Turn Citi ThankYou Points into Qatar Avios Avios with a 20% Bonus
Through March 15, 2025, you'll receive a 20% bonus on Citi ThankYou Points transfers to Qatar Airways. Avios is the loyalty currency of Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and four other airlines/loyalty programs - British Airways Executive Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Finnair Plus, and Iberia Plus. As you can transfer Avios between these programs freely, this essentially is a transfer bonus from Citi to all of the aforementioned airlines, not just Qatar Airways.
Transfer bonuses, if you're unfamiliar with them, are promotions that incentivize you to exchange one point of currency for another. As one of the most versatile 'bank points,' Citi ThankYou Points can be transferred to 19 travel partners - 14 airlines and 5 hotels. This current transfer bonus with Qatar Airways might be a good deal if you're seeking to top up your Avios balance for an immediate redemption.
It's worth mentioning that all the airlines that use Avios as their currency, usually sell Avios (at least once annually), usually with a bonus of between 25-70%, so depending on your situation, it may make sense to purchase Avios directly through one of these airlines' websites (via points.com) if you only need a handful. As Citi ThankYou Points can be deployed in many different ways, there's a real opportunity cost to transfer them out when there are relatively frictionless alternatives. Over the last few years, transfer bonuses between Citi and Qatar Airways, have been offered at 25%-30%, so this offer is a bit lower than the norm. Citi and Qatar Airways team up on these transfer bonuses one to two times annually.
How Do You Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club?
Transferring your ThankYou Points is simple:
- Start by visiting citi.com, login, then select 'ThankYou Rewards' from the 'Rewards & Offers' tab. Next, from the 'ThankYou from Citi' portal, navigate to the Travel tab and select 'Points Transfer' from the dropdown.
- Find Qatar Airways Privilege Club from the list and click 'Continue'. Given the promotion it should be at the top.
- Use the slider or enter in the amount of points you'd like to transfer and then follow the prompts to complete the process. If you haven't yet linked your Citi and Qatar account, you'll need to enter in your Qatar Privilege Club information. If you haven't yet created you'll need first do so at Qatar Privilege Club before continuing with the transfer.
What are Some Good Uses of Avios?
Since Avios are used by five airlines there are a lot of options to redeem them for good value. Here are a couple:
For as little as 70,000 Avios, you can fly to Doha in Qatar Airways business class.
Recent Qatar partnerships with JetBlue mean that JetBlue's Mint business class is available on transatlantic routes for as little as 78,000 Avios.
Conclusion
If you plan to take advantage of this 20% transfer bonus between Citi and Qatar Airways you have until the March 15, 2025 to do so. And remember Avios are freely transferrable amongst all airlines that use it as a currency.
Feel free to share your favorite Avios redemption ideas in the comments!