Citi ThankYou Rewards competes directly with three other bank-issued transferable points programs: Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Capital One “Miles.” Points can be transferred to airline partners, used to pay for travel or merchandise, redeemed to pay bills, or converted to cash back, and the program is now a legitimate competitor to Chase and Amex.
ThankYou Rewards has some awesome things going for it: excellent earnings for spend, very low annual fees, and terrific transfer partners. However, it’s difficult to earn large amounts of ThankYou points quickly due to lower welcome offers than Amex or Chase.
Because of this, ThankYou Points don’t often rank at the top of most points and miles collectors’ favorite currencies. However, with the right cards, Citi offers great rewards for your spend and enough sweet-spot awards to give you plenty of bling as a transferable points program.
In this post, you’ll find everything you need to know about ThankYou Rewards.
ThankYou Rewards Overview
ThankYou Rewards is a very good program. Its biggest strengths are the ability to earn 2x to 5x on all spend, and several sweet-spot transfer partners. Greg is a big fan of Leading Hotels of the World and 1:2 transfers to Choice Privileges. Tim loves the value that can be had with 1:1 transfers to EVA Air, which has excellent business class award availability to Asia for members of its own program. Now that Citi supports 1:1 transfers to American Airlines, its lineup is among the top of the pack.
ThankYou Rewards’ biggest liabilities are a dearth of options for earning huge numbers of points (such as multiple big welcome bonuses, refer-a-friend offers, portal rewards, etc.) and the lesser travel protections available through its various credit cards.
How to earn ThankYou Rewards
Credit Cards
The easiest and quickest way to earn ThankYou points is through Citi credit card welcome offers, credit card spend, and retention offers (calling once per year to ask if any offers are loaded to your cards).
Earning with welcome offers
Citi’s standard welcome offers for the Strata Premier and Strata Elite cards are often very good, but other cards that offer Citi ThankYou points are usually parked around 20,000 points or so. Because of this, while you can earn huge numbers of points with Chase or Amex welcome offers across multiple cards, that game is more limited with Citi.
Below are the currently available Citibank cards that earn ThankYou Rewards. Note that with most Citi cards, the welcome offer is not available if you have received a new account bonus for the same card within the past 48 months.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $991 1st Yr Value Estimate$200 Blacklane credit valued at $80, $200 "Splurge" credit valued at $160, $300 hotel credit via Citi Travel valued at $180 Click to learn about first year value estimates 80K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. 80,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months.$595 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: 100,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months. This offer is available in-branch or possibly via email. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Excellent portfolio of transfer partners, but mediocre bonus categories and a so-so group of credits. Recommend pairing this with Citi Premier and/or Double Cash. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 12X hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel ✦ 6X airfare booked through Citi Travel ✦ 6X dining between 6pm and 6am EST Fridays and Saturdays ✦ 3X dining all other times ✦ 1.5X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Legend issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline and hotel partners ✦ $300 annual (calendar year) hotel credit on a stay of 2 nights or more when booked with Citi Travel ✦ $200 in annual (calendar year) statement credits on your choice of up to 2 of: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy®, Future Personal Training, or Live Nation ✦ $200 in annual private chauffeur credit with Blacklane ($100 Jan-June and July-Dec) ✦ Priority Pass Select membership with two free guests (no restaurants) ✦ 4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes per calendar year (for one adult and up to three children) ✦ $120 Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit ✦ Travel protections ✦ $145 annual fee rebate for CitiGold and Citi Private Client members See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
 ⓘ $741 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 60K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 75k after $6 spend in 3 months (ended 4/8/25) FM Mini Review: Very strong earnings for spend. Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Double Cash Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 10X hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠ ✦ 3X grocery ✦ 3X dining ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies Base: 1X (1.5%) Flights: 3X (4.5%) Hotels: 3X (4.5%) Portal Hotels: 10X (15%) Grocery: 3X (4.5%) Dine: 3X (4.5%) Gas: 3X (4.5%) Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline and hotel partners ✦ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit ($100 off a $500+ hotel stay, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through Citi Travel) ✦ Travel protections See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
