topic Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners in Credit Cards

Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

furthur — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 04:25:16 GMT

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but I'm looking for insight into the idea of earning points from both Amex and Citi, and transferring those points to the same overlapping partners. This is as opposed to having a single complete trifecta with one of the ecosystems.

Basically, I currently have an Amex Gold which I use mainly for Dining and Supermarkets, however I also have the Citi Double Cash (2x TYP on all) and recently was approved for the Citi Premier. I've looked into the Citi Prestige but I can't justify the Annual Fee and wouldn't take advantage of the 4th night free benefit.

I also have the Rakuten Visa for earning MR points with online shopping.

Is having my toes in both ecosystems a viable strategy or should I steer away from that? Thanks in advance, the advice and knowledge I gain here is always great!

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

red259 — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 04:42:32 GMT

@furthur wrote:
Sorry if this has already been addressed, but I'm looking for insight into the idea of earning points from both Amex and Citi, and transferring those points to the same overlapping partners. This is as opposed to having a single complete trifecta with one of the ecosystems.

Basically, I currently have an Amex Gold which I use mainly for Dining and Supermarkets, however I also have the Citi Double Cash (2x TYP on all) and recently was approved for the Citi Premier. I've looked into the Citi Prestige but I can't justify the Annual Fee and wouldn't take advantage of the 4th night free benefit.

I also have the Rakuten Visa for earning MR points with online shopping.

Is having my toes in both ecosystems a viable strategy or should I steer away from that? Thanks in advance, the advice and knowledge I gain here is always great!

There is no one answer fits all in this situation. Yes its a good idea to have cards with different companies assuming you have enough spend and strong enough credit to support it. I will often book awards by using travel partner programs that overlap with 2 or more lenders. Again though it depends on your goals. This may work for some people but if you don't want to use any of the travel partners where there is overlap then its not worth it. If your spend is not high enough to offset the AF once you factor in card benefits then its not worth it, unless going only for signup bonuses. If you are looking for a card strategy for the long term and you don't have large amounts of spend it can make sense to focus on one currency to develop the best combination of cards that suit your particular spending habits. Its best to have a general idea of what your redemption goals are before you start applying for cards and then figure out how you want to work towards that goal. So yes what you suggest is indeed a viable strategy for some people, but the real question is if it is the best strategy for you.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 11:21:13 GMT

If your spending can support multiple systems, diversify is a great idea. To that end, DC+premier is a great alternative to CFU+CSR.

There is nothing wrong with transferring from multiple sources into a single airline/hotel loyalty account. If I ever get into TYP ( too invested in Chase at this point), Qantas would be a partner I will be focusing.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

SouthJamaica — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 18:45:11 GMT

@furthur wrote:
Sorry if this has already been addressed, but I'm looking for insight into the idea of earning points from both Amex and Citi, and transferring those points to the same overlapping partners. This is as opposed to having a single complete trifecta with one of the ecosystems.

Basically, I currently have an Amex Gold which I use mainly for Dining and Supermarkets, however I also have the Citi Double Cash (2x TYP on all) and recently was approved for the Citi Premier. I've looked into the Citi Prestige but I can't justify the Annual Fee and wouldn't take advantage of the 4th night free benefit.

I also have the Rakuten Visa for earning MR points with online shopping.

Is having my toes in both ecosystems a viable strategy or should I steer away from that? Thanks in advance, the advice and knowledge I gain here is always great!

I don't see why not. I have the same 3 cards, and usually trade my points in each of the 2 "ecosystems" for JetBlue points.

Just make sure you merge your DC TYP account into your Premier TYP account as you get higher value for them there.

One especially good thing for me about being in both is that they have 'sales' on JetBlue points at different times. E.g. in October Citi had one going on, and Amex didn't. At the moment, Amex has one going on, and Citi doesn't.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

wasCB14 — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 21:02:46 GMT

Keep in mind that with the exception of the business card BBP and maybe a few others, additional award currencies generally means more in annual fees and often overlapping features (multiple cards for dining, multiple sources of Global Entry, etc.).

In 2018 I earned a lot of MRs, URs, TYs, and Marriott points. The latter two were from a combination of retention and targeted offers, but for 2020 I'm going to simplify to mostly MRs and cash back. I keep cobrand cards mostly for perks.

