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With a refresh to its most valuable card, numerous ways to transfer points and redeem them for high value, even get fair value from redemptions like cash back or travel portal bookings, the Citi ThankYou® program is worth your attention. While the word of points has long been dominated by Amex and Chase, Citi's own rewards currency deserves your attention.
We're here to teach you everything you need to know about earning and redeeming rewards with Citi ThankYou, including some surprising cards that can help you earn these valuable points.
Page Contents
- What Are Citi ThankYou Points?
- Who Can Benefit From the Citi ThankYou Points Program?
- How Can You Earn Citi ThankYou Points?
- What Is the Best Citi ThankYou Points Card?
- What Are the Best Ways To Redeem Your Citi Points?
- How To Get the Best Return on Your Citi ThankYou Points
- Citi Transfer Partners: The Best Way To Redeem ThankYou Points
- What Is the Value of Citi ThankYou Points?
- Do Citi ThankYou Points Expire?
- How To Make the Most Out of Your Citi ThankYou Points
- Citi ThankYou FAQ
What Are Citi ThankYou Points?
The Citi ThankYou Rewards program is one of the major transferable points currencies — points that can be converted to a variety of hotel and airline partners. ThankYou Points are earned through select credit cards issued by Citi. With some really strong card offerings and valuable hotel and airline partners in the partner portfolio, these points are some of the most valuable around.
There's a lot to learn about Citi ThankYou Points. We'll discuss how to earn these points, how best to use these valuable points, and why you should be collecting them.
Who Can Benefit From the Citi ThankYou Points Program?
Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, Citi's transfer partners require more extensive knowledge about award travel and partner bookings. This is because the majority of Citi's airline partners to which you can transfer ThankYou Points are foreign airlines. The sole domestic option is JetBlue.
As we'll discuss, you still can redeem your points for domestic flights, but won't be able to transfer directly to other domestic airline partners. For this reason, the ThankYou program tends to appeal to intermediate and advanced points and miles collectors who can maximize the value of these credit card rewards and are willing to learn how these award programs work.
That said, you can redeem rewards like cash, getting 1 cent per Citi ThankYou Point, which makes these cards appealing even for those looking for a simple cash-back option.
How Can You Earn Citi ThankYou Points?
Earning Citi ThankYou Points is easy. Generally speaking, you'll need to hold a Citi card that earns ThankYou Points, though some of Citi's cards marketed as cash back also earn points. Aside from this, there are a few other ways to earn Citi ThankYou points. The option to earn with a checking account has gone away.
Citi ThankYou credit cards
Citi has several cards available that earn ThankYou Points. Through welcome bonuses and maximizing spending category bonuses, members can earn ThankYou Points fairly easily. This includes the new Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, which rewards those who spend big on restaurants and travel.
Referral bonuses
Depending on which Citi cards you hold, it may be possible to refer others and earn points. You'll want to log in to your Citi online account through the website or Citi mobile app to see if this option is available to you.
Targeted offers
Citi doesn't do a ton when it comes to targeted offers, but you may be able to qualify for a retention offer on your card if you make a call. Retention offers are given to those who are considering canceling their cards; as an incentive, cardholders may be offered points or a statement credit if they keep their cards open.
Note that you may have to complete qualifying activities (such as spending a certain amount) to receive the retention offer. As these are targeted, offers vary greatly, and you may not receive any offer at all.
Promotions
As with other banks, Citi often has promotions to accelerate your earning potential. This post dives into which promotions are currently active.
What Is the Best Citi ThankYou Points Card?
Which Citi card you should get depends on what type of spending you typically do and how you want to use Citi ThankYou points. Consider these questions about how you want to earn and redeem your points:
- In which categories do I spend the most money?
- Do I want to be able to transfer points to hotel or airline partners?
- Would I rather redeem points as cash back or book in the travel portal?
- Am I willing to pay a fee on a card each year?
Let's look at some of the cards available to new applicants:
No-annual-fee cards
Citi Custom Cash® Card: Although this is advertised as a cash back credit card, the Citi Custom Cash actually earns ThankYou Points. However, you can't transfer points to hotel or airline partners unless you also have another eligible Citi ThankYou card that provides transfer options. Here are the card's highlights:
- No annual cardholder fee.
- Earn 5% cash back (or 5x points) on your highest eligible spend category on your card each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent.
Related: Citi Custom Cash® Card Review
Citi Double Cash® Card: Another card advertised as earning cash rewards, the Citi Double Cash actually earns points, though you cannot transfer points to most of Citi's airline partners unless you have another eligible Citi card with which you can combine your points.
