Tag: Citi ThankYou Rewards

Loyalty programs

Citi ThankYou Points Can Now Transfer to Copa ConnectMiles
Citi’s list of ThankYou Rewards transfer partners just gained another airline.

As of Sunday, October 25, Copa Airlines now appears on Citi’s Points Transfer page. And effective immediately, eligible cardholders can transfer ThankYou Points to the airline’s ConnectMiles program.

Copa is a Star Alliance carrier based in Panama City (PTY), and ConnectMiles can be used to book flights on Copa, other Star Alliance airlines, and a handful of non-alliance partners.

The program can be quirky to use, but it’s a neat addition for Citi.

How Citi–Copa Transfers Work

As with other Citi transfer partners, the transfer ratio depends on which Citi card you have.

Premium ThankYou cards — including the Citi Strata Elite, Citi Strata Premier, and Citi Prestige (no longer open to new applicants) — transfer at a 1:1 ratio. The AT&T Access More card also offers 1:1 transfers.

Citi’s no-annual-fee, points-earning cards, including the Citi Double Cash, Citi Strata, and Citi Custom Cash, transfer at a 1,000:700 ratio.

More on This: How to Convert Credit Card Points to Airline Miles

What You Can Do With ConnectMiles

Copa ConnectMiles publishes a fixed award chart for Copa-operated flights and a separate chart for partner flights.

Here are a few examples of one-way Saver award rates:
- North America 1 to Panama, Central America, or the Caribbean: 15,000 miles in Copa economy or 30,000 in Copa business. This region includes Florida, Texas, Georgia, and several nearby Southeastern states.
- North America 2 to those same destinations: 20,000 miles in Copa economy or 40,000 in Copa business. This region covers the rest of the continental U.S. and Canada.
- U.S. or Canada to Europe on Star Alliance partners: 30,000 miles in economy or 70,000 in business.
You can review Copa’s award regions here.

COPAAIR.COM

Beyond Copa’s own flights, ConnectMiles can book flights on Star Alliance carriers, including United, Avianca, ANA, Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. Non-alliance partners you can also book with miles include Emirates, Azul, GOL, and KLM.

Partner awards are generally limited to Saver availability, although Copa also offers Standard United awards. That gives you more booking options for United flights, though Standard awards cost double that of Saver awards.

One particularly notable redemption is Emirates business class from the U.S. to Dubai, which can cost 80,000 ConnectMiles one-way with relatively low taxes. However, finding available award seats is by no means easy.

All in all, though, this is a welcome addition to Citi’s transfer partner lineup, particularly for travelers looking to book Copa or other Star Alliance flights.

But as always, we’d recommend finding the award you want before transferring any points. Flights you find on other Star Alliance sites (say, United) don’t always appear on Copa’s site. Plus, other Citi airline partners may offer the same flights at different rates, so it’s worth comparing your options before initiating an irreversible transfer.
October 25, 2026
Amazon Is Offering Up to 50% Off With Amex or Citi Points
Amazon is running a round of targeted promotions for shoppers who use American Express Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou points at checkout.

Eligible cardholders can save up to 50% with Amex points or up to 40% with Citi points on eligible Amazon purchases. And you don’t need to pay for the entire purchase with points to qualify.

Both promotions are scheduled to run through December 31, 2026.

Here’s how they work.

How the Amazon Shop With Points Discounts Work

First, you’ll need to enroll an eligible American Express or Citi card in Amazon’s Shop with Points program.

From there, check the promotional offers available to your account and activate any you’re eligible for.

There’s no reason to pay for the entire purchase with points just to trigger the discount. You only need to use the minimum number of points required by your offer and can pay the remaining balance with your card.

The discounts apply to eligible products purchased through Shop with Points and are calculated before shipping, taxes, and fees. Amazon gift cards aren’t eligible.

And for anyone who shops Amazon regularly, Amazon Prime also comes with free shipping on eligible purchases and other benefits.

American Express Membership Rewards Offers

Eligible Amex cardholders can check their offer here.

We’ve seen three versions so far:
- 50% off, up to $50, using at least 429 points
- 40% off, up to $35, using at least 1,429 points
- 15% off, up to $10, using at least 1,429 points
The promotion applies to eligible purchases made through Amazon’s Shop with Points program. Discounts are calculated before shipping, taxes, and fees, and Amazon gift cards aren’t eligible.

