10 Best and 5 Worst uses of ThankYou Rewards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep275 | 10-4-24

Oct 5, 2024

Explore the most effective ways to use Citi ThankYou Rewards, featuring insightful rankings from least to most rewarding options. Discover how to book luxury travel experiences, including Emirates first class and Qatar Q Suites. Learn about the hidden benefits of elite status with United Airlines and the importance of evaluating credit card offers. The discussion also highlights the worst redemption strategies, such as converting points to gift cards, to ensure you maximize your rewards.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Verify Card Mailers Against Best Offers

Always compare any card mailer offer to FrequentMiler's Best Offers page before applying.
Use their first-year value and perks summary to judge whether the bonus fits your needs.

ADVICE

Evaluate Bonus By Usable Value

Value card bonuses by how usable the points are for you, not just raw quantity.
Compare points systems using reasonable redemption values, not face-value point counts.

INSIGHT

Transfers Unlock True Value

Citi transfers to partners are the highest-value uses of ThankYou points.
Most one-to-one transfers require holding a Citi card that enables transfers, like the Citi Premier.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Last week we talked about how to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards, but now we'd like to discuss some of the best (and worst) ways you can use your Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Catch last week's episode about accumulating Citi ThankYou Rewards here.

(01:17) - In a recent podcast Greg stated that United hadn’t before offered discounted business class awards to elites. One listener writes in with a correction that Platinum and 1K have had expanded access to saver awards in business class.

(04:06) - How to evaluate credit card welcome bonus offers

Compare all the best credit card sign up offers here.

(11:57) - Counting down the best uses of ThankYou Rewards from least favorite to most favorite...

Learn more about the Citi Premier card here.

(13:40) - 10. Transfer to Wyndham to book Vacasa, Cottages, etc.

(15:30) - 9. Transfer to Emirates. Book Emirates 1st class for 102K (JFK to Milan, or Newark to Athens)

Learn how to find and book Emirates first class awards here.

(17:19) - 8.Transfer to Turkish to book 10K one-way to/from Hawaii

(18:12) - 7.Virgin: fly AF/KLM Business class to Europe starting at 48,500; also intra-Europe as low as 4K

(19:55) - 6.Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles to book business class to Europe for 70K without surcharges (LifeMiles+)

(22:11) - 5.Transfer to Choice 1 to 2. Book Nordic hotels, Japan, Preferred, etc.

(24:19) - 4.Transfer to Leaders Club. Book Leading Hotels of the World for 1.6cpp

(25:24) - 3.Transfer to Qatar Avios. Book Qatar QSuites for 70K

Learn more about finding award space for Qatar QSuites here.

(27:30) - 2.Transfer to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles

(30:27) - 1.Transfer to Qatar Avios then to Iberia. Book Iberia biz class from east coast to Spain for 34K off-peak or 50K peak

(33:42) - BEST USE: Transfer to Flying Blue. Book Air France/KLM biz class to Europe for 50K

Learn more about viewing the Flying Blue award calendar here.

(36:31) - Find out about current point transfer bonuses here.

(40:18) - WORST 5: Counting down from best of the worst to worst of the worst

(40:34) - 5.Buy gift cards

(41:46) - 4.Book travel through Citi

(43:46) - 3. Transfer to AeroMexico (or transfer to ANY program to book low-value award)

(44:59) - 2. Pay with Points (0.8 cpp value)

(46:44) - 1. Shop with Points (usually: 0.8 cpp value)

(49:38) - Do you have tips about rental car programs and how to maximize value with car rental rewards?