Citibank and Hilton Worldwide have had a rocky relationship this year. First, Hilton chose American Express as the chain’s sole co-branded credit card issuer. Then, the bank announced that all existing Citi-issued Hilton cards would be converted to Amex cards. And now Citi is dropping Hilton from the list of its transfer partners.
Earlier this summer, the transfer ratio of ThankYou Points to Hilton Honors points was 1-to-2, for a limited time, and now the Citi ThankYou Rewards program is eliminating point transfers altogether. Members have until Dec. 13 to transfer ThankYou Points to Hilton, according to the Doctor of Credit.
American Express Membership Rewards points and Diners Club Rewards will continue to transfer to Hilton Honors as usual.
Given the switch to Amex, the end of point transfers is not entirely unexpected. In other circumstances, eliminating such a partnership would be seen as a devaluation for consumers, but not in this case.
When it comes to value, Hilton Honors points are worth significantly less than ThankYou Points. Unless you find an amazing redemption opportunity, Hilton points are worth about 0.5 cent apiece on average, and ThankYou Points are worth about 1.5-1.8 cents, depending on how you redeem them. Overall, the loss doesn’t affect program members as much as it affects Citi itself.
On the other hand, losing Hilton leaves Citi ThankYou Rewards program with mostly airline transfer partners and no hotel partners, which decreases their flexibility a little. It would be interesting to see if Citi picks up a different hotel program in the future or sticks to just airline partners.
Does the elimination of Hilton from Citi’s list of transfer partner affect you?
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