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Citi ThankYou points - cancel, downgrade & expiration considerations (2012 - 2023)

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Old May 29, 2013, 3:40 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: rrgg
When do my Thank You points expire?

It depends.

It's important to understand that if you have multiple Citi cards ("sponsor accounts") generating points into a single TY account, those pooled points may have different expiration dates based upon the rules of the corresponding sponsor account. Points from some sponsor accounts never expire as long as the sponsor account is open, while others have an expiration date based on the date of earning. (For a comprehensive list of expiration rules, see the TYP T&C.)

To complicate matters further, points-earning activity from a sponsor account will often extend the validity of older points from that same sponsor account.

What happens when I cancel a credit card from which I have earned TY points?

Points previously earned from that sponsor account will expire after 60 days.


What happens when I downgrade a Prestige card or Premier card from which I've earned TY points?

A product change from one ThankYou earning card to another ThankYou earning card should keep the points from expiring.


What are the rules for sharing points from my account to another TY account?

If you share points with (that is, make an internal TY transfer to) another TY account, those points will expire 90 days after the transfer. Note that
  • this is true regardless of whether you share to another TY user or to another TY account you hold (if you have multiple TY accounts);
  • you may not share points that are expiring in less than 90 days; and
  • you may not share more than 100K points (or receive more than 100K shared TY points) in any calendar year.

For details, see ThankYou Point Sharing capped at 100,000 points per calendar year


When I redeem points (for travel, gift cards, etc.), which ones does Citi use up first?


Citi will use the points with the soonest expiration date, which may or may not be points from a canceled sponsor account.


How can I see my expiring points?


Follow these steps:
  1. Log into your Thank You account (either directly or via citicards.com)
  2. From the My Account menu (top right of screen), select either "My Account Overview" or "My Points Summary"
  3. Look for a statement near the top of the screen such as "You do not have any points expiring within the next 60 days or less"
  4. Select "View all expiring points"
  5. Alternate: If logged in, you should be able to see the list at:https://www.thankyou.com/accountStatementExpiry.jspx
Note: The totals displayed will not include points expiring within 60 days as a result of closing a sponsor account. SOURCE


Why do I see a warning that points expire in 7 days after converting from Citi Preferred to Citi Rewards+?


Citi acknowledges this message can appear in error after converting from one ThankYou credit card to another type of ThankYou credit card. If your points actually expired they will adjust the point balance upon request. In at least one case, the expiration never occurred despite the message.

If you converted a ThankYou credit card to a non-ThankYou credit card, that may be a different issue, and it's possible points really will expire by the stated deadline.
The info about 24-month clocks vs product changes came from these web pages:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/produ...w-card-number/

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/07/pro...24-month-rule/




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Citi ThankYou points - cancel, downgrade & expiration considerations (2012 - 2023)

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Old Mar 12, 2017, 12:15 pm
  #496  
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,317
I opened the premier first and now have both the prestige and the premier. Given I'm using the 4th night free later this year, I can't cancel that one. So I'm thinking of canceling the premier

Are points removed (from a TYP account with both prestige and premier sponsor accounts) oldest first? Or is there a way to control which account they come from?

I can track (by spreadsheet) what my TYP's are by sponsor account since I've never used any. Is there a way to just look that up? I won't be able to figure it out manually once if points are deducted from both accounts.

Thanks in advance!
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Old Mar 13, 2017, 12:17 pm
  #497  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Originally Posted by EatMoreChicken
wow, I just read through all 450+ post, and kinda regret signing up for the TYP program, and definitely won't recommend it to a friend. UR and MR is definitely more flexible. Thanks for everyone for providing unbiased advice to all the questions. I really learned a lot.

My wife and I both have Premier and Prestige cards, with AFs coming up. We have roughly 100k each. We fly out of SFO and plan to visit Asia or Europe w/ the family in 1-2 years. so Singapore seems like the best spot for us to "park" our points for the next three years, but with impeding devaluation on March 23rd, I'm not so sure. Any advice would be appreciated.

