Mar 4, 2015, 9:42 am
Last edit by: dukerau
Citi ThankYou Rewards Program Information Guide
This wiki is intended to be a comprehensive guide to the most frequently asked questions regarding the ThankYou Rewards program offered by Citi. For ongoing discussions regarding the different ThankYou Credit Cards and their benefits, please refer to the specific product threads listed at the bottom of this wiki. For the complete ThankYou program terms & conditions, see the TYP website.
Program Overview
Citibank and Citicards offers a joint rewards program called ThankYou. Members can earn ThankYou points that can be redeemed for travel, mortgage payments, student loan payments, gift cards, online purchases, statement credits, or cash.
How to Earn
Banking
IMPORTANT CHANGES COMING THE END OF 2014:
Effective Dec 16, 2014
Only CitiGold and 'The Citibank Account' packages will earn TYP, and at a reduced rate at that. In addition credit card, mortgages and line of credit will no longer count for qualifying balances to waive the monthly fee for these checking accounts. See updated earning rates below.
Citi Basic Banking, Citi Student, etc will no longer earn any TY Points, period.
Effective May 1 2015
In addition, starting May 1 2015, Citi At Work customers (through relationships Citi has with your employer) will no longer automatically qualify for 'The Citibank Account' via direct deposit. This means you'll need to have combined average monthly balance of at least $10,000 to waive the monthly fee.
See here
Short version
If direct deposit is available to you, you can earn as little as 7800 points ($78)/year to as much as 19,200 points ($192)/year without paying fees and without any credit card / debit card spend requirements. Add in a top tier Citi credit card and multiply those numbers by 1.25 (Premier) or 1.6/1.33 (Prestige)* on travel benefits. These benefits are per signer, so adding a spouse can double the benefits.
Long version
Open and maintain a Citibank checking account with monthly direct deposit and bill payment. The complete ThankYou earning chart is located here, but below are some overviews:
The Citigold checking account carries a $30/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 3 conditions is met:
The Citibank checking account carries a $20/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 4 conditions is met:
The Basic Banking checking account carries a $10/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 2 conditions is met:
The Student checking account is eligible for the same rewards as the Basic Banking checking, and is completely free for students.
Important: Citi offers what is called "householding." This links multiple deposit accounts together under an umbrella household for the purpose of combining all the balances to meet minimum balance requirements. This is only allowed for people at the same address. However, for a family, this means one member can have $50K, or 4 members can each have $12.5K, and if they're properly household linked, entitles all parties to a Citigold account. This is NOT the case on investments and mortgages, only deposit balances.
FAQs about Earning through Banking
Q: Is there a minimum direct deposit amount to be eligible?
A: No, any amount once per month will work.
Q: Is there a minimum bill payment amount to be eligible?
A: No, any amount once per month will work.
Q: I don't want to set up bill payment; it's inconvenient to change my auto pays. What should I do?
A: Add yourself, a family member, or friend, and set up a recurring automatic monthly payment to them for any amount.
Q: Can I earn these points on multiple accounts?
A: One account is eligible per signer over the age of 18.
Q: Does a Paypal ACH (etc) qualify as a direct deposit?
A: No, only payroll.
Q: Does the direct deposit have to be intended for the account signer?
A: No. Details of the direct deposit are irrelevant.
Q: Can my spouse and I each have an account and earn points?
A: Yes, and you can merge TY accounts if you're married (this action cannot be undone).
Credit Cards
Citi offers numerous credit cards as part of the ThankYou program, listed here, but the most popular are listed below:
FAQs about the Citi Prestige
Q: Why does the authorized user cost $50 per person?
A: Authorized users receive their own annual international companion pass and global entry credit.
Q: How does the annual companion pass work?
A: Once per membership year per card holder and authorized user, you can purchase one airline ticket through Citi's travel partner, Spirit Incentives here, and pay only taxes and fees on the second traveler. Keep in mind, for many international flights, the majority of the final fare cost can be taxes and fees. The annual companion pass only covers the base fair of the companion.
Q: Can I buy any airline ticket with the companion pass?
