Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines Miles at 1:1 Ratio

Citi ThankYou members have a new transfer partner option. For a limited time, you can transfer your ThankYou points to American Airlines AAdvantage miles. This limited-time transfer option is available only from July 18 to November 13, 2021.

“Citi continues to prioritize innovative new offerings that help our customers use their points when and where it matters most,” said Chris Fred, Managing Director and Head of Proprietary Cards and Loyalty at Citi. “With this limited time offer, we are so pleased to provide our ThankYou cardmembers with a hyper-relevant redemption option as customers are eager to take to the skies.”

I reached out to Citi and asked if we could see this become a permanent transfer option for Citi ThankYou cardholders, and here’s what I was told:

On background, we cannot provide details into any longer-term transfer partnership with AA. That said, AA is a long-standing Citi partner and we are both continuously exploring ways to add value to our customers.

Transferring Points

The transfer ratio is up to 1:1, but it depends on which Citi ThankYou card you have.

• 1,000 Points = 1,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles
  • Citi Chairman
  • Prestige
  • Premier
• 1,000 Points = 500 American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles
  • Citi ThankYou Preferred
  • Citi Rewards+

You can go here to transfer points. You can transfer in increments of 1,000 Citi ThankYou points, and there’s a limit of 500,000 points per transfer. It may take up to 5 business days to process (according to the terms and conditions), but you might see the miles hit your AAdvantage account within 24 hours.

Citi ThankYou Transfer Partners

Guru’s Wrap-up

American Airlines doesn’t partner with flexible points currencies such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards. So this is a good opportunity that Citi ThankYou members will have for a limited time. The Citi Premier Card for example has a 80K bonus, which can now be converted into 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. The only other transfer options for AAdvantage are from Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards. Citi does have plenty of other transfer options as well, which are listed above.