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One of the many ways to redeem Citi ThankYou® Points is to transfer them to Emirates Skywards to leverage the program's sweet spots. If you've been considering making a redemption like this, now is a good time to act. Citi will devalue the current 1:1 transfer ratio to Emirates effective July 27, 2025.
Here's what we know about whether or not you should transfer your Citi ThankYou Points before this devaluation.
Citi to Devalue 1:1 Transfers to Emirates Skywards
Just over five years ago, Citi ThankYou added Emirates Skywards as a transfer partner. Since then, eligible Citi cardholders could transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to one of the Middle East’s most luxurious airlines and redeem points for some of the world's best in-flight experiences. But sadly, that 1:1 ratio won't last much longer. This transfer ratio is dropping to 1:0.8 on July 27, 2025.
Citi confirmed the upcoming transfer ratio devaluation in an email to cardholders on April 23, 2025:
“New Redemption Value for Points Transfers, effective 07/27: 1,000 ThankYou Rewards Points are transferable for 800 Emirates Skywards Miles.”
However, we saw this devaluation coming weeks before it was officially announced. On April 2, 2025, AwardWallet was the first to notice a discrepancy between the Emirates bank partners webpage and Citi's travel transfer partners site. While Citi’s page still showed a 1:1 transfer ratio…
Emirates quietly updated its bank partners page to reflect the soon-to-be-new 1:0.8 ratio — and then reverted it after we inquired about the change. But this all but signaled that a devaluation of the Citi-to-Emirates transfer ratio was on the way.
When we first noticed the discrepancy, we reached out to Citi, which replied with the following:
“That is an error on the Emirates site they are working to update. The correct Citi ThankYou-to-Emirates transfer ratio is 1:1.”
While this confirmed that the current transfer ratio remains 1:1, it didn't say anything about what might be coming down the pike regarding this relationship. And sure enough, this was a sign of things to come. Now, the transfer ratio will be devalued in the near future.
Final Thoughts
On July 27, 2025, Citi will devalue the ThankYou Rewards transfer ratio to Emirates Skywards, dropping it from 1:1 to 1:0.8. All devaluations are unfortunate, but this one hits harder given that Citi initially claimed the leaked change was an “error.” The leak itself might have been a mistake, but the revealed transfer ratio was a sign of what was to come.
Thankfully, you still have time to transfer points at the 1:1 transfer ratio. If you have a stash of ThankYou Points and plan to transfer them to Emirates, make sure to do so before July 27.
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