A: Yes and no. While it is not limited strictly to one airline or one alliance, the Spirit Incentives matrix only pulls the cheapest, bottom of the bucket fares, often giving less-than-optimal routing. Online availability changes, based on what's available.
Q: What are flight points?
A: When you purchase all (or a significant portion: some report >$50) of an airline ticket with your Citi Prestige card, you earn flight points for the physical distance flown, which are accrued into a separate "bucket." These flight points accrue separately from ThankYou points, and you still earn your standard butt-in-seat distance miles with your frequent flyer program. Once you see your flight points on your statement, you can "transfer" them from your flight point bucket to your ThankYou point balance with every dollar you spend. If you have a 10K flight point balance, and you spend $1000 on every day purchases and $500 on dining, you will earn: 1000 (at 1x earning), 1000 (at 2x earning), and 2000 (flight point matching of monthly earning total). You will receive 4000 points into your ThankYou account, and have 8K flight points remaining to be converted.
NB: Flight Points are obsolete.
Q: How does the 1.6x/1.33x airfare redemption multiplier work?
A: See below under How to Use/Travel.
Q: What can I buy with the $200 airline statement credit?
A: Food, drinks, baggage, upgrades, gift cards, etc. Pretty much anything billed from the airline that is $100 or less. Note: You must opt in to this benefit. It only takes a 90-second call to a friendly, US-based CSR and you'll be good to go. My CSR even retroactively credited me when I failed to do this, but YMMV.
Q: Can I use the $100 Global Entry credit every year?
A: T&C state it resets every 5 years, just like the Global Entry membership.
Q: Any other benefits?
A: Three free rounds of golf a year, 15% discount on airfare purchased through Spirit Incentives, access to Airport Angel lounges, no FTF.
How to Use
Travel
When booking travel through the ThankYou website, you get a 1 cent-per-point redemption value on flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. If you have a ThankYou Premier card, you earn a 25% value increase when redeeming for flights, rental cars, or hotels.With a ThankYou Prestige, you receive a 33% value increase when redeeming for flights, rental cars, or hotels, or 60% * for flights on AA. Those bonuses apply to all ThankYou points in your account, not just points earned by the particular card. If you carry both cards, you receive the bonus for the higher one; they do not stack. See note below re: Prestige points value; it now receives a 25% value increase.
Note that travel may be booked using points or a combination of points and cash. Because the latter is classified as travel-related spending ("other travel: travel agency"), it is advantageous to use a credit card with corresponding bonuses.
Discussion thread: TYP flight redemptions: Prestige $0.0133 or $0.016/pt., Premier $0.0125/pt.
* But some Prestige benefits will soon go away, including that 1.6; see: Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes effective July 23, 2017
Gift Cards
There is some variance on the value for Gift Card redemption, depending on what credit card(s) you have tied to your ThankYou account. Generally, as long as there is a credit card tied to the account, it is a 1 cent-per-point redemption value, with $25/$50/$100 denominations.
Cash and Quasi-Cash
You can request mortgage or student loan checks 1 cent-per-point redemption values. Citi also offers statement credits, "select and credit" refunds for specific transactions, and VISA gift cards, at a horrible redemption rate. See below:
Mortgage: $100 = 10,000 TY points
Student Loan: $100 = 10,000 TY points
Select and Credit: $100 = 13,333 TY points
VISA Gift Card: $100 = 14,000 TY points
Cash & Statment Credit: $100 = 20,000 TY points
Point Transfers to Travel Partners
All Airlines below are 1:1 (1000 increments) unless noted otherwise
Avianca Lifemiles
Asia Miles
Etihad Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Garuda Indonesia Frequent Flyer
JetBlue TrueBlue (1:1 for Premier/Prestige, 5:4 for Preferred)
JetPrivilege (Jet Airways)
Malaysia Airlines Enrich
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hilton HHonors: 1000 TY = 1500 HH ended Dec 14, 2017
Note: Only points earned from Credit Cards are eligible to be transferred. Points from Banking are ineligible as are any "bonus points that may be awarded with no spend requirement."