I may consider downgrading the cards to maintain account history, so it doesn't impact the Avg age of accounts. I WAS planing to keep one Prestige card with the combined points, but not if my wife's points expire in 60/90 days. And since we both have the Sapphire Reserved, having another high end card doesn't make sense.
Since I'll only hit the 1yr mark on Prestige this summer, and 2yr on Premier in the fall, I'm tempted to simply cancel them at those points rather than downgrade. I just got the CSR and all new travel spend is on that.

I'm doing my best to squeeze the most I can from TYPs by summer, with the dregs getting moved to BA and/or CX when the time comes.

Last edited by SpammersAreScum; Mar 13, 2017 at 5:12 pm Reason: can't transfer to BA, alas
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Old Mar 13, 2017, 1:24 pm
  #498  
mia
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Originally Posted by SpammersAreScum
...dregs getting moved to BA and/or CX when the time comes.
Note that BA is not a ThankYou Rewards (USA) transfer partner.
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Old Mar 13, 2017, 5:11 pm
  #499  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Originally Posted by mia
Note that BA is not a ThankYou Rewards (USA) transfer partner.
Well, crap -- you're right. I don't know what made me think they were.
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Old Mar 14, 2017, 1:14 pm
  #500  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: CMH
Programs: w/+1: AS MVPG; IHG/Marriott Plat; Hilton/BW Diamond; Hertz Prez; SG Silver
Posts: 1,188
Originally Posted by libralibra
Called about downgrading my Premier and they said it would change to MC so my number would change. This prompted me to think about just cashing out the 55k TY points rather than risk them expiring.

An easy way is to just prepay ATT and then use "select and credit" to pay with points - gets 1c value.

Another option I just noticed is to transfer to JetBlue and just park the points. I believe JetBlue points never expire, are worth about 1.5c against ticket prices and there's currently a TY promo to transfer at 1:1.2 ratio. That makes the cash out 1.8c.

Anyone else think this way, or have an even better plan? The intl options are only good if you are pretty sure you will use the points in time.
I just downgraded my Premier to no-fee card over the phone to avoid the AF. (I was offered two other retention options to waive the $95 AF: spend $1k/mo x 3 mos or $3k over 3 months.) Agent confirmed that my account number did not change and my points still have no expiration date. I will combine those points with my Prestige points when I am ready to redeem them (by 7/23/17 on AA) since combining triggers the 60 day expiration.
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Old Mar 16, 2017, 8:09 pm
  #501  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 1,084
guys, i just burned my last large batch of TYPs, with only 10k remaining. I am still in the free AF refund window for my prestige. my trip is in two months. i am thinking about downgrading the card to costco immediately and getting my $350 back (citigold pricing).

or would it make sense to keep the card open and then cancel it after my trip, in case i need to use travel insurance for unexpected delays etc.

citi does prorate AF refunds, IIRC.

although with this logic if i plan to keep it for two months might as well keep it until december and then harvest the $250 airfare credits.

thoughts?

sorry if this is too much off topic: but could i pay for a seat upgrade fee on this flight with my CSR or something. would CSR then insure me or probably not since the original fare itself wasn't charged to chase.

i don't believe the Costco card has any decent trip delay/cancelation coverage

thank you
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Old Apr 22, 2017, 3:11 pm
  #502  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: LIT
Programs: DL SkyMiles, AA, CX Asia Miles, United MileagePlus, HHonors
Posts: 243
Anybody know if I downgrade my card from AA Platinum Select to the no annual fee Citi Double Cash, would that count as an "account close" and I'd have to wait 24 months to apply for another AA card with a miles bonus?
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Old Apr 23, 2017, 10:38 am
  #503  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Originally Posted by cloudeleven
Anybody know if I downgrade my card from AA Platinum Select to the no annual fee Citi Double Cash, would that count as an "account close" and I'd have to wait 24 months to apply for another AA card with a miles bonus?
There are at least two other threads discussing this question. Early on, at least, the thinking seemed to be that any change -- either a downgrade to a card in the same family, or a product change to a different family -- meant a closure. But, as they note, there are very few actual data points. My guess would be that, since they now consider the whole family under the 24 month rule, with a downgrade you'd be ok. But with a product change such as yours, it's more doubtful.