 ⓘ $434 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 30K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. 30,000 points after $1,000 spend in 3 monthsNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Strata Premier and/or Citi Double Cash. Earning rate: 5X Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on cititravel.com ✦ 3X grocery ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X select transit includes car rentals, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, bus lines, and motor home and recreational vehicle rentals ✦ 3X self-select category (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores) ✦ 2X dining Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline and hotel partners (at reduced ratios and no AA) ✦ Earn $5 Lyft credit after 3 eligible rides See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
 ⓘ $299 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 20K points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. $200 cash back after spending $1.5K in first six months. Note: $200 is awarded as 20,000 ThankYou® Points.No Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: 2X rewards for all spend with no annual fee makes this card a winner. Earn 2X everywhere and redeem for the equivalent of 2% cash back or 2X ThankYou points. Pair with the Premier or Prestige card to make points transferrable to airlines. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 2% cash back everywhere (1% cash back for each purchase + 1% when paying your credit card bill for that purchase). ✦ Earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi TravelSM Portal through 12/31/25. Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: 1X when you make a purchase + 1X when you pay for those purchases ✦ Transfer points to airline and hotel partners (at reduced ratios and no AA) ✦ 24 month extended warranty See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
 ⓘ $284 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates $200 statement credit Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler $200 statement credit after $1K Spend in 3 MonthsNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This has a good gas station bonus for a no annual fee card, but there's not much else to make it a compelling card Earning rate: ✦ 3 points per $1 at gas stations ✦ 2 points per $1 at grocery stores ✦ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases Card Info: Mastercard issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: $20 statement credit every billing cycle you spend $1,000+ or $10 statement credit when you spend $500 - $999.99 (for AT&T Wireless customers omly) See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
 ⓘ $276 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 20K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 20K points after $1500 spend in the first 6 monthsNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: Expired 9/13/22 - 20,000 points after $750 spend in first 3 months FM Mini Review: This is a great card to have and hold for a single category where you spend no more than $500 per month as it represents an excellent return without rotating categories to track. Earning rate: 5x on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1x thereafter. Eligible categories: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment. ✦ 1x on all other purchases Base: 1X (1.5%) Travel: 5X (7.5%) Flights: 5X (7.5%) Hotels: 5X (7.5%) Grocery: 5X (7.5%) Dine: 5X (7.5%) Gas: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Mastercard issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline and hotel partners (at reduced ratios and no AA) ✦ 24 month extended warranty See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
Earning on spend
If you’re willing to juggle multiple cards, the number of points per dollar you can earn for spending in common categories (grocery, gas, dining, etc.) is impressive, especially when you consider the price. For only $95 per year in total annual fees, you can earn 2x to 5x for all your spend and transfer points to airline and hotel partners.
Here’s the line-up of cards that accomplishes this:
- Strata Premier: This $95 card is necessary if you want the power to transfer points to airline and hotel programs at the best ratios and have access to American AAdvantage. Plus, it offers no foreign transaction fees and unlimited 3x rewards for spending at grocery, dining, gas stations, flights, hotels, and travel agencies.
- Custom Cash: With this fee-free card, you can earn 5X in whatever category you spend most each billing cycle, up to $500. Available categories are Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. I recommend picking a single category and using the card only for that category each billing cycle until you use up the $500 in 5x spend.
- Double Cash: Earn 2X everywhere with this fee-free card. Use this card anytime another card in the collection doesn’t earn better rewards.
One of the biggest weaknesses of Citi’s collection of ThankYou Rewards cards is travel protection. For years, Citi was the one major issuer that didn’t offer any travel protections when you book via its primary “travel” card (the Strata Premier). Now it has added travel protections back for both the Strata Premier and Elite cards, but in general, they are less generous and more restrictive than the equivalent cards from other banks.
Citi Application Tips
- 48 Month Rule: With most Citi cards, you can only receive a welcome offer every 48 months. This applies to the same exact card, not families of cards and is counted from the date that you receive the welcome offer, not from when you're approved.
