Citi ThankYou Points: How To Earn, Redeem and Maximize Your Rewards

• Written by Jasmin Baron
  

  Jasmin Baron

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is CardCritics’ senior SEO editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated May 22, 2025

Citi ThankYou^® points are the flexible rewards currency earned by several Citi credit cards, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card , our advertising partners. You can choose to redeem your Citi ThankYou points in multiple ways, including for cash back, travel booked through the Citi Travel Portal and gift cards.

Citi points are popular with consumers because of their versatility and ease of earning. Most Citi cards that earn ThankYou points don’t charge an annual fee. Plus, when you have certain cards, you can transfer your points to Citi’s airline and hotel partners.

How To Earn Citi ThankYou Points

You have numerous options for earning Citibank card rewards points, ranging from the $95-annual-fee Citi Strata Premier Card, a travel rewards card, to the beginner-friendly Citi Double Cash Card, one of the top cash-back credit cards on the market. Each offers a welcome bonus and an earning structure that can complement your spending habits by awarding bonus rewards in certain categories.

Here’s a quick look at what to expect with each card:

Card	Welcome bonus	Earning rate	Unique feature
Citi Strata Premier® Card	Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® 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.	– 10x points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel  – 3x points on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets and gas and EV charging stations – 1x points on other purchases	Points transfer to the full range of Citi travel partners, among other strong benefits
Citi Double Cash® Card	Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.	-2% cash back on all purchases (1% when you buy, and 1% when you pay) -5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.	0% intro APR for 18 months on Balance Transfers then, 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable) APR
Citi Custom Cash® Card	Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.	– 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%) -4% cash back on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel through June 30, 2026 – 1% cash back on other purchases	Automatically maximizes rewards in the eligible category you spend the most in each billing cycle (from restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment)
AT&T Points Plus® Card	Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening	– 3x points at gas and EV charging stations – 2x points at grocery stores (including grocery delivery services) – 1x point on other purchases	Earn up to $240 back toward your qualifying AT&T wireless bills every year

Although some Citi cards, such as the Double Cash Card, are marketed as earning cash back, you actually earn rewards in the form of ThankYou points where 1 point = 1 cent in cash back.

You can also earn Citi ThankYou points from qualifying activities on eligible Citi checking accounts (enrollment required).

How Citi ThankYou Points Work

Citi awards and keeps track of the points you’ve earned from each account separately, although you can see your total ThankYou point balances when you log into your online account at citi.com or thankyou.com.

That said, you can ask Citi to link your account to make it easier to use your points. This is particularly helpful if you have cards with different benefits — for instance, the Citi Strata Premier Card’s benefits outshine those of most other Citi cards. Pooling rewards in this way lets you take advantage of all of your perks no matter which card you earned the points from.

Your Citi points won’t expire as long as the account you earned them with is open and in good standing (there are a few exceptions to this, such as with some older Citi cards that aren’t available to new applicants). If you close an account, you’ll have 60 days to redeem your rewards before they vanish.

Best Ways To Redeem Citi ThankYou Points

You’ve got plenty of choices when you’re ready to redeem Citi ThankYou points, including:

• Travel (flights, hotels, car rentals and attractions) booked through the Citi Travel portal
• Cash back as a statement credit, direct deposit or check
• Gift card purchases through Citi
• Shop with points at select merchants
• Donations to eligible charities  

With some Citi cards, you’ll also have the option of transferring your points to select airline and hotel partners. This could get you an even higher value for your rewards, depending on the partner and type of redemption.

Maximizing the Value of Your Citi ThankYou Points

When you redeem Citi points for cash back or through Citi Travel, they’re worth a flat 1 cent each. Gift cards and charitable donations typically offer the same rate of return, although sometimes you can get a better deal when Citi runs a promotion like a gift card sale.  

Paying with Citi points at participating merchants is a convenient option, but it’s not a good idea if you want to maximize your rewards. For example, Citi points are only worth 0.8 cents each when you use them to shop at Amazon. You’d be better off using your card to pay for the transaction then redeeming rewards for cash back at 1 cent apiece!

By far the best way to get the highest value per Citi point is by transferring them to airline and hotel partners. For example, assuming you have the Strata Premier Card, you could transfer 81.000 Citi points to partner Singapore Airlines and book a comfy lie-flat business class seat between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt (FRA) with just an additional $5.60 in taxes.

If you paid cash for the exact same ticket, it would cost $1,909.

In this case, you’re getting a value of over 2.3 cents per point ($1,909 – $5.60 = $1,903.40, and $1,903.40 / 81,000 points  = 2.35 cents per point*. That’s more than double what you’d get if you cashed in your points for a statement credit or redeemed them through Citi Travel.

You’ll typically get the highest rate of return when you transfer points and book expensive business or first class seats. However, it’s possible to get a good value with less-fancy redemption, too, especially during peak travel periods such as summer break or holidays.

Citi ThankYou Transfer Partners

Citi partners with over a dozen airline and hotel loyalty programs, including popular brands like JetBlue, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Wyndham. Citi’s partners aren’t generally as useful as those of Chase Ultimate Rewards® or American Express Membership Rewards® (for instance, Citi only has one domestic airline partner). 

