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Will It Help You Get Big Travel Now That Citi ThankYou Points Transfer to Australia’s Qantas Airways?

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    Citi has added Australia’s largest airline as the newest transfer partner to their Citi ThankYou points program.

    You can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio.  So they now have 11 airlines (plus Hilton hotels) to choose from.

    Just last month, Citi added Virgin Atlantic as a partner, so they’re expanding to compete with other transferable points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.

    But there are very few situations where transferring points to Qantas would make sense.  That’s because their award chart is expensive compared to most other airlines, and they add fuel surcharges!

    Is Transferring Citi ThankYou Points to Qantas a Reason to Jump for Joy?

    Let’s have a quick look at Qantas’ frequent flyer program and see if it’s worth transferring points.

    What’s the Deal?

    Link:   Citi ThankYou Qantas Point Transfer

    You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio, in 1,000 point increments.  There’s no fee to move your points, but it can take up to 14 days (though they’ll debit your ThankYou account immediately).

    Qantas points can be used for flights on Qantas, their low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways, oneworld alliance airlines, and other partners like Emirates.

    Use Points to Fly on Qantas, oneworld Airlines, or Partners Like Emirates

    They have separate award charts for their own flights (plus Jetstar Airways and a few others) and flights on oneworld and partner airlines.  It’s a little confusing!

    Is It Worth Transferring Points to Qantas?

    Link:   Qantas Award Charts

    Link:   Qantas Partners

    Qantas has separate award charts for their own flights (plus Jetstar Airways and a few others) and flights on oneworld and partner airlines.

    And they add big fuel surcharges to their award tickets!  Although they recently announced they’ll be reducing the fuel surcharges on both paid and award tickets.

    Be Prepared to Pay Fuel Surcharges If You Book Award Tickets With Qantas Points

    Like British Airways, Qantas uses a distance-based award chart.  So the number of points required for an award ticket depends on the distance flown.

    Flights on some partner airlines (like American Airlines and US Airways) are included on the Qantas award chart, while others are included on the partner award chart.  And the prices are different!

    Here’s the award chart for flights on Airnorth, Air Vanuatu, American Airlines, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Jetstar Airways, Qantas, QantasLink, and US Airways.

    The Qantas Award Charts Are Divided Into Zones Based on Distance, Much Like British Airways

    This is the award chart for flights on other oneworld alliance partner airlines.  Note that the prices are marginally more expensive.

    Award Tickets on Other oneworld Partner Airlines Are Slightly More Expensive

    But if you’re booking a ticket that includes 2 or more oneworld partners (but not non-oneworld partner airlines), there’s a different award chart.  And it’s priced for round-trip tickets instead of 1-way.

    If Your Itinerary Includes 2 or More oneworld Partner Airlines, Use THIS Chart Instead

    The award charts appear much more expensive than other distance based programs like British Airways.

    That said, their short-haul coach tickets could be a cheaper option than booking award tickets using points from a zone-based program, like American Airlines.  But the taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges could make it not worth it.

    Short-Haul Flights, Like Some Within Australia, Could Be a Good Deal With Qantas Points – but Not As Good As Using British Airways Avios Points

    It might be worth using Qantas points if you really want to travel on 1 of their more obscure partners, like Airnorth.

    Or if you want to fly Qantas from the US to Australia, you might be better off spending the extra Qantas points.  That’s because they don’t make a lot of award seats available to partner airlines!

    For example, a 1-way coach award ticket from Los Angeles to Sydney would cost:

    Remember to factor in the cost of fuel surcharges to see if it’s worth it for you.  And I wouldn’t transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qantas without knowing that award seats are available.

    Note:  Other transferable points, like Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards, do NOT transfer to Qantas.

    Do Citi ThankYou Points Now Help You Get to Australia?

    Maybe.  It depends on:

    Looking for a Lie-Flat First Class Award Seat? It Will Cost You (and Might Be Hard to Find!)

    Let’s go back to our Los Angeles to Sydney example.  Using Qantas points for a 1-way award ticket, you’ll pay:

    Using American Airlines miles (which are easier to earn for most folks), you’ll pay:

    And on United Airlines it costs:

    You can also use Delta and Alaska Airlines miles to get from the US to Australia, often without fuel surcharges.

    You’ll Pay Fewer Miles (and No Fuel Surcharges) Using United Airlines to Australia

    So in general, you’ll pay fewer miles with other airline programs to get to Australia.  And you usually won’t pay the fuel surcharges that Qantas adds.  As long as you can find available award seats, other airline miles are a better deal.

    Plus, there aren’t many ways to earn Qantas points.  But there are lots of ways to earn American Airlines, United Airlines, and other airline miles, like credit card sign-up bonuses and spending or transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards.

    Which Cards Earn Citi ThankYou Points?

    Link:   Citi ThankYou

    Link:   My Review of Citi ThankYou Transferrable Points Cards

    If you have the Citi ThankYou Premier, Citi Prestige, or the (no longer available) Citi Chairman card, you can transfer Citi ThankYou points to partner airlines and hotels.  

    And having 1 of those cards lets you transfer the Citi ThankYou points you earn with cards like the Citi ThankYou Preferred or Citi ThankYou Preferred for College Students to partner airlines and hotels too! 

    You Can Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Partner Airlines If You Have the Citi ThankYou Premier, Citi Prestige, or Citi Chairman Card

    Now that they’ve added Qantas, you can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to 11 airlines (plus Hilton hotels).  And all 3 major airline alliances (Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam) are represented:

    I’m still hoping that Citi will add more US airlines to the list (like American Airlines!).

    Bottom Line

    You can now transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio.  It can take up to 14 days, and there are no fees to transfer points.

    Qantas’ award charts are generally more expensive than other airlines, so for most folks this won’t be a good deal.  And they add fuel surcharges to their award tickets.

    But if you really want to fly Qantas (or 1 of their airline partners), and can’t find available award seats using other airline miles, this could be an option for you.

    It’s always good news when Citi ThankYou adds airlines to their list of transfer partners.  I hope they continue this trend.

    Will you consider transferring Citi ThankYou points to Qantas, or are their award tickets too expensive?

    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! :)