Citi ThankYou Points

Citi ThankYou Rewards occupies a distinctive position among the four major US transferable currency programs: it is the only one that offers transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage. For anyone looking to book oneworld premium cabin awards, Citi ThankYou Points are the single best points currency in the United States.

Beyond the AA exclusivity, Citi's roster spans 14 airline and 5 hotel programs covering all three major alliances, with a unique two-tier transfer system where premium cardholders receive significantly better ratios. The recent Strata rebrand modernized the card lineup, and with AA as the crown jewel, Citi ThankYou Rewards has never been more compelling. Here's everything you need to know.

The Citi Strata Card Lineup

Citi's consumer card lineup underwent a significant rebrand under the "Strata" name, replacing the older product names many readers will remember. The new naming convention is cleaner and, more importantly, the tiering is easier to understand: the higher you go in the Strata hierarchy, the better your transfer ratios and earning rates.

Citi Strata Elite

The Citi Strata Elite sits at the very top of the lineup. It carries a $595 annual fee and functions as Citi's answer to premium travel cards like the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Beyond strong earning rates and a generous welcome bonus, the Strata Elite unlocks the premium tier of the two-tier transfer system, granting 1:1 transfer ratios to nearly all airline partners. The card comes loaded with travel credits, lounge access, and other perks that help offset the annual fee for frequent travellers.

Citi Strata Premier

The Citi Strata Premier is the workhorse of the program and the card that most points enthusiasts will gravitate toward. At just $95 per year, it offers the same premium-tier 1:1 transfer ratios as the Strata Elite, making it the most cost-efficient way to access the full power of Citi ThankYou Rewards.

The card typically offers a welcome bonus of 75,000 to 80,000 ThankYou Points after meeting the minimum spend requirement, and its accelerated earning categories of 3x on groceries, air travel, hotels, restaurants, and gas stations make it a strong everyday card. For anyone whose primary goal is accumulating transferable points, the Strata Premier is the card to hold.

Citi Strata

The Citi Strata is the entry-level card in the Strata family, carrying no annual fee. It replaced the former Citi Rewards+ in July 2025 with a completely revamped earning structure: 5x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel, 3x on supermarkets, gas stations, and transit, 3x on one self-selected category, 2x on restaurants, and 1x on everything else.

However, the Strata sits on the non-premium tier, which means transfer ratios are degraded to roughly 1:0.7 for most airline partners. This makes it a useful companion card for earning, but not the card you want to transfer from unless you also hold a Strata Premier or Strata Elite.

Citi Double Cash

The Citi Double Cash is a no-annual-fee card that earns a flat 2 ThankYou Points per dollar on all purchases when the balance is paid on time. Despite having "cash" in the name, the earnings are ThankYou Points: each dollar of "cash back" converts to 100 ThankYou Points.

The simplicity of a flat 2x rate on everything makes it a popular everyday card, though it falls on the non-premium tier for transfer purposes.

Citi Custom Cash

The Citi Custom Cash is another no-annual-fee option that earns 5 ThankYou Points per dollar in your top spending category each billing cycle, up to $500 in purchases, and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

The card automatically identifies your highest-spend category each month, making it a set-it-and-forget-it accelerator. Like the Double Cash, it sits on the non-premium transfer tier.

The key takeaway across the entire lineup is straightforward: you need at least a Citi Strata Premier ($95/year) to unlock premium-tier transfer ratios. Without one, the value of your ThankYou Points drops by roughly 30% when transferring to airline partners.

Earning ThankYou Points

Welcome Bonuses

As with any transferable currency program, the fastest way to accumulate ThankYou Points is through welcome bonuses. The Citi Strata Premier typically offers 75,000 to 80,000 points, while the Strata Elite offers a larger bonus commensurate with its higher annual fee.

The no-fee cards (Strata, Double Cash, Custom Cash) generally offer more modest bonuses in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 points.

Before applying for any Citi card, be aware of the bank's strict application rules. Citi enforces an informal one-application-per-eight-days rule and a limit of two applications per 65 days.

More critically, you can only earn the welcome bonus on a given card product once every 48 months. Since the Strata Premier and Strata Elite are separate products, you can earn the welcome bonus on each independently, but you must wait the full four years between bonuses on the same product. Timing your application for the best available offer is essential.

