Complete Guide to Citi ThankYou® Rewards

Citi ThankYou® Rewards might not be viewed as the flashiest program in the points and miles world, but I’ve personally held a Citi card for years and have found great value in it.

Though you might know the least about Citi points, I want to change your mind today and tell you why joining this credit card family could help you reach your travel goals.

Let’s break down what makes Citi ThankYou points special, how to earn them, and the smartest ways to redeem them.

What are Citi ThankYou® Rewards?

Citi ThankYou® Rewards are the flexible points you earn with eligible Citi credit cards. The most common way to earn Citi points is by making purchases with one of these cards, though the type of card you carry will impact your earning potential and redemption options.

Some Citi cards let you transfer points to airline and hotel partners, while others limit you to fixed-value redemptions like statement credits. We’ll get into the details below, but know this: the right card setup makes a huge difference.

What are Citi ThankYou® Rewards Worth?

As with any points currency, the value of Citi ThankYou points depends on how you redeem them. This could be more or less, depending on each situation.

Here’s a general breakdown:

If you’re aiming for maximum value, transferring your points to airline partners (especially for premium cabin redemptions) is usually the way to go.

How to Earn Citi ThankYou Rewards

This is perhaps one of the most important questions to ask… because you need points to spend points. 🙃

These are a few examples of our go-to methods.

Open a Citi ThankYou Rewards Card

If you can responsibly manage a card or two, this is the fastest way to build a stash of points that you can then redeem later for a free or significantly discounted travel experience.

But you’ll soon see that not all Citi cards are created equal. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites:

• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: Best for earning fully transferrable ThankYou points

• Citi Double Cash® Card: Best for everyday spending

• Citi Custom Cash® Card: Best for earning in different bonus categories

The Citi Premier is Citi’s flagship card that comes with an annual fee of just $95 and will be the gateway to earning and redeeming true Citi ThankYou points.

What I mean by that is that in order to unlock full access to Citi’s entire list of transfer partners, you must hold a premium Citi ThankYou Rewards card, like the Citi Premier (and previously the Citi Prestige card, which is no longer open to new applicants).

Both the Citi Double Cash and the Citi Custom Cash can offer additional earning opportunities for everyday spending.

However, if you only have one of these without a premium Citi card, you’ll earn Citi points in a more basic, limited way. They’ll be worth just one cent each and can be redeemed for cash back via a statement credit.

You’ll also be limited to which airline and hotel partners you can transfer to:

• Choice Privileges

• JetBlue TrueBlue

• Wyndham Rewards

So, yeah… not great.

But if you have one of the aforementioned premium cards, the “limited” points can be combined with your premium card’s true Citi ThankYou points to be transferred as you wish.

Refer a Friend (sometimes)

Citi’s referral program is not the best or most predictable. I’ll be upfront about that.

But occasionally, you can get a referral bonus (points or cash back) by having someone sign up and get approved for a card using a uniquely generated referral link from you.

It’s a bit confusing because these referral bonuses aren’t widely stated. You may sometimes be selected and offered a referral link on your account, or it may be a targeted offer that you see come through in an email.

This can be nice when available, but don’t count on it being a regular means of earning tons of points.

Add an Authorized User

If generating a referral link is not an option, and you’re in a position where you would like to add someone else to your account, you can do so by selecting that person to be an authorized user.

I’ll preface this by saying you probably want to know this person at least, and you definitely want to trust them. 😅

But by adding an authorized user, you will reap the rewards of earning double the points when they also make purchases using your card. Remember, you’re on the hook for it if they don't pay it off.

It can be an excellent way to earn additional points, but it does come with the risk of being responsible for another person’s spending and payoff habits.

How to Redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards

There are technically a handful of ways to use Citi points, but for me, I only consider two of them options — and one is king.

1. Book flights, hotels, and car rentals through Citi Travel

2. Transfer your points to airline or hotel partners (best value)

Some of the less valuable redemption options include using points to purchase gift cards, reducing the balance on your Citi card, or converting those points into a check or direct deposit to go into your savings or checking account.

I don’t recommend these. The two main redemptions you should consider are:

1. Book Flights, Hotels, and Car Rentals Through Citi Travel^SM

Citi’s Travel^SM portal is like any other bank’s travel portal. You can book various travel experiences at a redemption rate of one point per dollar.

It’s easy, convenient, and stress-free, and that's why most people would choose to use their points this way.

However, you won’t get the best value for your points by using the travel portal — if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine! Enjoy that flight that you paid next to nothing for.

But if you want to squeeze the most value out of your hard-earned points, you should transfer them to one of Citi’s travel partners.

2. Transfer Points to Airline or Hotel Partners (Best Value)

This option allows you to maximize your points’ value (whoo!).

Citi may not have the most transfer partners, but they have some of the biggest airline names on the list.

Here are Citi’s current airline transfer partners:

A handful of those airlines have some of the best business class seats in the sky — like Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, and Singapore.

Don’t tempt me, Citi… or maybe do tempt me. 😬

In fact, one of my first business-class experiences was a 15-hour flight with the ever-so-glorious Emirates, and you know what? I booked it using Citi points from the Citi Premier.

Here are Citi’s hotel transfer partners:

Remember that transfers are a one-way street, so ensure you have a redemption in mind before moving your points over.

If you’d like a step-by-step guide on how to actually transfer your points, you can reference our Go-To Guide for Credit Card Transfer Partners.

When is It Worth Using Citi Points?

If you’re looking at booking a flight or hotel via a transfer partner, and you’re unsure if you are getting a good value for your points, we have a simple calculation that can help you decide:

(cash price) - (taxes and fees) / (points cost) = value per point

If I look at an example of this airline booking via Air France, and I’m not sure if I should pay cash for the flight or use some of my Citi points, I can plug the numbers into this equation and get a better idea 👇

$1,017 - $86.50 / 12,750 = .073

The result gives us 7.3 cents per point, which is fantastic. I’d be satisfied if I got two cents per point here, which is pretty standard, but you can see how it’s possible to do much better depending on the particular booking you find.

Bottom Line

Citi ThankYou Rewards may not be as buzzed-about as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, but it offers comparable value when it comes to its transfer partners and redemption options.

There are a few cards in this program that I consider quite valuable, so if you are looking for a more simplistic and straightforward program and card structure, Citi might be your perfect match!