What airlines can Citi ThankYou Points be used for?

There are 15 airline partners that you’re able to transfer your Citi ThankYou Points to. Refer to our table in the post for the most up-to-date transfer partners!

Can you transfer Citi ThankYou Points to another person?

Yes, but you can only share a total of 100,000 ThankYou Points in a calendar year, and shared points are only valid for 90 days from the date they are received.

Can you transfer points from an airline to Citi ThankYou Points?

You cannot transfer miles or points from an airline to Citi ThankYou Points. You also cannot get back any ThankYou Points that you have already transferred to an airline partner. All transfers are final.

Do Citi ThankYou Points expire?

Your Citi ThankYou Points will not expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing. However, if you transfer points to someone else, those points will expire in 90 days.

How much are Citi ThankYou Points worth?

Generally, your ThankYou Points will be worth 1 cent when redeeming them through the ThankYou travel portal or 1.6+ cents for redemptions made through transfer partners.

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Citi ThankYou Rewards Transfer Partners and How To Use Them [2025]

Updated: August 25, 2025, 4:21pm CDT

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Table of Contents

Key Takeaways
Earning ThankYou Points
Citi Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners
How To Transfer Citi ThankYou Points
Citi Transfer Bonuses
Booking Travel With the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal
Other Ways To Use Your Points
Combining ThankYou Points From Different Accounts
Redeeming ThankYou Points
Final Thoughts

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Key Takeaways

Citi ThankYou Points can be transferred to a variety of airline partners, including American Airlines AAdvantage, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Points can also be transferred to hotel partners such as Accor, Choice Hotels, and Wyndham.
Transfer ratios for premium cards are typically 1:1, making it easy to convert points into miles for premium cabin awards.

Citi ThankYou Points sometimes don’t get the same press as Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, but don’t overlook them.

With a few credit cards to help you earn ThankYou Points and several airline partners that provide some amazing redemption opportunities, these are points everyone should consider!

In this post, we’ll review what transfer opportunities Citi ThankYou Points offer, how to make these transfers, and more. With this info in hand, you’ll be ready to see the world using your ThankYou Points.

Earning ThankYou Points

Citi offers multiple cards that earn ThankYou Points, and each has category bonuses that allow you to earn points quicker. Make sure you check out the best ways to earn Citi ThankYou Points to get started on the right foot.

Citi Strata℠ Card

U.P. Rating

Citi Strata℠ Card

Welcome OfferEarn 30,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
30,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
$480

Annual Fee

APR

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then a variable APR 19.24%-29.24%.

Credit Recommended

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata card offers a fresh way to earn Citi ThankYou Points with a $0 annual fee, allowing you to maximize your spend at gas stations, supermarkets, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

5x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
3x points at supermarkets, select transit, gas and EV charging stations, and an eligible self-select category of your choice (fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salon or pet supply stores)
2x points at restaurants

Cons

Doesn’t offer the best transfer ratio to Citi’s airline and hotel partners
Charges foreign transaction fees

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

Earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Earn 5x points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
Earn 3x points per $1 on supermarkets, select transit, gas, and EV charging stations, and an eligible self-select category of your choice every quarter (fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salons, or pet supply stores).
Earn 2x points per $1 at restaurants.
Earn 1x point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.

Financial Snapshot

APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then a variable APR 19.24%-29.24%.
Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase

Rewards Center

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

U.P. Rating

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

Welcome OfferEarn 60,000 bonus 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
60,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
$960

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is a great all-around travel rewards card that allows you to earn big rewards on a variety of purchases like air travel, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and more, along with flexible redemption options, all for a modest annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging stations
$100 annual hotel benefit

Cons

$95 annual fee

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

Earn 60,000 bonus 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 10X points per $1 spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
Earn 3X points per $1 on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations.
Earn 1X 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.

Financial Snapshot

APR: 20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

U.P. Rating

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travelers and foodies.

Welcome OfferEarn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
80,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:
Up to   $1,280

Annual Fee

$595

APR

21.24% to 29.24% Variable

Why We Like This Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is a great option for frequent travelers, foodies, and those who are fans of the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem thanks to its combination of bonus categories, perks, and annual credits.

Pros & Cons

Pros

12x points on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel
6x points on airfare through Citi Travel
6x points on dining on Citi Nights (Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and 3x points on dining at all other times

Cons

$595 annual fee
Boosted dining rewards are limited to 2 nights per week

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening
12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
6x points on air travel booked on cititravel.com
6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, and 3x points any other time
1.5x points on all other purchases
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
Up to $300 annual hotel benefit
Up to $200 annual splurge credit
Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit
4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes every calendar year
Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to partners like American Airlines
Complimentary Priority Pass membership
No foreign transaction fees

Financial Snapshot

APR: 21.24% to 29.24% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Citi Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners

The Citi ThankYou Points program has 15 airline transfer partners and 5 hotel transfer partners. Make sure you check the transfer rate since not all transfers are done at a 1:1 ratio.

