How many thank you points for a flight

But, you can select any amount above that. If your goal is to earn cash back, you may not want to use a ThankYou points-earning credit card. You can also transfer cash back earned from a Citi Double Cash into ThankYou points if you also hold a Citi Premier or Citi Prestige card — therefore being able to then transfer to airline partners.

Citi cardholders can redeem points for gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. Citi offers cardholders the ability to redeem points for over brands — from Albertsons to Zeel Massage. However, unlike cash back rewards, you're limited to buying gift cards in certain increments. The gift card increments depend on the merchant:. Gift card rewards don't provide any additional value than cash rewards.

Both provide exactly one cent per point in value. So, if you're considering buying a gift card for yourself, it makes more sense to just make a purchase at the store and redeem your points for cash back. Even if you're getting a gift card for a friend or family member, consider purchasing a gift card with your Citi card. That way you'll earn points on the purchase. Then, you can still use the cash rewards option to effectively erase the purchase.

ThankYou points can be used to book travel purchases made through the ThankYou travel portal at a rate of 1 cent per point. That's the redemption rate that you'll get for any type of travel purchase:. This can be a great redemption for booking inexpensive flights.

Although airlines may charge 10, miles or more for an award flight, you can book some inexpensive flights for under 5, points each way through the travel portal:.

Similarly, you can book hotels through the Citi travel portal for less than the hotel may charge for an award stay. For example, you can book the Four Points by Sheraton Miami Airport for 13, points for select nights through the ThankYou travel portal. In this case, Marriott is charging 17, Bonvoy points for the same night:.

If your hotel doesn't have a shuttle, you can also use your ThankYou points to book a rental car. Again, the redemption rate is 1 cent per point:. Citi ThankYou Points can be redeemed for a variety of other redemption options at a rate of 1 cent per point.

This includes making student loan payments, mortgage payments or charitable donations. While it can feel satisfying to use your Citi ThankYou points to pay down debt or help others, these redemption options don't provide any additional value for your points than cash back. So, it might be better to redeem points for cash back and then make payments directly from your bank account.

If you want to get more than 1 cent per point in value from your Citi ThankYou points, you need to learn how to take advantage of Citi's 17 airline transfer partners. Of the major transferable points programs, Citi offers perhaps the most eclectic group of airline transfer partners. After you've made an online or in-store out-of-pocket purchase, you're notified via the Citi mobile app whether that item is eligible to be covered by ThankYou points.

If so, you can apply your ThankYou points to the purchase in exchange for a statement credit that arrives within two to three business days. Purchase categories that may be eligible include dining out, groceries, entertainment and department stores, among others. You'll have to set up alerts to stay on top of purchases that qualify.

If you decide to Pay With Points, a redemption value of 0. That's lower than the industry standard of a penny per point. Use ThankYou points, or a combination of points and cash, to pay bills via the issuer's online bill pay feature.

You must be an eligible Citi bank account holder for this option. One of the more unusual options allows you to transfer your points to the "Shop Your Way" rewards program from Sears and Kmart. But since each Shop Your Way point is worth only 0. Citi offers multiple products that earn the ThankYou rewards currency. Here are some of its most prominent:. Rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.

Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment. Sign-up bonus: None.

Sign-up bonus: This offer is no longer valid on our site. They go for 2. If you don't have enough points for a particular redemption, you can in some cases pay the difference in cash instead, which may end up being a better deal than buying points outright. With a Citi ThankYou credit card, you may earn ThankYou points as long as your account is open and current. Unless your terms state otherwise, points typically expire within three years from the end of the year in which you receive them.

For instance, some cards earn points in categories like restaurants, but your purchase may not qualify for the higher rewards rate if the restaurant is located inside a department store.

Point values can also range widely. In this article. Gift cards. Cash back or statement credits. Booking your travel through Citi. Transferring points to Citi's partner airline programs. Full list of Citi ThankYou transfer partners. Choice Hotels. Eva Air. Malaysia Airlines. You can even score lower rates on mixed-cabin awards. Related: 6 tips for booking Lufthansa first class awards. The more time you spend on the LifeMiles award-booking engine, the more familiar you become with some of the nuances and great value the program offers.

If you are not familiar with this Citi transfer partner, create an account and search a few of your upcoming routes to see what value the program could provide to you.

Singapore KrisFlyer also has a few sweet spots for booking Star Alliance routes , including 35, miles in economy or 69, miles in business for a round-trip award from the U. Related: Singapore Airlines awards changes. The Etihad Guest program continues to fly under the radar but represents a tremendous value when you use ThankYou Points. Most applicable to us here in the U. American increased the rates of its own award tickets, but Etihad has not updated the Etihad Guest American award chart warning: PDF link.

Air New Zealand and Delta routinely produce incredible redemption opportunities for long-haul business flights with relatively small amounts of miles, such as 50, Virgin Atlantic miles for the Delta One Suite between the U. Just be aware that Flying Club charges by distance, so adding a domestic Delta connection to a long-haul flight may increase your award rate. Related: Virgin Atlantic confirms Delta U.

Program changes in June also increased the cost of premium-cabin redemptions and made the online booking engine less useful. Nevertheless, you can find some decent values. For instance, you can book round-trip business class to Europe for , miles. Likewise, a one-way to Europe with a stopover is only 50, miles. That makes it hard to proactively set a mileage goal and then work to meet it. The program also allows you to visit far-flung places such as Papua, New Guinea, on partner Aircalin , and you can use creative routings to lower the price of your ticket or potentially add additional segments at no extra charge.

However, fuel surcharges can be a real headache with the program, and they increase for premium-cabin redemptions. Although Citi has made it easier to redeem rewards in real-time , you should never redeem your ThankYou points for statement credit, cash rewards or the Shop with Points program.

These will all give you much less than 1 cent per point in value, which is low compared to the redemptions highlighted below. Paying directly with ThankYou points at BestBuy. All Citi airline transfers allow you to transfer miles at a ratio.

However, the value of those miles varies greatly, as does flight availability, ease of booking, fuel surcharges and other fees that can drive up the cost of your ticket. You should avoid transferring to these partners except in unique and specific circumstances. There are several reasons for this, including the number of miles required, high fuel surcharges, and lengthy read: frustrating booking processes. It could be worth checking out these partners in specific instances, but make sure you evaluate other options as well.

Cardholders could redeem points at a flat rate of 1 cent each toward airfare through the City ThankYou Travel Center. Many award travelers often overlook the Citi ThankYou Rewards program or undervalue its points.