Understanding the Citi® ThankYou® Points Value: A Comprehensive Guide

• Written by Andrew Lisa
  

  Andrew Lisa

  Personal finance, credit cards, loans, budgeting, wealth creation, investing, real estate

  Andrew has more than two decades of professional writing experience, including 10 years as a freelance personal finance writer, and was a nationally syndicated columnist with Gannett, America's largest newspaper syndicate.

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• Edited by Jasmin Baron
  

  Jasmin Baron

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

  Jasmin Baron is CardCritics’ senior 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 Aug 29, 2025

Citi® ThankYou® Points are the currency that Citi, an advertising partner, issues to eligible cardholders through its ThankYou rewards program. Like all rewards programs, it incentivizes spending by awarding this currency for qualifying purchases.

To unlock the value of ThankYou points, cardholders can redeem them for statement credits or cash back, or spend it on travel purchases, shopping and even charitable donations.

One of the standout features is that those with multiple eligible cards can pool their combined points in a single ThankYou account for maximum efficiency.

How to Earn Citi ThankYou Points Efficiently

Earning ThankYou points efficiently starts with choosing the right card or cards that will deliver the most points according to your spending habits. Currently, Citi lists six cards that participate in the ThankYou rewards program:

• Citi Strata Premier® Card
• Citi Double Cash® Card 
• Citi Custom Cash® Card
• AT&T Points Plus

Citi ThankYou Points Redemption Options: Where to Use Them

When you’re looking for a card that matches your spending habits, consider how you want to redeem your points for maximum value.

That requires some strategizing because the value of ThankYou points can change depending on how you choose to cash them in. Once you learn those variables, you’ll understand how to choose the right Citi credit card for your lifestyle.

ThankYou Points Value

Generally speaking, ThankYou points are worth $0.01 each (100 points = $1) when redeemed for: 

• Cash back as a statement credit, direct deposit or check by mail
• Travel — including flights, hotels, resorts, attractions and cars — booked through Citi Travel
• Pay with Points
• Points sharing (one-to-one transfer)
• Charitable giving

The value of ThankYou points vary when redeemed for: 

• Third-party loyalty program transfers
• Gift cards
• Shop with Points purchases

The first category is simple — a point equals a penny. That means that you could “pay” for a $500 flight booked through Citi Travel with 50,000 points. Or you could use those same 50,000 points to pay down your statement balance by $500, give $500 to a charity, transfer $500 worth or points to a loved one, or have $500 deposited into your bank account. 

The second category — redemption options that vary in value — is a bit more tricky. Here’s how to redeem Citi ThankYou points for maximum value when a point isn’t always worth a penny.

Maximizing the Value of Citi ThankYou Points for Travel

Some Citi cards allow the transfer of ThankYou points to third-party loyalty programs, but Citi has been criticized for its minimal domestic offerings and non-uniform transfer ratios. Here is a guide to transferring Citi ThankYou points to airline partners and hotel chains. 

These partner programs enjoy a 1:1 ThankYou points to loyalty points exchange ratio.

• AeroMexico Rewards
• Avianca Lifemiles
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Eva Air
• Flying Blue AirFrance
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines
• Thai Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

The following partner programs have lopsided exchange rates with Citi ThankYou Rewards transfers.