Highlights include:
- Earn 2% cash back (or 2X points) on all spending, earned as 1% cash back (or 1X points) on all purchases and another 1% cash back/1X points when you pay your bill.
- No annual fee.
- Regularly offers an introductory APR on balance transfers.
Related: Citi Double Cash® Card Review
Citi Rewards+® Card: The Citi Rewards+ has some cool earning features (such as rounding up to the nearest 10 points on purchases). You can transfer points to some hotel and airline partners, but they are limited to Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, and JetBlue TrueBlue unless you have another Citi ThankYou card that can transfer points to the full list of partners.
Key perks include:
- 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter.
- Get 10% of your redeemed points back, up to 100,000 points redeemed annually.
- Round up to the nearest 10 points on each purchase.
- No annual fee.
Related: Citi Rewards+® Card Review
AT&T Points Plus Card: This card has AT&T benefits while also earning points, though you can't transfer points to airline partners, similar to the restrictions mentioned above.
- Statement credits available for AT&T customers.
- Earn 3X ThankYou Points per $1 spent at gas stations, 2X at grocery stores, and 1X on other purchases.
- No annual fee.
Why the Citi Strata Premier Card is a must-have for earning Citi ThankYou Points
The Citi Strata Premier Card replaced the former Citi Premier℠ Card, and it's the only card available to new applicants that lets cardholders transfer points to all 21 points transfer options, including 14 airline partners, five hotel partners, and one retail partner.
The Citi Strata Premier also allows members to redeem their points as travel rewards in the Citi TravelSM portal or for cash back as a credit against your bill, as a check, or via direct deposit.
Additionally, it features accelerated earning potential and several key perks:
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Travel protections — a new feature for the card!
- $95 yearly fee.
- 10x points earned on Citi Travel portal spending.
- 3X points on airlines and hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas/EV charging stations.
- Save $100 annually on a single hotel stay of $500 or more when you book through the travel portal.
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through CitiTravel.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 10X points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, and other hotel purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent at gas and EV charging stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Without the Citi Strata Premier, you would need to have an older, transfer-eligible Citi credit card to transfer your points to most airline partners. This makes the Citi Strata Premier a must-have in the world of ThankYou Points since this other card (the Citi Prestige® Card) isn't available any longer.
Note that you can't receive a welcome offer on the Citi Strata Premier if you have received a sign-up bonus on the Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier in the past 48 months.
Related: Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Review
A combo strategy
The best earning strategy would be a combination of cards that includes the Citi Strata Premier. That's because you can combine all of your points into one account (the Citi Strata Premier) and transfer points to hotel or airline partners from there. Obviously, the options to redeem as cash back or in the travel portal remain.
If you have the Citi Strata Premier, the Citi Double Cash, and the Citi Custom Cash cards you can earn the following:
- 5X on your top spending category each billing period (up to $500 of this spending).
- 3X on airfare, hotels, gas/EV charging stations, restaurants, and supermarkets.
- 2X on everything else.
Let's say you spend an average of $500 per month at supermarkets, $300 at restaurants, $150 at fuel stations or EV charging stations, $200 on air travel and hotels, and $850 on other miscellaneous charges on your cards — a total of $2,000 in card spending per month. In this case, you would earn the following:
- Citi Custom Cash: Earn 5x on groceries = 2,500 points
- Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: Earn 3x on dining, gas, and travel = 1,950 points
- Citi Double Cash: Earn 2x on other purchases = 1,700 points
That's a total of 6,150 points earned on $2,000 of spending! That's over 3 Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent. Just remember that the Citi Custom Cash 5X rate only applies to your top spending category each billing period and only up to $500 of spending in that category; you'll earn 1X after that.
Related: 5X on Top Category, 3X on Travel and Food, 2X on Everything Else: The Citi ThankYou Rewards Trifecta
Other Citi cards that earn ThankYou Rewards
These cards still earn points but are no longer available to new applicants:
- Citi Prestige® Card
- 5X points on flight bookings, travel agencies, and at restaurants, 3X points at hotels and on cruise line purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
- Annual travel credit of $250.
- Priority Pass Select membership.
- Ability to transfer points to hotel and airline partners.
- $495 yearly cardholder fee.
- Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card
- Earn 2X on dining and entertainment plus 1X on other purchases.
- No yearly cardholder fee.
- AT&T Access Card from Citi
- Earn 2X on retail, travel, and AT&T purchases plus 1X on other purchases.
- No yearly cardholder fee.
- Sears Mastercard® with ThankYou® Rewards
- $0 yearly cardholder fee.
- 5% cash back (issued as Citi ThankYou Points) at gas stations and 3% back (as points) on $10,000 of combined spending on groceries and restaurants.