Discussion thread: Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs): airline/hotel transfer partners
Transfer Bonuses
Citi does periodically offer transfer bonuses.
Etihad Guest:
10% Jun-Jul 2017
20% Oct 2016
**25% Nov-Dec 2015 and Jul 2016 offered by Etihad for all partner earn/transfer (excl SPG)
Flying Blue
30% Jul-Aug 2018
JetBlue TrueBlue:
30% Mar-May 2018 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 30% made the ratios 25:26 (or 1000=1040) and 20:13 (or 1000=650) respectively
25% Sep-Oct 2017 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 25% made the ratios 1:1 and 8:5 (or 1000=625) respectively
50% Mar-Apr 2017 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 50% made the ratios 5:6 (or 1000=1200) and 4:3 (or 1000=750), respectively
Qantas Frequent Flyer
15%-30% Jun 2016 *tiered: 15% for < 100,000 transferred; 20% for 100,000-500,000; 25% for 500,001 to 1,000,000; 30% for 1,000,001+
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
30% Sep-Oct 2018
25% Jan-Mar 2017
25% Mar-Apr 2016
25% Jun-Aug 2015
Sharing Points with Other TYP Accounts
For information on sharing points with other TYP accounts (including the expiration rules and annual cap on shared points), see ThankYou Point Sharing capped at 100,000 points per calendar year.
Points Expiration
For information on points expiration, including the order in which points are used for redemptions, see the wiki at Citi ThankYou points - cancel, downgrade & expiration considerations.
Shop with Points
Amazon: $100 = 12,500 points
Existing Threads
Prestigious Citi Card Tricks [Citi Prestige Card benefits]
How is the Citi ThankYou Rewards system in the current state?
Citi Prestige card companion ticket
Confirmed: Changes to Citi ThankYou and Premier cards 10.20.2013
New Citi Premier & Prestige 15% Off Travel when booked through Spirit Incentives
Innovative ways to earn Citi ThankYou flight points (Flight Points haven't been a thing for years)
Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes effective July 23, 2017
This wiki is intended to be a comprehensive guide to the most frequently asked questions regarding the ThankYou Rewards program offered by Citi. For ongoing discussions regarding the different ThankYou Credit Cards and their benefits, please refer to the specific product threads listed at the bottom of this wiki. For the complete ThankYou program terms & conditions, see the TYP website.
Program Overview
Citibank and Citicards offers a joint rewards program called ThankYou. Members can earn ThankYou points that can be redeemed for travel, mortgage payments, student loan payments, gift cards, online purchases, statement credits, or cash.
How to Earn
Banking
IMPORTANT CHANGES COMING THE END OF 2014:
Effective Dec 16, 2014
Only CitiGold and 'The Citibank Account' packages will earn TYP, and at a reduced rate at that. In addition credit card, mortgages and line of credit will no longer count for qualifying balances to waive the monthly fee for these checking accounts. See updated earning rates below.
Citi Basic Banking, Citi Student, etc will no longer earn any TY Points, period.
Effective May 1 2015
In addition, starting May 1 2015, Citi At Work customers (through relationships Citi has with your employer) will no longer automatically qualify for 'The Citibank Account' via direct deposit. This means you'll need to have combined average monthly balance of at least $10,000 to waive the monthly fee.
See here
Short version
If direct deposit is available to you, you can earn as little as 7800 points ($78)/year to as much as 19,200 points ($192)/year without paying fees and without any credit card / debit card spend requirements. Add in a top tier Citi credit card and multiply those numbers by 1.25 (Premier) or 1.6/1.33 (Prestige)* on travel benefits. These benefits are per signer, so adding a spouse can double the benefits.
Long version
Open and maintain a Citibank checking account with monthly direct deposit and bill payment. The complete ThankYou earning chart is located here, but below are some overviews:
- CitiGold Checking Account ($50K minimum deposit balance)-Direct Deposit and Bill Pay: 650 points/mo
-Auto Save: +125 points/mo
-Saving Account: +200 points/mo
-Credit Products: up to +625
-Max without Credit Products: 975 points/mo
-Max with Credit Products: 1600 points/mo
- There's a separate earning scale altogether if you don't have direct deposit available that involves 1 debit/credit transaction per month. See the earning chart for the full list.