- Velocity Limits: Citi allows a maximum of one card per 8 days and a maximum of two cards per 65 days (includes both business and personal).
- Inquiries: Citi is thought to be more credit inquiry-sensitive than other issuers. We've heard reports that it's difficult to be approved for a new Citi card if you've had more than 6 hard inquiries within the last 6 months. That said, data points abound of people being approved despite being above that, so it's certainly not a hard and fast rule.
- Card Limits: Citi doesn't have a strict limit on the amount of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. Unfortunately, unlike most banks, Citi does not allow you to move credit from one existing card to the another card.
- Application Status: Call (866) 606-2787 or go here to check your application status. For Costco cards, call (877) 343-4118.
- Reconsideration: If denied, call (800) 695-5171 for personal cards or (866) 541-7657 for business cards.
How to redeem ThankYou Rewards
Best uses for Citi ThankYou Rewards
Except where noted, Citi ThankYou points transfer 1 to 1 to the partners listed below, as long a you have a Citi Strata Premier card or the no-longer-available Citi Prestige or Access More cards.
Use Choice Privileges points for Preferred Hotels & Resorts
Citi offers an amazing 1 to 2 transfer ratio to Choice Privileges for those with a Strata Premier (or Prestige or Access More) card and many luxury hotels in the Preferred Hotels & Resorts collection can be booked with Choice points. Prices start at 20,000 Choice points (or 10,000 Citi points) per night…and there are some incredible hotels on offer.
Use Wyndham points at a Vacasa Vacation Rental
One of the best ways to book vacation rental properties with points is by using Wyndham points to book Vacasa Vacation Rentals. These cost either 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom per night. The number of points required for your stay depends upon the average cost per bedroom per night for your stay, inclusive of fees:
- Up to $250 per bedroom per night: Pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night
- $250.01 to $500 per bedroom per night: Pay 30,000 points per bedroom per night
- Over $500 per bedroom per night: You cannot book these with Wyndham points.
- In most cases, there are no other taxes or fees to pay (but in certain situations you may be charged a pet fee or resort fee).
Leading Hotels of the World (LHW)
For those with a Strata Premier card (or the no-longer-available Prestige or AT&T Access More cards), Citi points transfer 1,000 to 200 to Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Leaders Club. That transfer ratio doesn’t sound great, but Leaders Club points are worth approximately 8 cents each towards hotel stays and so this transfer ratio gives you ~1.6 cents per point value with your Citi points. That’s pretty good!
One cool thing about this opportunity is that just by booking through Leaders Club, you are eligible for on-property perks:
- Upgrade priority upon arrival
- Daily continental breakfast for two
- Early check-in and late check-out considerations
Fly ANA First Class to Japan
- The short story: Virgin Atlantic devalued ANA first class awards in March 2023 and then followed up by doing the same to business class awards in 2024. However, both are still very good redemptions between the US and Japan.
- Miles required: 72.5K / 85K one-way for first class between the US West Coast / US East Coast and Japan or 52.5K / 60K miles in business class. Economy awards are 30K-32.5K.
- How to find awards: Search United.com to find ANA partner award space. An easier option is to use Seats.Aero. Use the tool's Explore United MileagePlus feature to find ANA flights.
- How to book awards: Call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 800-365-9500.
- Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.
- Key warnings: Virgin Atlantic charges each segment separately, so this award is best for direct flights. They also add fuel surcharges for ANA flights, which as of 2024 are about $360 from the US to Japan or $450 from Japan to the US (or around $730 if booked as a round trip).
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Marriott, Bilt, Wells Fargo
Fly Business Class to Asia
Fly oneworld partners using American AAdvantage from 60K one-way
- The short story: American charges a reasonable number of miles for partner awards in business class between the US and Asia. Unlike Alaska Mileage Plan, American does not allow a stopover, but American Airlines miles can be quite easy to amass.
