Now transfer from most Citi cards to most ThankYou partners (even from Custom Cash)

Citi has expanded the ability to transfer to most airline and hotel partners to most cards that earn ThankYou points. Whereas previously, some no-annual-fee cards either had very limited transfer partners or none at all (the Custom Cash previously did not have transfer partners), it is now possible to transfer from most cards that earn ThankYou points to most Citi partners — albeit at a poorer ratio and not at all to American Airlines.

As you can see above, while Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige and AT&T Access More cardmembers transfer 1,000:1,000 to most airline partners, the ratios differ a bit for those with other Thank You cards. If you have a Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige, or AT&T Access More card, you can still pool your points earned from other cards and enjoy the better transfer ratios when transferring from one of those premium cards.

Note: Only Strata Elite, Strata Premier or Prestige cardmembers can transfer to American Airlines. You must have one of those three cards to transfer to AA.

However, it is now possible to transfer from other cards to most of Citi’s airline and hotel partners (other than AA) without having a premium card. The Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Strata, Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Cash, Citi ThankYou Mastercard, AT&T Universal Rewards World, AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards, AT&T Universal Rewards, AT&T Points Plus card or AT&T Access cards to airline and hotel partners. Here are the ratios for those cards from Citi ThankYou points to partners:

Airlines:

• Air France / KLM Flying Blue: 1,000:700
• AeroMexico Rewards: 1,000:700
• Avianca Lifemiles: 1,000:700
• Cathay Pacific: 1,000:700
• Emirates Skywards: 1,000:560
• Etihad Guest: 1,000:700
• EVA Air: 1,000:700
• JetBlue TrueBlue: 1,000:700
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: 1,000:700
• Qatar Privilege Club: 1,000:700
• Singapore Krisflyer: 1,000:700
• Thai Royal Orchid Plus: 1,000:700
• Turkish Miles & Smiles: 1,000:700
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 1,000:700

Note: It is not possible to transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage without a Strata Elite, Strata Premier or Prestige card.

Hotels:

• Accor Live Limitless: 1,000:350
• Choice Privileges: 1,000:1,400
• Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club: 1,000:140
• Preferred Hotels & Resorts: 1,000:2,800
• Wyndham Rewards: 1,000:700

As you can see, the transfer ratios aren’t great. However, it is worth noting that the Choice Privileges transfer ratio is 40% better than what Amex or Capital One offers as both of those programs only offer 1:1 transfers to Choice (you still may be better off buying points on sale, but it is notable that you’ll get a better ratio here than through other partnerships). Similarly, the transfer ratio to EVA Air, at 1:700, is only slightly behind Capital One’s 1,000:750 transfer ratio to EVA Air.

I’d still usually recommend getting or upgrading to one of the premium cards when you want to transfer to a partner in order to unlock the better transfer ratios, but it is great to see that it is no longer necessary for those who do not want to do so. And when you consider a card like the Custom Cash offering the ability to earn 5x in one category each month, the transfer ratio here would make that card effectively earn 3.5 airline miles per dollar on that bonus category, which could be a good deal for a low spender who wants to avoid paying an annual fee.

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