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Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs): airline and hotel transfer partners

Old Aug 5, 2014, 12:17 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: mia
Q. Can I transfer Thank You points to airline programs?

A. Yes, but only from a TYP account tied to one of the following premium (fee-based) Citi cards:
  • Premier
  • Prestige
  • Chairman

Exception: Citi Preferred or Rewards+ cardholders can transfer to JetBlue at a less favorable rate (1000:500). They cannot transfer to other airline or hotel programs except as explained in the next paragraph .

Points earned through other cards -- such as the Citi Preferred or Rewards+ -- are eligible for transfer to airline programs, provided you also hold one of the premium cards listed above.

ThankYou Points earned through banking and customer service adjustments are called Taxable Points. Citi reports them as taxable when they are redeemed, not when they are earned. Citi does not allow Taxable Points to be Shared or Transferred, because they cannot determine a monetary value for those redemptions. However, the IT implementation of this policy may be imperfect. In 2015 one member was able to Transfer points earned through banking shortly after combining two ThankYou Rewards accounts. See posts 207-210, but no one has replicated this success.

Q. Which airline programs can I transfer TYP into?

A. TYP may be transferred 1:1 to these airline programs:

OneWorld
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (CX)
  • Malaysia Airlines Enrich (MH)
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer (QF)
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club (QR)

SkyTeam
  • Aeromexico Club Premier
  • Flying Blue: Air France (AF), KLM (KL) and others
  • Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (GA)
  • Virgin Atlantic (VS)

Star Alliance
  • Avianca LifeMiles (AV)
  • EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (BR)
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (SQ)
  • Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus (TG)
  • Turkish Airlines (TK)

Independent
  • Etihad Guest (EY)
  • Emirates Skywards (EK)
  • Jet Airways (9W)
  • jetBlue (B6) (TYP 1000 = 800 B6)


and to these hotel programs:
  • ALL - Accor Live Limitless ( TYP 1000 = 500 ALL)
  • Choice Privileges (TYP 1000 = 2000 Choice)
  • Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (TYP 1000 = 200 LC)
  • Wyndham Rewards


and to this retail program:
  • Shop Your Way (Sears) (at ratio 1 TYP: 12 SYW)


Q: After I transfer, when will my miles expire at that airline/hotel program? Is there anything I can do to avoid expiration there?

The Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire wiki now lists all of the above Citi TYP airline/hotel transfer partners and their respective expiration policies.

Q. Are transfers instant?

A. Not necessarily. Although Citi's FAQ states that it may take up to fourteen days for the ThankYou Points to post to your participating travel loyalty program member account, anecdotal evidence suggests that many transfer times will be much shorter. A summary:

Q. Can I transfer to another person's airline or hotel program account?

A. Per the Citi FAQ,
No. The first and last names on both the ThankYou Member Account and the participating travel loyalty program member's account must match in order to transfer points using the Points Transfer feature.
We do not have many reports describing how strictly this rule is applied/enforced, nor any reports on workarounds. One FTer, in his first post ever, claimed success in transfering TYP to another person's Etihad (EY) account.

Keep in mind that TYP may be freely Shared with another TYP member's account (with the points expiring 90 days after transfer). If the recipient member has a transfer-eligible card (as described above), s/he can Transfer points to airline or hotel partners.










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Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs): airline and hotel transfer partners

Old Sep 5, 2014, 9:25 am
  #121  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: AA Exec Plat, UA 1K, SPG Plat, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 201
What makes this card particularly valuable is the 3X points on meals. If you eat out a lot or travel for business, this can add up fast!

I for one think SQ redemptions are great. 90-100K points for long-haul First Class is still better than United's partner redemptions, though not quite as good as
AA.

I like the ability to transfer Amex, Chase, and now Citi points into one SQ account and book it. Essentially combining the powers of the 3 cards you get 3X points on airfare (Amex gold), 2X groceries (Amex gold), 5X on office supplies (Chase Ink), 2X Gas (Amex Gold and Chase Ink), 3X Dining and enterntainment (Citi).

This means you can now get 2X-5X SQ points on almost everything you do! That is way better earning potential than the Citi AA cards.
GeneralVeers is offline  
Old Sep 5, 2014, 9:52 am
  #122  
mia
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,884
Originally Posted by GeneralVeers
What makes this card particularly valuable is the 3X points on meals.
The earning structure varies by card. Prestige and Preferred have their 3X and 2X categories reversed.

PRESTIGE
As of October 19, 2014:
3X points on air and hotel
2X points on entertainment
2X points on dining out

PREMIER
2x air and hotel
3X points on dining out
3X points on entertainment

If you are using American Express Premier Rewards Gold for airfare and supermarket, you could look at replacing it with:
  • American Express Everyday card (free) which also earns 2X on supermarkets
  • Citi Prestige card which will earn 3X on both airfare and hotels. The Prestige annual fee is higher ($450), but $250 of that is refundable, and includes lounge access and other benefits.
mia is offline  
Old Sep 8, 2014, 7:47 pm
  #123  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 167
Originally Posted by mediator
I can add a time point for SQ:
Placed transfer order on thankyou.com on Sept.3
Received miles in my Krisflyer account on Sept.5
did you book a domestic with them? how does that process actually work?
LBJFlight23 is online now  
Old Sep 9, 2014, 9:46 am
  #124  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: New England
Programs: UA 1P, Hyatt Diamond, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,497
Originally Posted by LBJFlight23
did you book a domestic with them? how does that process actually work?
I have not. SQ's website will let you book SQ-operated flights only. For all other partners you have to call.
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Old Sep 11, 2014, 9:11 am
  #125  
 
