In the world of transferable credit card points, Citi ThankYou® Points tend to get lost in the shuffle. Ask most travelers to rank their favorite transferable currencies, and you’ll hear Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, maybe Capital One miles … and then Citi, almost as an afterthought.
A few years ago, that was fair … but not anymore.
Over the last year and change, Citi has quietly built one of the most unique rosters of airline partners in the game: American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Copa Airlines (as of this week), and more. In total, you can now send your Citi points to 16 airlines and five hotel programs – several of which are hard (if not impossible) to reach with any other bank’s points.
There’s still a catch – a couple of them, actually – but if you’ve written off Citi points, it’s time to give them a second look.
Related reading: The Master List of Credit Card Transfer Partners
What Makes Citi Points Special?
Sure, you could redeem your ThankYou points like cash through the Citi Travel Portal. But if you really want to get the most value from your Citi points, you’ll want to transfer them to airline miles.
Luckily, the list of airline partners keeps growing, with some real standout options.
American Airlines
For years, Citi’s biggest weakness was obvious: It lacked a marquee U.S. airline. Chase had United and Southwest. Amex had Delta. Citi had … JetBlue?
But that changed last summer, when Citi answered our prayers and added American AAdvantage as a 1:1 transfer partner. Citi becoming the sole issuer of American Airlines co-branded credit cards paved the way for this all-too-obvious move.
It’s hard to overstate just how big that is for ThankYou points. Outside of an AA co-branded credit card, Citi points are the only way to earn AAdvantage miles in bulk. Sure, you can earn them by flying American, booking travel through the airline, or using its shopping and dining portals. But none of those will drop 60,000 or 75,000 miles into your account in one shot.
The list of great ways to redeem AA miles is far too long to list here. But a few highlights include:
- Domestic one-ways for 5,000 miles or less
- Roundtrips to the Caribbean for as low as 12,000 miles, sometimes less
- Flash sales to Europe for under 35,000 miles roundtrip
- Japan Airlines (JAL) business class to Tokyo for 60,000 miles – or JAL first class for 80,000 miles!
Any one of those deals should put Citi points on your radar – whether you’re looking to go abroad or stay close to home.
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
If AA filled Citi’s biggest gap, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank might be its biggest win. Citi added JAL as a 1:1 partner last month, and we’d argue it’s one of the best mileage programs on the planet right now.
Bilt and Rove also transfer to JAL at 1:1, while Capital One miles transfer at a weaker 2:1.5 ratio (absent a big transfer bonus). But among the big four banks, Citi is now the only one offering a 1:1 transfer.
Let’s start with JAL’s own flights: A one-way to Japan costs as little as 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 in premium economy, or 55,000 in business class – cheaper than what AAdvantage charges … albeit with higher fees.
But JAL miles arguably shine even brighter when used to book partner airlines – and not just within the Oneworld alliance.
Like many airline mileage programs, JAL uses a distance-based award chart for these partner award redemptions. But unlike virtually every other airline, it doesn’t tally each segment separately: It adds the distances together to determine the final price. This quirk opens the door to what’s easily among the best deals in the world of points and miles.
- Miami (MIA) to Madrid (MAD) on American Airlines: 60,000 miles one-way in business class … or just 85,000 miles roundtrip
- LATAM business class from Miami to Buenos Aires (EZE): same deal, 60,000 one-way or 85,000 roundtrip
- British Airways business class from Chicago (ORD) to London (LHR): Just 42,000 miles and $219 one-way via JAL, versus 88,000 Avios and nearly $400 booking through British Airways instead
A few caveats: The whole trip must be on a single partner airline. And JAL only lets you book awards for immediate family, not friends.
But if you can make it work, this is a sweet spot worth taking advantage of while it lasts.
Copa ConnectMiles
Just this week, Citi added Copa Airlines ConnectMiles as a 1:1 transfer partner.
Is it a game-changer? No. But it’s another partner you won’t find anywhere else among the big banks. Before now, the only ways to transfer into ConnectMiles were Rove (1:1) and Marriott Bonvoy (a lousy 3:1).
And Copa is more than a regional carrier with a hub in Panama City (PTY). It’s a Star Alliance member with a few genuinely useful quirks:
- No fuel surcharges on partner awards, including Emirates: business class from the U.S. to Dubai runs 80,000 miles
- Better access to United award space than most partners: United Polaris from San Francisco (SFO) to Newark (EWR) for 55,000 miles, versus 108,000 United miles for the same seat
- Lie-flat business class within South America from 40,000 miles
- Business class to Europe on Lufthansa or Austrian from 90,000 miles, no surcharges
The catch? Copa’s award search is clunky and takes some getting used to. But it’s one more arrow in Citi’s quiver that no other major bank can match.
EVA, Turkish & the Rest of the Roster
American AAdvantage, JAL MileageBank, and newcomer Copa ConnectMiles are worth calling out individually because of how rare they are, but Citi’s supporting cast is pretty strong, too.
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: Citi is the only bank that transfers to EVA at 1:1. That’s huge now that EVA has shut down most partner bookings: EVA business class between the U.S. and Asia runs 75,000 to 80,000 miles one-way. Just know that transfers may take a few days, and the booking experience isn’t for the faint of heart.
