1. Use Points

BY 

Spencer Howard

- June 5, 2017July 20, 2017

35 Best Ways To Redeem Citi ThankYou Points for Max Value [2017]

In March 2015, Citibank began offering Citi ThankYou® Premier Card and Citi Prestige® Card members the option to transfer their Citi ThankYou points to travel partners. As of late 2016, even the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card members could transfer points (although one partner has a reduced transfer ratio).

If you are one of these cardholders, one of the best ways to use Citi points is to transfer your points to airline programs for maximum redemption value.

Unfortunately, not all redemption options are of equal value, but Citi offers many ways to redeem your Citi ThankYou reward program points for some amazing trips!

Transferring Citi ThankYou Points to Travel Partners

The Citi ThankYou Program provides 2 ways to redeem ThankYou Points:

• Redemptions for flights through the Citi Travel Center
• Direct transfers to some of their airline partners

Using the Citi Travel Center

Currently, holding the Citi Prestige® Card allows you to book flights through the Travel Center at a rate of 1.33 cents per point for all airlines. Under a current promotion, you can get 1.6 cents for American Airlines until July 23, 2017.

On this date, the redemption rate is reduced to 1.25 cents per reward point for all flights redeemed through the Travel Center. This is the same transfer rate as the Citi ThankYou® Premier Card.

All other Citi ThankYou credit cards transfer at a rate of 1 cent per point when using the Travel Center.

Hot Tip: The Citi Travel Center is a useful tool because it will give you access to using your reward points with airlines beyond the Citi ThankYou airlines partners.

Citi ThankYou Transfer Partners (Airlines)

Citi airline partners include some great programs like Asia Miles and Etihad, and most have a 1:1 transfer rate.

The 35 Best Ways To Use Your Citi ThankYou Points

Sure, you could use your points for statement credit or gift cards or one of the other redemption options. But to get the maximum value from your Citi ThankYou Points, you should transfer your points to frequent flyer programs.

These redemptions are especially valuable for international flights.

Please keep in mind that these options aren’t the only options for redemption, but are some of the best ways to use your Citi ThankYou points to boost your points’ value.

See also: Ways to Earn Citi ThankYou Points >>

1. Fly Singapore Suites on the A380 (KrisFlyer)

Many people transfer to KrisFlyer so they can experience Singapore Suites, one of the premier first class products available. If you have a travel date, you can even enjoy a double bed in the sky! It’s safe to say this is one experience you don’t want to miss.

There is only 1 option to fly Singapore Suites from the U.S., and that’s out of New York. For 76,000 miles you can try Suites from New York to Frankfurt.

If 7 hours in suites class isn’t enough, you can continue on to Singapore for a total of 120,000 miles. Feeling adventurous? You can fly from New York to Sydney for 152,000 miles, which would give you over 24 hours in luxury!

If you aren’t based in New York, you can still enjoy suites after connecting to New York.

Need help booking? See our step by step guide for booking Singapore Suites or first class.

Hot Tip: If you are connecting, having a card like the Citi Prestige® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, or the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card can be useful for offering lounge access while you wait!

2. Fly United Domestic Business or First Class (KrisFlyer)

If you’re looking for a transcontinental flight on United, skip the United miles and go with KrisFlyer.

One-way in business class costs 20,000 KrisFlyer miles, which would be 25,000 on United. It’s even a better deal in first class: a one-way award will cost 30,000 KrisFlyer miles, while the same flight would cost 35,000 United miles.

3. Fly Between the Continental U.S. and Hawaii (KrisFlyer)

Flying to Hawaii is without a doubt one of the most popular uses of miles and reward points. KrisFlyer again provides a great way to utilize the Star Alliance network.

For economy, business, and first class flights, you will need 17,500 miles, 30,000 miles, and 40,000 miles, respectively. United charges 22,500 miles, 40,000 miles, and 50,000 miles for the same flights.

4. Fly to Europe From the U.S. (KrisFlyer)

Looking for a cheap way to get to Europe? You can get a one-way flight in economy class on a Star Alliance partner for only 27,500 KrisFlyer miles. That’s 2,500 miles cheaper than the U.S. legacy carriers – American, Delta, and United.

If you travel to Europe regularly, these savings will add up quickly and save you miles for additional trips.

