How to Transfer ThankYou Points Step-by-Step

MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

Citi ThankYou Points are transferable to one hotel and 12 airline programs. Folks who have a Citi ThankYou^® Premier (Note from the editor: Citi Premier® Card is no longer available to new applicants), Citi Prestige® Card^, or Citi Chairman card can transfer Citi ThankYou Points at a 1:1 ratio to (click links for posts on basics and sweetspots of that program):

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• Etihad Guest
• Garuda Indonesia Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchard Plus
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Malaysia Airlines Enrich
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Qantas miles
• Virgin America Elevate

You can also transfer 1,000 ThankYou Points to 1,500 Hilton HHonors points.

Other Redemption Options

ThankYou Points earned from the Premier can be redeemed for 1.25 cents on any airline. ThankYou Points earned from the Prestige can be redeemed for 1.33 cents each on any airline, or for 1.6 cents each on American Airlines flights and any of the 25 airlines that American has a codeshare agreement with:

• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Iberia
• Finnair
• Qantas
• Japan Airlines
• LATAM
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qatar
• Royal Jordanian
• S7
• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
• Cape Air
• El Al
• Etihad Airways
• Fiji Airways
• Gulf Air
• Hainan Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Interjet
• Jetstar Airways
• Jetstar Japan
• Seaborne Airlines
• WestJet

ThankYou Points earned solely from the Citi ThankYou^® Premier cannot be redeemed for 1.6 cents on American and codeshare partners, but if you also have the Citi Prestige® Card along with the Premier, you can pool the points and redeem them like you would ThankYou Points earned from the Prestige.

However, if if you transfer ThankYou Points to one of their partner airlines wisely, you can find a lot more value than 1.6 cents per point. Below are the directions of how to make the actual transfers between your Citi account and their partners.

How to Transfer ThankYou Points Step-by-Step

1. Log in to your Citi account on either citi.com or thankyou.com. Either will take you to the right place.

2. Scroll to the account details for either the Prestige or Premier, and click on Points Summary on the right side of the screen.

3. If you have multiple cards that earn ThankYou Points, you will be asked to designate which account’s points you want to view.

4. On the following screen, hover your mouse over Travel in the tool bar at the top of the page, and click Points Transfer from the drop-down menu.

5. You will then be directed to a page that lists all of the airline and hotel transfer partners.

6. Choose whichever partner you wish to transfer to, and click Transfer Now. Note that you must already have an account open with the loyalty program you are transferring to.

7. Type in the number of miles you want to transfer. You have to transfer in increments of 1,000 to all partners.

8. Enter your frequent flyer number, accept the terms and conditions….

9. …and you’re done. You should receive a confirmation email that looks like this:

10. The last step is to wait. Transfers are not usually instant. You can check on the status of transfer times to specific partners in this FlyerTalk thread about Citi ThankYou Points.

If possible, put the award on hold with the loyalty program you are redeeming with to decrease your chance of missing out on your desired award space.

I transferred some ThankYou Points to Etihad Guest last year and it took about one week for the miles to show up in my account. I recently made the same transfer again, and this time the ThankYou Points took five days to show up in my Etihad Guest account. I transferred Thursday afternoon, and the miles posted the next Tuesday afternoon. It varies on the airline, but evidence points towards transfer times decreasing.

How to Get ThankYou Points

The easiest way to earn a bundle of ThankYou Points is with the Citi Prestige® Card, which has a huge sign up bonus and big category bonuses. Read my review of the Citi Prestige Card.

Citi Prestige® Card:

• Sign Up Bonus: 40,000 ThankYou Points after $4,000 in spending
• Category Bonuses: 3x on air travel and hotels, 2x on restaurants and entertainment
• Air travel fee credit:  $250 annual credit ($500 first year of cardmembership)
• Lounge access: Admirals Clubs lounges and Priority Pass lounges worldwide
• Free hotel nights: Get your 4th night free on all paid hotel stays (no blackout dates)
• Global Entry: $100 application fee credit
• Global Acceptance: Chip technology and no foreign transaction fees
• Annual Fee: $450 not waived, well worth it

Application Link: Citi Prestige® Card

Bottom Line

Follow the steps outlined above to transfer your ThankYou Points to one of their 12 partner airlines or partner hotel. Read more about the sweetspots with ThankYou Point transfer partners to learn how to get the most value out of your ThankYou Points.