Deciding to spend or earn Citi ThankYou points often hinges on one question: How much are they worth? You don't want to spend them for less than they're worth or try to earn more if they aren't worth enough.

According to our data-driven analysis, the value of Citi ThankYou points is between 1 cent (when booking travel directly) and 1.3 cents (when transferred to partners). Keep in mind that the transfer ratios vary by partner and card.

Why the spread? The lower value reflects a “baseline” figure you can expect when using ThankYou points in a manner with the least amount of hassle involved. The higher value of 1.3 cents per point reflects how much value you could squeeze from them with a little more know-how and effort.

Essentially, there are two separate ways to use Citi points, and they each carry their value (and tradeoffs).

The value when booking through the Citi ThankYou travel portal

There's nothing to analyze here: When booking through the issuer's travel portal, called the Citi ThankYou Rewards Travel Center, ThankYou points are worth exactly 1 cent apiece. So if you book a $500 flight and "pay" with your points, it will cost 50,000 ThankYou points.

This value doesn't have any wiggle room. You can't squeeze more value from your points by searching more or booking with particular airlines. A point is just worth a cent through the portal, no matter how you redeem it.

The tradeoff here is convenience. Of course, one cent isn't the best value you can get from ThankYou points (see below), but booking through the portal is far easier than transferring points to partners and booking award travel.

In fact, if reading the previous sentence felt like you were reading a foreign language, remember, you can always keep things simple and book directly with the airline.

The value when transferring to partners

Now we're getting into the real nerdery. To get higher value from your Citi ThankYou points, you can transfer them to one of many hotel and airline partners, then book travel through them.

Full list of Citi transfer partners

Airlines

Aeromexico (1:1 ratio).

Air France/KLM (1:1 ratio).

Asia Miles (1:1 ratio).

Avianca (1:1 ratio).

Emirates (1:1 ratio).

Etihad (1:1 ratio).

Eva Air (1:1 ratio).

JetBlue (1:1 or 1:0.8 ratio, depending on which card you have).

Qantas (1:1 ratio).

Qatar Airways (1:1 ratio).

Singapore Airlines (1:1 ratio).

Thai Airways (1:1 ratio).

Turkish Airlines (1:1 ratio).

Virgin Atlantic (1:1 ratio).

Hotels

Accor Live Limitless (2:1 ratio).

Choice Hotels (1:2 or 1:1.5 ratio, depending on which card you have).

The Leading Hotels of the World (5:1 ratio).

Wyndham (1:1 ratio or 1:0.8 ratio, depending on which card you have).

Retail

Shop Your Way (1:10 ratio).

Again, the tradeoff is convenience — this time in the other direction. Transferring and booking with partners is a multiple-step process that requires patience and understanding.

According to our analysis, here are some of the best transfer partners, along with their value.

Keep in mind that unlike the baseline value for using ThankYou points directly, these transfer partner values are estimates based on data from hundreds of flights. So any given redemption could offer more or less worth than our valuation.

What does this mean for transferring ThankYou points? First, before transferring your points, you should carefully research and compare which flights you plan to take and which transfer partner supports them. Next, compare the cash price to the cost using points or miles to ensure it's a good redemption. Then check whether award fares are available and, finally, transfer points.

The Citi ThankYou points value on Amazon

You can use your Citi points instead of cash to make purchases on Amazon. Although the value per point is not listed on the Citi or Amazon sites (and can therefore change at any time), the current redemption value is 0.8 cents per point.

This is a lousy redemption for two reasons:

The value per point is far less than even the lower end of using points to book travel.

You won't earn points on the purchase. That is, if you paid with another card rather than points, you would actually earn more points.

All in all, we discourage using Amazon to redeem Citi ThankYou points unless you're trying to clear out a few remaining points from your balance.

Citi ThankYou points calculator

Use our Citi ThankYou points calculator below to determine the value of your stash of points, based on both the baseline and NerdWallet estimated values.

How much are your Citi ThankYou points worth? This calculator can convert any number of points into an equivalent cash value, allowing you to figure out what they're really worth.

You can use it to determine whether a particular redemption is a good one or whether a promotion or sign-up offer is worth it. Another resource to help you get the best value for Citi ThankYou points is our Airline Point Transfers and Partner Award Bookings tool.

Cards that earn Citi ThankYou points

Citi offers multiple products that earn the ThankYou rewards currency. Here are some of its most prominent:

NerdWallet rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula incorporates coverage options, customer experience, customizability, cost and more.

Apply Now

Read Review

Rates & Fees

Citi Rewards+® Card

2 ThankYou points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations (on up to $6,000 in purchases per year).

1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.

Get 10% points back for the first 100,000 points you redeem per year.

Can transfer to three Citi ThankYou partners: JetBlue, Wyndham and Choice.

Citi ThankYou points will only transfer at a 1:0.8 ratio, meaning if you transfer 1,000 ThankYou points, you'll only get 800 miles or points with the transfer partner.

Annual fee: $0

Sign-up bonus:

Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

NerdWallet rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula incorporates coverage options, customer experience, customizability, cost and more.

Apply Now

Read Review

Rates & Fees

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Earn 5% cash back (in the form of ThankYou® Points) on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, on up to $500; earn 1% back on all other purchases.

Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.

Annual fee: $0

Sign-up bonus:

Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

NerdWallet rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula incorporates coverage options, customer experience, customizability, cost and more.

Apply Now

Read Review

Rates & Fees

Citi Double Cash® Card

2 ThankYou points per $1 spent on all purchases (1 point when you make it, and another point when you pay it off).

For a limited time, 5 ThankYou points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal (through Dec, 31, 2024).

No cap on how many ThankYou points you can earn.

Can transfer to three Citi ThankYou partners: JetBlue, Wyndham and Choice.

Citi ThankYou points will only transfer at a 1:0.8 ratio, meaning if you transfer 1,000 ThankYou points, you'll only get 800 miles or points with the transfer partner.

Annual fee: $0

Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back..

Citi Prestige® Card

Not accepting new applications.

5 ThankYou points per dollar spent on dining out and air travel purchases.

3 ThankYou points per dollar spent on cruise lines and hotel purchases.

1 ThankYou point per dollar on all other purchases.

Annual fee: $495

NerdWallet rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula incorporates coverage options, customer experience, customizability, cost and more.

Apply Now

Read Review

Rates & Fees

Citi Premier® Card

3 ThankYou points per $1 spent on restaurants, supermarkets, air travel, hotels and gas stations.

1 ThankYou point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

$100 annual hotel savings on a single hotel stay of $500 or more purchased through thankyou.com.

Annual fee: $95

Sign-up bonus:

Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spend on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.

How did we determine the value of Citi ThankYou points?

For our NerdWallet estimate of 1.5 cents per ThankYou point, we factored in several variables:

The value of these points when used to book travel directly with the credit card's travel portal.

The value of the airline and hotel points to which these points can be transferred, when applicable (based on the separate analyses above).

The number of top-tier travel transfer partners, as determined by our expert panel.

The overall value is determined as a weighted average between (1) and (2), with the weight determined by (3). The program with the largest number of high-value partners receives a 100% weight on (2), and a program with zero high-value partners receives a 50% weight on (2).

The information related to the Citi Prestige® Card and the Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.