Everyday Spending

Once you have collected your welcome bonus, ongoing spending continues to build your ThankYou Points balance. The Strata Premier earns 3x on groceries, air travel, hotels, restaurants, and gas stations, plus 10x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal, with 1x on all other purchases.

The Strata card earns 3x on supermarkets, gas, and transit, 3x on a self-selected category, 2x on restaurants, and 5x through Citi Travel. The Double Cash earns a flat 2x on everything, and the Custom Cash earns 5x on your top spending category (up to $500 per billing cycle).

A popular strategy is to hold multiple Citi cards simultaneously and use each for its strongest category: the Custom Cash for your top category, the Strata Premier for its 3x categories, and the Double Cash as the default card for everything else.

Since ThankYou Points can be pooled across Citi accounts, this approach maximizes your earning rate without sacrificing flexibility.

To combine points across cards, call 800-THANK-YOU and request to link your accounts. Note that once linked, accounts cannot be unlinked.

The Two-Tier Transfer System

This is the single most important concept in the Citi ThankYou Rewards program, and it is frequently misunderstood or overlooked entirely. Unlike Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, where all cardholders receive the same transfer ratios regardless of which card they hold, Citi operates a two-tier system that creates a meaningful gap between premium and non-premium cardholders.

Premium tier cards are the Citi Strata Elite and Citi Strata Premier. These cards unlock the best transfer ratios, which are 1:1 for almost all airline partners.

Non-premium tier cards are the Citi Strata, Citi Double Cash, and Citi Custom Cash. These cards transfer at a degraded ratio of approximately 1:0.7 for airlines, meaning 1,000 ThankYou Points become only 700 airline miles.

The math is unforgiving. If you hold 100,000 ThankYou Points and transfer them to Singapore KrisFlyer on a premium card, you receive 100,000 KrisFlyer miles.

On a non-premium card, you receive just 70,000 miles. That 30,000-mile gap could easily be the difference between booking a Star Alliance business class award and falling short.

The good news is that points can be pooled. If you earned points on a Double Cash or Custom Cash, you can link those accounts to a Strata Premier and transfer from the Premier account at the premium 1:1 ratio.

This makes the Strata Premier, at $95 per year, the essential gateway card for the program. Without it, the value proposition of Citi ThankYou Points is significantly diminished.

One notable exception to the 1:1 premium pattern is Emirates Skywards, which transfers at 1:0.8 even on premium cards (and 1:0.56 on non-premium cards). Hotel partners follow their own ratio structure that differs from the airline pattern. We cover exact ratios for every partner in the next section.

Transfer Partners

Citi ThankYou Points transfer to 14 airline programs and 5 hotel programs. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of every partner with both premium and non-premium ratios. Unless otherwise noted, transfers are processed almost instantly. (Note: Aeromexico was removed as a transfer partner on January 25, 2026.)

Airline Partners

Air France/KLM Flying Blue transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Flying Blue is one of the most versatile SkyTeam programs, with dynamic award pricing that occasionally yields exceptional deals on business and first class to Europe and beyond. Transfer bonuses from Citi to Flying Blue appear periodically and are worth watching for.

American Airlines AAdvantage transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. This is the marquee partner in the entire Citi ThankYou portfolio.

Citi is the only major US transferable currency program with access to AA AAdvantage, making it the exclusive pipeline for converting bank points into AA miles.

This matters enormously for oneworld premium cabin awards, including bookings on Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and British Airways through AA's award chart. If AA AAdvantage is central to your redemption strategy, Citi ThankYou Points are indispensable.

Avianca LifeMiles transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. LifeMiles is a Star Alliance program known for competitive award pricing and the ability to book mixed-cabin itineraries. It often has lower surcharges than other Star Alliance programs for the same flights.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Asia Miles is a oneworld program that provides access to Cathay Pacific's acclaimed business and first class products, as well as partner awards across the oneworld alliance.

Emirates Skywards transfers at 1:0.8 on premium cards and 1:0.56 on non-premium cards. This is the exception to the standard 1:1 premium pattern.

Even with a Strata Elite or Strata Premier, every 1,000 ThankYou Points yield only 800 Skywards miles. On non-premium cards, the degradation compounds: the base 0.8 ratio is further reduced by the 0.7 non-premium multiplier, resulting in 560 Skywards miles per 1,000 points.

Emirates awards can deliver outsized value on first class redemptions, but factor in the transfer loss when calculating your points cost.