What Are the Best Ways To Redeem Your Citi Points?
Redeeming points is the best part about earning them, which is why Citi has so many different methods to do so. Not all of these redemption options are equal, of course. Some yield a higher value for your points than others.
For example:
- Gift cards: Usually 1 cent per point but occasionally more during a sale
- Cash back/credit on your bill: 1 cent per point
- Online shopping: Typically 0.8 cents per ThankYou Point
- Bookings in travel portal like a hotel, car rentals, or flights: 1 cent per ThankYou Point
- Transfer points to hotel and airline partners: Depends on the redemption, but AwardWallet users typically get 2.19¢ apiece
You also can donate your points to charities or transfer points to another member. Be careful, though. Those transferred points will expire within 90 days, so be sure you only share points when you're ready to use them.
How To Get the Best Return on Your Citi ThankYou Points
As we mentioned above, transferring your points to Citi's hotel and airline partners generally yields the best value for your points. This is especially true when you consider the rate you'll receive when redeeming your points for cash back, credits on your billing statement, or online shopping. For these types of redemptions, you'll usually get about 1 cent in value per point.
Transfers, meanwhile, can make your Citi ThankYou Points worth far more. Let's look at the options to transfer points.
Citi Transfer Partners: The Best Way To Redeem ThankYou Points
As mentioned, the airline partners are limited to JetBlue TrueBlue and foreign carrier loyalty programs, so the way to get the most value out of these transfers is to master the art of using airline alliances.
For example, those looking to visit Hawaii can transfer their points to Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles. As a member of Star Alliance, you can use Turkish Airlines miles to book award flights on United. The award chart is exceptionally generous: You'll pay just 10,000 Turkish miles one-way for an economy flight from anywhere in the U.S. mainland to Hawaii.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club provides another sweet spot for domestic travel. With Virgin points, you can often book Delta flights than booking directly with Delta SkyMiles. That's because Virgin Atlantic has distance-based partner redemptions at the following rates:
- 0–500 miles: 7,500 points
- 501–1,000 miles: 8,500 points
- 1,001–1,500 miles: 11,500 points
- 1,501–2,000 miles: 12,500 points
Another excellent option is to convert your points to Choice Privileges points. Those who hold the Citi Premier Card can transfer those points over at a 1:2 ratio, which means one Citi point becomes two Choice points. This is double the value of other Choice partners and means you can score redemptions like all-inclusive resort stays for 15,000 ThankYou Points per night.
Looking for some international travel? The options are plentiful and provide excellent value. Air France/KLM Flying Blue has great options to Europe and North Africa. Singapore Airlines has sweet spots to Europe, Asia, and more. Avianca LifeMiles partners with Air Canada, United, and Lufthansa to provide even more options for international and domestic awards.
Related: Best Ways To Use Citi ThankYou Points That You Didn’t Know
What Is the Value of Citi ThankYou Points?
AwardWallet users redeem ThankYou Points for an average of 2.19¢ per point. As noted above, the value of the points depends on how you redeem them.
Portal bookings and cash back redemptions make your points worth about 1 cent. But AwardWallet users typically redeem Citi ThankYou Points for 2.93¢ per point when transferring points to book business- or first-class long-haul flights.
Related: How To Transfer Citi ThankYou® Points to Partners: A Step-By-Step Guide
Do Citi ThankYou Points Expire?
Citi ThankYou Points don't expire — at least for the most part. Current credit cards offered by Citi don't earn points that expire, but some older cards do. That being said, there are still ways to lose your Citi ThankYou points if you're not careful.
- If you close your Citi account, you have 60 days to redeem your points.
- If you receive points through a transfer, you have 90 days to redeem them before they expire.
- If Citi closes your account due to abuse, you immediately lose your points.
How To Make the Most Out of Your Citi ThankYou Points
Citi ThankYou Points may not be as popular as competitors like American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, but they're a highly valuable flexible points currency. With competitive credit cards and an excellent lineup of partners to which you can transfer points, Citi ThankYou-earning cards deserve at least one — if not more — spot in your wallet.
Better yet, start earning a ton of points with the Citi ThankYou trifecta of cards mentioned above. Then, start mastering those partner booking sweet spots for maximum value.
Citi ThankYou FAQ
Yes, points can be combined between your own accounts, and you can transfer points to other members free of charge. However, if you do transfer points to someone else, remember that they expire after 90 days.
How can online banking aid in earning Citi ThankYou Points?
Until recently, you could earn ThankYou Points through your Citi personal banking accounts. Unfortunately, Citi no longer offers this option.
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