The Citi transfers partners, which are part of the Citi ThankYou Rewards programs, make Citi one of the most valuable credit card programs out there. Citi competes with American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards for the king of the credit cards points mountain.
One major area where ThankYou Rewards could improve in its Citi transfers partners is hotel partners. Citi currently partners with exactly zero hotels. Compared to American Express and Chase, both of which have hotel transfer partners, this is where Citi comes up short. By simply adding a valuable hotel partner of two like World of Hyatt, Citi would instantly be in the mix for the top 1-2 spots for best credit card programs.
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Best Citi Credit Cards
Citi offers the ability to earn ThankYou Rewards points directly with credit card spending. In addition, you can convert cashback earned into ThankYou Rewards points if you hold the Citi Premier Card or Citi Prestige Card. This makes it relatively easy to rack up loads of points with your everyday spending. Top Citi cards include the Citi Premier Card, Citi Custom Cash, and Citi Double Cash Card.
The Citi Premier Card 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels. You earn 5% cashback with the Citi Custom Cash on up to $500 in one of the 10 bonus categories where you spend the most in each billing cycle. 5% bonus categories are restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment. The Citi Double Cash earns 2% cashback on all purchases.
Citi ThankYou Rewards Partners
Transfer Partner | Transfer Time | Transfer Ratio |
---|---|---|
Aeroméxico Club Premier | Instant | 1:1 |
Air France KLM Flying Blue | Instant | 1:1 |
Avianca LifeMiles | Instant | 1:1 |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Instant | 1:1 |
Etihad Guest | Instant | 1:1 |
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 24-48 hours | 1:1 |
Jet Airways JetPrivilege | Instant | 1:1 |
JetBlue TrueBlue | Instant | 1:1 |
Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 24-48 hours | 1:1 |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | 24-48 hours | 1:1 |
Qatar Privilege Club | 24-48 hours | 1:1 |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 24 hours | 1:1 |
Thai Royal Orchid Plus | 3-6 days | 1:1 |
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 24-48 hours | 1:1 |
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Instant | 1:1 |
Choice Privileges | 24 hours | 1:2, 1:1.5 |
There are 16 Citi transfer partners, 15 of which are airline partners. Citi points transfer to all airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. About half of the airline partners have instant point transfers. Point transfers to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Thai Royal Orchid Plus, and Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles take between 1-6 days. Transfers to Choice Privileges are within 24 hours and are at a 1:2 (Citi Prestige, Citi Premier cardmembers) or a 1:1.5 (Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Rewards+, Citi Double Cash cardmembers) ratio.
Best Citi ThankYou Rewards Partners
A combination of transfer times plus transfer ratios puts certain airline and hotel transfer partners above the rest. That’s certainly the case with Air France KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. These airlines are generally considered the best Citi transfer partners.
Examples of some of the best ways to redeem Citi points include:
- 53,000 Air France KLM Flying Blue miles to fly Air France / KLM biusiness class between the US to Europe
- 63,000 LifeMiles to fly Austrian/Swiss business class between the US and Europe
- 70,000-85,000 Cathay Pacific Asia miles to fly Cathay Pacific business class between the US and Hong Kong
- 99,000 Singapore KrisFlyer miles to fly Singapore Airlines business class between the US and Singapore
- 90,000-95,000 Virgin Atlanitc points to fly ANA business class between the US and Japan
Citi Transfer Partners FAQs
Does Citi have transfer partners?
Yep! Citi partners with 15 airline programs.
Who does Citibank partner with?
The chart above shows every Citi transfer partner.
Does Citi transfer to Marriott?
Unfortunately, no.
How much is a Citi ThankYou point worth?
Roughly 1.7 cents per point per recent data points.
Citi Transfer Partners Conclusion
Citi’s more interesting partnerships include ones with Air France KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Other partners like Etihad Guest and Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles can offer value in spots. All in all, the Citi ThankYou Rewards programs help to unlock value with its transfer partners.
So, what do you think about the Citi transfer partners? Which partners do you like to use the most? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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