32 Best Ways to Redeem Citi ThankYou Points for Max Value

BY 

Spencer Howard

- February 12, 2019

1. Use Points  / 
2. Use Flexible Points

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Citi Premier Card and Citi Prestige® Card members the option to transfer their Citi ThankYou points to travel partners. Even the no annual fee and discontinued Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card enables you to transfer to JetBlue TrueBlue.

Also, the upcoming Citi Rewards+ Card which will replace the discontinued Citi ThankYou® Preferred card will earn Citi ThankYou points as well!

Having either the Citi ThankYou Preferred or new Rewards+ card is akin to having a Chase Freedom Unlimited card; you earn points, but you will need to pair it with a more “premium” card such as the Citi Prestige or the Chase Sapphire Reserve to transfer to airline partners.

If you are one of these cardholders, one of the best ways to use Citi ThankYou points is to transfer them to airline programs — and that’s how you’re going to get the most value.

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

Earning Citi ThankYou Points

The best way to earn Citi ThankYou Points is through strategic use of credit cards that earn these valuable points.

Recommended Citi Cards

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Citi ThankYou® Premier Card	Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in Airfare at ThankYou.com 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Travel, including Gas Stations 2 points per $1 spent on dining/entertainment Annual Fee: $95, waived for first 12 months

Transferring Citi ThankYou Points to Travel Partners

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

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

Using the Citi Travel Center

Citi Prestige® Card and Citi ThankYou® Premier Card card holders can redeem points for flights through the Travel Center at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. Other Citi ThankYou credit cards are 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

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

Recent additions include JetBlue TrueBlue, Avianca LifeMiles, and Turkish Miles & Smiles.

With the loss of Hilton to Amex, Citi has no hotel direct transfer partner.

The 32 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: Best 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 86,000 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 132,000 miles. Feeling adventurous? You can fly from New York to Sydney for 167,000 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.

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 miles.

One-way in business class costs 20,000 KrisFlyer miles, which is 25,000 on United. In first class a one-way award will cost 30,000 KrisFlyer miles, while the same flight will 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. Read more about Singapore KrisFlyer mile redemption options here.

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 (KrisFlyer)

Check out Singapore Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo. For 107,000 miles, you can enjoy a great first class experience.

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

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

If you’re looking for a premium experience to Southeast Asia, you can use KrisFlyer miles to fly Singapore business class to Hong Kong for only 89,000 miles or get to Singapore for 95,000 miles.

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

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.

Need Help Booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking Virgin Atlantic Upper Class using points.

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 95,000 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 Lufthansa 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)

Air France/KLM Flying Blue utilizes a variable award pricing calculator, which they say is tied to revenue prices. This simply isn’t true, and as a result, it’s very difficult to pin down an exact cost, as there are many award pricing levels now.

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 21,500-27,000 miles for economy class and 53,000-71,000 miles for business class. With just a 25% discount, that drops the mileage cost to 16,125-20,250 miles and 39,750-53,250 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 53,000-71,000 miles, which is a solid redemption. If you’re booking an economy class award flight, 21,500-27,000 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! Read this article for more ideas on using Flying Blue miles.

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 48,000 miles one-way.

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

You can also fly directly to Tahiti for 25,500 Flying Blue miles!

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 54,000 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 using points.

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 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.

First class, though not as great of a deal, is an option, costing 77,000 miles one-way between Muscat (MCT) and Singapore (SIN).

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

23. Fly Delta One Suites Round-Trip (Virgin Atlantic)

Always wanted to try Delta One Suites, the new phenomenal business class product from Delta Airlines? You’re in luck! Virgin Atlantic, a Delta partner, has the best redemption rates in the business for Delta One Suites.

