Citi ThankYou Points is the fourth of the major transferable-points currencies alongside Chase, Amex, and Capital One — and 2025-2026 has been a genuinely mixed period for it. Here's the full picture, in one place.

The card lineup

- **Strata Elite** ($595/year) — 12x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions through Citi Travel. Launched July 27, 2025, as Citi's first new premium card since Citi Prestige closed to new applicants in 2021.
- **Strata Premier** ($95/year) — 10x on the same Citi Travel categories, 3x on dining, gas, and groceries. Rebranded from Citi Premier in May 2024.
- **Strata** (no annual fee) — 5x on Citi Travel hotels/cars/attractions. Replaced Citi Rewards+ in July 2025.
- **Double Cash** (no annual fee) — flat 2% cash back, convertible to ThankYou points if paired with a points-earning card.
- **Custom Cash** (no annual fee) — 5% on your top eligible category, up to $500/billing cycle; closed to new applicants as of May 28, 2026.
- Citi currently has no standalone business card earning ThankYou points — its business cards earn co-brand airline miles or cash back instead.

The tiered transfer mechanic

Full 1:1 transfer value requires a Strata Premier or Strata Elite card. The no-fee cards (Strata, Double Cash, Custom Cash) transfer at a reduced 10:7 ratio for most airline partners, and cannot transfer to American Airlines at any ratio — that one's gated to Premier/Elite only. You can combine multiple ThankYou accounts into a single pool (by phone or online) so a Premier/Elite account's better ratio applies to the combined balance. Separately, Citi ended the ability to transfer points to someone else's account in 2025 — a different feature from combining your own accounts, which still works.

Sign-up bonuses

Strata Premier has run roughly 60,000-75,000 points for about $4,000 in spend over 3 months; Strata Elite launched at 75,000 points for $6,000 in 3 months, later boosted to 100,000 in a promotional period. The no-fee Strata card has historically run around 20,000 points.

Transfer partners

The network covers roughly 14-15 airlines and 5 hotel programs. Airlines include American Airlines (added as a new 1:1 partner in 2025, gated to Premier/Elite), JetBlue, Air France/KLM, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, EVA Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. Hotels include Choice, Wyndham, Accor, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and Leading Hotels of the World.

Several changes landed in 2025-2026: on July 27, 2025, no-fee cardholders saw reduced transfer ratios to JetBlue, Wyndham, and Choice, and Citi cut its Emirates ratio from 1:1 to 1:0.8 — a 20% reduction. Separately, cashing points out for a statement credit dropped from 1 cent to 0.75 cents per point on August 24, 2025. Aeromexico was removed as a transfer partner entirely on January 25, 2026.

What a point is worth

The Points Guy's valuation runs at 1.9 cents per point. NerdWallet's baseline is notably lower, around 1.0-1.3 cents, with other outlets landing in between depending on redemption type. The gap mostly reflects best-case transfer redemptions (TPG) versus typical/portal use (NerdWallet).

Annual fees vs. perks

Strata Premier's $95 fee includes a $100 annual hotel credit for a Citi Travel stay of $500 or more. Strata Elite's $595 fee includes up to $300 in annual hotel credit, up to $200 in "Splurge" credit across up to two chosen brands, 4 Admirals Club airport lounge passes per year, complimentary Priority Pass Select, and Blacklane chauffeur credits.

Domestic vs. international

JetBlue is the only unrestricted domestic-relevant partner, and American Airlines is domestic but limited to Premier/Elite cardholders. Every other partner is a foreign carrier, making this program structurally stronger for international travel than for straightforward domestic flights.

That's all seven programs — Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank — plus the overview that started this series. Videos on each individual program are coming next.

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