Citi Travel Portal: Your Guide to Booking and Rewards

19.07.2024 - 08:41 / insider.com

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Citi ThankYou Rewards is a flexible points program that allows you to earn points from eligible Citi credit cards and banking products. You can redeem points in a number of ways, including for travel, cash back, or gift cards.

One of the best ways to use points is for travel, either by transferring Citi ThankYou points to airline partners for award flights (only available with certain Citi credit cards), or through an even easier option available to all program members — the Citi Travel portal.

Citi Travel recently got a big overhaul, and it's now partnered with Booking.com and powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda technology. Here's what to know about the new Citi Travel portal and what to expect if you decide to book.

The Citi Travel Portal is an online travel booking platform that works in a similar way to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Orbitz or Expedia. You can search for flights, hotels, rental cars, and attractions based on your destination, travel dates, and other preferences, and you have the option to pay with Citi ThankYou points, your Citi card, or a combination of both.

Although Citi Travel doesn't get as much attention as American Express Travel or the Chase Ultimate Rewards® Travel Portal, it has many of the same benefits:

A downside to using the Citi Travel Portal is you won't earn points or elite status credit for hotel stays, and you might not have your elite status recognized because it's considered a third-party booking.

Citi ThankYou points are worth 1.6 cents each, on average, according to our latest points and miles valuations. That's because you can often get a higher value than 1 cent per point when you transfer points to Citi's partners and book award travel.

If you're looking for the easiest way to cash in Citi points for travel, the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal is a better choice for most people. That said, it's possible to get more than 1 cent per point in value if you skip the Citi Portal and instead transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to an airline or hotel partner for award travel — but that involves more legwork.

The full range of partners is available if you have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card