- Miles required: 60K miles each way in business class to Asia 1 (Korea or Japan) or 70K miles each way in business class to Asia 2 or the Middle East or the Indian Subcontinent. Economy awards start at 35K.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AA.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at AA.com or over the phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. Note that Web Specials can not be changed, but can be cancelled and redeposited without a fee.
- Key warnings: Finding space can be tough, but if you can find it this can be an excellent use of American Airlines miles.
- Transfer from: Citi, Marriott
Fly EVA Airways from 75K one-way
- The short story: EVA's award chart features fairly average pricing at 75K or 80K each way from the US to Asia in business class, but EVA offers what is widely regarded as one of the best business class products in the sky and they make quite a bit of award space available to their own members. The best value is booking round trip since EVA allows a free stopover (stopover not allowed on one-way tickets).
- Miles required: 75K / 80K each way from North America to Asia on EVA (80K from Chicago, New York, Houston, or Toronto). Economy awards are 50K / 55K.
- How to find awards: Search EVAAir.com
- How to book awards: Book simple awards online at EVAAir.com. Must call and book over the phone for stopovers.
- Change and cancellations fees: $50
- Key warnings: Star Alliance pricing is higher (87.5K / 97.5K each way). Best use is for EVA flights since they release more award space to their own members.
- Transfer from: Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards
Fly Business Class to Europe
Fly Air France / KLM business class for 60K one-way
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards and even regular standard awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.
- Miles required: Varies. Air France no longer has an award chart, but business class awards between North America and Europe start at 60K one way (when you can find them). Promo awards often offer better value, with business class awards sometimes available in the 40K’s.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: €70.
- Key warnings: Air France / KLM do add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable (about $150-$250 in taxes and fees each way). Business availability at the lowest price levels has been terrible recently.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
Fly oneworld partners using American AAdvantage from 57.5K one-way
- The short story: American Airlines charges 57.5K miles one-way for partner business class awards to/from Europe. It no longer publishes an award chart for its own flights, but connecting itineraries sometimes price very reasonably.
- Miles required: 57.5K miles one-way for partner business class to/from Europe. American does not publish an award chart for its own flights, but we often see itineraries that connect within the US priced for less than nonstop awards to Europe.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AA.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at AA.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. Note that Web Specials can not be changed, but can be cancelled and redeposited without a fee.
- Key warnings: Watch out for high surcharges on British Airways awards to/from the UK (surcharges can be much more reasonable departing from other European countries on British Airways). Note that nonstop routes on American Airlines-operated flights to Europe can often cost an exorbitant number of miles, but connecting from a non-hub within the United States can sometimes drastically reduce the cost of an award.
- Transfer from: Citi, Marriott
Fly Star Alliance for 70K (or fewer) Citi points one-way
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive-ish business class pricing for Star Alliance awards to Europe, with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: 69-80K each way in business class with no fuel surcharges. Note that there is some variance and see: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing for ways to fly for even fewer miles).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account) or with any of several tools that support LifeMiles (see: Which award search tool is best?)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, Marriott.
Manage Points
Combine Points Across Cards
If you are the primary account holder with multiple cards, you can combine ThankYou Rewards accounts. When your points are combined, they can then automatically be redeemed at the same value as your best card. For example, if one of your cards is the Strata Premier card, you will be able to transfer points to airline partners even if the points were earned on another card. Similarly, if you combine other cards with the Rewards+ card, you’ll get 10% points back when you redeem on up to 100,000 redeemed points per year (in other words, you'll get up to 10,000 points back per year if you redeem 100,000 points) even if the points originated from a different card. If you have both the Strata Premier and the Rewards+ card combined together and you transfer 100K points to a partner program, you'll get 10,000 points back.There are some disadvantages to combining points:
- You lose the ability to pick and choose which points are used when you redeem awards.
- You lose visibility into how many points remain with each card.
Share Points Across Cardholders
Citi generously allows people to transfer ThankYou points to anyone else, for free. There are a couple of “catches” to be aware of:- Shared points expire after 90 days. Make sure you have a specific near-term use in mind before transferring points.
- 100K limit: Each member may share up to 100,000 points per calendar year. Each member may receive up to 100,000 points per calendar year.
