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Million Mile Secrets reader, Cathy, commented:
Can my husband transfer Citi ThankYou points to my frequent flyer account?
Great question, Cathy!
Your husband can NOT transfer Citi ThankYou points directly to your frequent flyer account.
But, if you both have a ThankYou account, he can transfer points to you for free.
Then, transfer the points from your ThankYou account to a Citi airline transfer partner as long as you have certain cards. It’s called Citi Points Sharing.
Or, he can transfer ThankYou points to his airline account and book a flight for you.
I’ll explain how you can share Citi ThankYou points!
Citi Points Sharing
Link: Citi Points Sharing
Link: Citi ThankYou Rewards
Link: How to Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Airlines
For Cathy to get her husband’s Citi ThankYou points into her airline account, she’ll first need to have her own ThankYou account.
You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to airline and hotel partners if you have these cards:
- Citi Chairman (no longer available for new applicants)
- Citi Prestige Card
- Citi ThankYou Premier Card
Then, she can use Points Sharing to transfer points from her husband’s account to her ThankYou account.
To share points, first log-in to Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Then, scroll through until you see the points sharing option.
Finally, enter the name, account number, and the number of points you’d like to share.
In just 3 simple steps, the ThankYou points will instantly be deducted from your account and appear in the other person’s account. Now he or she can use the miles to book airline award tickets on the following Citi airline transfer partners.
| Citi ThankYou Points Airline Transfer Partners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Avianca | Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific) | EVA Air |
| Etihad | Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) | Garuda Indonesia |
| Jet Airways | JetBlue | Malaysia Airlines |
| Qantas | Qatar Airways | Singapore Airlines |
| Thai Airways | Turkish Airlines | Virgin Atlantic |
Note: Remember not all Citi ThankYou points can be transferred to airline partners. For example, points earned from a Citi checking account can’t be used. And any Citi ThankYou points shared with someone else expire in 90 days. So you’ll want to make sure that person uses them before they expire.
Why Use Points Sharing?
Points Sharing is an excellent way to increase your points balances to book an award flight. For example, let’s assume you have ~15,000 Flying Blue miles saved in your account and don’t have any points in your ThankYou account.
But, you’d like to book a round-trip award flight from Atlanta to Honolulu, which costs 30,000 Flying Blue miles.
Because you can’t have someone transfer Citi ThankYou points directly to your Flying Blue account, you can use Points Sharing. A partner, friend, or family member can send you 15,000 ThankYou points, which you can then transfer to your Flying Blue account.
Remember that transfers to Citi airline partners don’t happen instantly. It can take up to 14 days. But, it usually only takes couple of days in my experience.
Earn More Citi ThankYou Points
Link: Citi Prestige Card
Link: Citi ThankYou Premier Card
Citi Prestige
In addition to the sign-up bonus for the Citi Prestige, you can earn perks like:
- 3 Citi ThankYou points per $1 you spend at airlines, hotels, and travel agencies
- 2 Citi ThankYou points per $1 you spend at restaurants and select entertainment (includes movie theaters, amusement parks, tourist attractions)
Citi ThankYou Premier Card
Currently, there’s no sign-up bonus available on the Citi ThankYou Premier card. If you already have it, remember you earn:
- 3 Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent on travel (ex. airfare, gas stations, taxis, tolls)
- 2 Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent on dining and entertainment (amusement parks, sporting events, movies)
I like that the travel category includes a wide range of purchases such as:
- Airfare
- Cruises
- Car Rental Agencies
- Gas Stations
- Hotels
- Parking Garages
- Public Transportation
- Taxis
- Tolls
Using the bonus spending categories to earn 2X or 3X ThankYou points can help increase your point balances. Then, use the points to share with others or transfer to Citi’s travel partners. Or you can book travel directly through the Citi ThankYou Portal.
Bottom Line
You can NOT transfer Citi ThankYou points directly to someone else’s airline account. Instead, use Citi Points Sharing to transfer Citi ThankYou points to your partner, family member, or friend’s ThankYou account. Then, he or she can transfer the points to Citi’s transfer partners.
To earn ThankYou points, you can get the sign-up bonus on the Citi Prestige. Or use the Citi Prestige and Citi ThankYou Premier card to earn 2X or 3X ThankYou points on certain bonus spending categories.
Have you used Points Sharing? I’d like to hear about your experience!
The 90-day limit just means 90 days as Citi TY points though, right? If I transfer points to my wife, and she transfers them immediately to her TrueBlue account, then they are safe from the 90-day rule — even if we don’t spend them right away? (at least for as long as the airline points are valid)
Thanks for the info
If I am an authorized user, can I then transfer the points to my own airline account?
Once transferred, the ThankYou Points become the reward currency of the participating travel loyalty program and are subject to the terms and conditions of that participating travel loyalty program. Please check the terms and conditions of the participating travel loyalty program involved in your transfer for details regarding restrictions and other terms. There is no maximum limit to the number of available qualifying ThankYou Points that you can transfer.
100K transfer limit per year
This can be a fantastic feature for maximizing the value of your ThankYou points. Between my wife and I we have both the Citi Premier (which gets 1.25 cents per point on airfare and non-airfare travel redemptions) and the Citi Prestige (which gets 1.33 cents on airfare redemptions (1.6 cents on American Airlines), but only 1 cent per point on other non-airfare redemptions). So, with points sharing we can just move our points to where they’re most valuable.
It takes a little care though because of that 90-day expiration rule. I recently accidentally transferred too many points, so now we’ve gotta be sure to use those needlessly transferred points within 90 days.