5. Fly to the Middle East or North Africa From the U.S. (KrisFlyer)

The KrisFlyer program has some amazing partner redemption options to the Middle East and North Africa: one-way in economy class for 37, 500 miles, one-way in business for 57,400 miles, or one-way in first class for 75,000 miles.

6. Fly From the U.S. to Central or South Africa (KrisFlyer)

Flying to central and South Africa is not always easy and is often expensive, but KrisFlyer provides a great option in business class. You can book a one-way flight on a Star Alliance partner in business class for 72,500 miles.

7. Fly From Los Angeles to Tokyo or Seoul (KrisFlyer)

Check out Singapore Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo or Seoul. For only 95,000 miles, you can enjoy a great first class experience.

Need help booking? See our step by step guide for booking Singapore business class.

8. Fly From San Francisco to Hong Kong or Singapore (KrisFlyer)

If you’re looking for a premium experience to Southeast Asia, you can use KrisFlyer miles to fly business class to Hong Kong for only 82,000 miles or get to Singapore for 88,000 miles.

Need help booking? See our step by step guide for booking Singapore business class.

9. Fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to Europe (KrisFlyer)

While Singapore Airlines has one award chart for all Star Alliance partners, it has a separate one for flights on Virgin Atlantic. One key aspect to this award chart is that a round-trip flight is required.

However, you can experience Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class product for only 100,000 miles round-trip. This is 30,000 miles less than using KrisFlyer miles on a Star Alliance partner airline to travel to Europe.

10. Fly Lufthansa First Class to Europe (KrisFlyer)

Without a doubt, Lufthansa first class is an aspirational experience that should be on your list. For 80,000 Singapore KrisFlyer miles, you can fly to Europe and enjoy one of the top first class products in the sky. That’s 30,000 miles cheaper than if you used United miles.

To top it off, if you connect in Frankfurt, you will have a chance to visit the First Class Terminal. This is a lounge experience of a lifetime, so make sure your connection leaves you a few hours.

One thing to remember is the fuel surcharges that will run somewhere close to $425. For what you’ll get along the way, this can definitely be worth it!

Need help booking? Check out our step by step guide to booking Lufthansa first class.

11. Fly Between the South Pacific Islands (KrisFlyer)

If you’d like to visit some South Pacific islands, KrisFlyer miles can be a great choice over United miles if you want to book a premium cabin award seat.

United and Singapore both charge 12,500 miles in economy, but Singapore really shines in business and first class. At 17,500 and 22,500 miles for business and first, respectively, KrisFlyer is a great deal! United charges 30,000 miles for business class and 40,000 for first class, in comparison.

Availability on this one can be tough, but it will be worth the effort if you can make it work with your schedule.

You can learn about more KrisFlyer redemptions by using Singapore Airlines’ Star Alliance award chart.

12. Fly Air France or KLM with Promo Awards (Flying Blue)

Probably the best way to use the Flying Blue program is their Promo Awards. These awards run throughout the year and change every few months. You will generally receive a 25-50% discount on economy and business class award tickets from Europe to specific cities.

Typically, Flying Blue awards between the U.S. and Europe cost 25,000 miles for economy class and 62,500 miles for business class. With just a 25% discount, that drops the mileage cost to 18,750 miles and 46,875 miles, respectively.

Flying Blue award flights do incur surcharges, so keep that in mind when booking these. Even with the surcharges, though, these awards can provide great value.

Hot Tip: If you need extra Flying Blue miles, you can also transfer any points you have with your Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. These include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card, or the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠!

13. Take Advantage of a Broad Definition of Europe (Flying Blue)

Flying Blue really shines with its broad definition of Europe. This gives you access to countries such as Algeria, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Canary Islands at a lower redemption level.

As mentioned above, a one-way business class award flight to “Europe” will cost 62,500 miles, which is a solid redemption. If you’re booking an economy class award flight, 25,000 miles for a one-way flight to Israel or North Africa is a fantastic deal.

14. Fly to Hawaii From the Continental U.S. (Flying Blue)

Another great redemption option is for flights from the continental U.S. to Hawaii. At only 15,000 miles for economy class and 30,000 miles for business class award flights on Flying Blue partner Delta, these are among the cheapest options available.

This is actually cheaper than using Delta’s own SkyMiles program to book an award flight on Delta!

15. Fly to Mexico at Domestic Redemption Rates (Flying Blue)

Unlike many programs, Flying Blue includes Mexico in the same region as the U.S. rather than the Caribbean and Central America region. Because of this, you can book a one-way award flight from the U.S. to Mexico for only 12,500 miles.

