Last edit by: SpammersAreScum
Prestige cardholders: the current value of points is $0.016 if redeemed for flights on American Airlines, or $0.0133 on other airlines.
The redemption value on all airlines changes to $0.0125, on July 23, 2017. This is the same value as Citi Premier and Chase Sapphire Preferred. Discussion is in this thread:
Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes
If the TYP portal is not showing the lowest fares you've identified on Google, an OTA, or the airline directly -- call Citi TYP and then ask to get Connexions on the line. Doesn't cost extra to do book that way....but will take longer and manual bookings will NOT show up in your TYP MyTrips tab.
TYP portal pricing should be verified for every flight, it cannot be trusted to show the lowest fare. Also scroll over all the way, since some carriers are not on the main screen, and may have lower fares/points than their preferred carriers.
The redemption value on all airlines changes to $0.0125, on July 23, 2017. This is the same value as Citi Premier and Chase Sapphire Preferred. Discussion is in this thread:
Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes
If the TYP portal is not showing the lowest fares you've identified on Google, an OTA, or the airline directly -- call Citi TYP and then ask to get Connexions on the line. Doesn't cost extra to do book that way....but will take longer and manual bookings will NOT show up in your TYP MyTrips tab.
TYP portal pricing should be verified for every flight, it cannot be trusted to show the lowest fare. Also scroll over all the way, since some carriers are not on the main screen, and may have lower fares/points than their preferred carriers.
TYP flight redemption: Prestige $0.0133 - $0.016/pt until 7/2017, Premier $0.0125/pt.
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: American, United, Continental, USAir
Posts: 22
TYP flight redemption: Prestige $0.0133 - $0.016/pt until 7/2017, Premier $0.0125/pt.
The details are over on fatwallet - hat tip to that OP
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1073806/
but it does appear that for PPE holders (now called Premier I guess), flight points are able to be used at a 25% discount to the best available fares. Apparent regular PP (now Preferred?) holders don't see these discounts. I wonder if Prestige/Chairman see even better deals...
So a $400 ticket on Expedia can be had for 30,000 Thank You Points.
More importantly, other have reported that you can use a small number of TYP + pay for the rest to achieve the same 25% discount.
Its nothing like the old days, but this at least improves the TYP redemptions considerably. If I can get the best available airfare at 25% off while using only a few hundred or even thousand TYP, I can basically get a 25% discount on my airfare for free...
The only issue is whether I earn the miles for the flight - I should but don't know for sure.
I couldn't find a thread on this so I thought I would post it here. Sorry if it is elsewhere and I missed it.
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1073806/
but it does appear that for PPE holders (now called Premier I guess), flight points are able to be used at a 25% discount to the best available fares. Apparent regular PP (now Preferred?) holders don't see these discounts. I wonder if Prestige/Chairman see even better deals...
So a $400 ticket on Expedia can be had for 30,000 Thank You Points.
More importantly, other have reported that you can use a small number of TYP + pay for the rest to achieve the same 25% discount.
Its nothing like the old days, but this at least improves the TYP redemptions considerably. If I can get the best available airfare at 25% off while using only a few hundred or even thousand TYP, I can basically get a 25% discount on my airfare for free...
The only issue is whether I earn the miles for the flight - I should but don't know for sure.
I couldn't find a thread on this so I thought I would post it here. Sorry if it is elsewhere and I missed it.
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: American, United, Continental, USAir
Posts: 22
also, just an fyi, but the site is very slow and/or crashing intermittently
I saw the deal, but I can't seem to get through anymore.
perhaps they are adjusting things at this very moment...
I saw the deal, but I can't seem to get through anymore.
perhaps they are adjusting things at this very moment...
#3
formerly known as daveland
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: NY, NY, USA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, United Silver, Hilton Honors Diamond, Wyndham Diamond, MGM Gold
Posts: 2,941
Wow, tough to be first on even something like this that I thought ws a big discovery ;-) I noticed it this afternoon and wasn't sure if it was a glitch or not. If it's for PPE holders, then we have a reason to keep the card post-change! Being able to pay in a mix of cash and points is the sweetest part - esp if you are low on points! I did successfully complete one booking....
The site has indeed been up and down all day (and is down now).
The site has indeed been up and down all day (and is down now).
