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

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)

Old Nov 11, 2017, 8:02 am
  #556  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: PHL
Posts: 226
Originally Posted by baroqen
As for keeping the Prestige... I do make good use out of the 4th night free program. Enough to justify the annual fee. The Premier on the other hand just sits gatehring dust. There are literally no benefits for me that the Prestige doesn't already cover. I live in a city where I no longer need to drive so I don't even spend on gas.
Keep in mind that the Premier card offers 1.25 cents per point value towards travel awards (flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, etc.) and the Prestige card offers that value only for flights, but when your points are pooled together you automatically get the 1.25 cents per point value for travel regardless of whether the points were earned on your Premier or Prestige card.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 8:22 am
  #557  
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: *A
Posts: 1,390
My AF for Prestige ($350) posted on 11/09. Am I right that I can cancel within 37 days and so make a travel purchase on 12/10 for my 2018 credit, and then cancel before the 37 days are up. Or does the account need to be open to receive the credit?
If I then downgrade the card to Preferred can the TYP be transferred to another person's Prestige account (subject to 100k limit) and then there to an airline?
Thanks
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 7:55 am
  #558  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by jjmiller69
Your best bet is to downgrade the card to a no fee card (like Preferred) and transfer them when you want to use them.
Wait! What? I can share the ThankYou points in my wife's Preferred account to my Prestige?
Ed Janowsky is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2017, 8:19 am
  #559  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Traveling some where hopefully
Programs: AS, AA Gold, and Hilton
Posts: 1,954
Originally Posted by Ed Janowsky
Wait! What? I can share the ThankYou points in my wife's Preferred account to my Prestige?
Yes, you can transfer them. But just like always they would expire after 60-90 days if not used. So you have to wait until you have a use for them.

Back in the Forward days with the 5% back my wife and I would trade off getting the Premier card every other year.

Last edited by jjmiller69; Nov 29, 2017 at 11:17 am Reason: correction
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 9:04 am
  #560  
mia
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Originally Posted by jjmiller69
Yes, you can transfer them as long as you have the same address.....
Citi now calls this Sharing points, and you can share with anyone who has a ThankYou Rewards account, but Taxable points are not eligible. (Taxable has a specific meaning which generally refers to points earned through banking activity, but also to customer service adjustments.) Discussion here:

ThankYou Point Sharing capped at 100,000 points per calendar year.
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 9:17 am
  #561  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: 747 Upper Deck QF J LAX-BNE; A380 SQ SuiteC+D SYD-SIN & SIN-HKG; 777 CX F HKG-JFK; Park Hyatt Sydney
Posts: 513
So I can downgrade my wife's Prestige to a Preferred and leave the TYPs parked there until it's time to share and use them on my Prestige or Premier account?
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 11:09 am
  #562  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Traveling some where hopefully
Programs: AS, AA Gold, and Hilton
Posts: 1,954
Originally Posted by Ed Janowsky
So I can downgrade my wife's Prestige to a Preferred and leave the TYPs parked there until it's time to share and use them on my Prestige or Premier account?
Yes if you do a product change/downgrade the points don't expire.

See mia's answer for a better explanation. Thanks mia

Last edited by jjmiller69; Nov 29, 2017 at 11:29 am Reason: correcting my terminolgy
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 4:10 pm
  #563  
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Originally Posted by jjmiller69
Yes if you do a product change/downgrade the points don't expire.
Only if you product change/downgrade to another TYP card with no expiration, such as Preferred (or, presumably, from Prestige to Premier). I think downgrades to Preferred are the only ones on which have datapoints, though..

Your points do expire if you product change to, say, DoubleCash.
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 6:58 pm
  #564  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Traveling some where hopefully
Programs: AS, AA Gold, and Hilton
Posts: 1,954
Originally Posted by sdsearch
Only if you product change/downgrade to another TYP card with no expiration, such as Preferred (or, presumably, from Prestige to Premier). I think downgrades to Preferred are the only ones on which have datapoints, though..

Your points do expire if you product change to, say, DoubleCash.
Yes that is correct, but if you go back to the 1st exchange the only cards talked about were points being exchanged from wife's Preferred to husband's Prestige. So yes the only ones I'm aware of are Preferred, Premier and Prestige.
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Old Dec 4, 2017, 9:16 am
  #565  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 105
My Citi Prestige annual fee is going to be due in August next year. I will have 60,000+ TY points by then. Based on what I'm reading, my best bet for maximizing their value (and the number of points I get) while saving my annual fee cost would be to downgrade that card to a Preferred which will then keep the points good without paying an annual fee. Whenever I want to redeem them, assuming its been two years since the Prestige application, I can apply for a Premier, get another sign up bonus, and then transfer the points from the Preferred to the Premier to maximize their value (if booking through Citi's travel portal). Is this correct?
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Old Dec 4, 2017, 4:03 pm
  #566  
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Originally Posted by tjh8402
My Citi Prestige annual fee is going to be due in August next year. I will have 60,000+ TY points by then. Based on what I'm reading, my best bet for maximizing their value (and the number of points I get) while saving my annual fee cost would be to downgrade that card to a Preferred which will then keep the points good without paying an annual fee. Whenever I want to redeem them, assuming its been two years since the Prestige application, I can apply for a Premier, get another sign up bonus, and then transfer the points from the Preferred to the Premier to maximize their value (if booking through Citi's travel portal). Is this correct?
Assuming you can wait another year-plus (until it's safely more than 2 years -- don't cut it down to the wire, since Citi is knowing for counting wrong, and apply a couple weeks too early can reset you so you have wait yet another 2+years !), yes, that sounds right.

But even after you get the Premier, only transfer when you're ready to redeem.

Also, beware of issues like this when using the Citi travel portal:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi...avel-site.html
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Old Dec 28, 2017, 4:36 pm
  #567  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by SpammersAreScum
Looking at My Points Summary on thankyou.com, I am told I have the (expected) number of points available. I see no indication of expiration.
Quick recap: In August, downgraded Prestige to Preferred; when that changed the account number, closed the Premier.

Over 90 days later, all the points I had at that time are still there.
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Old Dec 29, 2017, 1:22 am
  #568  
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 281
So glad I saw this thread. Purchased internet on a TATL flight and stumbled upon this and hastily checked my TY account.

I have almost 300k points expiring at the end of the year mostly from the Forward card and the At and T card. As far as I can the options of switching cards is not open to me and so the only thing I can do is transfer the points. However is there an option of paying a fee to extend the expiration? Also I assume that once I initiate the transfer the points are safe, correct? Meaning that the transfer does not have to actually complete before 31st Dec to prevent the points from expiry?

Thanks in advance and I am busy trying to decide which program to transfer to.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 5:56 am
  #569  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NYC, LAX, HKG
Posts: 286
Can't access TYP portal after closing Prestige card. Is this normal, since points should be usable for 60 days after account closure?
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 7:30 am
  #570  
mia
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If unable to login to thankyou.com call 1-800-THANKYOU (842-6596). If able to login, but unable to access some features, it may be that those redemption options are not available when you no longer hold a qualifying card.
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