Preferred Hotels worth 4X transfers from Citi before it’s too late

On April 19th, 2026, Citi will reduce the transfer ratios from ThankYou points to Choice and I Prefer. The question on everyone’s mind (where “everyone” equals anyone with a lot of Citi points) is whether to transfer now before it’s too late. I usually tell people not to transfer points without a specific high-value award in mind. In this case, though, it may make sense anyway. Below, I’ll explain my thinking along with details of the hotels and resorts that have me leaning towards a big prospective transfer…

Consider transfers to I Prefer, not to Choice

Transfer ratios will decrease on April 19th for Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Citi Prestige, and AT&T Access More cardholders as follows:

• Choice Privileges will be 1 to 1.5 (currently 1 to 2)
• Preferred Hotels (I Prefer) will be 1 to 2 (currently 1 to 4)

Choice points can offer excellent value, but I still wouldn’t consider transferring prospectively. They’re too easy to get. Choice often sells discounted points for around 0.7 cents each. If you find a great use for Choice points, buying them at that rate can be a great deal. Also, as far as we know, Wells Fargo will continue to offer 1 to 2 transfers from Autograph cards to Choice. Additionally, don’t forget that Wells Fargo offers Choice Privileges cards with decent welcome bonuses (Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard, Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard Select).

Preferred Hotels’ I Prefer points are a different matter. Currently, you get four I Prefer points for each Citi point transferred. On April 19th, that will be cut in half, and you’ll get only 2 I Prefer points for each Citi point (the same ratio as when transferring from Capital One to I Prefer). That’s a huge drop! The average value of I Prefer points is around 0.5 cents each. With current transfer ratios, you can expect around 2 cents per Citi point. Starting April 19th, though, you can expect only 1 cent per Citi point. And since it is possible to cash out Citi points for 1 cent each (if you have a card like the Citi Double Cash), transferring 1 to 2 is, ahem, pointless.

Deciding whether to transfer prospectively…

If you’re like me and you don’t know exactly how you’ll use I Prefer points, but you’re still thinking of making the transfer while it’s available, then you have a tough decision to make. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the hotels currently available to book with points in order to make an educated guess as to how many points you’re likely to use in the next couple of years. No plan like this will be perfect. There’s no guarantee that hotels currently available to book with I Prefer points will remain so. And, point prices may change at any time. On the flip side, great new hotels may be added where you’d wish you had transferred points. Still, it’s the best approach I can think of.

Narrowing the field

There are around 300 Preferred Hotels that are bookable with I Prefer points. That’s too many to evaluate one by one. To drastically narrow the list, I applied the following constraints:

• Discard any hotels that are also bookable with Choice points. Choice points will remain easy to get, so these hotels will still be bookable with points at a reasonable rate after April 19th.
• Include only very expensive hotels. My thinking here is that I’d only want to risk prospective transfers if it means gaining access to hotels I wouldn’t normally be willing to pay for in cash. Reasonably priced hotels can still be booked in the future without I Prefer points, and I could potentially use hotel credits from various premium credit cards to reduce the out-of-pocket cost. I limited my search to hotels with a starting price of over $600. I then added a few hotels where the starting price was below $600, but where the usual price was higher.
• Include only the highest-rated hotels. I looked for Google and TripAdvisor review scores over 4.5.
• Include only hotels that are actually available to book with points. For each hotel on the list below, I made sure there were many dates available when the hotel could actually be booked with points. One major exception: Pink Sands Resort. There, the point-availability calendar shows many dates available, but when you click through, it only shows Points+Cash rates (which are usually not a good deal). I kept this resort on the list, though, because it would be a smoking deal if it were actually bookable. In several other cases, the point-availability calendar only showed cash rates, but when I clicked through on various dates, the full point rate did appear.

Your input is appreciated!

If you’ve stayed at any of the hotels in the list below and/or recommend others get added, please comment below. I’ll do my best to keep this post updated with reader input.

Without further ado, here are some Preferred Hotels that are arguably worth prospectively transferring points, just in case you have the opportunity to book them…

United States

Nemacolin

• Greg’s note: This property looks great, but point bookings are only available in the shoulder seasons, and usually only on weekdays. Still, rooms usually go for around $1,500 per night, so 100K I Prefer points is a fantastic deal. This resort is about a 1.5-hour drive from the Pittsburgh airport.

Keswick Hall

• Greg’s note: The mountains around Charlottesville are gorgeous. I could easily imagine building a trip around this resort.
• Nate writes: Stayed at Keswick numerous times and enjoyed it each time when it was still part of Hyatt. Heated pool, free tennis and pickleball courts, cool grounds, and wonderful breakfast with a view, back when Globalists got free breakfasts. Close to Charlotte and great wineries. Not sure I’d do more than 3 nights — we always did two. It always had that feel of quiet luxury. Bar at restaurant is great too for evening drinks. Mostly went shoulder season but do believe it can get crowded on weekends and with weddings. Definitely worth a stay once.

