Yesterday, I noticed in a MilesTalk post that Citi points were transferring to Accor Live Limitless at a 1:1 ratio. That’s double the ordinary ratio and exceeds the recent 50% transfer bonus, effectively creating a 100% transfer bonus. I posted about this in our Frequent Miler Insiders Facebook group this morning not expecting it to last long once the business day began, but here we are into the afternoon and it is still alive as of the time of writing. This presents an opportunity to get around 2.3c per Citi point.
The Deal
- Citi ThankYou points are currently transferring 1:1 to Accor Live Limitless (ALL). The ordinary transfer ratio is 1,000 Citi points to 500 Accor points, so this represents a 100% bonus.
Key Details
- No end date is listed. It looks like this is listed as the new “ordinary” transfer ratio, though we highly recommend making sure you still see this ratio reflected before making your transfer
Quick Thoughts
This is a great deal for those who like Accor. Keep in mind that Accor runs a strictly revenue-based program whereby you can use points at a value of 2 Euro cents per point (2.3 cents in USD at the time of writing). You can book hotels using your points to pay in advance or use your points at checkout to erase charges (including incidentals charged to your room). That means you can count on a straight ~2.3c per point for your Citi points if transferring to Accor.
While I tend to mostly ignore Accor because of the inability to get outsized value, the chance to get 2.3c per point toward lodging is hard to ignore, particularly when you consider that the value is constant across room types and other associated charges. This could make for a really good deal as compared to most ordinary points transfer options when it comes to booking hotels. If I had a plethora of Citi points, I’d probably be making a speculative transfer of some amount.
However, that won’t make sense for everyone given Accor’s limited footprint in the US. If your travels are primarily domestic, Accor probably won’t be a great fit. However, if you travel in Europe or Asia, Accor may have a number of good options that fit your needs.
We have to imagine that this transfer ratio probably won’t last forever. Again, the ordinary transfer ratio has been 1,000 Citi points to 500 Accor points. Citi offered a 50% transfer bonus that ended a couple of days ago whereby 1,000 Citi points transferred to 750 Accor Live Limitless points. Then, the ratio became 1,000:1,000. We don’t know whether or when they may revert to a 1,000-to-500 transfer ratio, so be sure to check the transfer page before initiating a transfer. This probably isn’t something that can wait a day or two to think it over — you should probably decide as soon as possible if this is something that is a good fit for you and make your move if it is.
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Guessing Citi will offer more frequent/liberal transfers across the board now that the Rewards+ .10 was over as of yesterday
Imagine all the nice things we could still have if FM didn’t kill the game every time
Just stop reading the blog and you’ll be blissfully unaware of the nice things you are missing.
I was extra excited when I saw a lot of airlines transfer at a rate of 4.5 or more to ALL. Unfortunately, ALL transfers at 1:2 back. Some seriously awful point exchange rates!!!
[…] tip to FM & […]
Sent over 80k from a Strata Premier SUB I finished earlier this year, a guaranteed >2cpp redemption is hard to turn down, thanks.
DP: Transferred 57k to All without a problem. It took 10-15 mins to transfer. I did get an email from Citi that I will get 10% back from my having the Rewards+ (now Strata) card.
Thanks FM! Just transfer 84k to ALL. Happy Camper.
i wish there was a way to get large amounts of citi TYP like with chase, amex and to a lesser degree cap 1.
If you were lucky enough to get it; the Sears Card.
Thanks for calling attention to this. I was just able to transfer 93,000 TYP to ALL which will make the hotel we are stating at in Munich for Oktoberfest in September “free,” instead of $1,800. I’m over the moon!
I transferred most of the points I had available, first in a small trial transfer and then in a larger amount. The first transfer took about 1 hour to complete, and the second was nearly instant. While others might be getter value from Citi points, for me I don’t think I could get any better value than this.
I wonder if Citi waited for the Rewards+ 10% rebate to end yesterday before they made this change. Possible?
That was actually my 1st thought.
Yeah, reminded me a whole lot of the Bilt bonus transfer to AS last year, 1 day after the AA partnership ended!
I tried to make a transfer and system error
I looked at this but gave up. I have 100K+ in these points. Their website is horrible and does not show points needed for any hotel. Internet search only offered vague fixed value info and said you’re supposed to request upon checkout to use points. Not good enough even if true.
I think every 1000 is $21.
It’s literally 0.02 euros per point. Multiply a hotel price in euros by 50 to get the price in points.
Accor also has some absolutely fantastic properties in Canada, including Fairmont properties in the tourist friendly Canadian Rockies regions of Banff and Jasper.
Have you seen the prices at Fairmont Banff? Totally ridiculous…
I stayed there back in 2001 for the nightly price of CAD129 🙂
Wow! The base room rate is more than 10X now, plus the annoying resort fee. Also, have to pay the national park entrance fee. I stayed at a resort in Kananaskis last year for a fraction of the price and really enjoyed it there.
Kananaskis is the hidden gem. So is Waterton Lake NP down south. When I was doing contract work in Calgary I would go to the Rockies almost every weekend if I stay in town. I saw first hand how the price kept going up and now it has completely gone nuts.
Agreed. Had a trip to Ottawa this summer. Fairmont Chateau Laurier was very nice. Great people. Great food. Great location.