I don't MS or have much Plastiq-able spend, and the $50k cap on BBP isn't too severe for me. There's not much point in earning a lot of URs or TYs when Amex's transfer promos are generally better.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

furthur — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 04:27:37 GMT

Thank you all for the feedback. Sorry I'm not responding individually to each, but your feedback is generally making me feel better about moving forward in this way. Basically what it's looking like with the more core strategy cards is going to be as follows:

Amex Gold (4x MR Dining and Groceries, 3x MR Airfare)
Rakuten Visa (MR on online shopping - I can usually find whatever I want to buy online through them anyway)
Citi Premier (3x TYP Gas and other Travel, probably will use the Amex Gold for Airfare, also for use when Amex isn't available)
Citi Double Cash (2x TYP on all spend)
Not part of my general point earning strategy but: Hilton Aspire (I pretty much exclusively stay with Hilton since I work for them and get heavy discounts, and the perks more than outweigh the annual fee for me. This year I'm getting over $2,000 of value from the card alone.)

There's enough overlap of transfer partners that are useful to me, I feel like consolidating miles won't be an issue. Also overall I'm only dealing with $345 in annual fees (not counting the Hilton Aspire) which is reasonable to me.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

K-in-Boston — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 23:21:14 GMT

I also use multiple reward systems, often with the same transfer partners in mind. Seeing that you do have a Delta credit card, one great feature is that EVERY major points program converts to FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Atlantic, so Delta and other SkyTeam flights can be had for often much less than comparable SkyMiles redemptions (although Delta does often have wonderful fare sales). An especially good use would be buying direct flights on Delta through Virgin (connecting flights can be iffy; a BOS-JFK-LHR flight might cost twice as much as a direct BOS-LHR flight). Even Main Cabin is usually a very good deal that way; but Delta One can be an amazing value.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

SouthJamaica — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:04:41 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
I also use multiple reward systems, often with the same transfer partners in mind. Seeing that you do have a Delta credit card, one great feature is that EVERY major points program converts to FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Atlantic, so Delta and other SkyTeam flights can be had for often much less than comparable SkyMiles redemptions (although Delta does often have wonderful fare sales). An especially good use would be buying direct flights on Delta through Virgin (connecting flights can be iffy; a BOS-JFK-LHR flight might cost twice as much as a direct BOS-LHR flight). Even Main Cabin is usually a very good deal that way; but Delta One can be an amazing value.

I keep seeing references to Virgin Atlantic points being converted to Delta points, and to that as a means of receiving enhanced value, but I haven't a clue how one would go about that, or how it works. Can you give me a simple 'Delta-through-Virgin for Dummies' explanation (i.e. one that assumes no knowledge on my part). ?

If one never flies Virgin Atlantic, but has occasion to fly Delta, should one join the Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer program?

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

red259 — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:15:18 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
I also use multiple reward systems, often with the same transfer partners in mind. Seeing that you do have a Delta credit card, one great feature is that EVERY major points program converts to FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Atlantic, so Delta and other SkyTeam flights can be had for often much less than comparable SkyMiles redemptions (although Delta does often have wonderful fare sales). An especially good use would be buying direct flights on Delta through Virgin (connecting flights can be iffy; a BOS-JFK-LHR flight might cost twice as much as a direct BOS-LHR flight). Even Main Cabin is usually a very good deal that way; but Delta One can be an amazing value.
I keep seeing references to Virgin Atlantic points being converted to Delta points, and to that as a means of receiving enhanced value, but I haven't a clue how one would go about that, or how it works. Can you give me a simple 'Delta-through-Virgin for Dummies' explanation (i.e. one that assumes no knowledge on my part). ?

If one never flies Virgin Atlantic, but has occasion to fly Delta, should one join the Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer program?

Yes, if you are looking to use virgin atlantic miles to book delta flights you would need to go through virgin atlantic to do the booking so would need an account with them. Explanations beyond that are available online if you search for it as its kinda beyond the scope of this forumn.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:16:37 GMT

I think most of the time its just redeem on delta metal through virgin using flying club miles.

The only way I am aware of, that converts between flying club and delta, involves a middle man, maybe a hotel points system. The value for that is usually very bad.

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

simplynoir — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:56:45 GMT

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cheap-delta-awards-virgin-atlantic-flying-club/

Re: Transferring Citi and Amex points to same partners

furthur — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 02:21:26 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
I also use multiple reward systems, often with the same transfer partners in mind. Seeing that you do have a Delta credit card, one great feature is that EVERY major points program converts to FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Atlantic, so Delta and other SkyTeam flights can be had for often much less than comparable SkyMiles redemptions (although Delta does often have wonderful fare sales). An especially good use would be buying direct flights on Delta through Virgin (connecting flights can be iffy; a BOS-JFK-LHR flight might cost twice as much as a direct BOS-LHR flight). Even Main Cabin is usually a very good deal that way; but Delta One can be an amazing value.

My Delta Platinum is actually one I plan on downgrading to the no AF version before the annual fee hits in June. The refresh isn't really worth it for me and I haven't been having the opportunity to take advantage of the Companion Pass. No need to be payong a $250 annual fee that I'm not benefitting from...