How Long Do Citi ThankYou Points Transfers Take?

If you’re collecting miles & points through credit card spending, I always recommend doing what you can to accrue transferable points currencies.

That’s because these points are much more flexible than when you’re earning an individual airline or hotel points currency. You have the ability to transfer these points to all kinds of travel partners, and you’re safeguarded from a devaluation in a specific points currency.

With that in mind, in this post I wanted to address all the basics of transferring Citi ThankYou points. How many partners does Citi ThankYou have, how long does it take for points to transfer, who can you transfer points to, etc.

How many airline and hotel partners does Citi ThankYou have?

As of now, Citi ThankYou has a total of 18 transfer partners, including 14 airline loyalty programs and four hotel loyalty programs.

How long does it take to transfer Citi ThankYou points in March 2024?

Below is a chart with how long it typically takes to transfer ThankYou points:

As you can see, points transfers to most ThankYou partners are instant, while point transfers to the other partners take anywhere from hours to days. I always appreciate when people have data points on recent points transfer times. I’ve tried to keep the list updated based on feedback, but over time we do see more and more partners offer instant transfers.

Are there fees associated with transferring Citi ThankYou points?

No, there are no fees associated with transferring Citi ThankYou points to any parthers.

Can you transfer Citi ThankYou points to someone else’s Citi account?

Citi lets one transfer ThankYou points to anyone else’s ThankYou account, regardless of whether they’re related, live at the same address, etc. However, there are a few restrictions to be aware of:

• Shared points expire 90 days after they’re received, so you can’t “hoard” someone else’s points in your ThankYou account
• The recipient of shared points can’t share those same points with another member
• You can share at most 100,000 points per calendar year, and can have at most 100,000 points shared with you per calendar year

While there are some restrictions, this is an area where Citi ThankYou is more generous than other programs.

Can you transfer Citi ThankYou points to someone else’s airline account?

No. While you can transfer your Citi ThankYou points to someone else’s Citi ThankYou account and then they can transfer it to their preferred loyalty program, you can’t transfer your ThankYou points directly to someone else’s loyalty program account.

The name of the Citi ThankYou account and loyalty program account have to match.

Can you combine Citi ThankYou accounts?

While Citi is generous in letting you transfer ThankYou accounts to someone else’s ThankYou account, the bank actually has a rather strict policy when it comes to combining your own ThankYou points accounts.

For example, let’s say you have both the Citi Premier^® Card (review) and Citi Rewards+® Card (review). Now let’s say you close down one of those accounts. While you can combine the points, the points from the card that you shut down expire 60 days after the account is closed. So you have to transfer those points to a partner program within 60 days, or else the points will be forfeited.

What cards earn Citi ThankYou points?

The primary card that earns Citi ThankYou points is the $95 annual fee Citi Premier^® Card (review). There’s a lot to love about the card, including the fantastic bonus categories, including the ability to earn 3x points on dining, gas stations, supermarkets, air travel, and hotels.

In addition to that card directly earning points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners, the following cards earn ThankYou points that can be transferred to partners in conjunction with the Citi Premier:

• The Citi Rewards+® Card (review) rounds up purchases to the nearest 10 ThankYou points, and offers 2x points at supermarkets and gas stations, for the first $6,000 spent every year (and then 1x); the card has no annual fee
• The Citi Double Cash® Card (review) offers 1x points when you make a purchase, and 1x points when you pay for that purchase; the card has no annual fee
• The Citi Custom Cash® Card (review) offers 5x points in the category you spend most in each billing cycle, on up to $500 worth of spending; the card has no annual fee

To give you a sense of how much value you can get out of maximizing rewards, read about my Citi card strategy, and read about the best credit cards for earning Citi ThankYou points. Personally, I think it’s hard to beat the combination of the Citi Premier and Citi Double Cash, as you’ll earn 3x points in five categories, and then 2x points on all other purchases.

Should you transfer Citi ThankYou points to travel partners?

In general, the best use of Citi ThankYou points is to convert them into airline miles. Personally, my favorite transfer partners include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, Emirates Skywards, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Singapore KrisFlyer, Turkish Miles&Smiles, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

However, you only want to transfer points once you’ve figured out the award you want to book, have verified availability, and are sure you understand how that program works.

If you’re someone who prefers to redeem your points as cashback toward travel, points can generally only be redeemed for one cent each toward the cost of a travel purchase, which isn’t exactly great. I think transferring Citi points to airline partners represents a better value.

Bottom line

Citi ThankYou is one of the major transferable points currencies. Citi has some awesome airline and hotel transfer partners, and there are also great credit cards earning these points. I think the combination of the Citi Premier^® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card is tough to beat, as this allows you to earn 2-3x ThankYou points on virtually all purchases.

Hopefully the above is a useful guide of what to expect when it comes to transferring Citi points to partners.

If you have any data points on how long Citi ThankYou points transfers have taken you, please share them below, so that I can keep the chart as accurate as possible!