16. Fly From the U.S. to the Caribbean (Flying Blue)

Speaking of the Caribbean, you can book an award flight from the U.S. for 15,000 miles one-way. This is means you will save at least 5,000 miles per round-trip flight compared to using a U.S. carrier’s program.

17. Crazy Cheap Awards to Australia and the South Pacific (Flying Blue)

Flying Blue provides a solid redemption option to the South Pacific, with one-way business class award flights costing 75,000 miles. The program also provides the cheapest award option in economy class at 30,000 miles one-way.

Now, here’s where we get clever. You can route through Sydney on your way to an island in the South Pacific and just happen to miss your connecting flight. In doing so, you will “accidentally” save 20,000 miles on an economy class award or 50,000 miles on a business class award.

At these rates to Australia, Flying Blue becomes a competitive program for flights down under.

To see how many miles you would need for a rewards flight, check out AirFrance’s Flying Blue miles calculator.

Hot Tip: Traveling internationally, you’ll want to make sure you bring a card with no foreign transaction fees. The Citi Prestige® Card and Citi ThankYou® Premier Card have no fee, but the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card does. Our favorite option outside of Citi is typically the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

18. A Cheap Business Class Flight to Europe (Etihad)

While Etihad may not be a member of a major airline alliance, they do have tons of partners. They also have a different award chart for each partner airline. Though the booking process may be tedious, there are some solid awards to be found!

One of these bookings is a round-trip business class trip on Brussels Airlines between New York (JFK) and Brussels for 88,000 miles. You can book a round-trip economy class award flight for only 56,000 miles if economy is more your style. The same redemption rates can also be found from Toronto and Washington, D.C. (IAD).

Availability can be tough to find, but for one of the best award flight deals, it’s definitely worth the patience!

19. Fly American Airlines at Pre-Devaluation Prices in Business and First Class (Etihad)

Earlier this year, American Airlines devalued their business and first class redemptions. Fortunately, Etihad’s award chart for American allows you to book flights on American Airlines at pre-devaluation levels.

Let’s take a look at some of the great options you have by flying American with Etihad miles:

• Fly to Europe for 50,000 miles in business class or 62,500 miles in first class
• Fly to Asia 1 (Japan, Korea, Mongolia) for 50,000 miles in business class or 62,500 miles in first class
• Fly to Asia 2 (China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.) for 55,000 miles in business class and 67,500 miles in first class
• Fly to the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, etc.) for 62,500 in business class and 67,500 in first class

Need Help Booking? See our step by step instructions on Booking American Airlines First Class.

20. Fly Prague to Seoul on Czech Airlines in Business Class (Etihad)

Similar to the deal on Brussels Airlines, Etihad has a fantastic sweet spot award with Czech Airlines. You can fly one-way in business class on Czech Airlines from Prague to Seoul for only 25,610 miles. That is an amazing deal and cheaper than most economy class awards on that route.

21. Fly Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca (Etihad)

Etihad’s award chart for Royal Air Maroc is distance-based. This is different than the region-based award chart for their partnership with American Airlines. It’s also different than an award chart with specific routes, like their partnerships with Brussels Airlines and Czech Airlines.

For flights of 2,001 miles or more on Royal Air Maroc, you can book a one-way ticket in economy for 22,000 miles or business for 44,000 miles. This includes the route between New York (JFK) to Casablanca, which is an amazing way to reach North Africa!

22. Fly Air Berlin in Business Class to Berlin (Etihad)

Another great way to get to Europe is flying Air Berlin one-way from New York (JFK) to Berlin in business class for 49,000 miles. Not only does this give you a way to get to Berlin in the comfort of business class, it puts you in a city with easy access to other locations in Europe.

23. Fly Oman Air in Business Class (Etihad)

Etihad has 2 great award flights on Oman Air. If you are in London, you can fly from London to Muscat one-way in business class for 44,000 miles.

If you are already in the Middle East, check out Oman Air’s route between Muscat and Singapore. For only 42,000 Etihad miles, you can fly one-way in business class on Oman Air.

While not as well known as some major international airlines, Oman Air’s business class has received great reviews.

24. Fly Air China in First Class From London to Beijing (Virgin Atlantic)

Virgin Atlantic isn’t known for having a great award chart because of the high surcharges flying out of London. However, there are several redemptions to consider.

