Earn a 15% Bonus on Citi ThankYou Point Transfers to Asia Miles

Collecting flexible credit-card points typically offers the most options to redeem them for maximum value: statement credits, increased value for travel redemptions or direct point transfers to airline or hotel partners. From time to time, flexible rewards earners get a bonus on point transfers to specific partners and increases their value even more.

For a limited time, eligible Citibank cardholders earn a 15-percent transfer bonus on ThankYou Points transferred to Cathay Pacific. Through July 4, for every 1,000 points converted to the Asia Miles program, you receive 1,150 miles. Eligible credit cards include the Citi Prestige and the Citi Premier cards.

Asia Miles is a distance-based program, and the number of miles to redeem for an award depends on the distance between the two destinations. It’s possible to book one-way and round-trip awards, but for the moment two one-way flights require more miles than one round-trip between the same city pair. However, as of June 22, the program will change. It will be possible to book a one-way award at half the cost of a round-trip flight, but the overall cost in miles for most round-trip flights will increase, especially in business and first class.

Let’s look at a couple of examples and see how many miles you actually need for a redemption.

At the moment, you can book a round-trip flight between New York City and Hong Kong for 145,000 miles. Effective June 22, the same redemption will set you back 170,000 miles, or 25,000 miles more. With the Citi bonus in mind, you will need to transfer 127,000 miles (in increments of 1,000) to Asia Miles to lock in this redemption.

The award flight between the two cities requires 220,000 miles in first class now, which you can book by transferring 192,000 ThankYou Points to Asia Miles. After June 22, it will cost 230,000 miles.

Keep in mind that although the bonus is added instantly, the transfer itself can take a couple of days to complete. So, mark the devaluation date on your calendar and act quickly to book awards at the current rates.

 

Will you take an opportunity to fly Cathay Pacific’s premium cabin at a discount?