The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston

The Cooper

• Greg’s note: This one doesn’t have any real reviews yet, since it’s so new. But it looks great.

Hotel Casa del Mar

The Clement Palo Alto

• Greg’s note: It seems a little bizarre to find an all-inclusive hotel in Palo Alto, but here it is. It’s so cool that gratuities and valet parking are also included! Their website states: “As an all-inclusive hotel, you’ll love the fact that everything is included – and that means everything. From food and drinks to gratuities and valet parking, you won’t have to sign a single receipt during your stay.”

The Ranch at Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach, California, United States The Ranch at Laguna Beach A Hidden Gem Set in Southern California’s Coastal Canyons Just Minutes from Pristine Pacific BeachesI Prefer: 100,000 (book here) Cash: ~$654 Citi: 25,000 transferred to I Prefer (CPP=2.62)

• Greg’s note: The coastline along Laguna Beach is spectacular. I would love to build a mini vacation around this destination.

Carribean

Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club

• Greg’s note: With other hotel programs, it can be hard to find in-season award availability at high-end Caribbean hotels. With this one, the award calendar shows cash rates instead of point rates, but for each set of dates I clicked through, an all-points booking was available.

Pink Sands Resort

Harbour Island, Bahamas Pink Sands Resort Secluded Tropical Resort with Pink Sand and Breathtaking ViewsI Prefer: 150,000 (book here) Cash: ~$2,048 Citi: 37,500 transferred to I Prefer (CPP=5.46)

Important Note: Even though the point calendar shows a lot of availability, when I’ve selected random dates, the next screen only showed me points+cash rates, which are usually not a good deal.

Greece

Andronis Luxury Suites

• Greg’s note: This place gets incredible reviews. I want to go!

Italy

Armani Hotel Milano

Umiltà 36

Switzerland

7132 Hotel

Storchen Zürich

• Michael writes: We stayed at the Storchen in December 2023 under an FHR rate for a stop on our honeymoon Christmas Market tour. The rooms are typically small for Zurich, but we were upgraded to a riverside room with a nice view of the rathaus. Rates were around $500 minus the old Platinum $200 credit in early December. Breakfast buffet was solid, morning views in the restaurant over river were nice, did not try the Michelin star restaurant but food and drinks in the bar were solid, but expensive, as expected. The location was amazing for our desires to wander the Christmas markets. We received a half bottle of champagne and treat as a welcome gift and then a small cake later (I assume for our honeymoon). We were also surprised with a little bag on our door for St. Nick’s day. Value in Zurich is hard but with the FHR inclusions, it was worth it.

Additional reader recommendations

The Londoner

• Matt writes: The Londoner (London): Gorgeous property, posh and the finishes of the rooms and common areas feels lux. The hotel has a beautiful spa area included in the room rate with pools, steam room, dry sauna. Terrific service, every staff member interaction was professional, warm, and helpful. Location is pretty perfect, centrally located and 5-10 min walk to all the West End Theaters, Covent Cardens, etc. Only downside was the immediate area outside the hotel doors is Leicester Square. Kind of a gross Times Square-ish vibe (think M&M store, roving bands of tourists). But after walking for 2 minutes, you’re out of it. Rooms are routinely $800-$900/night in shoulder and peak season and cost 100,000 I Prefer points (25,000 TYP/night).
• Read about my own experience at The Lononder here.

Monument Hotel (Barcelona)

• Matt writes: Historic property with beautiful renovation that highlights the original details in the hotel. Very nice finishes in the rooms, lovely stuff. Similar review as above, but without the spa and a much nicer vibe outside the hotel doors in the heart of Eixample. Rooms are $500ish a night, and I’ve seen that the property comes and goes with being available for booking with points. It’s not avail now but I expect it will come back. I do recall I got over 3cpp with my transferred TYP.

Parco dei Principi Grand Hotel & Spa Rome

• Jim writes: “It’s out of the hustle and bustle of central Rome. You decide if for you that’s a plus or minus for you. A huge park on one side and the other a nice mixed district, walkable to non hotel restaurants. Not far from central rome. 75k points per night.”

My plan

There are several hotels on the list above that I’d love to visit (along with many more not on the list).

At the time of this writing, I have over 600,000 Citi ThankYou points available. I want to keep at least 300,000 for other potential uses, so I have up to 300,000 (plus change) available for transfers to I Prefer. At this point, I’m thinking of transferring a total of 261,000 Citi points to I Prefer. I currently have 6,000 points, so this would bring my total to 1,050,000. With that many points, I could do:

• 7 nights at 150K-per-night hotels
• 5 nights at a 150K hotel plus 3 nights at a 100K hotel
• 3 nights at a 150K hotel plus 6 nights at 100K hotels
• Etc.

What do you think? What are you going to do? Please comment below.

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.