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Lost in the shuffle of Citi’s splashy updates — including the launch of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and new American Airlines transfers — was a quieter but still important enhancement. No-annual-fee Citi cards now offer access to nearly all of Citi’s travel transfer partners.
This is a big shift for travelers who want flexibility without paying an annual fee. But is it worth using these new transfer options? Let’s break down what changed, and when it makes sense to transfer.
New Transfer Partners for Citi No Annual Fee Cards
Previously, only select no-annual-fee Citi cards — such as the Citi Rewards+® Card (which has been rebranded as the Citi Strata℠ Card) and Citi Double Cash® Card — could transfer points to Wyndham Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Choice Privileges.
Now, that's changed. All of the following Citi cards can now transfer points to almost all Citi transfer partners:
- Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card
- Citi Strata℠ Card
- Citi Double Cash® Card
- Citi Custom Cash® Card
- Citi ThankYou® Mastercard®
- AT&T Universal Rewards World
- AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards
- AT&T Universal Rewards
- AT&T Points Plus Card
- AT&T Access Card from Citi
The catch? Points transfer at less-than-stellar ratios. When going to thankyou.com and logging into one of those non-premium cards, ThankYou Points can be redeemed as follows:
1,000 points = 700 miles/points
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Avianca Lifemiles
- Cathay Pacific
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air
- Flying Blue
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines
- Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
Other transfer rates
- Accor Live Limitless: 1,000 points => 350 points
- Choice Privileges: 1,000 points => 1,400 points
- Emirates Skywards: 1,000 points => 560 miles
- Leaders Club: 1,000 points => 140 points
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts: 1,000 points => 2,800 points
Get Better Transfer Rates With a Premium Citi Card
Every one of these transfer rates improves if you have a premium Citi card, such as the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier® Card, or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants).
ThankYou points can be transferred from any of these cards to all 21 Citi transfer partners — including transferring Citi points to American Airlines AAdvantage. The transfer ratio is 1:1 for all but one of the 15 Citi airline transfer partners. Emirates is the sole exception, with a recently devalued 5:4 transfer rate.
On the hotel side, Citi premium cardholders can transfer points to five hotel partners at a better rate than the no-annual-fee cards:
- Accor Live Limitless: 1,000 points => 500 points
- Choice Privileges: 1,000 points => 2,000 points
- Leaders Club: 1,000 points => 250 points
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts: 1,000 points => 4,000 points
- Wyndham Rewards: 1,000 points => 1,000 points
Related: Citi ThankYou Point Transfer Partners Ultimate Guide
Bottom Line
Citi’s latest changes quietly but significantly expand the flexibility of its no-annual-fee cards. It’s a meaningful upgrade that cardholders of products like the Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card can now access nearly all of Citi’s airline and hotel partners — something that was previously limited or entirely unavailable.
Yes, you’ll only get around 70% of the value compared to premium cards. But in the right situation — like topping off a mileage balance or making use of orphaned points — these newly unlocked transfer options can still offer solid value without paying an annual fee.
With that said, if you plan on earning and redeeming a lot of Citi ThankYou points, you'll be much better served by getting a modest annual fee card like the Citi Strata Premier:
- 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
Related: Best Ways to Use Citi ThankYou Points
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees)
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