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Although perhaps not as widely discussed as Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points or Amex Membership Rewards, you shouldn't overlook the value of Citi ThankYou® Rewards. In fact, its partnerships with numerous airlines and hotels provide a solid baseline value, making ThankYou® Points some of the most valuable points around.
You should be able to get a minimum of one cent per point in value from your Citi ThankYou® Points. However, with a little research, you can get significantly more than that through Citi's airline transfer partners.
Let's dig into all the ways you can get value from Citi ThankYou® Points.
How to earn Citi ThankYou® Points
The quickest way to earn a ton of Citi ThankYou® Points is by opening up a Citi credit card and earning a welcome bonus. These rewards credit cards are also great for earning ThankYou® Points through everyday spending. Here are the best cards to earn ThankYou® Points, along with their current welcome bonuses:
- Citi Strata Premier® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Citi Strata℠ Card: Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in purchases with your card within three months of account opening.
- Citi Custom Cash® Card: Earn $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou® Points) after you spend $1,500 on purchases within six months of opening the card.
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
- Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees): Earn $200 cash back (20,000 ThankYou® Points) after you spend $1,500 on purchases within six months of opening the card.
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has competitive rewards rates and unlocks access to all of the Citi ThankYou® transfer partners, which boosts the value of your points.
- Unlocks point transfers to all of the Citi ThankYou® partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges, Flying Blue and more
- Generous bonus spending categories include dining, supermarkets, hotels and flights
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Has an annual fee
- Car rental coverage is secondary, not primary
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 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
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card aims to brings premium restaurant rewards and travel benefits to users, including an annual hotel benefit of $300.
- High rewards rate on travel
- 6X on restaurants
- Can transfer points to American Airlines at a 1:1 rate
- Up to $200 annual splurge credit
- High annual fee
- Limited rewards categories
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
The Citi Strata℠ Card is a solid rewards credit card that earns in several everyday spending categories, with no annual fee.
- No annual fee
- Customizable earnings category
- Earns transferable rewards
- Has foreign transaction fees
- Fewer built-in benefits
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff
- Earn 20,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months; after that, the variable APR will be 18.49% - 28.49%, 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 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel® via cititravel.com; earn 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent at Supermarkets, on Select Transit purchases, and at Gas & EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 2 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent at Restaurants; earn 1 ThankYou® Point for each $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
- No Annual Fee
Balance transfer fee
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening.
What's the value of Citi points for cash back?
Citi ThankYou® Points can be redeemed for cash back at a rate of up to one cent per point. This means 10,000 points would be worth $100. You can redeem points for a statement credit, direct deposit or get a check in the mail. Plus, there's no limit to the number of cash redemptions you make.
Some ThankYou® Point-earning credit cards offer cash-back redemption rates of only 0.5 to 0.75 cents per point. Cards like the Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash offer one cent per point when redeeming for cash back. If you have either of these cards, you can link your Citi card accounts online and receive this elevated cash-back rate for all of your ThankYou® Points, regardless of which card you earned them with.
However, if you don't have a Citi card that boosts your cash-back rate, certain cards provide less value for these redemptions. The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card only offer 0.75 cents per point in value when you redeem for cash back. The Citi Strata℠ Card is even lower at 0.5 cents per point for cash-back redemptions.
For statement credits and direct deposits, you can apply just one point to get a $0.01 statement credit. That makes this redemption option particularly useful when you want to or zero out your ThankYou® Point balance after redeeming points in other ways.
Note that this statement credit doesn't count as a credit card payment. If you need to use your ThankYou® Points to help pay your credit card, you'll want to opt for the direct deposit or check by mail options.
Like the statement credit option, you can redeem one point to get a one-cent direct deposit into a linked bank account. Don't cut it too close though, as the direct deposit may take five business days to reach your account.
To get a check by mail, you need to redeem a minimum of $5 (500 points). But you can select any amount above that.
What's the value of Citi points for gift cards?
Citi cardholders can redeem points for gift cards at a rate of one cent per point. This means 10,000 points would be worth $100 toward gift cards. Citi offers cardholders the ability to redeem points for over 100 brands. However, unlike cash-back rewards, you're limited to buying gift cards in certain increments. The gift card increments depend on the merchant:
Gift card rewards don't provide any additional value than cash rewards. Both provide exactly one cent per point in value. So, if you're considering buying a gift card for yourself, it makes more sense to just make a purchase at the store and redeem your points for cash back.