If I were in your shoes, I'd hedge my bets by downgrading to the free PreferredBronze and separately get the DoubleCash.

Last edited by SpammersAreScum; Apr 23, 2017 at 10:55 am Reason: wrong card family
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Old May 7, 2017, 9:38 am
  #504  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: WAS, LAX
Programs: AS 100K
Posts: 1,330
Hey folks,

Quick question: have 62k expiring Citi points from closing Premier. Points expire on 5/12. Called in to have those points "moved" to my Prestige account to extend them for 90 days.

Agent told me something that I'm guessing is a "whopper": once those 62k points are moved to my Prestige account, they cannot be transferred to airline partners. Anybody have any data on this?

Thanks!
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Old May 8, 2017, 5:40 am
  #505  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
In Olden Tymes, the TYP account page would not display points expiring as a result of closing a sponsor account. Remarkably, Citi has now fixed this. The "My Points Summary" page for my account has an explicit line item for the handful of points orphaned by a recent Premier closure (with expiry date, points source, expiry reason, and number of points listed).

Something else that looks new (to my eye, at least) is a line below the summary stating (explicitly, for a change) the longstanding rule that "Points that are about to expire will be redeemed first in the order in which they expire."
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Old May 8, 2017, 7:17 am
  #506  
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
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Why does Citi make things more complicated than the others? Another reason I stay away from them.
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Old May 10, 2017, 9:45 pm
  #507  
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 43
Downgrade Prestige will Cause TYP to Expire?

Originally Posted by rxgeek
I just downgraded my Premier to no-fee card over the phone to avoid the AF. (I was offered two other retention options to waive the $95 AF: spend $1k/mo x 3 mos or $3k over 3 months.) Agent confirmed that my account number did not change and my points still have no expiration date. I will combine those points with my Prestige points when I am ready to redeem them (by 7/23/17 on AA) since combining triggers the 60 day expiration.
I recently called in to see if downgrading my Prestige to a no AF card (I think it would be the Preferred) would cause those points to expire in 60 or 90 days and the answer was yes (don't remember if it was 60 or 90 days). That seems to contradict the above which was a downgrade from Premier. I just want to close/downgrade the Prestige to avoid the AF and keep my points without an expiration date. I plan to keep my Premier account open so that I can eventually transfer the points from the Preferred to the Premier and then on to airline partners.

Last edited by Euph222; May 10, 2017 at 10:14 pm
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Old May 11, 2017, 7:02 am
  #508  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 1,084
Originally Posted by Euph222
I recently called in to see if downgrading my Prestige to a no AF card (I think it would be the Preferred) would cause those points to expire in 60 or 90 days and the answer was yes (don't remember if it was 60 or 90 days). That seems to contradict the above which was a downgrade from Premier. I just want to close/downgrade the Prestige to avoid the AF and keep my points without an expiration date. I plan to keep my Premier account open so that I can eventually transfer the points from the Preferred to the Premier and then on to airline partners.

I did the opposite. Downgraded premier to the free version and kept prestige. No expiration of points. I confirmed multiple times w reps. As long a second it's a TYP account. Call back and confirm. Make sure you talk to the TYP team and not credit card front line reps
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Old May 11, 2017, 7:15 am
  #509  
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,475
Originally Posted by slivrflyr
I did the opposite. Downgraded premier to the free version and kept prestige. No expiration of points. I confirmed multiple times w reps. As long a second it's a TYP account. Call back and confirm. Make sure you talk to the TYP team and not credit card front line reps
Does downgrading still allow one to maintain the 24 month clock on opening and closing TYP products when applying for TYP cards?
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Old May 11, 2017, 3:39 pm
  #510  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 1,084
Originally Posted by UA Fan
Does downgrading still allow one to maintain the 24 month clock on opening and closing TYP products when applying for TYP cards?
Sorry but I don't know
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