Citi ThankYou Points Offers

Eligible Citi cardholders can check their offer here.

Offers we’ve seen include:
- 40% off, up to $50, using at least 125 points
- 25% off, up to $30, using at least 125 points
- 20% off, up to $15, using at least 125 points
As with the Amex promotion, you only need to use the minimum required points to trigger the discount. The remaining balance can be paid through another method.

Check Your Offers Before Shopping

These promotions are targeted, so having an eligible Amex or Citi card doesn’t automatically mean you’ll receive a discount.

Even among eligible cardholders, the offers can vary by a wide margin. So, it’s worth checking both promotions if you have cards that earn Membership Rewards and ThankYou points.

Both promotions are currently scheduled to end at 5 p.m. PT on December 31, 2026. However, just note that Amazon may close individual offers earlier once their redemption limits are reached.

Check your Amex offer

Check your Citi offer
October 5, 2026
Citi Partners With Japan Airlines, and JAL Miles Are Suddenly Everywhere

Japan Airlines miles used to be a little harder to come by in the U.S.

Flying JAL was one way to earn them, and transferring hotel points was another. But for most people earning points through credit cards, Mileage Bank wasn’t an obvious program to use.

That’s changing quickly.

Citi ThankYou Rewards became the latest program to add Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner on September 20. Bilt, Capital One, and Rove also transfer directly to JAL. Hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Accor Live Limitless add a few more options.

For most Citi cardholders who can transfer ThankYou points to airlines, the new JAL partnership is 1:1. That means 1,000 Citi points become 1,000 JAL miles. Cardholders with Citi’s no-annual-fee cards get a lower 1:0.7 ratio, turning 1,000 points into 700 miles.

But why care about JAL miles in the first place?

Japan has been one of the most searched international destinations among PointsYeah users. JAL flies there nonstop from several U.S. cities, and its miles can be used to book those flights. They can also be used for flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines and other Oneworld carriers.

So there’s a lot more that can be booked with JAL miles than the name might suggest.

There are also a few things worth knowing before transferring points over.

That 55,000-Mile Business-Class Award Has an Asterisk

JAL publishes an award chart showing how many miles its flights can cost.

Between North America and Japan, a one-way flight starts at 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 in premium economy, and 55,000 in business class.

Those are the starting prices. What shows up when searching can look very different.

JAL uses a system called Award Ticket PLUS. If the cheapest award seats are all booked up, the airline can sometimes make another seat available for more miles. The price rises based on how many seats JAL expects to have left.

I searched from Los Angeles to Tokyo and saw just about every outcome. Several dates had no business-class awards available. Some flights checked in around 80,000 miles. Plenty approached 200,000. Others were somewhere in the middle.

JAPAN AIRLINES

And 200,000 isn’t the ceiling.

JAL’s award chart shows that a business-class award from Los Angeles can climb as high as 421,500 miles with PLUS. From Dallas, the maximum is 509,500 miles.

Those are extreme examples, but they illustrate why it’s worth searching before transferring points. A flight that starts at 55,000 miles on the chart may cost considerably more on the date you want to travel.

First class follows different rules. JAL doesn’t use PLUS there, but prices change depending on the season. Los Angeles to Japan currently ranges from 110,000 miles one way during low season to 140,000 during high season.

There’s cash to pay on top of the miles, too. JAL currently lists fuel surcharges starting at $320 one way between North America and Japan, plus taxes and fees.

JAL Miles Aren’t Just for JAL

There’s another reason all these new transfer options matter.

Mileage Bank miles can be used to book flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific. Instead of PLUS, these awards are priced based on the total distance of the trip.

For example, a partner trip covering 2,001 to 4,000 miles costs 23,000 miles in economy or 42,000 in business class. A flight from New York to Los Angeles falls within that distance band.

Longer trips cost more. An itinerary covering 6,001 to 8,000 miles costs 45,000 miles in economy or 80,000 in business class.

BOARDING1NOW / ISTOCK

That doesn’t mean JAL will always be the best program for booking those flights. There still needs to be an award seat available, and it’s worth comparing the price with other programs before transferring anything.

But JAL Mileage Bank is suddenly relevant to a much bigger group of people.

That’s really what makes Citi’s addition interesting. It isn’t another transfer partner to memorize. It’s another way into a program that can book flights to Japan and plenty of flights that never touch Japan at all.

The useful part is knowing it’s there when one of those awards turns up.

September 20, 2026