How Citi ThankYou Rewards work and how to get the most value out of them

Citi ThankYou points are Citi’s take on a transferable points program. You can earn points with a handful of Citi credit cards, including no-annual-fee cards like the Citi Double Cash Card and higher-end cards like the Citi Strata Elite® Card. The points you earn can be transferred to the program’s airline and hotel transfer partners, cashed out, redeemed for gift cards or used in a variety of other ways.

Typically, we recommend transferring Citi ThankYou points to transfer partners to maximize value. In doing so, you can redeem points for expensive business-class flights and nice hotel rooms that might otherwise be out of your budget.

It’s relatively easy to rack up a substantial number of Citi ThankYou points too. There are a variety of credit cards that earn Citi ThankYou points, and many of them offer high welcome bonuses and earn bonus points on everyday purchases like dining and gas.

Here, we’ll show you how to earn and redeem Citi ThankYou points so you can get closer to your next big trip.

Earning Citi ThankYou points with Citi credit cards

Multiple credit cards earn Citi ThankYou points, each with different earning structures, welcome bonuses, perks and annual fees. The right card for you depends on your spending habits and how much of an annual fee you’re willing to pay, so do your research before you apply.

Note that there are two tiers of Citi ThankYou credit cards. Cards with no annual fee still earn Citi ThankYou points, but they have fewer transfer partners and points transfer at a lower rate. However, you can combine the points earned with these cards with a premium card to unlock 1:1 transfers. No-annual-fee Citi ThankYou points cards include the following:

• Citi Strata℠ Card: Citi’s entry-level travel card earns 3x points at supermarkets, at gas and EV charging stations, and on select transit, plus 2x on dining. It’s the natural starting point if you want to earn ThankYou points without paying a fee.
• Citi Double Cash® Card: This one earns an effective 2x on everything — 1x when you buy, 1x when you pay your bill. It’s one of the best flat-rate earners on the market, and the points it earns become fully transferable when paired with a premium ThankYou card.

Meanwhile, there are two Citi ThankYou credit cards with annual fees. The higher-end card — the Citi Strata Elite — earns bonus points everywhere and includes a suite of travel benefits, such as airport lounge access and statement credits. Here’s the breakdown:

• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: This $95-annual-fee card is the sweet spot for most people. It earns 3x points on air travel, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas and EV charging, plus it unlocks 1:1 transfers to all of Citi’s airline and hotel partners.
• Citi Strata Elite℠ Card: Citi’s premium flagship has a $595 annual fee and provides elevated travel and dining earnings, an annual hotel credit and airport lounge access layered on top of full transfer access. Earns 6x points on dining on Citi Nights (Friday and Saturday between 6 p.m. ET and 6 a.m. ET), 3x points on dining at all other times and 1.5x on everything else.

Read our full review of these cards to get a better picture of how they might fit into your wallet. You might consider opening more than one of them to maximize your spending. For example, you could open the Citi Strata Premier card to leverage its bonus categories and 1:1 transfers, and use the Citi Double Cash to earn bonus points on everything else.

How to redeem Citi ThankYou points

As mentioned, you can redeem Citi ThankYou points in various ways. However, some redemptions offer better value than others. While you can cash them out for gift cards or redeem them through Amazon, PayPal and other online retailers, this rarely yields the best value. Instead, you’re usually better off redeeming them through the program’s transfer partners.

Regardless, here’s a look at all your options for redeeming Citi ThankYou points, including a few of the best travel redemptions available through Citi’s transfer partners.

Redeem for merchandise and cash back

The Citi ThankYou portal lets you redeem your points for cash back or gift cards, but the rate at which you cash them out depends on the card. Oddly, for cash back, the only card that cashes points out at 1 cent per point is the Citi Double Cash Card. Meanwhile, the Citi Strata cashes out at 0.5 cents per point while the Strata Premier and Strata Elite cash out at 0.75 cents per point.

Further, all cards can redeem points for gift cards to major retailers at a rate of 1 cent per point, or you can redeem them directly at Amazon, through PayPal or at other merchants at 0.8 cents per point. We rarely recommend this, but it provides flexibility for an unexpected purchase if you don’t want to pay out of pocket.

Redeem through Citi Travel

Citi Travel is the bank’s travel booking portal, where you can earn and redeem points on flights, hotels and rental car bookings. On the redemption side, you can redeem points from all Citi ThankYou cards at a flat rate of 1 cent per point or earn bonus points when you book and travel with your eligible Citi credit card.

Booking through Citi Travel comes with some restrictions, though. In my experience, travel can be moderately more expensive through the portal than when booking directly. Further, booking hotels through Citi Travel means you cannot use elite benefits or earn hotel points, as these typically require booking directly with the hotel group.

This can be better than cashing out your points, depending on your card, since all redemptions are made at a flat rate of 1 cent per point. This means that a $200-a-night hotel room will cost 20,000 ThankYou points.

