I just redeemed a bunch of ThankYou points and I think I got some great rewards for doing things I would have done anyways. Consider this:
I have had the Citi Driver’s Edge MasterCard (one of my main rewards cards) since July, which gives you a 6% rebate back on supermarkets, drugstores, and gasoline for the first 12 months. These are everyday needs, not frivolous items. The Purchase rebates can either be redeemed by sending in auto care receipts, or converted directly to Citi ThankYou points by calling 1-800-308-4158. $1 in Rebates = 100 ThankYou Points.
In addition, you can also get Drive rebates for miles driven, at the rate of 1 mile = $0.01. You have to send in an enrollment form to start the counting, and then a mileage update form whenever you get an oil change or other service that logs the odometer. You can only redeem as many Drive rebates as you have Purchase rebates.
For us, we have averaged $400 per month in groceries and gas so far, racking about $220 in Purchase rebates on $3,670 of spending. We just send in a mileage update for 6,000 miles, adding another $60 in Drive Rebates, for a total of $280 or 28,000 ThankYou points. My original plan was just to convert ThankYou Points to Target gift cards (already getting me ~7% cash back), but then I discovered their Fixed Flight Travel option:
Eligible Citi? cardmembers can also take advantage of our fixed flights option for air travel by calling one of our ThankYou Network Travel Specialists. You can count on getting a ticket for the date you want to fly. For example, only 25,000 points are needed for flights anywhere in the continental U.S. and Alaska, any time of year. With no black-out dates. Simply book 14 days in advance and plan for a Saturday overnight stay.
Am I eligible for fixed flight options for airline tickets?
Currently, ThankYou Members with the following Sponsor accounts are eligible for fixed flight airline tickets at fixed ThankYou Point amounts: Citi PremierPass? Card, Citi PremierPass? Card – Elite Level, Citi? Diamond Preferred? Rewards Card, Citi Simplicity Rewards Card, Citi Professional Card with ThankYou Network, CitiBusiness PremierPass Card, CitiBusiness? Card with ThankYou Network, AT&T Universal Rewards Card, Citi? Platinum Select? Card with ThankYou Network, Citigroup Chairman? Card and Citi? Driver’s Edge? Card. This Sponsor Account list is subject to change without notice. Fixed flight option Travel Rewards are only available when you call the ThankYou Service Center. Agents will work to offer you the best deal on available flights ? you are not required to select the fixed flight option.I am eligible for fixed flight option Travel Rewards. What are the current prices and destinations?
Fixed Flight Option Travel Rewards
(Restricted, Round-Trip)Coach Business Class Continental US & Alaska 25,000 60,000 Canada 25,000 60,000 Mexico 35,000 60,000 Hawaii & Caribbean 40,000 75,000 Europe 60,000 165,000 Asia 60,000 165,000 Middle East & Africa 80,000 130,000 Australia & South Pacific 100,000 180,000 Central America 35,000 60,000 South America 60,000 160,000 Puerto Rico to Continental US 40,000
This is actually a lot better than using regular frequent flyer miles, as basically if there is a flight available, they will let you have it for 25,000 ThankYou points (You pay any taxes and fees). You can book the flight for anyone – yourself, friends, or family.
After calling 1-877-773-3336 and talking to their travel agents, I found out that they won’t let you have any flight, but restrict you to the cheaper options for the dates you want to fly. I wanted a cross-country flight in July, which cost anywhere from $500-$1,000 online depending on the schedule and number of stops. They let me pick basically from the flights $600 and under. Still, this was a time period with no 25,000 mile award flights using normal frequent flier miles.
In the end, I got a flight that would have cost me $560 on Expedia for 25,000 ThankYou Points and $40 in taxes. I still get to earn frequent flier miles for the flight, too. So I saved $520 after spending $3,670 on groceries and gas we needed anyways. That’s a cashback return of 14.2%! (And I still have 3,000 points left.) On top of our recent Vegas winnings, I’m pretty happy with myself right now 8)
If you have ThankYou points and fly at all, using the Fixed Flight option can be a much better redemption rate than gift cards or even putting it towards student loan balances. Also, if you want a flight less than $250, you can book via their Variable Flight option; a $150 flight would cost only 15,000 points.
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That is an amazing return for using citi’s money! Way to go.
It just goes to show, if one is careful with credit, and knows how to use it well, it can be an asset.
Are you familiar with something called “Fatwallet effect”?
Basically, all good deals get killed by issues if they become too wide-known. I really enjoy reading your blog – and often use ypu tax-eq. calculator – but I find this post to be a possible “deal-killer” for all of us who has been trying to accumulate those TY points to treat ourselves for a business class trip somewhere. Basically, average Joe/Jane will not benefit by reading your post as they lack discipline to stick to one card and charge all flights/rentals on it to turbo the savings – but prudent point hoarders will be hurt by cancelation of the fixed option (it has already been devalued as flight to Europe went up in price by 20%).
