Best Ways To Use Citi ThankYou Points

Redeem For Gift Cards

You can redeem your Citi ThankYou points for gift cards at nearly 200 merchants. You can select your chosen denomination for the gift card, generally $25, $50 or $100. This type of redemption is uncomplicated, and 1 point is worth 1 cent for most cards. You can also get more value by choosing cards that are on sale. Identify the merchants that appeal to you and check to see if Citi has that brand’s gift cards on sale.

Redeem For Cash Back

Your Citi ThankYou points can also be converted to cash back, and you can choose to receive your redemption as a statement credit, a direct deposit into any of your linked accounts or a check via regular mail.

All of these options will yield a value of 1 cent per point regardless of the option selected, and you can always dial up or down the number of points you would like to use—with a $5 minimum redemption.

Shop With Points

Citi partners with several merchants where you can use your ThankYou points at checkout to pay for your purchases. To do so, go to the ThankYou points site through your Citi account and select the merchant where you’d like to use your points. Then simply use your points to pay for the full amount, a portion of the total or get a statement credit.

The most value you can obtain from these redemptions is 0.8 cents per point, making it one of the least valuable ways to use your rewards.

Book Travel

In partnership with Booking.com, you can book hotel stays, flights, car rentals and activities with your points through the Citi Travel portal. Each search result displays both the cash and point cost to book. When you finish your reservation, the site gives you the option to use your points as a form of payment. Points are worth 1 cent each when booking travel this way.

Transfer Points To Citi Travel Partners

This is where you’ll often get the best value for your points because transferring to airline and hotel programs allows you to take advantage of each program’s sweet spots. Citi partners with over 15 different loyalty programs ranging from airlines to hotel chains where points can be transferred.

Many, but not all, programs allow you to transfer ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio, but don’t let another transfer ratio discourage you. While some transfers don’t look as enticing, you may end up getting even higher value for those points once you redeem them.

U.S. Domestic Flights Including Hawaii

One of the best uses for your Citi ThankYou points is for domestic flights within the U.S. You can transfer your points to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program, where you can redeem just 10,000 miles each way for domestic flights on United Airlines. This includes flights going to some highly coveted destinations like Hawaii and Alaska, which tend to be quite expensive.

Flights to the Middle East or Asia

If Middle Eastern destinations near Qatar or connecting onward into Asia are in your plans, you can take advantage of transfers to Qatar Airways Privilege Club. If you can find availability, you can fly its highly acclaimed Qsuites business class for just 70,000 Avios each way when flying into Doha or 85,000 each way if you’re continuing into destinations in Asia. This includes paradise destinations like the Maldives and Singapore.

Flights to the Caribbean

You can leverage transfers to the Air France-KLM loyalty program Flying Blue to fly to many destinations in the Caribbean. Transfer your ThankYou points to Flying Blue and redeem them for flights on Delta Air Lines for around 30,000 points round trip in economy, including destinations like St Maarten, St. Thomas and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Flights to Europe

The loyalty program for Air France-KLM, Flying Blue, runs discounted redemption rates regularly as part of its Promo Rewards program. Keep an eye out for the monthly changing destinations, where you can see discounts of up to 25% on select flights. This way, the number of points you will need to transfer for redemptions on flights to or from Europe is lower than normal and you can stretch your points further.

Choice Hotels

Citi partners with three hotel chains, but Choice Hotels is the partner where you’ll find the top sweet spots. ThankYou points transfer 1:2 to the Choice Privileges program, and redemptions for Choice Hotels start at 8,000 points per night. Luxury stays begin at 25,000 points per night in any of Choice’s top-tier properties.

You can maximize your point-earning potential by using the right credit card at the right merchant. Different ThankYou points-earning Citi cards give bonuses in various categories, and using the best card for that category will help you earn points faster.

Maximizing points can also be done on the redemption side of the process. Whenever possible, go for redemptions offering more than 1 cent per point, which are more easily attainable when leveraging Citi’s travel transfer partners. Avoiding redemptions for merchant gift cards, merchandise or even cash back in favor of saving your points for travel can help you get the most value.

There are a handful of Citi-issued credit cards that allow you to earn ThankYou points, ranging from no-annual-fee to premium cards with hefty signup bonuses after you meet spending requirements. The best option for you is the card that will reward you the most based on your personal spending patterns, combined with an annual fee you’re comfortable with.

This table shows all the Citi cards that earn ThankYou points with the key data points to help you make an informed decision.

Card Name	Welcome Bonus	Spending Categories	Annual Fee
Citi Double Cash® Card	$200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points	2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off	$0
Citi Premier® Card*	60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening	3 ThankYou points per dollar at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels, 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases and a total of 10 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024	see terms
Citi Rewards+® Card	20,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in purchases within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com	2 ThankYou Points per dollar at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 in spending per year and 1 ThankYou Point per dollar on other eligible purchases, plus 5 ThankYou® Points per dollar on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025	$0
Citi Prestige® Card*	this card is not available for new applications	5 points per dollar on air travel and restaurants, 3 points on hotels and cruise lines and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases	see your cardholder agreement for current rates
Citi Custom Cash® Card	$200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. The bonus points come in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® Points that can be redeemed for $200 cash back	5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category up to the first $500 spent each billing cycle, 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025 and 1% cash back on all other purchases	$0
AT&T Points Plus® Card from Citi	$100 statement credit after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of account opening	3 points per dollar at gas stations, 2 points per dollar at grocery stores and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases	$0

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*The information for the Citi Prestige® Card* has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Although they are marketed as cash back cards, the Citi Custom Cash® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card earn ThankYou Points, which can be redeemed for cash back, among other things.

As with most points programs, the more you know about Citi ThankYou points, the more you will be able to take advantage of its sweet spots and explore which redemptions work best for your personal circumstances. To learn more about the ways to earn and maximize with bonus categories, as well as redeem through partner transfers, visit Forbes Advisor’s ultimate guide to Citi ThankYou points.