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3 Citi Transfer Partners That Consistently Get Me 2+ Cents per Point

Ehsan Haque's image
Ehsan Haque
Updated: 
Edited by: Jessica Merritt
& Stella Shon
3 Citi Transfer Partners That Consistently Get Me 2+ Cents per Point
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Citi ThankYou Rewards often fly under the radar compared to heavyweights like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, but the program has gotten a lot better — especially over the past year.

In 2025, Citi launched its new premium travel credit card while boasting an impressive lineup of airline and hotel transfer partners, including several exclusive to Citi.

Although I’ve focused primarily on other major rewards currencies, I have begun adding Citi ThankYou Rewards to my arsenal. Here’s a look at 3 of my favorite Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partners that help me get maximum value from my points.

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Earning Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi ThankYou Rewards are quickly becoming one of my favorite rewards currencies for several reasons. Citi offers many highly valuable rewards cards, making it easy to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points.

Of course, there are also many ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards points, including gift cards, statement credits, and booking travel through Citi Travel. Ultimately, the best way to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards points is by transferring them to Citi’s airline and hotel travel partners, which is how I always redeem my points.

The quickest way to earn a large number of Citi ThankYou Rewards is by applying for a new Citi credit card and meeting the required spending to earn its welcome bonus offer:

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
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U.P. Rating 
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

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.
Earn 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
100,000 points
Up to $1,600
$595
20.74% to 28.74%
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 100,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 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: 20.74% to 28.74%
  • Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
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U.P. Rating 
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
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
60,000 points
$960
$95
19.74% to 27.74% 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: 19.74% to 27.74% Variable APR
  • Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Citi Strata℠ Card
Citi Strata℠ Card
Star rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating iconStar rating icon
U.P. Rating 
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Citi Strata℠ Card
Earn 30,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
30,000 points
$480
$0
0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and then a variable APR 18.74% to 28.74%.
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.
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 18.74% to 28.74%.
  • Foreign Transaction Fees: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase
Rewards Center

Citi ThankYou Rewards

What Are Citi ThankYou Rewards Worth?

Citi ThankYou Rewards are among the most valuable transferable points available. We value Citi ThankYou Rewards at 1.6 cents each, slightly behind American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One Miles.

Of course, the value of the points is ultimately determined by how you choose to redeem the points — and I’ll show you how I easily exceed this value with every redemption.

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1. American AAdvantage

Citi ThankYou Rewards reinstated American Airlines AAdvantage as a permanent transfer partner in summer 2025. It’s now the only major transferable points program that lets you move points to AAdvantage — and it does so at a strong 1:1 transfer ratio.

American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance, which means miles are redeemable for award flights on partner airlines, including some incredible airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Qatar Airways. Additionally, the program also has nonalliance partnerships with several airlines, including Air Tahiti Nui and Etihad Airways.

Qatar QSuites, 777, Turndown Service with Lie-flat bed
You can use American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book Qatar Airways QSuites. Image Credit: Alex Miller

Of course, AAdvantage miles can be used for American Airlines flights. However, the program uses dynamic pricing for its own flights and maintains an award chart for travel on most partner airlines. Earlier this year, I redeemed 500,000 American AAdvantage miles for round-trip business class flights to Japan and Tahiti, saving me over $28,000.

Bottom Line:

This transfer partnership alone is a major reason to apply for a Citi ThankYou card. Over the last decade, I have redeemed more American Airlines AAdvantage miles than any other airline currency.

2. Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Air France-KLM’s loyalty program, Flying Blue is another tremendous airline loyalty program that has only recently become well-known. The program is part of SkyTeam and boasts many airline partners, offering a straightforward approach to earning and redeeming miles.

It regularly provides frequent transfer bonuses and provides excellent partner redemption rates, while maintaining solid award space. The program also has monthly Promo Rewards, which provide discounts of up to 50% on award tickets between select destinations throughout a specific travel period.

KLM Boeing 78X Business Class seat 4
KLM Boeing 78X Business Class. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

Unfortunately, Flying Blue uses dynamic pricing for its award flights. However, it also offers standardized saver award fares, which can provide significant value. For example, one-way business class flights between the U.S. and Europe can be booked for as little as 60,000 miles plus taxes and fees.

These rates can be even lower if you can take advantage of Flying Blue’s Promo Rewards. Recently, I flew to Europe in business class on Air France and KLM for just 70,000 miles … round-trip.

Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. However, Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of many other credit card points programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Wells Fargo Rewards. 

3. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

I also frequently transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Virgin Atlantic’s loyalty program. Like Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic is also part of SkyTeam. However, Virgin Atlantic also has several nonalliance partnerships.

Flying Club also has several excellent transfer partners, allows for surcharges to be paid with points, and offers fantastic Saver award fares. Also, like Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club also employs dynamic pricing for awards.

ANA first class suites 777
ANA “The Suite” first class on the Boeing 777-300ER. Image Credit: Ehsan Haque

Virgin Atlantic has a special partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA) that allows you to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for ANA flights. Using Virgin Points for premium cabin travel on ANA consistently ranks among the best ways to redeem Virgin Points.

» Related: ANA’s The Suite First Class: Why It’s Worth Every Mile in 2025

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club features a zone-based award chart for ANA award redemptions, offering some incredibly low redemption rates. From the Western U.S., you can book a one-way business class award for 52,500 points or a first class award for 72,500 points. From the central and eastern U.S., these rates are priced a bit higher at 60,000 and 85,000 points, respectively.

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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner of nearly every major transferable rewards currency. In addition to Citi ThankYou Rewards, Flying Club is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One Miles.

Final Thoughts

Citi ThankYou Rewards are a highly valuable and extremely underrated transferable rewards currency. The program offers numerous redemption options, including transfers to Citi’s airline and hotel transfer partners, which generally represent the best value.

Fortunately, Citi has several valuable transfer partners, including American Airlines AAdvantage, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. By transferring Citi ThankYou Rewards points to these programs, I have been able to fly premium cabins on many of the world’s best airlines.

Featured Image Credit: Ehsan Haque
Ehsan Haque's image

About Ehsan Haque

Ehsan is an avid traveler who has traveled to 100 countries, diligently using points and miles to fund his journeys. Currently, he holds 32 active credit cards and earns over a million points and miles annually, primarily using them for luxury hotels and long-haul premium cabins.

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