If I could describe Citi ThankYou® Rewards in one word, it would be: straightforward. You make purchases using your eligible Citi credit card, earn points, and then swap them for travel, cashback, or gift cards (but mostly cashback).
That being said, there’s a bit of hidden nuance to Citi ThankYou Rewards that’s worth exploring — especially if you’re the type to relish getting maximum value from your points.
How Citi ThankYou Points Work
Citi ThankYou Points work just like any other credit card rewards program:
- Use an eligible Citi rewards credit card to make qualifying purchases.
- Earn ThankYou Points on those purchases based on the reward specific to your card (e.g., two ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on air travel).
- Redeem your ThankYou Points for cashback, travel, gift cards, etc.
Citi does stand out a bit for having a totally separate website for redeeming credit card rewards: ThankYou.com (I bet that domain wasn’t cheap to buy).
How To Earn Citi ThankYou Points
You can generate ThankYou Points by making purchases and earning welcome bonuses with a qualifying Citi rewards credit card.
As you make purchases, points are automatically tallied up and added to your Citi ThankYou rewards balance — visible from your Citi.com dashboard or the Citi Mobile® App.
Here are the current Citi credit cards that generate ThankYou Rewards:
- Citi Strata℠ Card
- Citi Strata Premier® Card
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
- Citi Double Cash® Card
- Citi Custom Cash® Card
- AT&T Points Plus® Card from Citi
These cards generate points at varying rates, and some have annual fees, so consider which card fits your current spending habits before filling out an application.
Citi cards typically have a welcome bonus, too, which is usually the fastest way to earn ThankYou points. You may have to spend, say, $1,500 within three months to earn a $200 welcome bonus that comes in the form of 20,000 points.
READ MORE: How To Earn Credit Card Points Fast for Travel
How To Redeem Citi ThankYou Points
Once you amass a small fortune in ThankYou points, how should you redeem them to get the best bang for your ThankYou buck?
Citi offers six ways to redeem your points:
- Travel
- Gift cards
- Shop with Points
- Cashback
- Points transfer
- Charitable contributions
Travel
Citi allows you to use cash or ThankYou points to make travel bookings through its online portal, Citi Travel.
You can book hotels, flights, cars, and attractions (i.e., tours, tastings, and such), and the selection is pretty broad.
ThankYou Points are generally worth a penny each when redeemed via Citi Travel — the same redemption rate as cashback — so there’s little reason to use them here (other than convenience).
READ MORE: How To Use the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal
Gift cards
Like many other banks, Citi lets you redeem points for gift cards with various retail partners.
The list is well over 100 strong and includes brands like H&M, Nintendo, Red Robin, Gap, Zappos.com, and more. You can see the complete list via ThankYou.com > Gift Cards.
Most of the time, you’ll get just a penny per point, meaning cashback is still a better bet.
That said, Citi does occasionally run “sales” on select gift cards (e.g., $25 at Apple for 2,150 points). These discounts allow you to stretch the redemption value of your ThankYou points to roughly 1.16 cents per point, so it might be worth seeing what’s on sale before choosing cashback.
Shop with Points
Citi also allows you to redeem your ThankYou Points at checkout with select retailers. There are 16 total, including Best Buy, Amazon, PayPal, Schnucks, and 1-800-Flowers.
Though convenient, we’d never really consider this option since the redemption rate is between 0.8 and 1 cent per point.
Cashback
You can always redeem your Citi ThankYou points for a penny each in cash via statement credit, direct deposit, or — if you’re feeling old school — a check by mail.
I’ve always preferred statement credit since it’s instantaneous and puts a nice dent in my upcoming credit card bill.
Direct deposit is still handy if you’ve already paid off your credit card, but in my experience, it takes about three days to land in your account.
Points transfer
One of the more interesting redemption options is the ability to transfer ThankYou Points to certain partners like Air France-KLM, Turkish Airlines, Wyndham Rewards, and more.
Most of the transfer ratios are 1:1, meaning you can convert 1,000 ThankYou points to 1,000 Turkish Airlines Miles, for example. That opens some interesting ways to multiply the value of your ThankYou points, since airline or hotel points can be worth 2 cents or more if you find the right booking.
The caveat is that only premium Citi cardholders (e.g., Strata Premier and Strata Elite) can transfer points to all partners. No-fee cardholders (e.g., Citi Double Cash) can still transfer points, but the list of eligible partners is much smaller.
You can see which partners you can transfer points to by visiting ThankYou.com > Transfer.
READ MORE: How To Use Credit Card Points for Travel
Charitable contributions
Finally, Citi lets you donate points to select charity partners, including UNICEF USA, No Kid Hungry, the ASPCA, and more.
Redemption/donation rates are typically a penny per point, and you can see the current list of eligible charities via ThankYou.com > More Ways to Redeem > Charitable Contributions.
How Much Are Citi ThankYou Points Worth?
Citi ThankYou points are generally worth a penny each, but they can be worth anywhere from 0.8 to 2 cents a pop, depending on how you redeem them.
Your most lucrative option, by far, is a well-planned transfer to a travel partner. Maybe Air France-KLM is running a deal where you can fly to Paris for $500 or 25,000 Flying Blue Miles — that would mean you’re just 25,000 ThankYou points away from tasting the world’s freshest chocolate croissant.
If you lack the travel bug (or a Citi card that enables transfers), your next best option is to see whatever gift cards are currently on sale. After all, swapping 4,500 points for $50 at Best Buy makes a lot of sense if you need a new microwave.
Outside of a well-time transfer or a discounted gift card, cashback is going to be your best option 95% of the time. Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Citi doesn’t give you many ways to stretch your ThankYou points beyond a penny each in value.
But that’s not such a bad thing, since it means you can swap points for cashback without the accompanying FOMO.
Here’s a quick look at how Citi compares with its chief competitors:
| Number of Travel Transfer Partners | Travel Portal Redemption Value | Statement Credit Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi ThankYou® Rewards | 20 | $0.01 per point | $0.01 per point |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards® | 14 | $0.01 to $0.02 per point | $0.01 per point |
| American Express Membership Rewards® | 20 | $0.007 to $0.01 per point | $0.006 per point |
| Wells Fargo Rewards | 8 | $0.01 per point | $0.01 per point |
| Capital One miles | 15+ | $0.01 per mile | $0.005 per mile |
READ MORE: When To Use Points vs. Cash for Booking Travel
FAQs
Do Citi ThankYou points expire?
Citi ThankYou points generally don’t expire as long as your Citi account remains active — even if you cancel the card that you earned them with.
That said, if you earned ThankYou points using a Citi card or checking account that has since been discontinued, such as the Citi Forward cards, your points may now have an expiration date. You can see a complete list here.
When do Citi ThankYou points post?
Citi ThankYou points typically post to your account within two days of your statement closing date.
Can you convert Citi ThankYou points to cash?
Yes. Citi allows you to redeem ThankYou points for a penny each via statement credit, direct deposit, or check in the mail.
TL;DR: How To Maximize Citi ThankYou Points
Citi ThankYou points work just like most other credit card points on the market; you earn them by using your Citi rewards card and can cash them in for travel, cashback, gift cards, and more.
ThankYou Points are generally worth a penny each, regardless of how you redeem them — so cashback is your best bet 95% of the time.
The two exceptions are for (a) whatever cards are currently on sale and (b) select transfers, notably to partners running sales on their end. Look at those options before you redeem your hard-earned ThankYou points for straight cashback.
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