For 75,000 miles you can fly first class round-trip on their partner Air China. This flight will include $700 in surcharges, but for a round-trip redemption in first class, that’s still quite a deal.

Hot Tip: You can transfer more miles into Virgin Atlantic through Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards. These programs include cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express.

25. Fly Delta One to London Round-Trip (Virgin Atlantic)

If you want to avoid the high surcharges, you can fly on Delta with Virgin Atlantic miles in business class for 90,000 miles round-trip. These award bookings are available from several major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, New York (JFK), Detroit, Seattle, and more.

If you’d like to see some other great ways to book Delta One flights, check out our booking guide.

26. Fly Delta One to Europe Round-Trip (Virgin Atlantic)

Flying round-trip to Europe on Delta in business class with SkyMiles would cost 125,000 miles, and that price will go up to 140,000 in 2017. However, with Virgin Atlantic miles, you can book this award for only 100,000 miles round-trip. That’s a huge discount!

There are 13 airline partners for redeeming Flying Club miles, including All Nippon Airways (ANA), Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, and Virgin Australia.

For more information on rewards with Virgin Atlantic partner airlines, check out the Virgin Atlantic partners’ award charts.

Hot Tip: Keep an eye out for promotional periods that will give you the best redemption for your Citi ThankYou points. For example, in 2015, Citi ThankYou offered a 25% bonus for transferring points to Virgin Atlantic. In this case, transferring 25,000 ThankYou points for the round-trip flight to London would yield the 35,000 Virgin Atlantic miles it would take to get you there in economy.

27. Fly From the East Coast to Europe (Malaysia Airlines)

For only 36,000 Enrich miles, you can fly one-way on one of Malaysia Airlines’ partners (Air France, British Airways, KLM) to Europe in economy class. For 66,000 Enrich miles, you could take this trip in business class.

It’s important to remember that no matter what award you book, there will be significant surcharges added to an award ticket.

28. Fly Emirates or Qatar Airways in Business Class From the East Coast (Malaysia Airlines)

You can fly Emirates or Qatar Airways in business class on a one-way award ticket for 66,000 Enrich miles from the U.S. East Coast to the Middle East. Like flying to Europe with Enirch miles, the surcharges are steep on these award tickets.

Need help booking? Check out our guide to booking Emirates business class.

29. First Class Between New York and Vancouver (Asia Miles)

Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program has a distance-based award chart. The further you fly, the more Asia Miles you use. Keep this in mind when considering award flights, as some routes will be a much better deal than others.

One of the sweet spots in the Asia Miles award chart is from New York to Vancouver in first class on Cathay Pacific. For only 35,000 miles, you can experience one of the premier first class products in the world.

Need help booking? See our step by step guide for booking Cathay Pacific first class.

30. East Coast to Europe With Several Stopovers (Asia Miles)

If you want to get creative and see multiple cities in Europe, Asia Miles will let you include 4 stopovers. This is a great way to travel to and around Europe from the East Coast!

For 60,000 miles, you can book a round-trip award ticket in economy class. The business class cost is 85,000 miles and the first class cost is 115,000 miles.

Remember, Cathay Pacific has 2 award charts: one for flights only on Cathay Pacific and another for bookings that include Oneworld partners. The number of partners used in a booking helps to determine how many stopovers are allowed.

Some of these partners, including British Airways, carry high surcharges, so keep this in mind when planning an award booking. Aer Lingus and Air Berlin generally have lower surcharges on flights to Europe and can be a good option.

Let’s look an example of a route you could use:

Starting in New York, you could fly to Reykjavik, Dublin, Rome, and finally back to New York. That means you can spend a few days in 3 European cities for an award price that would typically only get you a simple round-trip flight.

Hot Tip:  Did you know that Iceland and Russia are considered “Europe” on Cathay? A city like Reykjavik, Iceland can easily be worked in as one of the stopovers on an itinerary from the U.S. to Europe.

31. See 2 Asian Cities and 3 Pacific Islands (Eva Air)

EVA Air’s Infinity MileageLands program doesn’t provide many great options for award bookings, but it does have some solid options in Asia and allows 2 stop-overs and an open-jaw on Star Alliance award flights.

To see 3 islands and 2 Asian cities, you can fly round-trip in business class on United Airlines and Asiana for 55,000 miles.