Etihad Guest transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Etihad Guest miles can be used for Etihad flights and select partner airlines.

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Transfers take approximately 2 days. EVA Air is a Star Alliance carrier with a well-regarded business class product.

JetBlue TrueBlue transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. TrueBlue is a revenue-based program, so the value of transferred points depends directly on cash fares. It can be useful for domestic US travel, particularly on JetBlue Mint (business class) routes.

Qantas Frequent Flyer transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Qantas points are valuable for oneworld partner awards, especially for flights to and within the Asia-Pacific region and Australia.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Transfers take approximately 2 days.

Qatar Privilege Club uses Avios as its currency and provides access to the world-famous Qsuites business class product. Avios earned in Qatar Privilege Club can also be moved to British Airways Executive Club and other Avios-based programs, adding flexibility.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Transfers take approximately 2 days.

KrisFlyer miles unlock some of the most aspirational redemptions in the hobby, including Singapore Suites on the A380 and Singapore business class on long-haul routes. Star Alliance partner awards are also bookable.

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Transfers take approximately 4 days, making Thai the slowest Citi transfer partner. Royal Orchid Plus is a Star Alliance program useful for Thai Airways flights and partner awards.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Miles&Smiles is a Star Alliance program with a distance-based award chart that can yield exceptional value on short-haul flights within Turkey and Europe, as well as competitive pricing on long-haul Star Alliance awards.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Virgin Atlantic joined SkyTeam and its miles can be used to book Delta flights (including Delta One) as well as ANA first and business class, which remains one of the best-value redemptions available through any transferable points program.

Hotel Partners

Accor Live Limitless (ALL) transfers at 1:0.5 on premium cards and 1:0.35 on non-premium cards. Even with a premium card, you lose half your points in the transfer, making Accor a poor transfer target in most scenarios.

Choice Privileges transfers at a favourable 1:2 ratio on premium cards and 1:1.4 on non-premium cards. This means 1,000 ThankYou Points become 2,000 Choice points on premium cards, making it one of the few partners where you actually multiply your balance.

Leading Hotels of the World transfers at 1:0.2 on premium cards and 1:0.14 on non-premium cards. The conversion is extremely unfavourable and is generally not recommended unless you have a very specific use case.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts iPrefer transfers at a generous 1:4 ratio on premium cards and 1:2.8 on non-premium cards. While the multiplier looks attractive, the value of iPrefer points varies widely by property and availability.

Wyndham Rewards transfers at 1:1 on premium cards and 1:0.7 on non-premium cards. Transfers process within 24 hours. Wyndham's flat-rate award chart means transferred points can deliver decent value at higher-category properties.

As a general rule, airline transfers deliver far more value per point than hotel transfers. The hotel partners should be considered niche options for specific situations rather than primary redemption targets.

Best Redemption Sweet Spots

With 14 airline partners spanning all three major alliances, the range of redemption options is vast. Here are the most compelling ways to deploy your ThankYou Points.

AA AAdvantage for oneworld premium cabins. The headline sweet spot and the one unique to Citi.

Transfer 1:1 to AAdvantage and book Qatar Qsuites, Cathay Pacific business or first class, Japan Airlines business class, or British Airways Club Suite at AAdvantage award rates. No other US bank points program can access AA miles, which makes this the defining reason to hold Citi ThankYou Points.

Virgin Atlantic for ANA first class. Virgin Atlantic's ANA award chart prices Tokyo-bound first class at 72,500 miles one-way from the US West Coast and 85,000 from the East Coast, representing outstanding value for ANA's "The Suite" product. Transfer 1:1 from Citi and book by calling Virgin Atlantic.

Virgin Atlantic for Delta One. Flying Club miles can book Delta flights, often at competitive rates compared to booking directly through Delta SkyMiles. Delta One (business class) on transcontinental and transatlantic routes can be a strong use of Citi points.

Singapore KrisFlyer for Singapore Suites. The Singapore Airlines A380 Suites experience remains one of the most aspirational redemptions in the hobby. KrisFlyer miles are needed to book Suites class directly, and Citi's 1:1 transfer on premium cards makes this accessible.

Turkish Miles&Smiles for short-haul awards. Turkish's distance-based chart prices short flights within Turkey and Europe at very low mileage levels, making it a great option for intra-European hops when positioned via a transatlantic flight.

