topic Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling) in Credit Cards

Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

sto0pyd — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 03:34:22 GMT

I'm thinking of switching my daily drivers over to the Citi - TYP ecosystem but was hoping to get feedback before I do so. I see that the Premier card has a 60,000 bonus and will start to get 3x back on everyday categories (dining, groceries, gas, and for the most part, travel). To my understanding, just as long as I have the Premiere card, the TYP has a 1:1 value with their transfer partners, such as JetBlue. Based on my experience on Amex-MR points, JetBlue points have a value of at least 1.5 (usually more), which would mean that I'd be getting 4.5% (3 x 1.5) in value for every dollar. I also have the DoubleCash card which hasn't been used since Citi stripped it with key benefits, but now I see I can convert them to TYP. Does anyone know if the value would remain at 1:1 with their transfer partners just as long as I have the Premier card? If this is the case, it will make the DoubleCash card as one of the best cards to use since the return would be 3% (2 x 1.5) on all purchases. Do I understand the TYP ecosystem correctly?

Re: Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

kdm31091 — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 10:17:19 GMT

As long as you link the DC to the same Thank You account as the Premier (sometimes this requires a phone call to straighten out) then yes, you can access the enhanced value on both cards. The DC gives you 2x Thank You points on all non bonus spend and the Premier 3x on several categories. For someone who can get good value from TYP, it's a great setup. The removal of Citi benefits was disappointing but not all purchases need those benefits, so you could always use a different card for major purchases where it is more important.

Re: Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

coldfusion — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 12:01:23 GMT

It always requires a phone call and unless something has recently changed an internal transfer to link together multiple Citi cards into a single TYP pool. It takes less than 30 seconds to accomplish but a CSR can't (or at least, couldn't) do it as they don't have the necessary access rights so they have to transfer you to the correct group that IIRC (memory is fuzzy this morning, not enough coffee yet) is located in Ohio.

This doesn't gain you enhanced privs on any of the other cards and they do still track where each TYP came from. If you later cancelled the Premier and didn't acquire another card with partner transfer privs you'd lose that ability.

Re: Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

K-in-Boston — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 16:14:33 GMT

There IS a link on Citi to merge TYP accounts but it did not work for me when I did a PC to Rewards+. The error message gave a number to call directly to the ThankYou team. Like CF said, it was a quick 30 second process.

But definitely while Citi keeps track of which points came from where, as long as you still have the qualifying products open, having Premier or Prestige allows you to transfer Double Cash points to travel partners, and having a Rewards+ card will get you a 10% rebate on points when you redeem points from another card.

Re: Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

Loquat — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 23:39:10 GMT

I echo what has been said. I did use the link that K-in-Boston mentioned and it worked. I currently have all of my TYP cards linked together (Prestige, Rewards+, and Premier). I also have the Double Cash that I convert to points every statement.

What's nice is that I don't have to wait for the DC to reach $25 to do so like it does when you want to cash out.

For the next year all of my TYPs will get the 25% uplift from the travel portal and because my Rewards+ is linked to the same number that I get the 10% back until I hit the cap.

The Citi ecosystem really is a good one and most of everything can be had really cheap and the Prestige really isn't needed for it to be a good system. You can have a really good outfit with the $95 Premier and the 2 no AF cards (Rewards+ and DC).

Re: Citi - Thank You Points (Point Pooling)

SouthJamaica — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:48:00 GMT

@sto0pyd wrote:
I'm thinking of switching my daily drivers over to the Citi - TYP ecosystem but was hoping to get feedback before I do so. I see that the Premier card has a 60,000 bonus and will start to get 3x back on everyday categories (dining, groceries, gas, and for the most part, travel). To my understanding, just as long as I have the Premiere card, the TYP has a 1:1 value with their transfer partners, such as JetBlue. Based on my experience on Amex-MR points, JetBlue points have a value of at least 1.5 (usually more), which would mean that I'd be getting 4.5% (3 x 1.5) in value for every dollar. I also have the DoubleCash card which hasn't been used since Citi stripped it with key benefits, but now I see I can convert them to TYP. Does anyone know if the value would remain at 1:1 with their transfer partners just as long as I have the Premier card? If this is the case, it will make the DoubleCash card as one of the best cards to use since the return would be 3% (2 x 1.5) on all purchases. Do I understand the TYP ecosystem correctly?

I know the value of the DC points converted to TY points remains at 1:1 with JetBlue; not 100% sure if that's so for the other transfer partners. Yes you understand the ecosystem correctly, and I agree with your assessment of JetBlue points -- to me they are the currency of the realm, and the TYP ecosystem is therefore of great value to me. I also agree that the addition of the feature of converting DC cash rewards to TYP points makes the DC card super valuable.