[Expired][Targeted] Citi 20% discount on gift card redemptions

Citi is sending out emails to Citi Prestige cardholders with an offer to save 20% on gift card redemptions using Citi ThankYou points. With this promotion, you can redeem 4,000 Citi points for a $50 gift card (other denominations are also available — see under “The Deal” below). That’s only a value of 1.25 cents per point, but if you’re flush with ThankYou points and would like to cash in, it beats taking 1 cent per point.

The Deal

• Save 20% off points required on all gift cards through the Citi ThankYou Portal – possibly targeted for Citi Prestige cardholders
• Gift cards available at various retailers in the following denominations after the discount:
  • $25 gift card = 2,000 points
  • $50 gift card = 4,000 points
  • $100 gift card = 8,000 points
• Log in at ThankYou.com to see if you are targeted

Key Terms

• End 5/10/18

Quick Thoughts

Redeeming for gift cards is a relatively poor value compared to transferring to airline partners or even redeeming points for travel through the ThankYou portal if you also have the Citi ThankYou Premier. We’ve written some posts in the past couple of months on the good values found with transfer partner Avianca LifeMiles that illustrate ways to get strong value with one of Citi’s transfer partners:

• My first Avianca LifeMiles redemption: easy as….
• Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing. First Class for less.

However, if you’re not interested in partner redemptions and/or you have a large stash of points and are looking to cash out, you might be interested in this gift card sale. The Citi ThankYou portal doesn’t have the most comprehensive list of gift card options, but they do have a range of options anyway:

Notably absent are merchants like Amazon and eBay, though there are other popular merchants in the list that could be handy for both personal use and for gifts. The discount applies at the various denominations available, like a $100 Target gift card for 8,000 points (normally 10,000 points).

I’m not sure whether this offer is targeted to certain Prestige cardholders or open to all Prestige cardholders. The best way to see if you are targeted (if you haven’t received the email) is to log in to the ThankYou portal and see whether or not you see the discount when looking at gift cards. It should work on all gift cards available in the portal.

If you were targeted for this promotion and you are not a Prestige cardholder or you are a Prestige cardholder and do not see the discount when logged in, let us know in the comments so we can determine how widely available this promotion is.

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