Partner	Transfer Rate
ALL — Acor Live Limitless	1,000 ThankYou points = 500 ALL Reward points
Choice Privileges Hotels	1,000 ThankYou points = 2,000 Choice Privileges points for Prestige, the Strata Premier Card and AT&T Access More cardholders 1,500 ThankYou points for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, Sears Mastercard, Double Cash Card, AT&T Universal Rewards World, AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards, AT&T Universal Rewards, AT&T Points PlusS and AT&T Access cardholders.
JetBlue TrueBlue	1,000 ThankYou points = 1,000 TrueBlue points for Prestige, Strata Premier Card and AT&T Access More cardholders 800 for ThankYou points for Diamond Preferred Card, Sears Mastercard, Double Cash Card, AT&T Universal Rewards World, AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards, AT&T Universal Rewards, AT&T Points PlusS Card and AT&T Access Card cardholders
Leaders Club	1,000 ThankYou points = 200 Leaders Club points
Preferred Hotels and Resorts	1,000 ThankYou points = 4,000 I Prefer points.
Shop Your Way	1 ThankYou point = 10 Shop Your Way points
Wyndham Rewards	1,000 ThankYou points = 1,000 Wyndham Rewards points for Prestige, Strata Premier Card and AT&T Access More cardholders 800 for ThankYou points for Diamond Preferred Card, Sears Mastercard, Double Cash Card, AT&T Universal Rewards World, AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards, AT&T Universal Rewards, AT&T Points PlusS and AT&T Access cardholders.

Keep in mind that rewards points with your loyalty program of choice might be worth more or less than ThankYou points, so a 1:1 ratio might add or detract value. As always, read the fine print. 

By booking travel through Citi Travel, not only can you guarantee that one point equals one penny no matter what you buy, but you’ll enjoy benefits like concierge service, account monitoring and notices when traveling.

Alternative Redemption Methods: Shopping, Gift Cards and More

Not everyone wants to spend their rewards points on travel, so it’s important to know the best ways to redeem Citi ThankYou points for shopping or buying gift cards.

Citi’s Shop with Points program lets cardholders use points for purchases with the following merchants and service providers:

• 1-800-Flowers
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• BP and Amoco
• CVS 
• Dollar General
• Giant Eagle
• HomeGoods
• Marshalls
• Murphy USA
• PayPal
• Schnucks
• Shell
• TJ Maxx
• Walgreens
• Walmart

Here, too, however, ThankYou point values are not universal. For example, 1,250 points equal $10 at Walgreens and CVS, but at BP and Amoco, points shave $0.50 off the price per gallon up to $10. For the former, a cash back redemption might make more sense because 1,250 points would give you $12.50 instead of $10.

Gift Cards

Members can also redeem ThankYou points as gift cards from dozens of brands, but similarly, values aren’t always the same.

Typically, one point equals $0.01, but rotating sales can lower the number of points required for the gift card’s face value. For example, Gap cards currently cost 2,250 points ($22.50) for a $25 gift card instead of $2,500 points.

How Citi Card Reward Points Compare to Other Credit Cards

Citi is in direct competition with Chase and its Ultimate Rewards program. The two have a lot in common, including redemption options like cash back, gift cards, points transfers, pay with points and travel — and that last one is the primary difference.

Citi vs. Chase

Citi credits 1 cent per point — $1 per 100 points — when redeemed for purchases through Citi Travel. Chase does the same for some of its Ultimate Rewards cards with Chase Travel purchases, including Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Ink. However, it awards up to $1.75 per 100 points for its Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and up to $2 per 100 points for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — up to 100% more value than Citi.

Citi vs. American Express

American Express Membership Rewards also follows a similar framework with comparable earning potential and redemption options. One major differentiator is that American Express Membership Rewards has a wider network of travel partners, including partnerships with many domestic air carriers and hotel chains that Citi lacks.

How to Track and Manage Your Citi ThankYou Points

In order to get the most out of your ThankYou rewards, you must learn how to use the Citi mobile app for credit card management and points tracking.

Online

Start by going to ThankYou.com and signing on using the same credentials that you use to sign into your Citi account. There, you can view your order history, points summary, profile and Shop with Points accounts, and redeem your points according to your card’s options.

Mobile App

If you’re using the Citi app, just log in and click the Rewards and Benefits tab for the same functionality. You can also set your email settings to receive alerts and updates, add linked loyalty accounts for easy point transfers and travel booking, and check the expiration status of your points, although ThankYou points don’t expire in most cases.

*The information related to the Citi Custom Cash® Card , Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and Chase Sapphire Reserve® has been collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.