Even if you're getting a gift card for a friend or family member, consider purchasing a gift card with your Citi card. That way, you'll earn points on the purchase. Then, you can still use the cash rewards option to effectively erase the purchase.
Citi regularly has gift card sales of 10% off or more when you redeem ThankYou® Points for select gift cards. If you're looking for a quick and easy redemption, these sales are an easy option for receiving more than one cent per point in value.
What's the value of Citi points for travel?
ThankYou® Points can be used to book travel through the ThankYou® travel portal at a rate of one cent per point. This means 10,000 points would be worth $100 toward travel. That's the redemption rate that you'll get for any type of travel purchase:
- Flights
- Hotels
- Rental cars
- Activities
This can be a great redemption for booking inexpensive flights. Although airlines often charge 10,000 miles or more for a one-way award flight, you may be able to book inexpensive flights for less through the travel portal.
Similarly, you can book hotels through the Citi travel portal for less than the hotel may charge for an award stay when the cash price is lower. For example, at the time of writing, you can book the Wyndham Garden Miami International Airport for $146 or 14,592 points through the ThankYou® travel portal. To book the same date through Wyndham's loyalty program, you would need to transfer 30,000 ThankYou® Points to Wyndham.
If you have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, you can save $100 off a hotel booking of $500 or more (before taxes and fees) each year when you book the hotel through the Citi Travel site. With the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, you can receive up to $300 off one hotel stay annually when you book through Citi Travel (two-night stay or more required).
You can also use your ThankYou® Points to book a rental car at a rate is one cent per point.
The best use of Citi points: ThankYou® transfer partners
If you want to get more than one cent per point in value from your Citi ThankYou® Points, you need to learn how to take advantage of Citi's many airline and hotel transfer partners. It's important to note that the transfer ratio for these partners varies depending on what card you have. However, if you have multiple Citi cards that earn ThankYou® Points, you can link your accounts and utilize the best transfer rates for all of your points.
Citi ThankYou® Points travel partners
| Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card transfer ratios | Citi Strata℠ Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card transfer ratios | |
|---|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1:0.5 | 1:0.35 |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Cathay Pacific Cathay | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:0.8 | 1:0.56 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Eva Air Infinity MileageLands | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Flying Blue (KLM and Air France) | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| I Prefer Hotel Rewards | 1:2 | 1:1.4 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Leaders Club | 1:0.2 | 1:0.14 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1.5 | 1:1.05 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
You can also transfer ThankYou® Points to the Shop Your Way® retail rewards program.
Citi has an eclectic group of airline transfer partners, but it offers a ton of value. This is a case where research definitely can pay off.
For example, you can transfer Citi ThankYou® Points to American Airlines and take advantage of its dynamic award prices to book one-way domestic flights for 7,000 miles or less. American's partner award chart (including Oneworld airlines and others) has fixed prices with one-way business-class flights to Europe for 57,500 miles or to the Middle East for 70,000 miles.
Citi ThankYou® Points are also useful for booking all sorts of other valuable redemptions. You could fly from the U.S. to:
- Europe in business class on a Star Alliance airline for 80,000 Avianca miles one-way with no fuel surcharges
- Doha, Qatar in business class on Qatar Airways for 70,000 Avios points one-way
- Europe at steeply discounted rates by booking Air France and KLM's Flying Blue Promo Awards
These are just a few of the great redemptions you can get when transferring Citi ThankYou® Points to its airline partners. There are a lot more possibilities, but you'll need to do your research to understand which is the best option for you.
The worst uses of Citi points
Most Citi redemptions — including cash back — provide one cent per point in value, so you should avoid less valuable Citi ThankYou® Points redemptions.
Examples of poor redemptions include redeeming ThankYou® Points for purchases at Amazon at a rate of 0.8 cents per point. This means 10,000 points would be worth $80.
In this case, it makes much more sense to just make a purchase using your Citi credit card. That way, you'll earn points on the purchase. Then, you can always redeem ThankYou® Points for a statement credit to offset the purchase.
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Bottom line
Citi ThankYou® Points have a remarkably consistent value. Almost all redemption options provide one cent per point in value. This provides a nice high baseline value for your Citi ThankYou® Points.
However, additional effort can certainly pay off. You can multiply the value of your Citi points by redeeming them through airline and hotel transfer partners.
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Information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