Here’s the routes you can take:

A350 routes and flight dates:

• Detroit (DTW)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — from October 30, 2017
• Detroit (DTW)-Seoul (ICN) — from November 18, 2017
• Detroit (DTW)-Beijing (PEK) — from January 17, 2018
• Detroit (DTW)-Amsterdam (AMS) — from March 2018
• Atlanta (ATL)-Seoul (ICN) — from March 24, 2018
• Detroit (DTW)-Shanghai (PVG) — from April 19, 2018
• Los Angeles (LAX)-Shanghai (PVG) — from July 2, 2018
• Seattle (SEA)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — from March 1, 2019
• Los Angeles (LAX)-Tokyo Haneda (HND) — from March 31, 2019
• Minneapolis (MSP) – Shanghai (PVG) – Proposed from June 2020

777 routes and flight dates:

• Minneapolis (MSP)-Tokyo Haneda (HND) — from November 16, 2018
• Atlanta (ATL)-Paris (CDG) — from December 13, 2018 to March 29, 2019
• Minneapolis (MSP)-Paris (CDG) — from December 13, 2018 to March 30, 2019
• Atlanta (ATL)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — from March 1, 2019
• Minneapolis (MSP) – Seoul (ICN) — from April 1, 2019
• Los Angeles (LAX)-Sydney (SYD) — from April 19, 2019

All routes to Asia cost 60,000 miles each way or 120,000 miles round-trip in Delta One Suites, while all routes to Europe cost 50,000 miles each way or 100,000 miles round-trip.

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

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

Flying round-trip to Europe on Delta in business class with SkyMiles starts at 140,000 miles and can go all the way up to 600,000 miles (!). 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, Citi ThankYou offered a 40% bonus in Oct 2018 for transferring points to Virgin Atlantic. In this case, transferring 42,857 ThankYou points for the round-trip flight to London would yield the 60,000 Virgin Atlantic miles it would take to get you there in economy.

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

Malaysia Airlines has been devalued many times; however, if flying on oneworld partners or Emirates is on your to-do list, you can use Citi ThankYou points to help book flights!

Malaysia Airlines uses two distance-based award charts:

1. Partner flights
2. Malaysia Airlines + one partner flights

Malaysia Airlines used to have the oneworld multi-carrier award chart, similar to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, but it has been ceased since November 2018.

Here are some great example routes you can take:

• Chicago (ORD) – Paris (CDG) on Air France economy for 44,000 miles one-way or 69,000 miles round-trip. The same route in business class goes for 87,000 miles one-way or 132,000 miles round-trip
• Boston (BOS) – Rome (FCO) on Alitalia economy for 44,000 miles one-way or 69,000 miles round-trip. The same route in business class goes for 87,000 miles one-way or 132,000 miles round-trip.

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

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

Using Malaysia Airlines Enrich Miles is one of the only ways that you can book Emirates and Qatar Airways with Citi points. Here’s a few great routes you can fly, along with award prices:

• New York City (JFK) – Milan (MXP) in Emirates one-way for 82,000 miles in business class and 103,000 miles in first class
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Dubai (DXB) in Emirates one-way for 131,000 miles in business class and 172,000 miles in first class
• Houston (IAH) – Doha (DOH) in Qatar Airlines QSuites one-way for 131,000 miles

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

27. 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 40,000 miles, you can experience one of the premier first class products in the world. The same flight in business class is only 25,000 miles!

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

28. US to Australia on Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)

Asia Miles made major changes to their awards on June 22, 2018, with awards now called Standard Award and Choice Award. Flying Cathay Pacific, US to Australia awards now price under the Ultra-Long Haul one-way price of 85,000 miles in business, 125,000 in first.

Remember that for each of these award prices, you will need to stop in Hong Kong before continuing to Australia. Here’s a few great routes you can use:

• New York City (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Perth (PER)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Brisbane (BNE)
• Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Adelaide (ADL)
• Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Melbourne (MEL)
• San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Sydney (SYD) 

29. 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 round-trip 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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 101,500-108,500 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.

You can even try one of the most coveted business class products in the world: Qatar Airways QSuites.

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 First Class Suites 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.