Aug 5, 2014, 12:17 pm
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:
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
SkyTeam
Star Alliance
Independent
and to these hotel programs:
and to this retail program:
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,
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.
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:
- AF/KL: As of March 2016, instant. (Was previously 1-5 days.)
- AM:
- AV: Instant to ~5 days - mixed reports: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi...r-partner.html
- B6: Instant
- BR: One business day in theory, but see post 417
- CX: One business day
- EY: Reports and discussion HERE.
- FB: less than 4 hours (11/16/17 after I added 00 to the front of my FB number) Make sure you have a 12 digit number or transfer will die.
- GA:
- MH: Two days
- QF: Two days (per post 273). Eight per post 368. 36 hours per post 440. 23 hours per post 512. Less than 24 hrs per post 547.
- QR: 2 days per post 418
- SQ: Variable--anywhere from two business days (per post #120) to 2.5-3 calendar days (per post 382) to next day per post 287
- TG:
- TK: Took 16-24 hours to transfer (12/28/17). No fees.
- VS: As of March 2016, instant. (Was previously done overnight: report 1; report 2).
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.
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.
Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs): airline and hotel transfer partners
Apr 22, 2015, 11:07 am
#197
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
In the past 2 weeks or so we've had one person change the Wiki stating that ALL TYPs can now be transferred (even from banking), and Mia has said that only NON-TAXABLE TYPs (i.e. only credit card TYPs) can be transferred.
Any further thoughts/updates? Any confirmation/rebuttal from Citi?
Thanks!
Apr 22, 2015, 11:09 am
#198
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
I have posted what appears on Citi's website. I have no points which cannot be transferred, because I have no banking relationship with Citi.
Apr 22, 2015, 12:28 pm
#200
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
To add to the confusion (at least my own), I just read a comment on a Doctor of Credit post that said that the TYP redemption for travel on AA (1.6cpp) with the Prestige card also applies to TYPs earned from banking. And I would then assume that with the Premier card (1.25cpp on airfare), my banking TYPs would also get this increased redemption value.
Does this sound right? i.e. banking TYPs can be used at a value of 1.25 (Premier) or 1.33/1.6 (Prestige) for airfare, but banking TYPs can NOT be transferred to partners.
Does this sound right? i.e. banking TYPs can be used at a value of 1.25 (Premier) or 1.33/1.6 (Prestige) for airfare, but banking TYPs can NOT be transferred to partners.
Apr 22, 2015, 12:39 pm
#201
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Citi Prestige offer says:
Citi Premier offer says:
There is nothing which leads me to believe that Premier cardholders receive the $0.0133 or $0.016 rates unless they also have a Prestige card.
Fly More with Fewer ThankYou® Points
Your points are worth more when redeemed for American Airlines or US Airways® flights than when redeemed for non-air travel booked through the Citi ThankYou® Travel Center.
For example, 50,000 ThankYou Points can be redeemed for a $500 hotel stay, an $800 flight on American Airlines or US Airways® (60% more value), or a $665 flight on any other airline (33% more value).
Your points are worth more when redeemed for American Airlines or US Airways® flights than when redeemed for non-air travel booked through the Citi ThankYou® Travel Center.
For example, 50,000 ThankYou Points can be redeemed for a $500 hotel stay, an $800 flight on American Airlines or US Airways® (60% more value), or a $665 flight on any other airline (33% more value).
Earn 50,000 ThankYou Points and redeem them for valuable rewards:
$625 for airfare, hotels, cruises and car rentals when redeemed through the ThankYou Travel Center. That's 25% more value as compared to gift cards.
$500 in gift cards from a wide range of merchants
$625 for airfare, hotels, cruises and car rentals when redeemed through the ThankYou Travel Center. That's 25% more value as compared to gift cards.
$500 in gift cards from a wide range of merchants
Apr 22, 2015, 2:53 pm
#202
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SEATAC
Programs: AS MVP Gold
Posts: 186
To add to the confusion (at least my own), I just read a comment on a Doctor of Credit post that said that the TYP redemption for travel on AA (1.6cpp) with the Prestige card also applies to TYPs earned from banking. And I would then assume that with the Premier card (1.25cpp on airfare), my banking TYPs would also get this increased redemption value.
Does this sound right? i.e. banking TYPs can be used at a value of 1.25 (Premier) or 1.33/1.6 (Prestige) for airfare, but banking TYPs can NOT be transferred to partners.
Does this sound right? i.e. banking TYPs can be used at a value of 1.25 (Premier) or 1.33/1.6 (Prestige) for airfare, but banking TYPs can NOT be transferred to partners.
Apr 23, 2015, 2:39 pm
#203
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
Great, thanks for the data point
Apr 23, 2015, 4:11 pm
#204
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Moderator action
Discussion of transferring points to another person's ThankYou Rewards account has been exported to a new thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...p-account.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...p-account.html
Apr 23, 2015, 9:00 pm
#205
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold, Club Carlson Gold, National EE, *G
Posts: 470
I'm also confused, as the WIKI states that effective April 9, 2015, TY points earned through banking can now be transferred out (banking is a very broad term, but the sentence implies, somewhat, that it is referring to TY points earned through checking, etc.) Who placed this comment into the WIKI and what are the circumstances that led to this conclusion?
Here's the pertinent WIKI comment: (The first sentence is crossed out in the WIKI)
"However, points earned from banking may not be transferred.
This appears no longer true as of 4/9/2015."
Here's the pertinent WIKI comment: (The first sentence is crossed out in the WIKI)
"However, points earned from banking may not be transferred.
This appears no longer true as of 4/9/2015."
Apr 23, 2015, 9:59 pm
#206
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
I'm also confused, as the WIKI states that effective April 9, 2015, TY points earned through banking can now be transferred out (banking is a very broad term, but the sentence implies, somewhat, that it is referring to TY points earned through checking, etc.) Who placed this comment into the WIKI and what are the circumstances that led to this conclusion?
Here's the pertinent WIKI comment: (The first sentence is crossed out in the WIKI)
"However, points earned from banking may not be transferred.
This appears no longer true as of 4/9/2015."
Here's the pertinent WIKI comment: (The first sentence is crossed out in the WIKI)
"However, points earned from banking may not be transferred.
This appears no longer true as of 4/9/2015."
Apr 23, 2015, 10:29 pm
#207
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold, Club Carlson Gold, National EE, *G
Posts: 470
Thanks
Apr 24, 2015, 2:51 am
#208
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
Thanks
Existing TY Premier card account for several years. Opened a Citi Gold checking in Feb. Called TY to combine TY accounts together late March. On 4/9, I was able to transfer to SQ the points earned from the checking account. Miles in Sq account on the 2nd business day.
Apr 24, 2015, 7:36 am
#210
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
I have edited the Wikipost to reflect the possibility that geclub1's experience was an exception, because the published rule has not changed. I speculate that when the two ThankYou Rewards accounts were merged the points which had been earned through banking were miscoded. We would need more examples to know if this is loophole which can be exploited, or a manual error.