- CitiBank Checking Account ($10K minimum deposit balance)-Direct Deposit and Bill Pay: 450 points/mo
-Auto Save: +75 points/mo
-Saving Account: +150 points/mo
-Credit Products: up to +325
-Max without Credit Products: 675 points/mo
-Max with Credit Products: 1000 points/mo
The Citigold checking account carries a $30/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 3 conditions is met:
- $50,000+ average daily balance in all linked deposit accounts (checking, saving, money market, CD)
- $100,000+ in investment account (401K/Citi Personal Wealth Management) OR Home Equity Line/Loan + average daily balance in all linked deposit accounts (checking, saving, money market, CD)
- $250,000+ mortgage balance + average daily balance in all linked deposit accounts (checking, saving, money market, CD)
The Citibank checking account carries a $20/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 4 conditions is met:
- $15,000+ average daily balance in all linked deposit accounts (checking, saving, money market, CD)
- $15,000+ in investment account (401K/Citi Personal Wealth Management) OR Home Equity Line/Loan
- $15,000+ mortgage balance
- Direct Deposit from one of Citibank's "Citi at Work" corporate partners. This one is tricky if you don't have a contact at the bank that really knows their stuff. If you work for a major corporation in a corporate environment (i.e. Starbucks Corporate, not Starbucks Barista), chances are pretty decent you may qualify. If you have branches, inquire with a banker. If not, huge YMMV on getting this setup correctly.
The Basic Banking checking account carries a $10/mo service charge unless at least 1 of the following 2 conditions is met:
- $1,500 average daily balance in all linked deposit accounts (checking and saving only)
- One Direct Deposit per month and one Bill Payment per month
The Student checking account is eligible for the same rewards as the Basic Banking checking, and is completely free for students.
Important: Citi offers what is called "householding." This links multiple deposit accounts together under an umbrella household for the purpose of combining all the balances to meet minimum balance requirements. This is only allowed for people at the same address. However, for a family, this means one member can have $50K, or 4 members can each have $12.5K, and if they're properly household linked, entitles all parties to a Citigold account. This is NOT the case on investments and mortgages, only deposit balances.
FAQs about Earning through Banking
Q: Is there a minimum direct deposit amount to be eligible?
A: No, any amount once per month will work.
Q: Is there a minimum bill payment amount to be eligible?
A: No, any amount once per month will work.
Q: I don't want to set up bill payment; it's inconvenient to change my auto pays. What should I do?
A: Add yourself, a family member, or friend, and set up a recurring automatic monthly payment to them for any amount.
Q: Can I earn these points on multiple accounts?
A: One account is eligible per signer over the age of 18.
Q: Does a Paypal ACH (etc) qualify as a direct deposit?
A: No, only payroll.
Q: Does the direct deposit have to be intended for the account signer?
A: No. Details of the direct deposit are irrelevant.
Q: Can my spouse and I each have an account and earn points?
A: Yes, and you can merge TY accounts if you're married (this action cannot be undone).
Credit Cards
Citi offers numerous credit cards as part of the ThankYou program, listed here, but the most popular are listed below:
- ThankYou Preferred: No annual fee, 2x on Dining and Entertainment
- ThankYou Premier: Starting April 19, 2015, annual fee $95; 3x earning on Travel including Gas; and 2x earning on Dining and Entertainment/. For details, see this discussion thread/wiki.
- Citi Prestige: $450 annual fee, 2x on Dining purchases, $200 statement credit on <$100 airline purchases,
flight points, 15% off airfare booked through Citi/Spirit, annual international companion pass booked through Citi/Spirit (This benefit is going away 10/18/14). 1.6x multiplier* on ThankYou points redeemed for US Airways and American Airlines flights. 1.33x multiplier on ThankYou points redeemed for all other flights - Citi Forward for Students
FAQs about the Citi Prestige
Q: Why does the authorized user cost $50 per person?
A: Authorized users receive their own annual international companion pass and global entry credit.
