Citi ThankYou Adds American Airlines AAdvantage Transfers to No-Annual-Fee Cards

Updated: May 30, 2026, 12:54pm CDT

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Citi Expands AAdvantage Transfers to No-Fee Cards
Final Thoughts

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Citi ThankYou added points transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage last month when it launched a new premium card, the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card. However, transfers were only available to those with the Citi Strata Elite card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, or Citi Prestige^® Card (not available to new applicants), as these 3 cards charge an annual fee.

Citi now lets you transfer ThankYou points from popular no-annual-fee cards to American’s AAdvantage program. The transfers aren’t 1:1, but they can still be a smart way to top off your account for an award ticket.

Let’s look closer at transferring Citi ThankYou points to American Airlines.

Citi Expands AAdvantage Transfers to No-Fee Cards

As mentioned, the Citi Strata Elite card, Citi Strata Premier card, and Citi Prestige card gained the ability to transfer Citi ThankYou points to AAdvantage miles at a 1:1 transfer ratio in July. This didn’t apply to popular no-annual-fee cards that earn Citi ThankYou points.

American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Parked at a Remote Stand at New York (JFK) — American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER. Image Credit: Alberto Riva

But that’s no longer the case. Citi recently added the ability to transfer points to AAdvantage from select no-annual-fee ThankYou cards. These transfers process at a 1,000:700 ratio, which means 10,000 Citi ThankYou points become 7,000 AAdvantage miles.

AAdvantage on Citi ThankYou Transfer Page — Image Credit: Citi

This transfer rate applies to the following cards:

Citi Double Cash^® Card
Citi Strata℠ Card
Citi ThankYou^® Preferred Card (not available to new applicants)
Citi Custom Cash^® Card (not available to new applicants)

While not the best value, this can make sense if you don’t have a premium Citi ThankYou credit card and need to top off your AAdvantage account to book a specific award ticket. But just because you earn points with a no-annual-fee Citi credit card doesn’t mean you’re locked into lower transfer rates.

If you have an eligible Citi ThankYou points-earning card with an annual fee in addition to your no-annual-fee card, you can combine your accounts and transfer points at the preferred 1:1 rate.

This should happen automatically, but you may need to call in to link your ThankYou accounts if you open a new account. As always, don’t transfer your points without an immediate plan to use them, as you could be stuck with miles you can’t easily use.

Hot Tip:

No-annual-fee Citi ThankYou cards can transfer points to Citi’s other transfer partners at varying rates. This ranges from 1,000:140 for transfers to Leading Hotels of The World Leader’s Club to 1,000:1,400 (higher than 1:1) for transfers to Choice Privileges.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to see no-annual-fee Citi ThankYou-earning credit cards get the ability to transfer points to AAdvantage miles. With a 1,000:700 transfer ratio, it’s not the best value, but it still provides more flexibility for these cardholders.

That said, if you have an eligible Citi card with an annual fee, be sure to combine your ThankYou accounts to transfer at the preferred 1:1 rate.