But if you know how to take advantage of airline alliances and partnerships, Citi’s range of partners might suit you just fine. For example, you could transfer Citi points to Singapore Airlines or Avianca to book United Airlines flights, because all three airlines are part of the Star Alliance.

This is where ThankYou points get a little tricky, because in order to access Citi’s full range of partners, you’ll need the Citi Strata Premier Card or Citi Prestige® Credit Card (no longer available to new applicants). 

Here’s the full list of Citi’s transfer partners (all transfers at a 1:1 ratio with exceptions noted below):

Citi Airline Partners

All transfers are at a ratio of 1,000 Citi points to 1,000 airline miles:

• Aeromexico Club Premier 
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue 
• Avianca LifeMiles 
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 
• Emirates Skywards 
• Etihad Guest 
• Eva Air Infinity MileageLands 
• JetBlue TrueBlue 
• Qantas Frequent Flyer 
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club 
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus 
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles 
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club 

Citi Hotel Partners:

• Accor Live Limitless (1,000 Citi points = 500 ALL points)
• Choice Privileges (1,000 Citi points = 2,000 Choice points)
• Preferred Hotels and Resorts I Prefer (1,000 Citi points = 4,000 I Prefer points)
• Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (1,000 Citi points = 200 Leaders Club points)
• Wyndham Rewards (1,000 Citi points = 1,000 Wyndham points)

Without the Citi Strata Premier Card or Citi Prestige, you’ll only be able to access a handful of partners and at a lower transfer ratio with most other Citi ThankYou cards. For example, if you only have the Citi Double Cash Card, your transfer options are:

• Choice Privileges (1,000 Citi points = 1,500 Choice points)
• JetBlue TrueBlue (1,000 Citi points = 800 JetBlue points)
• Wyndham Rewards (1,000 Citi points = 800 Wyndham points)

And if you have the Citi Custom Cash Card, you won’t have any airline or hotel partner access at all — just Shop Your Way rewards, a retail partner.

Access to all of Citi’s partners is one reason why paying the $95 annual fee on the Citi Strata Premier is worth it for many award travelers.

How To Transfer Citi Points to Partners

Regardless of the card(s) you have, the process of transferring points to partners is easy through your online Citi account. Once you’ve signed into your account, find the redeem rewards section for the card you want to use, then navigate to the “points transfer” option. 

You should see a menu like this if you have a Citi Strata Premier Card or Prestige:

Scroll down and find the transfer partner you want, then click continue. The screenshot below uses Choice Privileges as an example but the process is similar for other partners.

You can type in the number of points you want to transfer or use the slider to make your selection.

You’ll then be asked to enter your name and loyalty program number. Once you hit continue, you’ll be brought to a confirmation screen to review the transfer. If everything is in order, click “transfer now”.

Keep in mind transfers aren’t reversible, so be sure to double-check your details before confirming a transfer. Transfers may be instant although in rare cases it can take a day or two.

Citi ThankYou Points and Citibank Card Rewards

Citi ThankYou points are the proprietary currency of Citibank cards, so the term “Citibank card rewards” is often used interchangeably with ThankYou points. That said, Citi also issues co-branded credit cards with American Airlines, Costco and other retailers. The rewards you earn with these cards aren’t connected to the Citi ThankYou program and can’t be combined.

So which Citi cards are best if you’re looking for a rewards credit card? Simply, if you value flexibility in how you redeem rewards, any of the ThankYou points-earning cards are a good starting point. The Strata Premier Card, in particular, is the best option if you’re looking to book travel with your rewards.

Otherwise, if you’re loyal to a certain brand, a co-branded card might be a better option. If you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer, for instance, a card like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® could save you money because it comes with perks on AA flights such as a free first checked bag on domestic itineraries and in-flight discounts.

Pros and Cons of the Citi ThankYou Points Program

As with other rewards programs, Citi ThankYou Rewards comes with advantages and disadvantages. Be sure to consider your spending habits, rewards goals and desired benefits before you decide on a card that earns ThankYou points.

Advantages:

• Flexibility: You can choose how to redeem your points whether you prefer cash back, travel or merchandise
• Travel perks: If you have the Strata Premier Card you’ll get benefits such as travel insurance and annual Citi Travel hotel credits
• Transfer partners: You can get outsized value from your rewards when you transfer points to Citi’s partners

Disadvantages:

• Partner limitations: The full range of partners is only available with certain cards, and Citi’s partner list isn’t as robust as some competing programs
• Low-value redemptions: In most cases, you’ll get a value of 1 cent per point, although you could do even worse than that when you shop with points
• Few benefits: With the exception of the Strata Premier Card, the Citi ThankYou cards available right now don’t come with a ton of extra frills

The Citi ThankYou program may be a good fit for you if your spending habits line up with its card bonus categories and you prefer to choose how you redeem your rewards. It’s also a strong option if you’re willing to pay the annual fee on the Strata Premier Card to unlock transfers to all of Citi’s partners, particularly if you’re comfortable with partner airline award charts and redemptions.

However, if you’re a rewards travel newbie, Citi ThankYou is probably not the best starting point. Chase offers better transfer partners and a wider, more lucrative range of redemption options.

*The valuation is an estimate made by CardCritics™ and results may vary.

*The information related to the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.