ThankYou Points Transfers Between Cardholders
Saving up enough points for that dream award redemption is hard, especially if you enjoy luxury travel. Thankfully, some bank programs allow transfers between account holders to make booking awards easier. Let's dig into how to handle ThankYou points transfers between cardholders. Especially with a couple of the quirky rules they have on transfers.
Reasons To Combine Points With Other Cardholders
While earning ThankYou points from sign-up bonuses and regular spending is nice, if you have another person in your life earning ThankYou points as well, you might find combining points to be convenient. For one, when it comes time to redeem for award travel, you'll have more points at your disposal. That might mean flying business class rather than economy or premium economy on that next trip.
In addition, I've found that having award tickets on the same reservation can be really convenient. From personal experience, resolving travel delays and cancellations when everyone in the party is on the same reservation can be a big time saver. Plus, when I've utilized status benefits on the airline I'm flying, I've found it easier to do so for others in my party if we're all on the same reservation.
Finally, combining ThankYou points into one account makes a lot of sense if one person has a Citi Strata Elite or Premier card, which might have better transfer ratios and options than other ThankYou point-earning cards, like the Citi ThankYou Mastercard. It also makes sense to maximize spending on one Citi card's earning categories, and combine them later to the best master account option.
RELATED: How To Transfer Capital One Miles To Anyone (Including From People With Cash Back Earning Cards)
Rules For Transferring Citi ThankYou Points To Others
There are a few rules to understand before you transfer Citi ThankYou points to someone else:
- You can only transfer up to 100,000 points each calendar year between accounts
- The 100,000 point limit is a total limit, not per transfer or per account
- Points that transfer expire after 90 days (expiring points are pulled first for award purposes)
- Once points are transferred, they can't be transferred to a third party (person)
While rules seem restrictive, Citi's policy is one of the more generous ones in the world of points and miles. Capital One does allow unlimited transfers between members, but other banks, like Chase and American Express, have more restrictions than Citi. For instance, it's not possible to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points. You'll have to transfer out points to an additional cardholder's loyalty account that partners with Membership Rewards.
How to Move Points To Other Cardholders Online
In order to transfer ThankYou points between accounts. You'll need to log into your ThankYou account and select Points Sharing under More Ways to Redeem.
Next, you'll want to select Begin Transfer on the next screen. You'll be able to select how many points you'd like to transfer, and then be asked details about the transfer party, including name and ThankYou account number. It should also tell you how many ThankYou points you are still eligible to transfer during this process.
Accept the terms and conditions and then click “Continue” to confirm your transfer. If you ever have issues online then you can always call the number on the back of your card to see if they can process it manually.
How To Combine ThankYou Points: ToP Thoughts
It's great that Citi offers the ability to transfer ThankYou points between other members. While a 100,000 points per calendar year limit might be restrictive for some, it'll likely cover most members' needs. Plus, you can time your transfers towards the end of a calendar year, so that you can transfer up to 200,000 points across two calendar years in quick succession. With the ability to transfer ThankYou points to American Airlines now, Citi ThankYou points are a lot more valuable in my book. I'll see if I can maximize this lenient perk in 2026. Share your thoughts on transferring Citi ThankYou points over in the ToP Facebook Group.
