Payments toward bills, mortgages or student loans Charitable donations Transfer to partner loyalty programs |
| Value Per Point | $0.0075 – $0.0125 Up to $0.06 |
See the best credit card sign-up bonuses here
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® CARD
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently has an offer for 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Redeeming the 60,000 bonus points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which is praised by users, will get you $750 in value towards travel. The 60K bonus points are worth $750 because you get 25% more value whenever you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Even better, strategize with Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners to potentially get even more value. Each point can be worth up to 2 cents apiece (60k points = ~$1,200). Read more on this here.
Earning ThankYou Points
You can earn ThankYou points by charging purchases to an eligible Citi credit card or through an eligible bank relationship with Citi. To access your rewards, log into your Citi account or visit the ThankYou Rewards website.
Citi issues a variety of different credit cards – including co-branded airline and hotel ones – but only a few earn ThankYou points:
| CREDIT CARD | WELCOME BONUS | ONGOING REWARDS |
| Citi Prestige® Credit Card $495 annual fee | 50,000 points – spend: $4,000 – time: 3 months | 5x points on air travel & restaurants 3x points on hotels & cruise lines 1x points on all other purchases |
| Citi Premier Card $95 annual fee, waived first 12 months. | 60,000 points – spend: $4,000 – time: 3 months | 3x points on travel & gas stations 2x points on restaurants & entertainment 1x points on all other purchases |
| Citi Rewards+® Card* $0 annual fee | 15,000 points – spend: $1,000 – time: 3 months | 2x points on supermarkets & gas stations – (on up to $6,000 spent each year) 1x points on all other purchases Automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points |
| AT&T Access Card from Citi* No annual fee | 10,000 points – spend: $1,000 – time: 3 months | 2x points on AT&T products & services 2x points on eligible retail & travel websites 1x points on all other purchases |
*These cards earn “basic” ThankYou points which don’t hold as much value or flexibility as the points earned from other cards in the ThankYou Rewards family (more on that later).
You can earn ThankYou points for having a Citibank account and completing one direct deposit and one bill payment, or one debit or credit transaction every month.
*Here‘s the source for the above chart.
I recommend combining your Citi ThankYou credit card points and your ThankYou banking relationship points into a single ThankYou member account. That way, you’ll be able to redeem for bigger rewards, faster.
Citi is currently offering bonuses for opening a new Citibank checking account.
Ready to redeem but short on points? You have the option to buy the ThankYou points you need. However, I don’t recommend it. You’ll have to pay $0.025 apiece, which is much more than they’re worth. Plus, they only come in 1,000-point increments.
In some cases – and usually the better route – you can pay for the difference in points with cash.
Redeeming ThankYou Points
When it comes to ThankYou points, there are two types. The kind you earn with Citi Prestige and Citi Premier are worth more, and you can transfer them to one of ThankYou Rewards many travel partners. But the points you earn on Citi Rewards+® and AT&T Access from Citi aren’t worth as much, and they’re non-transferable.
As long as you hold a Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card, you can combine your ThankYou points earned from a lower-tier ThankYou card. This way, you’ll be able to transfer your “basic” ThankYou points to a partner program.
ThankYou points do not expire as long as your account is open. However, late payments may prevent you from redeeming points.
With a Citi Prestige or Citi Premier credit card, you have the power to transfer your ThankYou points to the following loyalty programs:
In most cases, the transfer rate is 1:1. Keep in mind, you must transfer in 1,000-point increments.
This is the best way to use your ThankYou points which will yield the highest-value rewards – up to $0.06 per point – if you do your research very diligently. But on average, you’ll get $0.015 apiece by transferring to a partner program.
The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.
Redeem your ThankYou points through the ThankYou Travel Center for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises and other travel. Point value varies according to which credit card you have and what redemption you choose:
| CREDIT CARD | FLIGHTS | ALL OTHER TRAVEL |
| Citi Prestige | $0.0125/point ($0.01/point after 09/01/2019) | $0.01/point |
| Citi Premier | $0.0125/point | $0.0125/point |
| Citi Rewards+ | $0.01/point | $0.01/point |
| AT&T Access from Citi | $0.01/point | $0.01/point |
Here’s why you would want to book travel via ThankYou Travel Center:
- It’s easy to use. The Travel Center works like any other online travel agency website, with no complicated award chart to wrap your head around.
