Last week we talked about how to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards, but now we’d like to discuss some of the best (and worst) ways you can use your Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Catch last week’s episode about accumulating Citi ThankYou Rewards here.
10 Best and 5 Worst uses of ThankYou Rewards
Mailbag
(01:02) – In a recent podcast Greg stated that United hadn’t before offered discounted business class awards to elites. One listener writes in with a correction that Platinum and 1K have had expanded access to saver awards in business class.
Card News
(03:50) – How to evaluate credit card welcome bonus offers
Compare all the best credit card sign up offers here.
Main Event: 10 Best and 5 Worst uses of ThankYou Rewards
(11:41) – Counting down the best uses of ThankYou Rewards from least favorite to most favorite…
Learn more about the Citi Premier card here.
(13:24) – 10. Transfer to Wyndham to book Vacasa, Cottages, etc.
(15:14) – 9. Transfer to Emirates. Book Emirates 1st class for 102K (JFK to Milan, or Newark to Athens)
Learn how to find and book Emirates first class awards here.
(17:03) – 8.Transfer to Turkish to book 10K one-way to/from Hawaii
(17:56) – 7.Virgin: fly AF/KLM Business class to Europe starting at 48,500; also intra-Europe as low as 4K
(19:39) – 6.Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles to book business class to Europe for 70K without surcharges (LifeMiles+)
(21:55) – 5.Transfer to Choice 1 to 2. Book Nordic hotels, Japan, Preferred, etc.
(24:03) – 4.Transfer to Leaders Club. Book Leading Hotels of the World for 1.6cpp
(25:08) – 3.Transfer to Qatar Avios. Book Qatar QSuites for 70K
Learn more about finding award space for Qatar QSuites here.
(27:14) – 2.Transfer to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles
(30:11) – 1.Transfer to Qatar Avios then to Iberia. Book Iberia biz class from east coast to Spain for 34K off-peak or 50K peak
(33:26) – BEST USE: Transfer to Flying Blue. Book Air France/KLM biz class to Europe for 50K
Learn more about viewing the Flying Blue award calendar here.
(36:15) – Find out about current point transfer bonuses here.
(40:02) – WORST 5: Counting down from best of the worst to worst of the worst
(40:18) – 5.Buy gift cards
(41:30) – 4.Book travel through Citi
(43:30) – 3. Transfer to AeroMexico (or transfer to ANY program to book low-value award)
(44:43) – 2. Pay with Points (0.8 cpp value)
(46:28) – 1. Shop with Points (usually: 0.8 cpp value)
Question of the week
(49:22) – Do you have tips about rental car programs and how to maximize value with car rental rewards?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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Andrew “corrected” FM on its coverage of United’s discounts on award flights, but he was talking about something different: “expanded access to Saver awards” has long been a benefit for higher-tier Premier members and for United cardholders, but the discounted award flights are new, at least in the way that United is currently pricing them.
You guys are totally hung up on premium cabins. Our family of 5 is having to travel overseas (to specific destinations) multiple times a year so stretching the points farther is the name of the game, not some exotic bucket list experience on Emirates. That said, we are still able to get outsized value – by booking one way awards (because our return dates are always uncertain). Compared to cash rates for one-way travel we are able to get as much as 12 cpm in value… Anyway, please don’t forget us frugal spenders when you talk about the best uses of points and miles.
On a separate note, I was going to agree that Flying Blue deserves the top spot – including for their great economy awards to Europe.
Overall, great job, guys! Keep it up.
You and I are the exception. I’m sure they know who their target market is and what it wants. I wouldn’t be surprised if catering to premium-award seekers also helps when they market themselves to banks and others with whom they seek professional relationships. I usually travel economy to destinations that are out of the mainstream (currently in Algiers), and you’re right, there can be very high cpm value in such economy awards. But by definition, “out of the mainstream” means there aren’t a lot of people interested, so a business like FM focuses elsewhere. There are still a lot of good tips, though.
Thanks Nick! I was just about to book United EWR-LHR but was looking only via Aeroplan and forgot about Avianca’s 45k miles option! Even considered the Aeroplan $5k stopover but even that didn’t compare to LM. Booking for four so the Lifemiles+ subscription may make sense (10% miles rebate and no cancel/re-book fees.
For Flying Blue’s “40k in J” US west coast to Europe, consider some things that could make this the “40k in J Grand Slam”…
-Flying from West Coast could result in a good night’s sleep (vs. a Northeast ~hop over the pond)
-Book a “free” stopover in Paris or Amsterdam (must call to book)
-Fly AF’s new 777 or A350 in the bulkhead seats with huge first class like footwells for free (might need elite status)
-If flying from LAX, in addition to AF’s new TBIT lounge, starting next week, could enjoy the new Delta One Business Class Lounge (via walking to another terminal)
If AA becomes a transfer partner with Citi TY points, where would this rank?
#1, #0, or best? 😉
It would rank #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
It may be hard to earn TYP, but they have had a massive amount of transfer bonuses this year.
That’s because all the choices generally suck. This article doesn’t mention taxes when booking on Flying Blue. ‘Gird your loins’ before taking a gander at the taxes you’ll pay for your free flight. Plus, they expire in three years. Can’t just transfer 1000 points to keep them alive either.
A small correction to something Nick said. He mentioned that Flying Blue award tickets had modest surcharges, “less than $250.” They can definitely be more than that! My latest was $321. Still better than BA & VS awards (on their metal).
One lesser known rental car trick: booking though Costco Travel gives you an additional driver for free and their prices are often competitive (though not always). It can be handy when traveling as a couple.
Urggghh. Guys you’re killing me. For #2 Eva, you mention flying from NA to Taipei for 75/80k, BUT fail to mention that you can go onward in SE Asia for the same cost. Plus those intra asia segments have great availability.