- Exception: The Custom Cash card does not have the capability to share points (but you can combine points with other cards that you have). Yes, it's extremely weird that all other Citi ThankYou Rewards cards allow sharing points, but not Custom Cash. We have no idea why this is.
- If you don't have the Strata Premier, AT&T Access More, or Prestige card (the cards in Citi's lineup that allow full value transfers to partners), you can move your points to a friend who has one of those cards and then they can then transfer the points to an airline or hotel program in order to book high value awards.
- If a friend has airline elite status with one of Citi’s transfer partners with which you want to book an award, you may be better off transferring points to your friend who can then transfer the points to the airline partner and book the award for you (to get free award changes, for example).
How to Keep Points Alive
There are several situations in which you may have Citi ThankYou Rewards points that will expire:- Points earned by a credit card account expire 60 days after cancelling that account.
- Points transferred to your account expire after 90 days.
- Points earned from some older and no longer available credit cards expire in a set amount of time after points were earned (e.g. 3 or 5 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned).
- Points earned from some credit cards expire if your credit card account has no purchase activity in 18 months.
- Points earned from Citibank banking products expire 3 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned.
Credit card points: how to keep points alive
With most credit card points (except with some older credit cards which are no longer available), points remain alive until you cancel the card from which they were earned. Once you cancel the card, points expire after 60 days.Combining accounts does not solve the problem. When you combine multiple ThankYou accounts, it’s natural to assume that as long as you keep any ThankYou Rewards credit card open, your points will be safe. That’s simply not the case. Citi keeps track of where each ThankYou point came from. If you cancel a card, the points earned on that card expire after 60 days. Period. They are not known to reinstate points.
The best way to preserve your ThankYou points is to keep your credit card account alive. If you don’t want an annual fee, then call to downgrade to a no-fee ThankYou card. There is a side benefit to this approach too: Your no fee card may be eligible for occasional lucrative retention offers.
Bank product points: how to keep points alive
Points earned from banking products (such as checking accounts) expire 3 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned. Fortunately, when redeeming points combined across multiple accounts, Citi automatically uses first whichever points have the most recent expiration date. So, in general, your banking product points (which eventually expire) will be used first if you have combined accounts.
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I’ve had the Double Cash for 10+ years and just got the Strata Premier a few months ago. I just spend 20 minutes on the line with Citi Thank You support. I was looking for assistance to pool my points, but they told me that if I pooled the points, the points from the Double Cash card still could not be transferred to American Airlines or at full value to any other partner. I explained that I had read multiple travel sites that discussed this and he brushed it aside stating that he was giving me the correct information. I do have two separate ThankYou account numbers, but when I access my main Citi account portal, both accounts are there, but when I click through to the Thank You portal, only the specific account I click on populates.
That’s incorrect. Reps are often incorrect. Just get your points pooled. You’ll be fine.
Thanks for this guidance! I called and got another rep and she was able to accomplish combining the ThankYou accounts in less than 10 minutes. She only used the term “combine” to describe joining the accounts.
Did the Strata Elite not end up being a World Legend MasterCard?
Yes it is world legend actually
I just tried to combine my Strata and Custom Cash points online but there was no option. Then I called customer service and she told me I can’t combine the points. Has something changed?
My bet is that there’s a terminology issue. It’s true that you can’t combine points, and you can’t combine Citi accounts, but you should be able to combine Thankyou Accounts.
Thanks, I see how to do it now. They call it Points Sharing.
Do you guys have a place like Patreon to leave a tip?
Ok, 3rd time’s the charm. Combining accounts is not done through Points Sharing. When I clicked on ‘Combine Accounts, ‘ the webpage showed a listing for two accounts. One of the accounts had no information (account # or points balance); it was just blank (I wasn’t signed into just one of the accounts either). The other account had the correct info (account # and balance). Below that, the webpage showed what my new points balance would be if combined accounts, but the balance was the same because one of the accounts did not have any points listed. It didn’t make any sense to me and seemed like an error with the website. I then called, and the rep was able to combine accounts. He also told me that combining accounts could not be done online and that this policy was not anything new. Also, from a tip on Reddit, I looked at my profile under each account, and the info was exactly the same. Not sure what the problem was here, but this was my recent experience.