Using Citi ThankYou points with transfer partners

The real fun begins when you leverage Citi transfer partners to redeem your points. Doing this allows you to effectively convert your ThankYou points into airline miles or hotel points so you can redeem them for flights or hotel stays at more advantageous rates than when booking with Citi Travel.

That said, it requires a bit more effort on your part. You need to understand how transfer partners work in order to leverage them effectively, as each prices awards differently and has various partnerships, rules and restrictions. We’ll run through some of the best redemptions below.

Flying business class to Europe with Citi ThankYou points

If a trip to Europe is on the horizon, you can often get the best deals by transferring points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. This program charges as few as 60,000 points for a transatlantic business-class award, which can drop to 45,000 points when it’s running Promo Rewards.

Air France and KLM both fly to their respective hubs in Paris and Amsterdam from various US airports and provide connections to most major European cities. You can lock in the 60,000-point price between any US and European city, but you’ll have the best luck during off-peak dates. Just be aware that you’ll pay roughly $350 in taxes and fees on most transatlantic awards.

Note that the program has higher prices on some dates, including during holidays and other peak travel times, so you’ll find the best deals if you’re flexible with your travel dates.

Book domestic flights with American Airlines AAdvantage

Citi ThankYou points also transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage, which can be a great way to book domestic flights. All the carrier’s award flights are priced dynamically, which means prices can get higher on peak dates; however, it also means you can find great deals on some routes.

For example, the below flight from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, costs just 7,000 miles and $5.60 for a main-cabin seat.

Likewise, this flight from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham via Philadelphia costs 7,000 points in economy or 14,500 miles in business class, plus the same $5.60.

Run some searches and see if the route you’d like to book has a good deal available. If you’re flying off-peak, chances are AAdvantage will have a good deal in store.

Fly Qatar Airways Qsuites to the Middle East or Africa

Qatar Qsuites is known as one of the best business-class products in the world, thanks to its spacious seats, excellent service and great onboard amenities. It costs thousands of dollars out of pocket, but you can book it for just 70,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred to Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

These days, you’ll find Qsuites on most of the airline’s flights to the US, including flights from major gateways like Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Award space is limited, so start searching early for the best deals.

How we evaluate credit cards

According to CNN Underscored’s credit card methodology, we evaluate cards based on a variety of factors, gauging their utility for real-world users, not just card experts. The principal factors we consider are the following:

• Earning rate vs. redemption value: A high earning rate is valuable but only if the rewards are too. We balance both factors to assess a card’s overall value.
• Weighing fees against benefits: We compare annual fees against the tangible value of a card’s perks. Travel benefits, such as lounge access, statement credits and insurance protections, are weighed relative to a card’s annual cost.
• Welcome offer: A sizable welcome offer may make applying for a card worthwhile in itself but only if the spending target is reasonably attainable.
• Ease of redemption: We evaluate if rewards can be easily redeemed and if cards with transferable points have strong airline and hotel partners.
• Travel and purchase protections: Trip delay and interruption coverage, baggage protection and rental car insurance add significant value to travel-focused credit cards. Purchase protections like extended warranties and price protection can also make certain cards stand out.
• Interest rates and balance transfer offers: While we advise avoiding interest charges, we evaluate 0% APR introductory offers for consumers looking to manage debt strategically.

FAQs

What is the most efficient way to use Citi ThankYou points?

You’ll get the most value from your points when you transfer them to a partner program. This lets you book award flights and hotel stays at lower prices than the Citi Travel portal and get more value out of your points than you would by cashing them out or redeeming them for gift cards.

How much are 10,000 Citi ThankYou points worth?

How much Citi ThankYou points are worth depends on how you redeem them. 10,000 ThankYou points are worth $100 in gift cards but can be worth significantly more if you transfer them to a partner airline or hotel loyalty program and redeem them for expensive travel.

Is it worth getting a Citi ThankYou points card?

Whether or not it’s worth it for you to get a Citi ThankYou points card depends on how you spend money and redeem your points. It can be worth it if the card you choose to apply for fits your spending habits; however, it might be worth looking elsewhere if you can’t find a use for Citi ThankYou points.

Why trust CNN Underscored

CNN Underscored’s team of expert editors and contributors carefully reviews credit cards, travel rewards and loyalty programs to help readers make smarter financial decisions. Our recommendations are based on real-world value, thorough research and hands-on expertise, with an emphasis on transparency, practicality and long-term usefulness.

For this article, contributing writer and former CNN Underscored senior travel and money editor Andrew Kunesh reviewed Citi ThankYou Rewards’ earning and redemption options, transfer partners and redemption values to help readers understand how to maximize the program. Kunesh’s recommendations are informed by extensive experience covering credit cards, airline and hotel loyalty programs and award travel strategies.

Some information for this report was gathered via edition.cnn.com.