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: N/A
Posts: 685
Can anyone give me a quick comment on the best redemptions for TYP's award partners? Would it be intr-asia flights? I am based out of NYC

Thanks for any help!
JBG89 is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 9:35 am
  #126  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 167
got this response from krisflyer

"For redemption request on Star Alliance Airlines, you need to contact
our hotline (65-67898188) to further assist you with your booking.
Alternatively, you may send us the completed Partner Airlines
Reservation Request Form in reply to this email. We would appreciate it
if you could submit the form to us at your earliest convenience as seats
are subjected to availability."
LBJFlight23 is online now  
Old Oct 12, 2014, 4:26 pm
  #127  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: DFW,OVB (Russia)
Programs: AA HH Gold SPG Gold BA
Posts: 1,823
I heard today from " the points guy" via his Sunday (somewhat noobish) reader questions that he had heard that citi was planning on adding more notable transfer partners to the list soon. Any ideas on what those might be? (i am hopeful for BA, if not AA)
rgAAFT is offline  
Old Oct 12, 2014, 5:57 pm
  #128  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 9,981
Originally Posted by rgAAFT
I heard today from " the points guy" via his Sunday (somewhat noobish) reader questions that he had heard that citi was planning on adding more notable transfer partners to the list soon. Any ideas on what those might be? (i am hopeful for BA, if not AA)
More likely AA. BA is all tied up with Chase.
josephstern is offline  
Old Oct 12, 2014, 7:55 pm
  #129  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: DFW,OVB (Russia)
Programs: AA HH Gold SPG Gold BA
Posts: 1,823
Originally Posted by josephstern
More likely AA. BA is all tied up with Chase.
Well yes and no
BA has a weird relationship with Chase. Chase issues their official credit card in the US , but yet BA also openly partners with AMEX here as well. Also, Citi is partners with BA in other countries, and finally, it has long been rumored that BA would become a US Citi thank you transfer partner at some point.

Anyway, my gut tells me that October 19 will be a big day for Citi in more ways than one
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Old Oct 12, 2014, 9:02 pm
  #130  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AS, US, Hilton, BA, DL, SPG, AA, VS
Posts: 1,628
Originally Posted by rgAAFT
Well yes and no
BA has a weird relationship with Chase. Chase issues their official credit card in the US , but yet BA also openly partners with AMEX here as well. Also, Citi is partners with BA in other countries, and finally, it has long been rumored that BA would become a US Citi thank you transfer partner at some point.
I think the fact that BA has a Chase issued US card but participates in MR & SPG (normally frowned upon by Chase) has something to do with it being a foreign airline, and thus not as reliant on selling FF miles to Chase to the extent that UA is.

Originally Posted by rgAAFT
Anyway, my gut tells me that October 19 will be a big day for Citi in more ways than one
Let's hope so.
LETTERBOY is offline  
Old Oct 13, 2014, 7:40 am
  #131  
mia
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,884
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both have multiple credit card relationships in the USA. I am confident that both could participate in ThankYou Rewards if they chose to do so.

British Airways
  • American Express Membership Rewards
  • Bank of America Merrill+ VISA
  • Chase BA VISA
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Diners Club Rewards
  • HSBC Premier MasterCard

Virgin Atlantic
  • American Express Membership Rewards
  • Bank of America VS MasterCard
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Diners Club Rewards

Both BA and VS also partner with Starwood, but that is a hotel program, and the credit card is incidental.
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Old Oct 13, 2014, 9:26 am
  #132  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,139
And, reciprocally, I'm completely confident it's not AA. That would both destroy the whole 1.6x multiplier setup and effectively put Citi in competition with its own AA-branded cards -- neither of which is going to happen anytime soon.

Last edited by FallenPlat; Oct 13, 2014 at 9:26 am Reason: typo fix
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Old Oct 13, 2014, 9:50 am
  #133  
mia
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,884
Originally Posted by FallenPlat
...not AA....
I tend to agree. I think the $0.016 AA/US redemption rate is the consolation prize for not offering AA transfers. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Citi added AA as a capped transfer partner next year, in the same way that Delta has announced transfer caps from all partner programs, including Membership Rewards, beginning in 2015.
mia is offline  
Old Nov 1, 2014, 6:32 pm
  #134  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 41
FYI, it apparently takes 3 to 5 days for TY points to be transferred to Air France according to MileValue: http://milevalue.com/how-long-to-tra...es/#more-19200
etilyeti is offline  
Old Nov 1, 2014, 11:14 pm
  #135  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,437
Originally Posted by etilyeti
FYI, it apparently takes 3 to 5 days for TY points to be transferred to Air France according to MileValue: http://milevalue.com/how-long-to-tra...es/#more-19200
Not good. Amex wins in this aspect with instant transfers.
UA Fan is offline  

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