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How to Transfer Citi ThankYou Points

Emily Sherman

Emily is a freelance personal finance journalist and contributor to Newsweek. Her other publications include U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Advisor, USA Today and Buy Side from the Wall Street Journal. She enjoys writing about all things personal finance, but especially breaking down complex topics to help people better manage their money. She has a bachelor’s degree in English Writing and Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, where she still lives.

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Ashley Parks

Ashley is an associate editor at Newsweek, with expertise in consumer lending. She is passionate about producing the most accessible personal finance content for all readers. Prior to Newsweek, Ashley spent almost three years at Bankrate as an editor covering credit cards, specializing in transactional content along with subprime and student credit.

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Shot of a beautiful young woman using a laptop and credit card to do some online shopping at home

If you’re looking for the best way to redeem your Citi ThankYou points, you might want to look beyond cash back or booking through the Citi travel portal. If you have a Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available for new applications), you’re eligible to transfer your ThankYou points to a select list of airline and hotel travel programs–potentially boosting their value.

Unfortunately, not all Citi credit cards are eligible to transfer points, even if they technically earn ThankYou rewards. Read on to learn more about the terms of the ThankYou transfer program.

Our Methodology

Understanding the value of cash back is simple, but valuing airline miles or points redeemable for travel requires digging a bit deeper. At Newsweek, we’ve developed a common language to talk about the value of points and miles: our valuations.

Our valuations translate points into dollars and cents in a way that reflects reality. They are based on actual data across a balance of accessible redemption options, not just the aspirational first and business class redemptions that require a PhD in miles and points to book. The upshot is that our valuations help you understand the actual value you can easily get from your miles and points.

Vault’s Viewpoint

If you have a Citi Premier Card, you are eligible to transfer to 19 hotel, airline and retail rewards programs, most of which transfer at a 1:1 rate.
Citi Rewards+® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and select other Citi card holders can transfer to Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue and Wyndham Rewards, though at a less favorable rate.
The Citi ThankYou transfer program is more limited than similar programs from American Express and Chase.

Step by Step on How to Transfer Citi ThankYou Points

To transfer Citi ThankYou points, you’ll need to have an eligible card. Some Citi cards can only transfer to select programs, while others don’t qualify for point transfers at all. Eligibility is as follows:

Citi Custom Cash® Card – Points can only be transferred to Shop Your Way retail program.
Citi Double Cash Card – Points can be transferred to Shop Your Way, Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue and Wyndham Rewards (transfer ratios may vary.)
Citi Rewards+ Card – Points can be transferred to Shop Your Way, Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue and Wyndham Rewards (transfer ratios may vary.)
Citi Premier Card – Transfer to all partner programs at most favorable transfer ratio.

Additionally, if you have the Citi Prestige Card, which is no longer available to new applicants, you are eligible to transfer to all partners.

If you have a Citi card that is eligible to transfer ThankYou points, you can do so by logging into your online account’s rewards portal. Under the “more ways to redeem” menu option, you’ll find “points transfer.”

You’ll be able to select the program you want to transfer to, and be prompted to enter your loyalty account number for that program. The name on the loyalty account must match the name on your Citi card, so if you don’t already have an account with that airline or hotel, you’ll need to create one.

For all hotel and airline programs, you’ll need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 ThankYou points to take advantage of this option. There is no minimum requirement for the Shop Your Way retailer program.

Typically your points or miles will be available in your partner account within 24 hours, though some loyalty programs could take a few days to post.

Value of Citi Points

While you may be able to transfer your Citi points, it may or may not be worth it to do so. Sometimes transferring points to an airline or hotel program can get you more value out of your rewards, but that is not always the case.

That is because every airline, hotel and other loyalty program point or mile has its own value. The average point is worth about 1 cent, so if you can get more than that, it might be worth it to transfer to a partner program. You should also consider the transfer ratio, or the amount of partner points you can get for the Citi points you transfer.

Current Citi transfer ratios include:

Partner	Transfer ratio (Citi Premier and Prestige)	Transfer ratio (Other eligible cards)
Avianca LifeMiles	1:1	n/a
Aeromexico	1:1	n/a
Accor Live Limitless	2:1	n/a
Cathay Pacific	1:1	n/a
Choice Privileges	1:2	1:1.5
Emirates Skywards	1:1	n/a
Etihad Guest	1:1	n/a
Eva Air	1:1	n/a
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)	1:1	n/a
JetBlue TrueBlue	1:1	1.25:1
Leaders Club	5:1	n/a
Qantas Frequent Flyer	1:1	n/a
Qatar Privilege Club	1:1	n/a
Shop Your Way	1:10	1:10
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1:1	n/a
Thai Royal Orchid Plus	1:1	n/a
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	1:1	n/a
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	1:1	n/a
Wyndham Rewards	1:1	1.25:1

With partner values in mind, we estimate the average Citi ThankYou point is worth about 1.28 cents a piece if you have a Citi Premier Card, but only about 1 cent if you have another Citi card.

Unfortunately, Citi’s list of transfer partners is relatively lacking when compared to options from American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Most notably, Citi’s list has no major domestic airlines.

Citi does have some unique transfer options compared to other issuers, however. The Shop Your Way program allows users to earn rewards from thousands of popular online retailers–a valuable choice for less frequent travelers.

Should You Transfer Your Citi Points?

In some cases, transferring your Citi ThankYou points to a travel partner can get you more value out of your rewards. But it will take a little bit of extra legwork to redeem points this way, and your mileage may vary.

Before deciding if you should transfer your Citi ThankYou points, consider the following:

Other redemption options: Periodically, Citi offers special deals that mean you may get more value out of another redemption option. For instance, you could buy gift cards at a discount, getting you more than 1 cent per point of value. Consider all other options available to you, their value and how likely you are to use points that way to find the best choice for you.
The transfer ratio: While most Citi transfers happen at a 1:1 ratio, you might end up getting more or less partner points for the Citi points you transfer. Check the ratio for your specific card to make sure you get a favorable rate.
The price in cash vs. the price in points: To estimate the value of a point or miles-based redemption, divide the price in points by 100 and compare it to the price in cash. If the value is more than 1 cent per point, it’s typically a good deal, while less than 1 cent per point means you could be better off redeeming another way.
Research time: Your time is valuable, and if you don’t want to put in the extra work of comparing partner flight prices and making transfers, you can still get a good value out of your ThankYou points by redeeming them for travel through the issuer or for other redemption options, like cash back or gift cards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to United Airlines?

United Airlines is not a Citi ThankYou point transfer partner, so you cannot directly transfer your points to this program. That said, United is part of the Star Alliance airline network, so you might be able to transfer to another Star Alliance partner and use those points or miles to redeem for a United flight. Avianca is a member of Star Alliance, for instance, and is a Citi transfer partner.

Can I Transfer Points From One Card to Another?

Citi is one of few credit card issuers that allows points sharing, meaning you can transfer your ThankYou points to another member’s account. Shared points are only available for 90 days after they are received, and you can only transfer up to 100,000 points this way each calendar year.

Are ThankYou Points Better Than Cash Back?

The answer to this question depends on which Citi credit card you have and a few other factors. Typically, redeeming your Citi rewards for cash back will get you about 1 cent per point of value. Select transfer options might get you more, but will require some extra legwork to do so.

Editorial Disclosure: We may receive a commission from affiliate partner links included on our site. However, this does not impact our staffs’ opinions or assessments.

Emily Sherman

Credit Cards Expert