Q: How does the annual companion pass work?
A: Once per membership year per card holder and authorized user, you can purchase one airline ticket through Citi's travel partner, Spirit Incentives here, and pay only taxes and fees on the second traveler. Keep in mind, for many international flights, the majority of the final fare cost can be taxes and fees. The annual companion pass only covers the base fair of the companion.
Q: Can I buy any airline ticket with the companion pass?
A: Yes and no. While it is not limited strictly to one airline or one alliance, the Spirit Incentives matrix only pulls the cheapest, bottom of the bucket fares, often giving less-than-optimal routing. Online availability changes, based on what's available.
A: When you purchase all (or a significant portion: some report >$50) of an airline ticket with your Citi Prestige card, you earn flight points for the physical distance flown, which are accrued into a separate "bucket." These flight points accrue separately from ThankYou points, and you still earn your standard butt-in-seat distance miles with your frequent flyer program. Once you see your flight points on your statement, you can "transfer" them from your flight point bucket to your ThankYou point balance with every dollar you spend. If you have a 10K flight point balance, and you spend $1000 on every day purchases and $500 on dining, you will earn: 1000 (at 1x earning), 1000 (at 2x earning), and 2000 (flight point matching of monthly earning total). You will receive 4000 points into your ThankYou account, and have 8K flight points remaining to be converted.
NB: Flight Points are obsolete.
Q: How does the 1.6x/1.33x airfare redemption multiplier work?
A: See below under How to Use/Travel.
Q: What can I buy with the $200 airline statement credit?
A: Food, drinks, baggage, upgrades, gift cards, etc. Pretty much anything billed from the airline that is $100 or less. Note: You must opt in to this benefit. It only takes a 90-second call to a friendly, US-based CSR and you'll be good to go. My CSR even retroactively credited me when I failed to do this, but YMMV.
Q: Can I use the $100 Global Entry credit every year?
A: T&C state it resets every 5 years, just like the Global Entry membership.
Q: Any other benefits?
A: Three free rounds of golf a year, 15% discount on airfare purchased through Spirit Incentives, access to Airport Angel lounges, no FTF.
How to Use
Travel
When booking travel through the ThankYou website, you get a 1 cent-per-point redemption value on flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. If you have a ThankYou Premier card, you earn a 25% value increase when redeeming for flights, rental cars, or hotels.
Note that travel may be booked using points or a combination of points and cash. Because the latter is classified as travel-related spending ("other travel: travel agency"), it is advantageous to use a credit card with corresponding bonuses.
Discussion thread: TYP flight redemptions: Prestige $0.0133 or $0.016/pt., Premier $0.0125/pt.
* But some Prestige benefits will soon go away, including that 1.6; see: Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes effective July 23, 2017
Gift Cards
There is some variance on the value for Gift Card redemption, depending on what credit card(s) you have tied to your ThankYou account. Generally, as long as there is a credit card tied to the account, it is a 1 cent-per-point redemption value, with $25/$50/$100 denominations.
Cash and Quasi-Cash
You can request mortgage or student loan checks 1 cent-per-point redemption values. Citi also offers statement credits, "select and credit" refunds for specific transactions, and VISA gift cards, at a horrible redemption rate. See below:
Mortgage: $100 = 10,000 TY points
Student Loan: $100 = 10,000 TY points
Select and Credit: $100 = 13,333 TY points
VISA Gift Card: $100 = 14,000 TY points
Cash & Statment Credit: $100 = 20,000 TY points
Point Transfers to Travel Partners
All Airlines below are 1:1 (1000 increments) unless noted otherwise
Avianca Lifemiles
Asia Miles
Etihad Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Garuda Indonesia Frequent Flyer
JetBlue TrueBlue (1:1 for Premier/Prestige, 5:4 for Preferred)
JetPrivilege (Jet Airways)
Malaysia Airlines Enrich
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Note: Only points earned from Credit Cards are eligible to be transferred. Points from Banking are ineligible as are any "bonus points that may be awarded with no spend requirement."