Flying Blue for promo rewards. Air France/KLM periodically runs Promo Rewards with dramatically reduced mileage pricing on select routes. When these align with your travel plans, transferring Citi points to Flying Blue can yield exceptional value, particularly for business class to Europe.

Qatar Privilege Club for Qsuites. You can access Qsuites through both AA AAdvantage (above) and directly through Qatar Privilege Club Avios. The direct Qatar route sometimes reveals availability not visible through AA, and the Avios you earn in Qatar's program can be moved to British Airways or Iberia for additional flexibility.

Transfer Bonuses

Citi periodically offers transfer bonuses to select partners, typically in the range of 10% to 30% additional miles per transfer. These promotions appear less frequently than Amex transfer bonuses but more often than Chase's.

The key discipline is to never transfer speculatively just because a bonus is running. Confirm award availability first, then transfer with the bonus as a welcome enhancement.

Important Program Rules

ThankYou Points do not expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing. However, if you cancel a card, the points associated with that card gain an expiration date, so always transfer or pool your points before closing any Citi account.

You can share up to 100,000 ThankYou Points per calendar year with another ThankYou member through Points Sharing. Shared points expire 90 days after being received, so the recipient must have a plan to use them promptly. All transfers to airline and hotel partners are irreversible, and the minimum transfer is 1,000 points.

If you prefer not to transfer points to partners, the Citi ThankYou travel portal (powered by Booking.com) redeems points at 1 cent per point for hotels, flights, car rentals, and activities.

Cash redemptions value points at 1 cent per point on the Double Cash and Custom Cash cards. On the Strata Premier and Strata Elite, cash redemptions were reduced to 0.75 cents per point in August 2025. These baseline redemptions set the floor value, but transferring to airline partners almost always unlocks significantly more value per point.

Tips for Canadians

Citi ThankYou Rewards is a US program, and Citi does not operate in Canada. Unlike Amex, which offers a Global Transfer program allowing Canadian cardholders to open US cards, Citi has no equivalent pathway. Canadians who want access to Citi ThankYou Points must build a US credit history independently.

The standard approach involves obtaining an ITIN or SSN, opening a US bank account (cross-border banking through TD or RBC Bank can help), and building credit with a secured card or a newcomer-friendly product. Once you have an established US credit file with several months of history, you can apply for Citi cards directly.

The process requires patience, but the payoff is access to a transfer partner roster that no Canadian points program can replicate. AA AAdvantage, in particular, is not accessible through any Canadian bank's transferable currency.

Amex Membership Rewards in Canada transfers to Aeroplan (Star Alliance) and British Airways (oneworld), but not to AA. The only way for a Canadian to earn AA miles through transferable bank points is via Citi ThankYou Rewards, making the effort of establishing a US credit presence worthwhile for serious points collectors.

For Canadians already holding Amex US cards through the Global Transfer program, adding a Citi Strata Premier to your US card portfolio is a natural next step.

The $95 annual fee is modest, and the AA AAdvantage access fills a gap that no other US transferable currency covers. Pair it with an Amex US for Membership Rewards and a Chase Sapphire for Ultimate Rewards, and you have the complete trifecta of US transferable currencies, with Citi providing the exclusive AA link.

One practical note: Citi cards must be managed through a US address and US bank account for payments. Canadians who travel to the US frequently or maintain a US mailing address (through a cross-border mail service, for example) will find the logistics manageable. Those who rarely visit the US should weigh the ongoing effort against the redemptions they plan to pursue.

Conclusion

Citi ThankYou Rewards has undergone a genuine transformation. The Strata rebrand streamlined the card lineup, the addition of AA AAdvantage filled a gap that makes the program uniquely valuable, and the two-tier transfer system, while adding complexity, rewards those who understand it.

At its core, the program's value proposition is clear: hold a Citi Strata Premier for $95 per year, pool your points from across the Strata family, and transfer at 1:1 to 14 airline programs including the only AA AAdvantage pipeline available from any major US bank points currency.

For Canadians willing to build a US credit presence, Citi ThankYou Rewards unlocks redemption pathways that simply do not exist through Canadian programs.

AA AAdvantage alone justifies the effort for anyone who values oneworld premium cabin travel. Combine that with Star Alliance coverage through KrisFlyer, LifeMiles, and Turkish Miles&Smiles, plus SkyTeam access through Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic, and you've got a transfer partner network that competes with any program in the market. It's well worth adding to your US credit card toolkit.