Citi ThankYou Points, explained

Citi ThankYou Points is the smallest of the four major flexible-points programs by transfer-partner count, but the program has been quietly improving since 2023. The challenge most people face with ThankYou Points is structural: you need to hold the right two cards to unlock the program’s value.

How the unlock works

The Custom Cash and Double Cash earn rewards Citi calls “cash back.” Internally, they are ThankYou Points: 20,000 ThankYou Points equals $200 in cash back at the default 1-cpp redemption.

If your account also holds a Strata Premier or Strata Elite (the rebranded Premier from 2024 onward), the points stop being cash back and become full ThankYou Points with access to transfer partners. The combined-account math turns a Custom Cash’s 5% on your top monthly category into a transferable 5x earn at Premier-tier point value.

This pairing is the entire point of the Citi program. Without the Premier or Strata, the cards in this family are 1-cpp cash-back products and there is no reason to choose them over a Capital One Quicksilver or a Wells Fargo Active Cash.

How you earn

Custom Cash. 5% back on your top eligible spend category each cycle, capped at $500 in spend. 1% on everything else.

Double Cash. 1% when you buy plus 1% when you pay. Effective 2% on every purchase, capped only by your statement balance.

Strata Premier ($95). 3x on air travel, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas. 1x on everything else. Pulls everything together.

Strata Elite ($595). Higher tier with travel credits and elite-style perks, sitting between the Premier and the higher-fee cards from Chase and Amex.

How you redeem

Cash back floor. 1 cent per point. Available on every card.

Citi Travel portal. 1 cent per point on travel bookings made through the portal. Premier holders get a 25% boost on airfare redemptions through the portal, taking flight bookings to 1.25 cpp.

Transfer to partners. ThankYou Points transfer at 1:1 to most partners: Singapore KrisFlyer, Turkish Miles & Smiles, Etihad Guest, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Qatar Privilege Club, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and a handful of others. On the hotel side, Choice Privileges, JetBlue, and Wyndham.

What the program is good for

Choice Privileges transfer bonuses. Citi runs periodic 5:1 transfer bonuses to Choice. With Choice’s Cambria and Ascend brands now widely available, a $200 hotel room can become a 4,000-point award after the bonus, which translates to less than 1,000 ThankYou Points spent. Those are unicorn redemptions and they appear two or three times a year.

Singapore Suites. KrisFlyer is one of the few programs that lets non-Singapore Airlines customers book Singapore Airlines premium cabins, which are the best in the world. Citi is one of the easiest paths to KrisFlyer.

Long 0% APR products. Citi’s Diamond Preferred has been the long-tenured leader in 0% intro APR on balance transfers. Useful as a debt-payoff tool. Not a points card.

What the program is not good for

Hyatt. Citi does not transfer to Hyatt. Same hole as Amex and Capital One.

Domestic award flights at low rates. Citi does not transfer to American Airlines, Delta, or United. The SkyMiles partnership has shifted over the years, so check current ratios before counting on it.

Bottom-line recommendation

If you live in the Citi ecosystem already (long-tenured Citi banking customer, existing Premier or Strata account), then ThankYou Points is a strong supplement to your main program. If you are starting from zero, Chase or Capital One are easier entry points to flexible-points strategies.