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I’ve written that you can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to airline partners (as well as Hilton hotels.
Citi has just added Flying Blue (the frequent flyer program for Air France and KLM) as a transfer partner, which is great news for folks who like to book Flying Blue Promo Awards or use their miles on Delta (1 of their SkyTeam partners).
So now that there are even more options for transferring points to airlines, do you know which credit cards earn Citi ThankYou points?
There are a number of Citi credit cards that earn ThankYou points, but only 3 earn points that can be transferred directly to airline and hotel partners.
I’ll show you the 3 Citi cards that enable you to combine the ThankYou points you’ve earned with ALL your cards. And then allow you to transfer your points to partner airlines.
You Can Now Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Airline Partners, Including Newest Partner Flying Blue, but Only Some Cards Qualify
Which Cards Allow You to Directly Transfer Points?
Link: Citi ThankYou Points
You can only transfer points earned from the Citi ThankYou Premier, Citi Prestige, and Citi Chairman cards directly to airline partners.
Note: The Citi Chairman card is no longer available, but existing cardholders can still transfer points.
If you have 1 of these cards, you can transfer points from other ThankYou points earning cards (like the Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi ThankYou Preferred for College Students, or CitiBusiness ThankYou card) to your Citi Prestige, Citi Premier, or Citi Chairman account. And then transfer them to airline and hotel partners!
Only Points Earned From the ThankYou Premier and ThankYou Prestige Cards (and the Citi Chairman Card, Which Is No Longer Available) Can Be Transferred to Airline Partners
1. Citi ThankYou Premier
Link: Citi ThankYou Premier
Link: My Review of the Citi ThankYou Premier
With the Citi ThankYou Premier card, you’ll get 20,000 points after you spend $2,000 in the 1st 3 months, and another 30,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the 1st 3 months of the 2nd year you have the card. The $125 annual fee is waived for the 1st year.
With this card, you get:
3 points per $1 you spend at restaurants and on entertainment
2 points per $1 you spend on airfare and hotels
1 point per $1 you spend on everything else
No foreign transaction fees
I like the 3 points per $1 on entertainment, because according to Citi, that includes:
Live sporting events and sports stadiums
Live theatrical productions, concerts, ticketing agencies
Zoos, circuses, aquariums, carnivals, amusement parks
Establishments that sell CDs and related items, including online record stores (I wonder if that includes Amazon.com?)
Merchants that rent DVDs or games and related equipment for consumer use including online video rentals
You Get 3 Points per $1 Your Spend on Live Theatrical Productions
There are a lot of great opportunities to earn 3X points!
The 50,000 point sign-up bonus is worth $625 in airfare if you book tickets through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, because each point is worth 1.25 cents. However, keep in mind you’ll have to pay the $125 annual fee in the 2nd year to get the full 50,000 point bonus, so really you’re only getting a net value of $500. But that’s still very good!
And Citi ThankYou points are worth potentially more now if you transfer them to airline partners!
2. Citi ThankYou Prestige
Link: Citi ThankYou Prestige
The ThankYou Prestige is Citi’s premium ThankYou points earning card. You’ll get 30,000 points after you spend $2,000 in the 1st 3 months. But there’s a $450 annual fee that’s NOT waived for the 1st year. There are no foreign currency fees.
Citi is in the process of changing the terms and conditions on this card, so some perks will change effective October 19, 2014.
Until October 18, 2014, you get:
2 points per $1 you spend at restaurants
1 point per $1 you spend on everything else
1 point per mile flown when airline tickets are purchased with the card
$200 statement credit for airline incidental fees (only certain airlines qualify)
$100 statement credit for Global Entry application fee
Access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges for primary cardholder, immediate family, or 2 guests, as long as you’re flying on American Airlines or American Eagle that day
Access to Airport Angel lounges
5% to 30% of your earned ThankYou points paid back to you at the end of your membership year (the percentage depends on the amount you spent and whether or not you have other accounts with Citi)
1 coach class Companion ticket (1-way or round-trip, must originate in the US) each year, as long as the booking is made through Citi’s travel agency, Spirit Incentives
15% discount on airline ticket base fare (when tickets are booked through Citi’s travel agency)
Up to a 25% discount on International First Class or Business Class tickets (until December 31, 2014)
A complimentary 4th night, twice per year, when you book 4 consecutive nights at any MasterCard World Elite Luxury Hotel and Resort (but it must be booked through Citi Prestige Concierge and paid for in full with your card)
Get the 4th Night of Your Stay Free at Luxury Hotels
From October 19, 2014 onward, you get:
3 points per $1 you spend at airlines, hotels, and travel agencies
2 points per $1 you spend on restaurants and entertainment
1 points per $1 you spend on everything else
$250 statement credit for air travel (includes airfare, baggage fees, lounge access, and some inflight purchases made directly from airlines)
$100 statement credit for Global Entry application fee
Access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges for primary cardholder, immediate family, or 2 guests, as long as you’re flying on American Airlines or American Eagle that day
Access to Priority Pass airport lounges
15% to 25% of your earned ThankYou points paid back to you at the end of your membership year (only if you have other accounts with Citi, and the percentage depends on the types of accounts)
A complimentary 4th night when you book 4 consecutive nights at any hotel (but it must be booked through Citi Prestige Concierge and paid for in full with your card)
Up to a 25% discount on International First Class or Business Class tickets (until December 31, 2014)
Phew! I’m tired just writing that!
