Citi ThankYou has just informed members that points transfers to two partners will be devalued in the coming weeks. This is a change that I suspect many people won’t be about.
Citi ThankYou devalues Choice Privileges & I Prefer transfers
Citi ThankYou has informed members that points transfers to two partners will be changing as of April 19, 2026. For the most premium cards that have the best transfer ratio:
- Citi ThankYou to Choice Privileges points transfers will go from a 1,000:2,000 ratio, to a 1,000:1,500 ratio
- Citi ThankYou to I Prefer points transfers will go from a 1,000:4,000 ratio, to a 1,000:2,000 ratio
Choice Privileges was added as a transfer partner in 2021, and I Prefer was added as a transfer partner in 2024. While Citi ThankYou isn’t the only program to partner with Choice Privileges and I Prefer, the program does have the best transfer ratio. For example, Capital One miles convert into Choice Privileges points at a 1:1 ratio, and convert into I Prefer points at a 1,000:2,000 ratio.
So with these changes, Citi ThankYou will still have a better transfer ratio than Capital One for Choice Privileges, and the same transfer ratio as Capital One for I Prefer. I know that both Choice Privileges and I Prefer are partners that many Citi ThankYou members valued, and the new ratios definitely make these options a lot less appealing.
These changes are a bummer, but perhaps not surprising
It’s not like Choice Privileges and I Prefer were 1:1 transfer partners before this change, so it’s hard to claim there are much bigger implications here. That being said, I do think value of hotel transfer partners has long been a competitive advantage of the Citi ThankYou program compared to other programs, and this certainly impacts that.
Bigger picture, I do think this is part of an overall negative inflection point for transferable points currencies. In particular, in recent times we’ve seen major transferable points currencies decrease transfer ratios to some airline partners, so that they’re no longer 1:1.
I do think we’re seeing an industry shift whereby loyalty programs want more money for their points, and the major banks are only willing to absorb those costs so much, especially with the competitive dynamics of card issuers having to constantly improve the rewards structures on their cards, to compete.
Bottom line
As of April 19, 2026, the Citi ThankYou program will be devaluing points transfers to both Choice Privileges and I Prefer. This is a bummer, since both of these were partners where there was potentially good value to moving points. I’m not surprised to see this, though, and I suspect we’ll see more transferable points ratios devalued as time goes on.
What do you make of these Citi ThankYou transfer changes?
