The Citi ThankYou program has just launched a new transfer bonus, in addition to the one to Wyndham Rewards. Funny enough, just weeks ago we saw the transfer ratio between the two programs devalued, and now there’s a transfer bonus, which doesn’t even get us back to the old transfer ratio. While I personally won’t be taking advantage of this, it’s still worth covering, in case it’s useful to anyone.
Citi offering 30% bonus on I Prefer Hotel Rewards transfers
Between May 17 and June 13, 2026, the Citi ThankYou program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ I Prefer Hotel Rewards program.
Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:2 ratio (in 1,000 point increments), while through this promotion you’d get 2,600 I Prefer Hotel Rewards points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred.
This promotion is being offered on Citi’s end (in the United States), and is hard coded into the transfer ratio, meaning you should see the bonus at the time that you make the transfer. You can take advantage of this offer an unlimited number of times. Points transfers from Citi to I Prefer Hotel Rewards are generally instant.
I Prefer Hotel Rewards was added as a Citi ThankYou transfer partner in late 2024, and this is the first transfer bonus we’ve seen between the programs. However, just weeks ago, we saw the transfer ratio between the programs devalued, from 1:4 to 1:2. So even with this transfer bonus, the ratio is still much worse than it used to be.
There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card (review) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.
Should you transfer Citi points to I Prefer Hotel Rewards?
While everyone should crunch the numbers for themselves, I’d argue that you generally shouldn’t transfer your Citi ThankYou points to I Prefer Hotel Rewards with the current transfer ratio, even with a 30% bonus.
Many people understandably might not be familiar with Preferred Hotels & Resorts or I Prefer, so let’s talk about that. Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a collection of independent luxury hotels, with over 650 properties in 85 countries around the globe. Chances are that you’re familiar with some of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ properties, even if you didn’t know they were associated with the group.
You should think of Preferred Hotels & Resorts as more of a hotel marketing agency than as a single hotel group. The company doesn’t manage its hotels, but rather markets a group of otherwise independent luxury hotels. As a matter of fact, many properties of smaller hotel groups, like Montage, belong to Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
The group also represents some of the top independent properties in the United States, ranging from the Baccarat Hotel New York, to the Post Ranch Inn.
There’s no denying that there are some great hotels belonging to Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Like, who wouldn’t want to redeem at Baccarat New York or Post Ranch Inn? That raises the question — how lucrative is the loyalty program?
I Prefer Hotel Rewards has mostly revenue based pricing, and you typically won’t get more than around 0.5 cents of value per point. And that assumes that there’s award availability, which can be a challenge, as there are often capacity restrictions.
So if you can ordinarily get around 0.5 cents of value per I Prefer Hotel Rewards point, and the transfer ratio is typically 1:2, then you’re typically getting around 1.0 cents of value per ThankYou point. With a 30% bonus, that means you’re potentially getting around 1.3 cents of value per ThankYou point.
That’s not a terrible redemption when you consider these are largely independent properties where you otherwise maybe couldn’t redeem so efficiently. But still, it’s also a value I have a hard time getting excited about.
Bottom line
Through June 13, 2026, the Citi ThankYou program is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to I Prefer Hotel Rewards. For a vast majority of people, this isn’t even worth considering. I value I Prefer Hotel Rewards points at around 0.5 cents each, so when you factor in the 1:2 transfer ratio, plus the 30% bonus, you’re usually still going to be getting under 1.5 cents of value per point.
Does anyone plan on taking advantage of this Citi transfer bonus to I Prefer Hotel Rewards?
