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Citi ThankYou® Points are an incredibly flexible and valuable transferable points currency. If you're earning Citi points for the first time, or have never taken advantage of transferring to one of Citi's hotel or airline partners, don't worry. We've got you covered with this step-by-step guide, which breaks down everything you need to know about how to transfer Citi ThankYou Points.
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How to Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to a Partner Program
The first step in transferring your points is to visit Citi's reward redemption website. You'll need to log in to view your account. Note that Citi often requires two-factor authentication for logging in, so you'll want to have your email or phone on hand to verify a code.
Related: Ultimate Guide to Citi ThankYou Transfer Partners
Finding Citi ThankYou points transfer partners
Once you've logged in, you'll want to navigate to the “Travel” dropdown on the toolbar at the top of the page. Once it opens, you'll be able to see the “Points Transfer” option.
After clicking on “Points Transfer,” you'll be taken right to Citi's page showing which Citi transfer partners your card has access to. This includes options from airlines, hotels, and even shopping.
Related: Citi ThankYou Points: Best Ways to Earn and Use Them
Linking your loyalty accounts
After you've selected your chosen transfer partner, you'll need to enter your membership number for the program that you're transferring to, along with the number of points you'd like to transfer.
Be aware that the first and last name on the account to which you're transferring must also match the name on your Citi account. This means you can't transfer points to just anybody, though Citi does allow you to transfer points to other Citi accounts.
Related: How to Earn Citi ThankYou Points
Transfer Citi points
After you've confirmed your loyalty number, choose how many points you're transferring. Most programs require transfers in 1,000-point increments. Depending on the partner to which you're transferring and the Citi card that you hold, the transfer partner ratios can differ.
If you are a cardholder of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), or Citi Prestige® Card (closed to new applicants), you can transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to most airline partners. This means 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points become 1,000 airline miles.
- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus Points after spending $4,000 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
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – 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.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
- 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.
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
All other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards (like the Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees) and Citi Custom Cash® Card) transfer at a rate of 1:0.7, so 1,000 ThankYou Points equal 700 airline miles.
If you're looking to pay down debt or finance a larger purchase, this card also comes with one of the best available introductory APR offers on balance transfers.
- 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, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel. - Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 18.24% - 28.24%, 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).
- 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, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
- Sign-up bonus of $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening, issued as 20,000 ThankYou® Points
- 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category on up to $500 of purchses each billing cycle
- No rotating bonus categories to sign up for--the top earning category adjusts automatically each month to the eligible category in which you spend the most.
- Excellent intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
- No annual fee
- Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent
- 1% cash back thereafter, plus, you'll earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
- No rotating bonus categories to sign up for – as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
- Eligible spending categories are: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment.
- Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal.
But there are two exceptions to this rule:
- American Airlines AAdvantage:
- Only cardholders of the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier can transfer points to American Airlines (at the standard 1:1 ratio).
- Other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards cannot transfer points to American Airlines.
- Emirates Skywards:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 1:0.8, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 800 Skywards Miles.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:0.56, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 560 Skywards Miles.
The transfer ratios for Citi's hotel transfer partners, on the other hand, are all over the place.
- Accor Live Limitless:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 2:1, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 500 ALL Reward points.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:0.35, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 350 ALL Reward points.
- Choice Privileges:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 1:2, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 2,000 Choice Privileges points.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:1.4, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 1,400 Choice Privileges points.
- Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 5:1, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 200 Leaders Club points.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:0.14, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 14o Leaders Club points.
- Preferred Hotels and Resorts:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 1:4, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 4,000 I Prefer points.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:2.8, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 2,800 I Prefer points
- Wyndham Rewards:
- If you have the Citi Strata Elite, Prestige Card, or Citi Strata Premier, your transfer ratio is 1:1, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 1,000 Wyndham Rewards points.
- If you have any other Citi ThankYou Points-earning cards, your transfer ratio is 1:0.7, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points equals 700 Wyndham Reward points.
The sole retail partner, Shop Your Way, is the only Citi Transfer Partner that keeps the same transfer ratio, no matter which card you hold. 1 Citi Point becomes 10 Shop Your Way points, so a 1:10 transfer ratio.
Note that Citi occasionally offers transfer bonuses, so keep an eye out for any bonuses worth exploring.
After confirming the transfer, you'll receive an email letting you know that the process has been completed. Most of the time, transfers are instant. However, if it doesn't go through at once, you'll want to keep an eye out. AwardWallet's transfer times tool also can give you a good idea since it uses real-time data pulled from users to show you how long transfers take.
Once the transfer is completed, you'll be able to redeem your rewards with the partner!
Related: 5X on Top Category, 3X on Travel and Food, 2X on Everything Else: The Citi ThankYou Rewards Trifecta
Final Thoughts
Citi ThankYou points is one of our favorite flexible point currencies, thanks to its broad array of hotel and airline partners. If you have points to burn, don't use them on the Citi Travel portal or a gift card, where your rewards are always worth just 1¢ each. Instead, transfer points to a hotel or airline partner so you can redeem them for maximum value.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees)
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