For example, you can start in Tokyo and stopover in Guam with Saipan as your destination. You can then open-jaw to Palau by using 12,500 United miles for an economy class flight. From Palau you can then fly to Seoul for your second stopover before returning to Tokyo.

32. Fly to Hawaii, Then Central America (Eva Air)

If you want a fun island adventure, you can fly round-trip in business class for 80,000 Eva miles to see Hawaii and 2 Caribbean islands.

Here’s an example of a possible routing: fly from San Francisco to St. Thomas with a stopover in Hawaii, then open-jaw to St. Maarten, and finally stopover in Toronto before returning to San Francisco.

33. Fly Around Europe (Eva Air)

Another fun option with Eva Infinity MileageLand miles is to fly around Europe. For 30,000 miles in economy class or 55,000 miles in business class, you can see several cities in Europe.

Eva Air’s award chart includes both Iceland and Russia in Europe, so you have a lot of options!

A sample routing could include a flight from Istanbul to Rome (stopover) and then on to Frankfurt (destination). You could then open-jaw to Berlin before flying to Copenhagen (stopover) and back to Istanbul. This route would include flights on Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, and SAS.

Other than the above options, Singapore Airlines is probably the better deal for transferring reward points from the Citi ThankYou reward program to a partner airline. For more reward flights, see EVA’s award charts.

34. Fly Qatar Airways in Business Class (Qatar)

The Qatar Airways Privilege Club doesn’t provide a lot of great redemptions, but you can fly in business class to Doha at a reasonable redemption rate.

For 70,000 miles you can book a one-way award flight from the U.S. on Qatar Airways and experience one of the best business class products in the sky.

35. Use the Citi Prestige Bonus to Fly American Airlines

If you have a Citi Prestige® Card, then you can book flights on American Airlines at a rate of 1.6 cents per point through the Citi ThankYou Travel Center until July 23, 2017.

American Airlines is often the listed airline for flights, but sometimes they are codeshare partners (listed below) and you can receive the 1.6 cents per reward point rate for these flights. Some of these codeshare partners are not affiliated with any airline alliance (e.g. Oneworld, Star Alliance, or SkyTeam).

The following is the variety of possible codeshare airlines through American Airlines via the Citi ThankYou Travel Center:

It doesn’t always make sense to transfer ThankYou Points to a partner airline for some flights. For example, with a domestic flight, you are often better off paying out of pocket.

With the Citi ThankYou Travel Center, you can purchase your flight with points. These bookings will earn redeemable miles and elite qualification miles (EQMs).

However, the Citi ThankYou Travel Center will not always give you the best price. Do your research before paying for a flight with ThankYou Points via the Travel Center.

Hot Tip: If flying economy class, you should try to find ways to get elite status benefits. You could use your Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard to earn a free checked bag, for instance. Alaska Airlines and British Airways (or any Oneworld partner) will share elite status benefits.

How To Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Partners

You can visit the Citi Travel Center or jump straight to the Points Transfer page. From the toolbar, go to Travel, then select “Points Transfer” from the dropdown menu.

Now, it’s time to choose which airline you want to transfer your ThankYou Points to.

Once you select a transfer partner, you’ll need to choose how many points you would like to transfer.

Then it’s time to enter your loyalty program number.

Once you accept the terms and conditions, you are only one step away from completing the transfer.

Once you confirm the transfer, there is not a way to reverse. Make sure you want to transfer the points before confirming!

U.P. Pro Tips

Personally, I love the options provided by ThankYou Points. I have booked suites class on Singapore Air and business class on Brussels Air with Etihad miles, and there are still many more options to try!

Some of the best options don’t even start in the U.S. If you’ll be in Europe or Asia, see what ThankYou Points can do for you.

Final Thoughts

Transferring your Citi ThankYou Points to one of their partner airlines can provide some fantastic travel options, and is in our opinion the best way to use Citi points.

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card, Citi ThankYou® Premier Card, and Citi Prestige® Card can be used to earn additional points. Two of the 3 cards have an annual fee, but if you correctly you will not have a problem earning well more than that in value!

Make sure you do your research when deciding between transferring your miles to a partner’s program and using Citi’s Travel Center.

With a little planning, you’ll be on your way to Frankfurt in Singapore’s luxury suites class or to Brussels in business class for the fewest points possible.

Additional Ways to Earn Citi ThankYou Points >>