Discussion thread: Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs): airline/hotel transfer partners
Transfer Bonuses
Citi does periodically offer transfer bonuses.
Etihad Guest:
10% Jun-Jul 2017
20% Oct 2016
**25% Nov-Dec 2015 and Jul 2016 offered by Etihad for all partner earn/transfer (excl SPG)
Flying Blue
30% Jul-Aug 2018
JetBlue TrueBlue:
30% Mar-May 2018 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 30% made the ratios 25:26 (or 1000=1040) and 20:13 (or 1000=650) respectively
25% Sep-Oct 2017 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 25% made the ratios 1:1 and 8:5 (or 1000=625) respectively
50% Mar-Apr 2017 *note - at the time, the transfer rate was 5:4 for Premier/Prestige and 2:1 for Preferred, so the 50% made the ratios 5:6 (or 1000=1200) and 4:3 (or 1000=750), respectively
Qantas Frequent Flyer
15%-30% Jun 2016 *tiered: 15% for < 100,000 transferred; 20% for 100,000-500,000; 25% for 500,001 to 1,000,000; 30% for 1,000,001+
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
30% Sep-Oct 2018
25% Jan-Mar 2017
25% Mar-Apr 2016
25% Jun-Aug 2015
Sharing Points with Other TYP Accounts
For information on sharing points with other TYP accounts (including the expiration rules and annual cap on shared points), see ThankYou Point Sharing capped at 100,000 points per calendar year.
Points Expiration
For information on points expiration, including the order in which points are used for redemptions, see the wiki at Citi ThankYou points - cancel, downgrade & expiration considerations.
Shop with Points
Amazon: $100 = 12,500 points
Existing Threads
Prestigious Citi Card Tricks [Citi Prestige Card benefits]
How is the Citi ThankYou Rewards system in the current state?
Citi Prestige card companion ticket
Confirmed: Changes to Citi ThankYou and Premier cards 10.20.2013
New Citi Premier & Prestige 15% Off Travel when booked through Spirit Incentives
Citi Prestige benefit and reward changes effective July 23, 2017
Comprehensive Guide to the Citi ThankYou Rewards Program
Jan 9, 2016, 11:01 am
#182
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 322
25% Bonus miles
I have read that you get 25% bonus miles when booking award ticket through thankyoupoints.com, does this have to be on AA or any airline will work? as long as you book it through their travel website. If that's case, TYP is a pretty good deal, the prices are reasonable and you have flexibility to book it through airline of your choice.
Jan 9, 2016, 2:25 pm
#183
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Extensive discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...0-0125-pt.html
Jan 9, 2016, 3:13 pm
#184
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
I have read that you get 25% bonus miles when booking award ticket through thankyoupoints.com, does this have to be on AA or any airline will work? as long as you book it through their travel website. If that's case, TYP is a pretty good deal, the prices are reasonable and you have flexibility to book it through airline of your choice.
There is a misunderstanding. If you have a Citi Premier card, and if you redeem ThankYou points to purchase an airline ticket, the points are worth $0.0125 each (rather than $0.01 each if redeemed for other types of awards). Your points are worth 25% more when used for airfare, but you do not receive any extra miles.
Extensive discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...0-0125-pt.html
Extensive discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...0-0125-pt.html
Jan 19, 2016, 5:57 pm
#187
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 467
I have a citi gold account which apparently earns citi ThankYou Points, through ways I don't really understand, seemingly separate from the ThankYou Points from the Citi Prestige credit card.
As far as I understand, these are separate and cannot be combined for redemption via partner airline miles right?
I was planning to transfer all of my miles to Singapore Airline for a first class reservation, but the debit card transactions I have no idea what to do with them.
Are there good value redemption methods for these points?
As far as I understand, these are separate and cannot be combined for redemption via partner airline miles right?
I was planning to transfer all of my miles to Singapore Airline for a first class reservation, but the debit card transactions I have no idea what to do with them.
Are there good value redemption methods for these points?