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Business class to Istanbul for 65,000 miles one-way, or to the Middle East for 93,000. Once again, Turkish’s website can take some getting used to … but the prices are hard to beat.
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Upper Class to London from 29,000 points (though fees now run $700 or more), plus ANA business class to Tokyo from 52,500 … if you can find availability.
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue: Business class to Europe from 60,000 miles for a no-frills “Light” fare, or 75,000 for a standard one.
- Qatar Privilege Club: Qatar Avios are the #1 way to book Qsuites – from 70,000 Avios each way, between North America and Doha (DOH). While British Airways isn’t a direct Citi partner, you can combine Avios between Qatar and British Airways (and all the other Avios airlines) for even more options.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Krisflyer Miles, Avianca LifeMiles, Etihad Guest miles, Emirates Skywards miles (5:4 transfer ratio), JetBlue miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer miles, and Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus miles round out the list of airline partners.
| Program | Type | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air France/KLM | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| American Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Copa ConnectMiles | Airline | 1:1 | Unknown |
| Emirates | Airline | 1,000:800 | Instant |
| Etihad | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| EVA Air | Airline | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Japan Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| JetBlue | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Qantas | Airline | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Qatar Airways | Airline | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Singapore | Airline | 1:1 | Up to 24 hours |
| Thai Airways | Airline | 1:1 | 3-7 days |
| Turkish Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
To be perfectly clear: They’re not all slam dunk options.
Many of these programs partner with other banks (or every other bank, for that matter), but with 16 different airlines to choose from – and some really unique options at that – Citi ThankYou points have become indispensable for travelers looking to save big on flights.
Where Do Citi Points Fall Flat?
If there’s one area where Citi clearly trails the competition, it’s hotels: There’s no Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, or IHG here.
| Program | Type | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accor | Hotel | 2:1 | Instant |
| Choice Hotels | Hotel | 1:1.5 | Instant |
| Wyndham Rewards | Hotel | 1:1 | Instant |
| The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) | Hotel | 5:1 | Instant |
| Preferred Hotels and Resorts | Hotel | 1:2 | Instant |
For years, Choice was a niche but legitimately valuable option at a 1:2 ratio. Then in April, Citi cut that to 1:1.5 – a 25% devaluation that wiped out much of the appeal. Preferred Hotels & Resorts program got hit even harder, going from 1:4 to 1:2 – a 50% cut.
You can still squeeze some value out of Choice in places like Japan and Scandinavia. But if hotels are your main goal, Chase (with Hyatt, Marriott, and to a much lesser extent, IHG) or Amex (with Hilton and Marriott) is a better bet.
You can also redeem ThankYou points through the Citi Travel portal at 1 cent apiece. It’s an easy, no-nonsense way to book a trip: a $600 hotel would require 60,000 points to cover the booking in full.
Just know you’re almost always leaving value on the table compared to transferring.
The Catch: Citi Points Are Hard to Earn
So why do Citi points still get overlooked? Mostly because they’re harder to rack up than Amex, Chase, or even Capital One points and miles.
Right now, there are just two cards open to new applicants that earn ThankYou points and unlock Citi’s full transfer ratios:
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card: bonus_miles_full
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card: bonus_miles_full
All information about Citi cards has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer. For full disclosure, these are not affiliate links.
Compare that to the stable of personal and business cards that earn Amex or Chase points, and it’s really no contest.
What’s more, Citi rarely rolls out the kind of big, limited-time welcome offers we regularly see from other banks. The Strata Elite’s brief 100,000-point offer at launch was the exception, not the rule … and that’s if you’re even eligible to begin with. Citi now limits travelers to just one Strata sign-up bonus, per card, per lifetime.
To make matters worse, Citi doesn’t offer a single ThankYou points-earning business card … at least not yet. The bank recently surveyed some business customers about a premium business card with a $600-plus annual fee.
Nothing is official, and it could just as easily wind up as an AA co-branded card – but it’s something worth keeping an eye on.
There are a couple of silver linings:
- If you hold a Strata card, points from no-annual-fee cards like the Citi Double Cash® Card can be combined into that account and transferred at full value.
- And Citi may be eyeing a new way to earn ThankYou points. Just last week, the bank surveyed some business customers about a premium business card with a $600-plus annual fee. This could just as easily wind up being an AA co-branded business card – or nothing at all – but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Of course, scarcity cuts both ways. The fact that Citi points are harder to earn is part of why they feel so valuable when you have them.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Bother
Citi points aren’t for everyone. If you’re just getting started with points – or want to stick to one or two currencies – Citi probably isn’t your one-size-fits-all option. Chase and Amex are easier to earn and come with far better hotel partners.
But if you’re already collecting points and miles, Citi fills gaps no one else can. It’s the only way to earn AAdvantage miles in bulk, the best bank route into JAL and EVA, and the only major bank partnered with Copa.
Pairing the annual_fees Strata Premier with a no-fee Citi Double Cash is a cheap way in.
Bottom Line
Are Citi ThankYou points underrated? I think so.
With American, Japan Airlines, EVA, Turkish, and now Copa among their 16 airline partners, Citi points can unlock some of the best award deals out there – several of which you simply can’t book with Amex, Chase, or Capital One points and miles.
They’re harder to earn, and their hotel partners leave a lot to be desired. But for anyone with a stash of Citi points, or a way to earn them, they’re worth far more credit than they get.
