Citi Adds Choice Privileges as a ThankYou transfer partner

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Citi’s ThankYou points are one of the four major transferable currencies used in the miles and points world and the ThankYou program just got a little better with Citi adding Choice Privileges and giving ThankYou members a hotel transfer partner. Better yet, the ratio for transfers between Citi and Choice can be more favorable than a lot of people may expect.

The Announcement

ThankYou cardmembers in the United States – including those with a Citi Prestige, Premier, Rewards+ and Preferred card, as well as Double Cash cardmembers who transfer their cash back into ThankYou Points – can now use their points to book at any of Choice Hotels’ more than 7,000 locations globally.

Holders of the Citi Prestige® Card (not open to new applicants) and the Citi Premier® Card can now transfer points across to Choice in a ratio of 1:2 (1 ThankYou Point = 2 Choice Privileges Points) while holders of Citi ThankYou Preferred (no longer open to new applicants) and Citi Rewards+® Cards can now transfer points across to Choice in a ratio of 1:1.5.

Holders of the excellent Citi® Double Cash Card (review) who also hold one of the two premium ThankYou cards can convert the cash back they earn to ThankYou Points and also transfer them across to Choice in a ratio of 1:1.5.

Quick Thoughts

If you’re hoping to book high-end stays in North America, the Choice Hotels website is probably not going to be your first port of call, but if you’re looking for comfortable, good value stays in Europe, Choice Hotels and the Choice Privileges program can really shine and that’s why its great to see Choice added as a Citi ThankYou transfer partner.

More importantly, it’s great to see Citi offering select cardmembers a transfer ratio as good 1:2 as that allows them to generate enough value so as to make a transfer worth considering – Amex and Chase would do well to do the same with some of their transfer partners.

With a little bit of research, it’s frequently possible to get over 0.8 cents of value out of each Choice Privileges Point used (especially in Northern Europe where Choice has some nice properties) so as I value ThankYou points at 1.5 cents each, the option to use 1 ThankYou Point to generate 2 Choice Privileges Points which then get used to generate over 0.8 cents of value each, is certainly a transfer that’s worth keeping in mind.

Also, it’s worth noting that both Amex and CapitalOne also allow their currencies to be transferred across to Choice Privileges but they on offer cardholders a 1:1 transfer ratio, and as I don’t value their currencies noticeably higher than I value ThankYou Points, that now makes Citi the best option for transfers across to Choice.

Bottom Line

Choice Privileges has become the first hotel loyalty program to become a transfer partner of Citi’s ThankYou program since the Hilton Honors program was removed and only airline program remained. With Citi’s cardholders being offered the option of converting 1 ThankYou Point into up to 2 Choice Privileges Points, this is a nice enhancement to the miles and points world.