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TPG reader Chad emailed me to ask about a new Citi ThankYou Rewards partnership:
ThankYou points are worth just 0.8 cents apiece when you use them to book hotels on Expedia. That’s less than what you’ll get by redeeming for gift cards, and much less than what you can get by transferring to airline and hotel partners. Furthermore, you can get a better return by skipping Expedia altogether and booking travel through ThankYou Rewards directly (including hotels, flights, rental cars and more).
For example, the Citi ThankYou Premier Card offers 1.25 cents per point when you redeem through the ThankYou Travel Center. The Citi Prestige Card gives you even higher rates of 1.33 cents per point on most travel, or 1.6 cents per point on American Airlines flights. Even no-fee options like the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card give you 1 cent per point when you book through Citi — 25% better than what you’ll get by using Expedia.
The one advantage of this partnership is that Expedia gives you access to a wider selection of properties. When I searched for a hotel in Boston for one night in August, Citi gave me 189 options and Expedia gave me 331, even though the ThankYou Rewards site appeared to be searching a larger area. Still, even if you’re targeting a specific property that’s only available as an award on Expedia, you’re probably better off just paying cash and saving your ThankYou points for another time.
For more on how to maximize Citi ThankYou Rewards points, check out these posts:
If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.
Source: thepointsguy.com