Best Citi Credit Cards for Earning ThankYou Points
A handful of rewards credit cards issued by Citi earn ThankYou Points, but if you want access to all of Citi’s transfer partners, you’ll need an annual fee card like the Citi Strata Premier Card. Having more than one Citi credit card can also make sense due to synergy with certain benefits, such as the Citi Rewards+ Card’s 10% rebate on points redemptions.
Cards that earn ThankYou Points include:
* Citi Strata Premier Card: Good to Excellent credit, annual fee, earn 75,000 bonus points, and redeem points for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards.
* Citi Rewards+ Card: Good to Excellent credit, no annual fee, earn 20,000 bonus points, and redeem points for cash back, gift cards, or travel rewards.
* Citi Custom Cash Card: Fair to Excellent credit, no annual fee, earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent.
Best Ways to Use Citi ThankYou Points
You can use Citi points in various ways, including redeeming points for gift cards, cash back, statement credits, merchandise, and travel. The best way to get the most value out of your Citi points is usually to transfer them to one of Citi’s partner airline and hotel loyalty programs, such as:
* Accor Live Limitless
* Aeromexico Club Premier
* Cathay Pacific Cathay
* Avianca LifeMiles
* Emirates Skywards
* Etihad Guest
* Eva Air Infinity Mileage
* Flying Blue
* JetBlue TrueBlue
* Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
* United MileagePlus
* Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
* Wyndham Rewards
You can also book flights without transferring points to a partner by paying for flights through the Citi ThankYou Points site at a fixed rate of one cent per point. This is a solid option when cash fares are low, plus you’ll earn miles on the flight.
Additionally, you can use Citi points to book free nights in hotels or vacation rentals through Citi’s hotel transfer partners, such as Choice Hotels and Wyndham.
Fly Some of the Best First-Class Seats
First-class awards can be hard to find and require you to save more points compared to other redemptions. However, you can book some of the best first-class flights in the world with ThankYou Points, including Emirates first class and Singapore Airlines first class.
To book these exclusive awards, transfer points directly to Emirates Skywards or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. For example, flying from New York to Milan costs 102,000 miles and just over $100 one-way, yielding a value of over nine cents per point.
Value of Citi ThankYou Points
Citi points are almost always worth at least one cent apiece, with only a few redemption options providing less value. However, with a little additional effort, you can easily get multiple cents in value from your Citi points when redeemed through an airline or hotel transfer partner.