#4
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SFO
Programs: SPG
Posts: 123
I was curious and popped over to ThankYou to try this out...I was getting a flight that was $240 on Kayak for 18100 (~$180) on ThankYou. It seems to depend on which CC's you have linked...and I have pretty much all the major Citi cards linked as well as a Citigold account (which doesn't help narrow it down at all...:-P)
#5
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SFO
Programs: SPG
Posts: 123
I played with this a little more, and it's kinda interesting. As long as you use any points to pay for the ticket, you get the discounted price. So for example, I was looking at a flight that cost $180 with points, but $240 without...If I even just used 1000 points, i could pay the $171 different in cash (charged to citi CC)...which means you basically can charge the flight but still get the 25% discount. If this 25% thing sticks around, could make the whole ThankYou thing a little more attractive again

#6
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Tampa, FL
Programs: AAMM; UA Silver, Delta Silver, Marriott LT Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hertz #1 Gold Club
Posts: 1,591
I noticed this also and if it holds (I have the PPE) much improves the program and is certainly worth the annual fee - atleast for me.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Taichung, Taiwan
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 94
I doubt Citi's intention was to give a 25% discount off the lowest published airfare to anyone that applies even 1 ThankYou point towards the cost of the ticket. There is no way Citi can afford to do this in the long run, so if you have ThankYou points and a need to travel, I would book now before they fix this bug.
#10
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: 47,182
It sounds as if Citi is simply matching a feature of some Chase cards which participate in Ultimate Rewards. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred: Points are worth 25% more when you book airfare online through Ultimate Rewards. American Express has also matched this feature for Platinum and Centurion cardholders by offering a 20% refund on Pay-with-Points travel redemptions.
However, it sounds as if Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions's implementation is flawed because they have reduced the price of the ticket rather than increasing the value of the points. This wouldn't be apparent if they only allowed 100% point redemptions, but because they allow mixed points/cash payments it is foolish and it shouldn't take them long to notice that they are selling tickets below cost.
However, it sounds as if Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions's implementation is flawed because they have reduced the price of the ticket rather than increasing the value of the points. This wouldn't be apparent if they only allowed 100% point redemptions, but because they allow mixed points/cash payments it is foolish and it shouldn't take them long to notice that they are selling tickets below cost.
#11
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: 47,182
I think you are referring to this: 15% discount on all air travel when booked through our travel benefits provider Spirit Incentives. This feauture refers to cash purchases made though Spirit Incentives, not to points redemptions made through Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions.
#12
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 49
Does anyone know for certain whether these tickets are eligible for FF miles? Judging by the publicly available fares that are listed under the discounted points offering I am assuming FF mileage is not restricted but I can't find anything that explicitly states this.
#13
Ambassador: Thai Airways
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Bangkok
Programs: UA 1k, TG Gold, LT Bonvoy Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 1,008
All tickets purchased using Thankyou points will earn miles as long as the fare classes booked are eligible to earn miles in the frequent flyer program you choose to accumulate. All my CO tickets have earned miles as OnePass accrues miles for all paid fare classes. I can verify this as I have booked many trips with Thankyou in the past 3 years. In addition, if I need to make a complete change to my ticket (e.g. cancel and reapply credit towards a new ticket), I can just pay CO $25 fee (since the ticket is not booked directly with CO) and change it whatever trips I want in addition to the cancellation/cahnge fee.
I am surprised I have never been informed by Citi PPE or Thankyou Premier about the 25% discount on air fare point redemption. I spent at least an hour today booking my flight to STT as I couldn't believe why points required were 25% less. After I successfully booked it, then I thought about FlyerTalk and wanted to post what happened only to realize that I am the last to know about this.
I am surprised I have never been informed by Citi PPE or Thankyou Premier about the 25% discount on air fare point redemption. I spent at least an hour today booking my flight to STT as I couldn't believe why points required were 25% less. After I successfully booked it, then I thought about FlyerTalk and wanted to post what happened only to realize that I am the last to know about this.

Last edited by kiam; Feb 15, 11 at 8:06 pm
#14
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 146
Does anyone know for certain whether these tickets are eligible for FF miles? Judging by the publicly available fares that are listed under the discounted points offering I am assuming FF mileage is not restricted but I can't find anything that explicitly states this.
I would imagine that there is no reason the flights are ineligible, since you are buying the flights legitimately, just through a different vendor using a different currency. The airline has nothing (well, ish) to do with TYN
#15
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: East Coast
Programs: All major Airlines, Hotel Chains, Credit Cards and Car Rentals
Posts: 1,237
TYPs tickets are booked into bulk fares (opaque)
I have made a few redemptions in the last 7-10 days including 3 in last 3 days. Have redeemed points on JetBlue, DL, AA, AS, BA, AF and LH. Ticket price ranged from ~ $50 to $1000 and none of these tickets show the fare paid. I tried calling B6 and DL directly for a small change to the itinerary and they both asked me to contact the booking agency as these are bulk fares and they do not see the fare paid for the tickets.
Luckily, these redemptions were for family and not for business travel. It might be difficult to claim these redemptions for reimbursememts for business travel as there is no Airline receipt showing the fare paid.
Luckily, these redemptions were for family and not for business travel. It might be difficult to claim these redemptions for reimbursememts for business travel as there is no Airline receipt showing the fare paid.