Find Great Deals on Domestic and International Award Flights With New Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partner!

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Via The Points Guy, you can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, which means you can use miles to book award flights on partners like United Airlines!

And there are some sweet spots in the airline’s award chart, which can make redeeming Turkish Airlines miles a good deal!  This includes discounted Business Class and First Class award flights to Europe.  And cheap partner airline award flights within the US!

New Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partner
Now You Can Use Citi ThankYou Points to Book a Turkish Airlines Award Flight to Istanbul!

I’ll share how you can use Citi ThankYou points to find good award flight deals on Turkish Airlines.

Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Turkish Airlines

Link:   Citi ThankYou

Link:   Citi ThankYou Points Transfer FAQ

Link:   Turkish Airlines Award Chart

Turkish Airlines is Citi ThankYou’s newest transfer partner.  You can now transfer Citi ThankYou Points to the airline at a 1:1 ratio, in 1,000 point increments.

You must sign-up for a free Turkish Airlines frequent flyer account in order to transfer points to the airline.  And Citi says ThankYou Points can take up to 14 days to transfer.  But in my experience, transferring points to Citi ThankYou travel partners usually takes less than a week.

I like that Turkish Airlines uses one award chart for flights directly on the airline or on Star Alliance partner airlines.  But unfortunately, you can NOT book partner award flights online.  You must call Turkish Airlines at 800-874-8875. 

Here are some good deals you can find using Turkish Airlines miles.

1.   Business Class and First Class Award Flights to Europe

Round-trip award flights to Europe cost:

  • 90,000 Turkish Airlines miles in Business Class
  • 135,000 Turkish Airlines miles in First Class
Note:  This is the cost of booking a low-level award flight.  Available award seats at these prices are NOT always available.

For example, I found a round-trip award flight from New York (JFK) to Istanbul in October 2017 for 90,000 Turkish Airlines miles.

New Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partner
I Found Available Business Class Award Seats to Istanbul in October 2017 for 90,000 Turkish Airlines Miles!

Booking the same flight using United Airlines miles would cost 140,000 United Airlines miles.  So using Turkish Airlines miles is a fantastic deal!

Just be sure to check the taxes & fees you’ll pay when using Turkish Airlines miles to make sure you’re getting a good deal!

2.   Coach and Business Class Award Flights Within the US

You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Airlines and book a round-trip domestic award flight within the continental US on United Airlines.  You’ll pay:

  • 20,000 Turkish Airlines miles in coach
  • 30,000 Turkish Airlines miles in Business Class

Using United Airlines miles for the same flight costs:

  • 25,000 United Airlines miles in coach
  • 50,000 United Airlines miles in Business Class
New Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partner
You Can Book Comfortable Lie-Flat United Airlines Business Class Award Seats Using Fewer Turkish Airlines Miles for Domestic Routes!
Note:   Low-level Saver award seats must be available on United Airlines for you to book using Turkish Airlines miles.

3.   Discounted Award Flights Departing From Turkey

Depending on your travel plans, you can potentially use Turkish Airlines miles to take advantage of their limited-time award flight deals.

For example, you can currently save 50% off coach and Business Class award flights to the Seychelles.  You must book by September 14, 2017 and travel by December 31, 2017.

This deal is only available for flights on Turkish Airlines.  And you must depart from Turkey to get the savings.  So you could book cheap airfare to Turkey and use the Turkish Airlines award flight deal to get to the majestic beaches in the Seychelles.

New Citi ThankYou Airline Transfer Partner
Million Mile Secrets Team Member Meghan Honeymooned in the Seychelles and Had an Amazing Time!

Earn Citi ThankYou Points

With these Citi cards, it’s easy to earn Citi ThankYou points:

1.   Citi Prestige

Link:  Citi Prestige® Card

When you sign-up for the Citi Prestige card, you’ll earn 75,000 Citi ThankYou points after spending $7,500 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

You’ll also get:

  • 3X Citi ThankYou points per $1 you spend at airlines, hotels, and travel agencies
  • 2X Citi ThankYou points per $1 you spend at restaurants and select entertainment (includes movie theaters, amusement parks, tourist attractions)
  • $250 statement credit for airline fees such as airfare and baggage fees appearing on your statement from December to the following December
  • $100 statement credit for Global Entry application fee
  • Priority Pass Select membership
  • No foreign transaction fees

This card has a $450 annual fee.

2.   Citi ThankYou Premier

Link:   Citi ThankYou® Premier Card

When you sign-up for the Citi ThankYou Premier card, you’ll earn 50,000 Citi ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.

You’ll also get:

  • 3X Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent on travel
  • 2X Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent on dining and entertainment
  • No foreign transaction fees

The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.

Bottom Line

You can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines is part of the Star Alliance.  So you can use miles to book award flights on partners like United Airlines!

The airline’s award chart has some sweet spots, including discounted Business Class and First Class award flight to Europe.  And cheap award flights within the US when you book on partner United Airlines.  Keep in mind, you must call Turkish Airlines at 800-874-8875 to redeem miles for a partner award flight.

What do you think of Citi’s newest ThankYou points transfer partner?

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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