- It counts as booking directly with the airline. You’ll earn redeemable and elite-qualifying airline miles for flights.*
- It’s great for last-minute bookings. You’ll have access to any available seat.
- It’s also great for travel during peak times. There are no blackout dates.
*Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for hotel bookings.
The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but value for redeeming through the ThankYou Travel Center may change. Log into your ThankYou account for more information.
| REDEMPTION | VALUE PER POINT |
| Statement credits | $0.01 |
| Gift cards | $0.01 |
| Bill, mortgage or student loan payment | $0.01 |
| Charitable donations | $0.01 |
| Shop with Points (Amazon or Best Buy) | $0.008 |
| ThankYou Select & Credit | $0.0075 |
| Cash (check by mail) | $0.005 |
The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but value for redeeming ThankYou points may change. Log into your ThankYou account for more information.
You also have the option to share your ThankYou points with anyone that has a ThankYou Rewards account. This is a useful option if someone you know needs extra points to book a trip.
Make sure to follow these guidelines:
- You can transfer up to a maximum of 100,000 ThankYou points per calendar year.
- You can receive up to a maximum of 100,000 ThankYou points per calendar year.
- Transferred ThankYou points will expire within 90 days.
- Transferred ThankYou points cannot be transferred again to another account.
Sign on to your ThankYou points account for further details.
ThankYou Rewards Partner Airline Sweet Spots
With so many airline partners to transfer to, you have plenty of ways to maximize your ThankYou points. Sure, ThankYou Rewards only partners with one domestic airline, but you have great domestic award flight options through its partnerships with international airlines.
Check out our favorite sweet spots based on the information we gathered at the time of publishing:
| TICKET | CLASS | FROM | TO | MILES | AIRLINE |
| One-way | Economy | U.S. | U.S. | 6,500+ | United |
| TICKET | CLASS | FROM | TO | MILES | AIRLINE |
| One-way | Business | U.S. | Europe | 50,000 | Cathay Pacific |
| Roundtrip | Business | U.S. | Europe | 100,000 | Cathay Pacific |
| TICKET | CLASS | FROM | TO | MILES | AIRLINE |
| One-way | Business | New York | Casablanca | 44,000 | Royal Air Maroc |
| One-way | Business | U.S. | Europe | 50,000 | American |
| One-way | Business | U.S. | Japan | 50,000 | American |
| One-way | Business | U.S. | South Korea | 50,000 | American |
| Roundtrip | Business | U.S. | Europe | 100,000 | American |
| TICKET | CLASS | FROM | TO | MILES | AIRLINE |
| Roundtrip | Economy | U.S. | Hawaii | 35,000 | United |
| Roundtrip | Business | U.S. | Hawaii | 69,000 | United |
| One-way | First | New York | Frankfurt | 86,000 | Singapore |
| One-way | First | Los Angeles | Tokyo | 107,000 | Singapore |
| TICKET | CLASS | FROM | TO | MILES | AIRLINE |
| One-way | Economy | U.S. | U.S. | 12,000 | Delta |
| One-way | Business | U.S. | Europe | 50,000 | Delta |
| One-way | Business | Detroit | Tokyo | 60,000 | Delta |
| One-way | Business | Auckland | U.S. | 62,500 | Air New Zealand |
| Roundtrip | First | U.S. | Tokyo | 110,000+ | ANA |
Bottom Line
Citi ThankYou Rewards is often overlooked, pigeonholed as a points program with subpar value. But ThankYou points are worth quite a bit if you know how to use them. To unlock the full potential of ThankYou Rewards, you’ll need to carry either the Citi Prestige or the Citi Premier credit card. Which will let you transfer to airline partners, opening doors to a variety of sweet travel deals.
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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.