Yes, that’s correct. You have to call in and talk to a rep in order to combine ThankYou Points accounts. I’ll add that to the guide for clarity.
[…] Good reference post: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide. […]
Regarding the last paragraph on bank products, Citi converted them to “Simplified Banking.” I closed my checking when they did. Do any bank products still exist that earn TYP?
No, unfortunately, only if you had an older one. We’ll eventually just remove the bank products from the guide.
It might be worth highlighting that the Strata Premier’s 10X earn rate of Cit’s travel portal (now permanent) is the same as Chase’s UR travel site and Capital One’s. Also, the Citi travel portal’s famously rotten hotel pricing has come in line with other platforms . . . at least with most properties.
I sense an article subject: booking non-network hotels via these bank travel portals. I’ve found that property availability varies from travel portal to travel portal. And, room category availability varies among properties that are available.
On a side note, Chase has pulled some properties off of its UR hotel platform (10X) so that they’re only available on it The Edit/LHRC platform (3X).
I remember reading that Citi TYP can be purchased from Citi for 2.5 cpp or something like that but I can’t find the exact post that said it. I think it might have been Nick’s post on transferring TYP to TK to book UA flights to Hawaii and how even if you buy TYP to do it, it’s still a good deal. If I’m remembering this correctly, and if buying Citi TYP is still a thing, can you please let us know how to actually buy them? Is there a link to Citi’s website where you can purchase their points or a number I can call to do it? Is there a 100k a limit a year? Thanks!
Is it ok to apply for the citi cards as non us citizen and what are the odds of approval? I currently own multiple Amex, Barclays, Chase, C1 & Discover cards but never had one with citi. TIA
If you are a US legal resident, citizen or not, then you should be able to apply for Citi cards issued in the US.
Just a couple of suggested updates.
In the “Earn” section under “Credit cards”, this section is missing the credit card reference in brackets:
“With a combination of cards it’s possible to earn 2x to 5x on all spend: earn 5x in whatever category you spend most each billing cycle, up to $500 with the Custom Cash card; earn 3x on all spend at grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, flights, hotels, and travel agencies [with the Premier card]; earn 2x everywhere else with the Double Cash card; and get a 10% rebate on rewards with the Rewards+ card.”
Also, I believe that the ability to earn TYPs through banking has been eliminated or is being phased out for existing customers too. My Citi Priority banking transitioned to the new “simplified banking” which doesn’t earn TYPs last month.
Are Custom Cash and Double Cash both no-fee ThankYou card? So I can downgrade the premier to one of them and the points will be safe.
Yes
Citi on their site states that bonus points earned are not transferrable and I am unable to transfer the bonus points earned from my Premier card on their site to an airline. Do others have this problem?
I’ve never heard of that happening with the Premier card.
if someone shares with me 50k TYP (which has 90 day expiration), and i decide to transfer 75k points to a partner — will Citi first transfer the soon to be expired points or not?
Yes
Is purchasing Thank You Points still possible? For example, a Turkish Airlines 30% off award sale for US to Europe/Middle East in Business for about 33k miles could “dollarize” reasonably.
Add to the list that Citi’s newly revamped travel portal has the same rotten hotel pricing that the original portal had.
Agreed. I would not put any value on the $100 hotel credit — I find better rates from the hotel sites themselves. In my experience, using the $100 hotel credit would mean paying more, not less, than the hotels’ own rates.
Is your section about sign-up bonuses still accurate? What you wrote about Custom Cash looks right, but when I clicked on Rewards+ the language about a family of cards is not there, “Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you received a new account bonus for a Citi Rewards+® account in the past 48 months.”
Thanks, you’re right. Citi changed the rules on most cards to be a 48 month rule specific to getting the same card again. I’ve updated the post.