Citi Adds Choice Privileges to ThankYou Points Transfer Program
Citi’s ThankYou program just got a new transfer partner. Starting today, Monday, Oct. 18, you can transfer your Citi ThankYou Rewards points to the Choice Privileges hotel program. The addition of Choice marks the first hotel program to be added to ThankYou’s list of partners. That brings the total number of partners to 17.
Citi ThankYou cardmembers include those with a Citi Prestige, Premier, Rewards+ and Preferred card, as well as Double Cash cardmembers who transfer their cash back into ThankYou Points. They can now book at any of Choice Hotels’ more than 7,000 locations globally. The Choice Hotels program might not be the first name that pops into your head when talking about hotels, but there are some valuable redemptions especially abroad.
Transferring ThankYou Points to Choice Hotels
Interested cardmembers with a Choice Privileges membership can easily transfer their points online. The conversion rate varies, based on the Citi card that you hold in your wallet.
With an annual fee cards, such as the Citi Premier, you can transfer points at a 1:2 ratio. So for every 1,000 ThankYou points you’ll get 2,000 Choice Privileges points. The Citi Premier card currently has a 80,000-point sign-up bonus, which would give you 160,000 Choice Privileges points.
The other no-fee credit cards such as the Citi Rewards+ and Citi Custom Cash, you can transfer points at a 1:1.5 ratio. So for every 1,000 ThankYou points you’ll get 1,500 Choice Privileges points. But, if you hold one of these cards, and the Citi Premier, then you will be able to still transfer points at a 1:2 ratio.
Citi ThankYou Travel Partners
| Partner | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1:1 |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage (7/17-11/13/21) | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1:1 |
| Jet Airways JetPrivilege | 1:1 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | Up to 1:1 |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 1:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| Qatar Privilege Club | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1:1 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 |
| Choice Privileges | Up to 1:2 |
| Virgin Red | 1:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | Up to 1:1 |
Choice Privileges Loyalty Program
The Choice Privileges loyalty program has several brands, including: Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria Hotels, Comfort, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Quality Inn, MainStay Suites, WoodSpring Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn.
Choice Privileges loyalty program is a bit different from other programs and a bit confusing. There’s no rewards chart as far as I know but you can still check the rate for any hotel at their website. Just select your destination and preferred dates and select “Choice Privileges Reward Night” in the drop down menu.
You might not find anything decent at that rate stateside, but there’s some great properties overseas that surely are worth it. There’s actually some properties that can be booked at 6,000 a night. Now you can also use Points Plus Cash for reward nights starting at just 6,000 points plus cash.
The worst part is availability. Mainly because you can’t book more than 30 days prior to planned arrival. With this card you have Elite Gold Status, so that gives you 50 days, but it’s still not a lot of time when you’re planning a vacation, especially now.
In the US there aren’t many opportunities that would be considered great redemption options. But you can find good properties for 8,000 points in Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Prague, Japan etc. Also check their points forfeiture policy here.
