Transfer bonuses are a great way to get even more value from your credit card points – and if you've got Citi ThankYou points from a card like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card there's a new bonus to help you do just that.
You can currently get up to 50% more points when transferring ThankYou points to a trio of airlines. Exactly how big a bonus you'll get depends on the airline: 25% to Avianca LifeMiles, 50% to Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, and 30% to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Each of these transfer bonuses ends on Oct. 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET!
Taking advantage of any of these bonuses can make sense with various sweet spots in each program. We typically see Citi roll out a handful of transfer bonuses to various travel partners each year, but it's quite rare to see three big bonuses all at once.
Even after a recent devaluation, Avianca is one of the best programs for booking business class flights to Europe for less. Turkish is a great option for getting to Istanbul (and beyond … way beyond), but can also be useful for booking domestic flights on United Airlines. Meanwhile, Virgin is a solid choice for short Delta flights and even long-haul business class trips to England … albeit with higher fees.
Just know, you should (almost) never transfer credit card points without a specific use in mind. This is a one-way street: Once you send your credit card points to an airline account, you can't get them back. That means you'll want to have a purpose for these points before you send them to Air France or any one of Citi's other travel partners.
Fortunately, there are some great ways to put this bonus to use…
Not sure where to start? Read our guide on Citi transfer partners and how it works!
Best Ways to Use Avianca LifeMiles
It's far from perfect, but LifeMiles can be one of the best mileage programs in the world for booking Star Alliance airlines like Lufthansa or SWISS to Europe, EVA Air to Asia, or even a domestic hop on United. It combines low mileage rates with just $50 to $100 in award taxes and fees. That makes it a go-to for travelers looking to book business or first class seats with their points and miles.
Heading to Europe? These days, the airline you're flying is the most important factor in determining what price you'll pay.
After hiking business class award rates to a blanket 80,000 miles each way, Avianca rolled back that increase (a bit) for every airline … except United. That means if you're flying a Star Alliance carrier like SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, or Lufthansa, you can still save big booking with LifeMiles … and this transfer bonus makes those deals even better.
So long as you avoid United, you'll now generally pay 69,000 miles one-way for a business class award to Europe with Avianca LifeMiles. That's true whether you're hopping on a short overseas flight from the East Coast … or making a longer journey, like this TAP Air Portugal business class flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Lisbon (LIS).
With a 25% bonus, you'd only need to transfer 56,000 Citi points to make it a reality.
But LifeMiles is full of oddities … in a good way: There are a handful of routes that price out even cheaper. For example, you can head to Switzerland on this SWISS business class route from New York City (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) for just 55,000 miles. Factor in that transfer bonus, and you need just 44,000 Citi points to book!
And if you're not concerned with flying at the front of the plane and just want to get to your destination for even less, LifeMiles has plenty of solid deals flying economy too:
- LifeMiles generally charges 15,000 miles (or fewer) for one-way routes flying United Airlines within the U.S.
- Routes to Europe typically cost 40,000 miles each way, though you'll find some still price out closer to 30,000 miles.
- Down to South America, you can book for 30,000 miles each way
Need more guidance on putting your LifeMiles to use? Read our complete guide to booking the best LifeMiles Sweet Spots!
Best Ways to Use Turkish Miles & Smiles
If you're wondering why you should care about Turkish miles, some amazing sweet spots like 65,000-point business class awards to Istanbul and roundtrip domestic flights on United (including Hawaii) for 20,000 miles in economy or just 30,000 in first class are here to make the case.
Take this flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Orlando (MCO), for example. At just over five hours, it's by no means a short hop. Thankfully, United is flying one of its big Boeing 777s with Polaris business class seats on select dates this winter.
The cost? Just 15,000 Turkish miles each way. With this transfer bonus, you'd only need 10,000 Citi points to book this transcontinental flight to Florida.
Of course, you can also use Turkish miles to fly to the carrier's hub in Istanbul, too. Turkish business class is among the best in the world and no matter which North American gateway you're flying from, you'll pay just 65,000 miles for the trip to Turkey.
With a big 50% transfer bonus, 44,000 Citi points is all you need for nearly 10 hours of lie-flat luxury.
A word of caution: Turkish's website is quirky … at best. It starts with a clunky sign-up process and continues when searching for awards. It's not uncommon to have issues logging in to search for awards, but when it works, it's great. In our experience, using the Turkish Airlines mobile app usually results in a better experience.
This huge 50% bonus should help make it worth the extra headaches and once you're booked, flying with Turkish really is a treat.
Related reading: A Full Guide to Turkish Miles & Smiles
Best Ways to Use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points
Virgin's transition to dynamic award pricing has resulted in some outstanding deals, flying Virgin Atlantic itself … for a fraction of the miles. Unfortunately, this deal recently took a big hit: Virgin now tacks on close to $600 in taxes and fees on a one-way business class ticket to London-Heathrow (LHR).
Still, flying business class to London from East Coast cities like Boston (BOS), New York City (JFK), Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), or Atlanta (ATL) for as low as 29,000 points could be worth stomaching the higher fees.
Factor in this transfer bonus, and you could book a lie-flat ride to London for as few as 23,000 Citi points each way.
There are deals to be had in the lower cabins now, too.
- A roundtrip from the East Coast to London for as few as 12,000 miles – as few as 10,000 Citi points with this bonus.
- A roundtrip in premium economy isn't bad either, at just 21,000 miles – as few as 17,000 Citi points with this bonus.
But this deal is good for more than just booking Virgin flights. You can often use Virgin Atlantic to book the exact same Delta flight and save a boatload of SkyMiles. The London-based airline offers a far more stable – and frequently cheaper – alternative to booking Delta flights than using SkyMiles outright.
There used to be far more Delta sweet spots you could book using Virgin points, but Virgin obliterated many of them over the last few years with another nasty devaluation. But booking short Delta flights – 1,000 miles in distance or less – through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can still be a great deal!
For example, this short flight from Fargo (FAR) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) might otherwise cost you 20,000 SkyMiles. With Virgin Atlantic, you can still book for just 7,500 points each way – just 6,000 Citi points with this 30% bonus.
Thrifty Tip: Use this new workaround to pull up a calendar view of Delta's partner award availability, making it easier to book these deals!
Bottom Line
Transfer bonuses like these are great – it means you need fewer points to book your next getaway. And right now, you can get up to 50% more points when transferring your Citi ThankYou Rewards to one of these three airlines to book some truly unforgettable flights.
Just make sure you have a plan to take advantage of these bonuses before they end on Oct. 18.
