Citi ThankYou, which is one of the four major transferable points programs, has just added a new transfer partner, and it’s a unique one among transferable points currencies. It’s awesome to see how Citi keeps adding hotel partners, because in the past few years we’ve seen Citi add Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, Accor Live Limitless, and Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club.
In this post:
Transfer Citi points to I Prefer at a 1:4 ratio
The Citi ThankYou program in the United States has just added the Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer loyalty program as its newest transfer partner. Assuming you have one of the premium Citi cards, like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (review), the transfer ratio is 1:4, and you can transfer points in increments of 1,000 points.
This is Citi ThankYou’s 19th transfer partner, and the fifth hotel transfer partner. Citi ThankYou is the first points currency to partner with I Prefer, so that’s pretty cool.
There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, and as long as you have a premium card like the Citi Strata Premier, then all points can be transferred to the ThankYou airline and hotel partners.
What is Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer?
Many people understandably might not be familiar with Preferred Hotels & Resorts or I Prefer, so let’s talk about that. Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a collection of independent luxury hotels, with over 600 properties in 85 countries around the globe. Chances are that you’re familiar with some of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ properties, even if you didn’t know they were associated with the group.
You should think of Preferred Hotels & Resorts as more of a hotel marketing agency than as a single hotel group. The company doesn’t manage its hotels, but rather markets a group of otherwise independent luxury hotels. As a matter of fact, many properties of smaller hotel groups, like Montage, belong to Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
The group also represents some of the top independent properties in the United States, ranging from the Baccarat Hotel New York, to the Post Ranch Inn.
Is transferring Citi points to I Prefer worth it?
There’s no denying that there are some great hotels belonging to Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Like, who wouldn’t want to redeem at Baccarat New York or Post Ranch Inn? That raises the question — how lucrative is the loyalty program?
I’ve gotta be honest, up until now I’ve never really dug into the I Prefer program, given the lack of easy ways to accrue points. According to the I Prefer webpage, redemptions start at 15,000 points per night, but many top hotels seem to cost 150,000 points per night.
Given the 1:4 transfer ratio, that could potentially represent a decent deal, since 150,000 I Prefer points is equivalent to around 38,000 Citi ThankYou points. That wouldn’t be a bad redemption for a hotel costing well over $1,000 per night.
Here’s the thing — no matter which date I look up for most hotels, I can’t actually get award availability to show up. Is there something I’m missing, is there a glitch, or what? Obviously that’s a major consideration when it comes to the value of I Prefer as a transfer partner. 😉
Bottom line
The Citi ThankYou program has added Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer as its newest transfer partner. Points transfer at a 1:4 ratio, and this is Citi’s fifth hotel transfer partner.
While this is in theory an exciting new redemption opportunity, I can’t actually get award space to show up for I Prefer properties, so for now we’ll mark this situation as “developing.”
What’s your take on transferring Citi points to I Prefer? What am I missing when it comes to redemptions?
I created a video on how to book the 400 Preferred Hotels that allow 100% points bookings. https://youtu.be/8RIqwvhFXQQ
Ben, certain IPrefer properties do not redeem for points directly. For example, the Sherry-Netherland in New York does not. Instead, a person converts points to a "Reward Certificate," which is a dollar-value voucher that one presents to the property towards payment. It's a fixed ratio of 0.2 cent per point. That dollar value can be put to incidental charges. But, the property has the sole discretion as to whether the dollar value can be put to the room rate.
As for properties that do redeem for points, a person must calculate the cents per point for each stay. In rough terms, I've seen 0.35 to 0.6 cent per iPrefer point, with luxury properties being on the upper end. No surprise. Based on the 4X transfer rate, that would be 1.4 to 2.4 cents per Citi point. So, IF a property is available for points, it can be quite good.
You could have previously booked these with a transfer to Choice anyways - not sure how the value would be. What you see for (lack of) availability is typical. I got a solid redemption at the Quinta Real Oaxaca, an amazing hotel, before the last deval.
Might the cents per point Rate for a specific property be different between the two booking platforms?
I dug into this last night and found the same on award availability. I found many properties could price out a points + cash rate at ~25% off the cash rate in exchange for 20% of the full freight points cost. I also searched Preferred Hotels and Resorts’ website for “Points” rates (they have three options: Cash, Points, and Points + Cash). Points + Cash is broader but I only found 3 properties available when...
I dug into this last night and found the same on award availability. I found many properties could price out a points + cash rate at ~25% off the cash rate in exchange for 20% of the full freight points cost. I also searched Preferred Hotels and Resorts’ website for “Points” rates (they have three options: Cash, Points, and Points + Cash). Points + Cash is broader but I only found 3 properties available when you search for just Points. Possible they just haven’t integrated many yet? I’m not sure either
See my answer above.