Citi ThankYou Rewards Adds Leaders Club as Hotel Transfer Partner

Any time a well-known transferable rewards program adds a new transfer partner, it’s good news. Even better is when that new partner has a distinctive hotel reward program with an excellent portfolio of over 400 independent luxury hotels spread over more than 80 destinations.

With the addition of the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Leaders Club program, Citi has added its fourth hotel transfer partner and increased its roster of transfer partners to 20.

Let’s look at Citi’s new collaboration with Leaders Club and why we’re so pleased about the news.

Citi ThankYou Rewards and Leaders Club

This marks the first time Leaders Club has collaborated with a credit card rewards program. In addition to the recent partnership with Leaders Club as a hotel transfer partner, Citi also has 4 other hotel transfer partners: Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, Preferred Hotels & Resorts iPrefer Rewards, and Wyndham Rewards. Citi cardholders now have more options when redeeming points for hotel stays, thanks to this new addition.

Citi cardholders who possess cards like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card have the option to transfer their Citi ThankYou Points to Leaders Club at a ratio of 5:1. Therefore, for every 10,000 ThankYou Points you transfer, you will receive 2,000 Leaders Club points in return. All other cardholders can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Leaders Club at a rate of 1,000 ThankYou points to 140 Leaders Club points.

Is It Worth It?

The world of award travel rarely discusses Leaders Club points, mainly because up until now, the program has never been associated with any credit card rewards program. However, Leaders Club offers a wide range of unique and luxurious properties worldwide, such as the renowned Ritz in London, or the Greenwich Hotel in New York City, just to name a few.

Consider, for instance, the previously mentioned Greenwich Hotel in New York City. You can book a Superior King Room here for 14,063 points per night in November. This room has a nightly rate of $1,125.00, which translates to approximately 0.8 cents per Leaders Club point or 1.6 cents per Citi ThankYou Point, on par with our valuation of Citi ThankYou Points.

Alternatively, you can book a stay at the magnificent 5-star Sun Gardens Dubrovnik in Croatia, for just 2,500 Leaders Club points or 12,500 Citi ThankYou Points.

Here is an example of another luxury property you can book through Leaders Club in Malibu, California from just 10,313 points, the equivalent of approximately 52,000 Citi ThankYou Points per night.

It is worth considering transferring points from your Citi ThankYou Rewards account to Leaders Club if you’re interested in booking an independent luxury hotel that isn’t affiliated with a flexible rewards program. There are several exceptional properties within The Leading Hotels of the World portfolio that you might consider using points for, depending on your travel preferences.

Final Thoughts

Citi ThankYou Rewards’ addition of a new hotel transfer partner is exciting news. It’s great to see Citi add an intriguing hotel loyalty program like Leaders Club, which contains over 400 luxury hotels worldwide. Now, Citi cardholders have another option for redeeming points, specifically for luxurious stays at high-end hotels.