Jan 21, 2016, 2:50 pm
#188
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 84
I currently have the Prestige and Preferred cards with combined TY accounts. Will I lose the points that I accumulated through the Prestige 60 days after cancelling the card, or will they stay in my TY account as long as I have an active Preferred card (as they do with MR points after closing an Amex card)? Thanks in advance.
Jan 21, 2016, 3:28 pm
#189
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
The terms are here:
https://www.thankyou.com/tc.jspx
LOSS OR SUSPENSION OF POINTS
This section tells you when you may not be able to use Points that you've already earned or received.
You Close Your Citi Account. If you have Points, and you voluntarily close your Citi Account, you must use your Points within 60 days after closing your accounts, or you'll lose them.
We Close Your Citi Account. If you have Points, and we close your Citi Account for any reason other than inactivity, you'll lose your Points immediately. If we close your account solely due to inactivity, you'll have 60 days from the closure date to use your Points, or you'll lose them.
TIP:
If you have multiple Citi Accounts associated with only one ThankYou Account at the time one of your Citi Accounts is closed, you'll lose only the Points that you earned with the closed Citi Account.
All Your Citi Accounts Are Closed. If all your Citi Accounts are closed, we'll close your ThankYou Account. As described above, depending on the reason a Citi Account is closed, you may have a period of 60 days to use your Points before we close your ThankYou Account. Once your ThankYou Account is closed, you'll lose any remaining Points immediately.
You or We Close Your ThankYou Account. If you have Points, and your ThankYou Account is closed, you'll lose them immediately.
We Cancel the Program. If the Program is canceled, you'll have 90 days from the Program's cancellation date to redeem your Points. After 90 days, you'll lose any remaining Points.
Losing Points Due to Change in or Failure to Confirm U.S. Tax Status. To participate in the Program through use of a Citibank Checking Account you must be, and continue to be, a U.S. person under IRS regulations (i.e., a citizen or resident alien of the United States) with a valid Social Security or tax identification number and certification of U.S. tax status. If you provide us with a Certificate of Foreign Status, we'll disenroll your Citibank Checking Account, and you'll lose the Points you earned with that account. We may also request that you confirm your status as a U.S. person or correct a missing or incomplete Social Security or tax identification number. If you don't provide us with verification of this information in the form we request in a timely manner, we'll disenroll your Citibank Checking Account from the Program, and you'll lose the Points earned with that account.
Point Suspension Due to U.S. Backup Withholding Tax. If you participate in the Program through use of a Citibank Checking Account, we may suspend your ability to use Points if we believe that payments made to you using your Points are subject to U.S. backup withholding tax.
Temporary Point Suspension for Late Payment. If you make a late payment on your Card Account you may not be allowed to redeem Points you earned through that Card Account until it is current, and you request that we reinstate those Points. You can make this request on thankyou.com or by calling the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596).
Loss upon Death. You will lose your Points upon your death, and your estate, successors and assigns have no property rights or other legal interests in such Points, except under this circumstance:
Cash Rewards Option.If we receive a written request within one (1) year of your death from the executor or administrator of your estate, along with evidence satisfactory to us of your death and the identity and appointment of the executor or administrator, we can allow Points remaining in your ThankYou account to be redeemed for Cash Rewards. Contact the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596) for more information.
This section tells you when you may not be able to use Points that you've already earned or received.
You Close Your Citi Account. If you have Points, and you voluntarily close your Citi Account, you must use your Points within 60 days after closing your accounts, or you'll lose them.
We Close Your Citi Account. If you have Points, and we close your Citi Account for any reason other than inactivity, you'll lose your Points immediately. If we close your account solely due to inactivity, you'll have 60 days from the closure date to use your Points, or you'll lose them.
TIP:
If you have multiple Citi Accounts associated with only one ThankYou Account at the time one of your Citi Accounts is closed, you'll lose only the Points that you earned with the closed Citi Account.
All Your Citi Accounts Are Closed. If all your Citi Accounts are closed, we'll close your ThankYou Account. As described above, depending on the reason a Citi Account is closed, you may have a period of 60 days to use your Points before we close your ThankYou Account. Once your ThankYou Account is closed, you'll lose any remaining Points immediately.
