One of the most highlighted Citi ThankYou Points redemptions is booking Lufthansa business or first class flights using Avianca Lifemiles. What you may have not considered are all of the other ways to use Citi ThankYou points, including for flights between the US and Europe.
Citi has 15 airline transfer partners that you can transfer your points to. Not all airline programs are created equal, so you’ll want to focus on Avianca Lifemiles, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. These programs have the potential to offer the most value.
As you’ll see in this article, Citi ThankYou points have a ton of value. The ability to book premium cabin award flights at competitive rates between the US and Europe is the reason so many people earn Citi ThankYou points.
Best Credit Cards To Earn Citi ThankYou Points
Citi doesn’t have a robust number of a ThankYou credit cards when compared to American Express, Chase, or Marriott. As of today, the main way to earn ThankYou points is to spend on personal Citi ThankYou credit cards.
The Citi Premier, Citi Prestige, and Citi AT&T Access are the personal credit cards to consider. The Premier earns 3X points on travel and gas, the Prestige earns 5X on travel and restaurants, and the Access earns 2X on online purchases.
All in all, the best way to earn Citi ThankYou points is to align your spend with the bonus categories of each card. The ability to earn 2X-5X on most of your transactions will help you to quickly earn Citi ThankYou points for any of the redemptions we’ll cover.
How to Redeem Citi ThankYou Points
The transfer ratios from Citi to its partner airlines mentioned in this article are 1:1. However, the transfer times will differ. Citi ThankYou points transfer instantly to Avianca, Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines point transfers take 24 hours. With that said, let’s jump to all of the redemption options!
Avianca Airlines Lifemiles
Colombia-based Avianca Airlines is our first Star Alliance member. One of the best ways to use Avianca Lifemiles is to fly Lufthansa between the US and Europe. With 126,000 Lifemiles, you can book a roundtrip Star Alliance business class flight. Another great option is to use 166,000 Lifemiles to fly a roundtrip Star Alliance first class flight.
Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines fly between the US and Europe. Avianca doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges so you can fly any of these airlines with minimal taxes and fees.
Search for Star Alliance partner airline flights on United, confirm the same availability on Lifemiles.com, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
The Flying Blue award program is our lone SkyTeam program. Flying Blue doesn’t have an award chart. Instead, it has award pricing that’s tied to the cash cost of the flight. With 106,000 Flying Blue miles, you can book a roundtrip business class Air France or KLM flight between the US and Europe. An even better option is to book these flights during the 25-50% off Promo Awards.
In order to book Air France or KLM flights at these rates, you’ll want to avoid booking nonstop flights into Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS). If you fly into Paris or Amsterdam without connecting to another city, the award prices will be higher than the prices shown here.
Search for Air France or KLM flights on Air France or KLM, book the flight online, and then pay the $400+ in taxes and fees.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Hong-Kong based Cathay Pacific is our lone Oneworld program. The Asia Miles program uses a number of award charts, so you’ll want to refer to the Standard Award chart for flights on 1 Oneworld partner between the US and Europe. With 100,000 Asia Miles, you can book a roundtrip business class British Airways flight.
The reason to focus on British Airways flights, compared to all Oneworld flights, is because the fuel surcharges are lower when using Cathay Pacific miles. Instead of paying $1,000+ to fly British Airways, you’re looking at ~$600 roundtrip.
Search for British Airways flights at asiamiles.com, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Singapore Airlines uses region-based award charts. This means that your flight will cost the same amount of miles no matter the city you’re flying to/from in each region. With 144,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can book a round-trip Singapore Airlines business class flight. Another option is to use 172,000 KrisFlyer miles to book a roundtrip first class Singapore Airlines flight.
The number of miles required to book these flights is high, however, you can only book Singapore Airlines business and first class with KrisFlyer miles. With that said, the Singapore Airlines onboard experience should more than offset the additional miles you’ll pay.
Search for Singapore Airlines flights on Singapore Airlines, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
UK-based Virgin Atlantic is our lone airline not in a major airline alliance. Instead, Virgin Atlantic has partnerships with individual airlines. With 100,000 Flying Club miles, you can book a nonstop roundtrip business class Delta Air Lines flight. Also consider using 60,000 Flying Club miles to book a nonstop roundtrip Delta economy flight.
It’s important to note 2 things with this redemption. One, you’ll need to book nonstop Delta flights. If you add connections, you’ll need to pay additional miles. Two, the taxes and fees will be substantially higher if you fly Delta into London (LHR).
Search for Delta flights on Virgin Atlantic, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. If you can’t find your departure or arrival city on Virgin Atlantic, search for saver level flights on Delta, call Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500, book the flight over the phone, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Conclusion on How to Use Citi ThankYou Points
Citi should be one of the first programs that comes to mind if you’re looking to book flights between the US and Europe. The ability to book Oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam partner airline flights gives you plenty of award flight options.
What about you? Which Citi airline partners do you recommend to book flights to Europe? How do you use your Citi ThankYou points? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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