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Citi Transfer Partner (Minimum Transfer Is 1,000 Points)	Premium Card Transfer Ratio (Citi > Partner)	Non-Premium Card Transfer Ratio (Citi > Partner)	Transfer Time
Aeromexico Rewards	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Air France-KLM Flying Blue	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
ALL – Accor Live Limitless	2:1	1:0.35	Almost Instantly
American Airlines AAdvantage	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Avianca Lifemiles	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Cathay Pacific Cathay	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Choice Privileges	1:2	1:1.4	Almost Instantly
Emirates Skywards	1:0.8	1:0.56	Almost Instantly
Etihad Guest	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	1:1	1:0.7	2 Days
JetBlue TrueBlue	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club	5:1	1:0.14	Almost Instantly
Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer	1:4	1:2.8	Unknown
Qantas Frequent Flyer	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Qatar Airways Privilege Club	1:1	1:0.7	2 Days
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1:1	1:0.7	2 Days
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus	1:1	1:0.7	4 Days
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	1:1	1:0.7	Almost Instantly
Wyndham Rewards	1:1	1:0.7	Within 24 Hours

Keep in mind that the premium card rates are for those who hold either the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, or Citi Prestige^® Card (no longer open to new applicants).

Holders of the Citi Strata℠ Card, Citi Double Cash^® Card, Citi ThankYou^® Preferred Card (no longer open to new applicants), and Citi ThankYou^® Mastercard^® (no longer open to new applicants) can transfer ThankYou Points to partners at non-premium card reduced rates.

Hot Tip: Use our transfer partner tool to see how many points you’ll get when you transfer your Citi ThankYou Points to partner hotels and airlines!

How To Transfer Citi ThankYou Points

Once you have some ThankYou Points in your account, you’ll want to transfer these points to redeem them for free travel. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be ready to see the world.

Step 1: Starting at ThankYou.com, hover over the Travel menu option to trigger a dropdown menu. Select Points Transfer.

Citi Thank You Points redemption options — Image Credit: Citi

Step 2: Find your desired airline or hotel program and select Continue to start the transfer process.

Citi ThankYou transfer partners — Image Credit: Citi

Step 3: Enter the number of points you want to transfer. Add your frequent flyer number if you haven’t already attached it to your ThankYou Points account. Agree to the terms and conditions. Select Continue.

Citi Thank You Points Transfer To Airline — Image Credit: Citi

Step 4: Confirm that the details of the transfer are correct and select Confirm to complete the transfer.

Citi Thank You Points Transfer Confirm — Image Credit: Citi

Step 5: Head over to the appropriate airline site to book your award flight.

Citi Transfer Bonuses

Citi will sometimes offer a transfer bonus for a limited period of time. If you have a redemption in mind, this is the ideal time to transfer your points to get the most value.

Booking Travel With the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal

If you’re booking economy flights, the Citi ThankYou travel portal might be worth your consideration. Booking through Citi is not unlike booking directly with an airline. The difference is that you will see the cost in points (1 cent per point) in addition to the cash price.

Should You Transfer or Book With Citi?

When booking through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, you will earn airline miles on your flights. This serves as a kind of small rebate. However, award redemptions may cost more points in the Citi ThankYou travel portal than booking an award flight with the airline, so it’s important to compare when booking economy tickets.

While you can’t transfer ThankYou Points directly to United Airlines to book award tickets (for example), you can transfer to one of its respective Star Alliance partners and accomplish the same thing. If Saver Award space is available on United Airlines, you could transfer points to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program to book the United flight.

The valuation of 1 cent per point when used in the Citi ThankYou travel portal makes transferring a better option, even for these short economy flights. The United booking is closer, and booking with the Citi ThankYou travel portal still might be a good move.

The best choice depends on which airline you would credit points to for the flights and any status with the airline. Make sure you compare your award booking options with the Citi ThankYou travel portal prices to ensure you are getting the most value out of your points. There’s no need to throw away extra ThankYou Points!

Bottom Line: Most of the time, transferring ThankYou Points to an airline partner is the best way to go. Just make sure it’s a 1:1 transfer ratio.

Other Ways To Use Your Points

Citi ThankYou Points can be redeemed for gift cards to merchants such as Starbucks, Home Depot, and Macy’s, or for items such as luggage and cameras.

While there are plenty of ways to use your points, none of them provide good value. Stick with flight redemptions if you really want to get the most value from your points.

Combining ThankYou Points From Different Accounts

If you have both the Citi Strata card and the Citi Strata Premier card, as an example, you can link the accounts so you have access to all of your ThankYou Points in one place. This can make earning the points for your next award flight much easier.

The downside is that once linked, canceling one of the cards will cause the points earned on that card to have an expiration date. Additionally, once linked, your accounts cannot be unlinked.

There is an option to combine accounts online, but you may find the site has trouble processing the request. The easiest way to combine accounts is to call 800-THANK-YOU (800-842-6596).

You can also transfer points to other ThankYou Points accounts. Unlike American Express Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to your authorized user’s frequent flyer accounts, Citi allows you to transfer directly to ThankYou Points accounts.

These shared points expire within 90 days, so they need to be transferred to an airline partner or used in the Citi ThankYou travel portal within that timeframe. Even with the time limit, this is a great way to help friends and family complete a booking.

Redeeming ThankYou Points

Using your ThankYou Points for travel is clearly the best way to extract value from your points. With 14 airline transfer partners, you have plenty of choices when it comes time to redeem points for an amazing flight. To make the process a bit easier, we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to redeem your ThankYou Points.

Occasionally, Citi will run promotions that provide transfer bonuses between 10% and 30%. These are great opportunities to save some points when transferring points to complete an award booking.

Citi transfer bonus to Flying Blue — Keep an eye out for bonuses that can give your transfers a nice boost! Image Credit: Citi

Final Thoughts

Citi ThankYou Rewards might not be the most talked-about transferable points program, but these points can help you book some fantastic travel experiences. Once you know a few ways to earn and redeem your points, you’ll be ready to fly across the world.

The information for the Citi ThankYou^® Mastercard^® has been collected independently by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.