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There’s good news for those with Citi ThankYou points: Citi is expanding its hotel transfer partner list.
The issuer recently announced the addition of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Leaders Club to its hotel transfer lineup, which also includes Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards. Leaders Club is the guest loyalty program of The Leading Hotels of the World, featuring an impressive collection of over 400 independent, luxury hotels situated in more than 80 destinations.
Select Citi credit card holders can now transfer ThankYou points to the Leaders Club program. This is the first collaboration between the Leaders Club program and a well-known transferable rewards program like the Citi ThankYou Rewards program.
With this new hotel partner addition, the Citi ThankYou program becomes even more flexible, with new ways to redeem points earned from credit cards such as the Citi Strata? Premier Card (see rates and fees). Points transfer to Leaders Club in a 5-to-1 ratio with Citi cards that have an annual fee, such as the Citi Strata Premier card. This means for every 1,000 ThankYou Reward points you transfer, you will receive 200 Leaders Club points.
And, like with all other partners, if you combine rewards earned from a no annual fee Citi card like the Citi Rewards+? Card (see rates and fees) with a premium Citi ThankYou-earning card, you can convert cash back earned to ThankYou Reward points, which you can then transfer to your Leaders Club account and redeem points for a hotel stay.
The best ways to use Leaders Club points
There are over 400 unique, luxury hotels in the Leaders Club program where you can redeem points for free night stays. Free nights start at 4,000 points.
Unfortunately, the Leaders Club program does not provide award charts to determine the cost of a free night award. The program operates on a dynamic pricing model, which takes into account factors such as local demand and current rates of each property to determine the number of points required for a night’s stay.
Therefore, you will have to conduct a hotel search on LHW.com to find out the number of points required for a redemption.
For instance, when I went to LHW.com, signed into my account, and looked for hotels in Miami, I found that Leaders Club points could be used to book the luxury Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles Beach.
If you’re interested in staying at this luxurious resort using points, you can transfer 60,000 ThankYou points from Citi to Leaders Club at a transfer ratio of 5:1. This will give you 12,000 Leaders Club points, which is enough to redeem for an award night.
For those seeking a more affordable option, there are hotels in the Leading Club program that only require a minimal number of points. Take the Nobu Hotel Miami Beach, for example. Transferring 25,000 points (5:1) from Citi to Leaders Club would allow you to reserve a room at this award-winning Miami Beach hotel with pricing starting at just 4,988 points.
With some amazing luxury hotels across the world in the portfolio of The Leading Hotels of the World, using points for free night awards will surely provide the best value for your Leaders Club points. Up until this point, Leaders Club had not partnered with any credit card rewards programs and the sole method of earning points with the program was by staying at Leading Hotels of the World hotels. With its new Citi partnership, guests can now transfer and redeem points for hotels in the Leaders Club program, and this is by far the best use of Leaders Club points.
Is it worthwhile to transfer Citi points to Leaders Club?
Up until this point, Leaders Club had not partnered with any credit card rewards programs and the sole method of earning points with the program was by staying at Leading Hotels of the World hotels. With its new Citi partnership, guests can transfer and redeem points for hotels in the Leaders Club program.
If you’re looking to book an independent luxury hotel that isn’t currently available for booking with transferable rewards programs, transferring points from your Citi ThankYou account to Leaders Club could be a worthwhile option. Being a member of the Leading Club program comes with several on-property benefits, like a pre-arrival upgrade, daily continental breakfast for two, early check-in and late check-out and complimentary Wi-Fi.
It is important to mention that some hotels in the Leaders Club program may also have affiliations with other noteworthy hotel collections such as Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection. This implies that you can also book stays at these properties using American Express Membership Rewards points, so compare points and cash prices before you book.
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