You or We Close Your ThankYou Account. If you have Points, and your ThankYou Account is closed, you'll lose them immediately.
We Cancel the Program. If the Program is canceled, you'll have 90 days from the Program's cancellation date to redeem your Points. After 90 days, you'll lose any remaining Points.
Losing Points Due to Change in or Failure to Confirm U.S. Tax Status. To participate in the Program through use of a Citibank Checking Account you must be, and continue to be, a U.S. person under IRS regulations (i.e., a citizen or resident alien of the United States) with a valid Social Security or tax identification number and certification of U.S. tax status. If you provide us with a Certificate of Foreign Status, we'll disenroll your Citibank Checking Account, and you'll lose the Points you earned with that account. We may also request that you confirm your status as a U.S. person or correct a missing or incomplete Social Security or tax identification number. If you don't provide us with verification of this information in the form we request in a timely manner, we'll disenroll your Citibank Checking Account from the Program, and you'll lose the Points earned with that account.
Point Suspension Due to U.S. Backup Withholding Tax. If you participate in the Program through use of a Citibank Checking Account, we may suspend your ability to use Points if we believe that payments made to you using your Points are subject to U.S. backup withholding tax.
Temporary Point Suspension for Late Payment. If you make a late payment on your Card Account you may not be allowed to redeem Points you earned through that Card Account until it is current, and you request that we reinstate those Points. You can make this request on thankyou.com or by calling the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596).
Loss upon Death. You will lose your Points upon your death, and your estate, successors and assigns have no property rights or other legal interests in such Points, except under this circumstance:
Cash Rewards Option.If we receive a written request within one (1) year of your death from the executor or administrator of your estate, along with evidence satisfactory to us of your death and the identity and appointment of the executor or administrator, we can allow Points remaining in your ThankYou account to be redeemed for Cash Rewards. Contact the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596) for more information.
Jan 26, 2016, 9:40 am
#191
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Alexandria, VA - DCA
Programs: BA Gold, American Airlines, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 5,075
...you can combine the credit card and banking TYP accounts, and once you do that, you will get the better credit card redemption rates. But, your TYPs earned through banking will be redeemed first and 1) are subject to expiration, and 2) could result in Citibank issuing a 1099-MISC if you redeem $600 or more in value per year (I have not verified point 2 recently)
I have 50k TYP from banking (50k bonus for opening a CitiGold banking account).
I also have 65k TYP from my Prestige card (50k for opening and another 15k from spend).
My banking and Prestige card TYP accounts are combined so I have a combined balance of 115K showing. All activity is recent so no problem with soon-to-expire points.
#1. If I book a flight on AA through the TYP site and use all my 115k TYPs for the airfare of $1,550 (approx) will that generate a 1099???
#2. Alternately, if I transfer all of the 65k eligible (from the Prestige card) TYPs to an airline/hotel partner program leaving the 50k TYP balance from banking (ineligible to transfer to a partner) and then book an AA airfare of under $600 will that generate a 1099???
Thanks in advance! Any tips regarding what to watch out for are appreciated!
Jan 26, 2016, 9:46 am
#192
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
If you redeem 50,000 points at $0.016 each that's $800, and should generate an 1099. The only way to avoid a 1099 is to redeem most of the banking points at a lower rate, or to redeem part in 2016 and part in 2017.
Jan 26, 2016, 9:56 am
#193
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Alexandria, VA - DCA
Programs: BA Gold, American Airlines, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond
Posts: 5,075
So if I transfer the 65k from the card out to an airline program and leave only the 50k from banking and then book a sub-$600 in 2016 I should not generate a 1099! Thanks!
I also assume that if I book a $1,000 airfare and only use TYPs for half and pay the other $500 on a card that too should generate no 1099 as the $600 trigger has not been hit... correct???
Jan 27, 2016, 4:40 am
#195
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 8,460
So the Wiki states that points earned from Citi Banking products are ineligible to be transferred. Yet, today, Miles to Memories wrote a blog about a 40k TYP offer for opening a Citigold account. In the blog he states points can be redeemed online or transferred.
So which is correct?
So which is correct?