So to summarize, after October 19, 2014, cardholders will lose:
Access to Airport Angel lounges
The points rebate at the end of the year (unless you have other accounts with Citi)
The 15% discount on airline tickets
The coach class companion ticket
But they’ll gain:
More bonus spending categories (3X points at airlines, hotels, and travel agencies; 2X points on entertainment)
An extra $50 in statement credits (increases to $250 from $200)
Access to Priority Pass lounges
A 4th night free at ANY hotel on a minimum 4-night stay (not just MasterCard World Elite Luxury Resorts)
I think the card will be a better deal after October 19, 2014. The extra statement credit, 4th free night at any hotel, Priority Pass lounge access (they have more lounges than Airport Angel), and more bonus spending options are a great improvement.
There are other perks to the card as well, like concierge services, golf programs, and luxury hotel perks. You can read all about them in the terms and conditions.
Because of the travel and Global Entry fee statement credits, this is really a card with an annual fee of $100 to $150 (depending on when you get the card, because the travel statement credit is increasing after October 19, 2014). Plus, you get airport lounge access. That’s a great deal.
If you have the Citi Prestige card, your ThankYou points are worth more. When you redeem for travel through the Citi ThankYou Travel portal, you’ll get:
1 cent per point when redeeming for hotel stays
1.6 cents per point when redeeming for flights on American Airlines or US Airways
1.33 cents per point when redeeming for airfare on any other airline
So the 30,000 point sign-up bonus is worth $480 in American Airlines or US Airways tickets, $400 in other airline tickets, or $300 in hotel stays. Plus you still have the option of transferring points to airline and hotel partners.
Which Airlines Can You Transfer Points To?
Link: Citi ThankYou Points Airline Transfer Partners
Citi has added 9 airlines as transfer partners, including the latest addition, Flying Blue. All 3 major airline alliances are included:
Cathay Pacific (oneworld)
Etihad
EVA Air (Star Alliance)
Flying Blue (SkyTeam)
Garuda Indonesia (SkyTeam)
Malaysia Airlines (oneworld)
Qatar Airways (oneworld)
Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
Thai Airways (Star Alliance)
You Can Transfer ThankYou Points to Singapore Airlines and 8 Other Airline Partners
Citi ThankYou points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to all 9 airlines. To make a transfer, log into your account on the ThankYou website or call 800-842-6596. According to Citi’s ThankYou points FAQ:
Points must be transferred in increments of 1,000 points
You can only transfer points to your own frequent flyer account (names have to match)
There’s no fee to transfer points
It can take up to 14 days for points to post to your frequent flyer account, but they’ll deduct the points from your ThankYou account immediately
Not all ThankYou points can be transferred (even if you have an eligible card). For example, points earned from a Citi checking account or for opening a new account can’t be used.
Here are the full terms and conditions of the ThankYou program.
For most folks, Singapore Airlines is probably the most useful transfer partner. That’s because there are good deals using Singapore Airlines miles to fly on United Airlines to Hawaii, or flying Singapore Airlines from the US to Europe.
But with the addition of Flying Blue, some folks may want to use their points to book Flying Blue Promo Awards, which are discounted award tickets to destinations that change every month.
And you can use Flying Blue miles to book 1-way award tickets on Delta (which Delta currently won’t allow using their own miles until 2015).
Note: Malaysia Airlines no longer appears on Citi’s transfer partner webpage, but their FAQ still lists them as a transfer partner. I’m not sure if this is a temporary or permanent change.
Are ThankYou Points a Good Deal?
Maybe. Folks who already have a lot of ThankYou points or want to have another option for transferring bank points to airlines will be happy with this change.
And even without transferring to airlines, you can still get 1.25 to 1.6 cents per point if you redeem for airfare, which is a good deal!
But if you already collect Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards points, this probably won’t be as interesting to you. That’s because you can transfer those points to airlines in all 3 alliances, and there are many more North American and European airlines included in those programs.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Transfer to US and European Airlines
Most folks in the US don’t fly often on the Citi ThankYou airline partners (which are all based in Asia or the Middle East, except Flying Blue airlines Air France and KLM). That said, once you transfer ThankYou points to an airline, you can use those points for award tickets on any airline within their alliance.
For example, you can transfer points to Singapore Airlines, then use them for United Airlines award tickets (because they’re both part of Star Alliance). While Singapore Airlines adds fuel surcharges to their own award tickets, they do NOT add them to domestic United Airlines tickets. You could get:
A round-trip, coach class ticket within North America for 25,000 miles
A round-trip, Business Class ticket within North America for 40,000 miles
A round-trip, coach class ticket from North America to Hawaii for 35,000 miles
A round-trip, Business Class ticket from North America to Hawaii for 60,000 miles
Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points also transfer to Singapore Airlines, so if you collect those points you’ve already got this option.
However, even if you already have Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express points, the sign-up bonus for the Citi ThankYou Premier card may still interest you.
That’s because with the Citi ThankYou Premier, after you spend $2,000 in the 1st 3 months, you’ll have 22,000 Citi points (20,000 bonus points + 2,000 from spending $2,000). So you’ll be just 3,000 points shy of a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the US and Canada.
And for your 1st year with the card, the annual fee is waived.
Bottom Line
You can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to 9 airline partners, including their newest partner, Flying Blue (Air France and KLM’s frequent flyer program). All 3 major airline alliances are represented.
You can only transfer points earned from the Citi ThankYou Premier, Citi Prestige, or Citi Chairman cards. But if you have 1 of these cards, you can transfer points to your account from other ThankYou point earning cards (like the Citi ThankYou Preferred), then transfer to airline partners.
All airline transfers are at a 1:1 ratio and there’s no fee, but it can take up to 14 days for points to post to your frequent flyer account.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points generally have better transfer options. But it’s nice to have a new program in the world of Big Travel with Small Money!
Do you collect Citi ThankYou points? Which credit cards and airline transfer partners are most interesting to you?
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