This option has become slightly less desirable as of late because citi used to waive all of the taxes and fees. For domestic flights this is a small hit, for trips to europe, however, taxes and fees seriously devalue the ty points. Overall, it’s still the best option, but it takes more planning to get the best ‘bang for your point’ now.
If average Jane/Joe lack the discipline to save for this option, then wouldn’t that help Citibank? I don’t really buy into the theory that keeping all these things secret is a good idea. It’s a catch-22. What if nobody told you about it either? I wish somebody told me earlier, I’ve spent 25,000 ThankYou points already on Target gift cards. 😛 It would be no fun if 3 people sitting in a corner were hoarding all these ideas.
Finally, this option isn’t exactly hidden. Not like you have to hit UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT A B SELECT START to find it. It’s right in the Travel section 🙂
It is somewhat hidden as TYN wants you to use expedia as a default redemption option. And as you can see – there have been two major TY points devaluations (3 if you count $50 gift cards becoming 6500 from 5k points). BTW, no one told me about it – I just read T&C and realized it is a good deal. I bet AverageJane/Joe never read “small script” but rather expect people to point them to the redemption possibility that is close to 2% cash back (or even better). As your blog is one of the most popular one – we can start counting days till Citi pulls the trigger on the fixed option as it will be overwhelmed for redemption request.
I belive that personal finance strategy is like a market knowledge – and making it avail to everybody effectivelly kills for anybody
Thanks for the ego boost, but I really you overestimate my reach. It’s just the way the internet is. If something is a very good deal, it will spread by itself, no way to stop it. Have you heard of FlyerTalk? They talk about miles-earning like there’s no tomorrow. I don’t keep up with that site anymore, but I bet they’ve been pushing this for years. As for me, I just try to stick with deals that are tested (usually by me), and open to most people. If anything, I’m late!
I still plan on trying to spend my future points on flights as well. I’ll probably even get my wife to sign for another Driver’s Edge card to get 6% for another 12 months. If it somehow ends before I can redeem again, c’est la vie.
My thoughts are – If they really don’t like giving out this option, why didn’t they cancel it a year ago? It seems like it’s been around a while. It’s like you said – it’s a carrot that might get people to use a Citibank card, but many people may never get around to transferring to ThankYou, or accruing 25k points, or redeeming. In the meantime, Citi is making money with people using their cards. The people who do have enough focus get the rewards.
I don’t know of any rewards program that doesn’t get devalued sooner or later. That’s just how publicly traded companies work, trying to boost year-over-year earning growth. All major frequent flier miles programs, hotel programs, AmEx Membership rewards, have been devalued since inception. I used to convert AmEx rewards to Southwest airlines credits at a great rate. Earn and burn, baby!
So, the average Jane/Joe is too dumb or too uninterested or too plumb lazy to pick up on Jonathan’s bright ideas? Hard luck. The rest of us still may learn something and gain a few extra bucks thanks to this hard working young blogger’s diligence and public spiritedness in passing on the results of his research and personal experience to us loyal visitors to his site. I would like to offer a word of caution though regarding that long-term goal of $1 million accumulated. Too low in light of rising inflation, which is more or less inevitable. When half of the current goal has been reached, prudence dictates upping the target to $1.5m. or even $2m. Meanwhile anyone seeking dividends might do worse than check out the mutual fund wearing symbol ADVDX. Units of pickle maker BGF (on the American exchange) also bear watching. Like Jane & Joe I was asleep at the switch when it dropped to 11.60; now it’s around 24 and yielding over 7%..
so has anyone calculated what is the best value for spending Thank You points? Is it better to take the cash or buy a tv at Best Buy or just get a coupon for Target? I just started compiling TY points and have only had a cursory glance at the rewards but some stores seem to be more rewarding than others as far as value/points.
Thanks, Jonathan. As always, you are a font of excellent advice. I really thought I was doing a good thing by using the points for my student loan because it was an expense I couldn’t put on my credit card and gain points for, but this seems to be an even better option. I have really liked Citi and their Professional Diamond Preferred Card, but I have no car to speak of (and no real need in the DC area) so I think the Driver’s Advantage is out for me. Thanks again for the heads-up — I will definitely pass along your advice to some car-owning folks.
Please forgive my typo — you are not a “font” like Times New Roman, but rather a “fount” of wisdom. Oops!
of course i read this post AFTER i use expedia to redeem my thank you points for a flight. *sigh. on the plus side, i booked two other people’s tickets using the citi premier pass card and should get even more points… just goes to show you that the average jane (yes, my real name) WILL just use the expedia option. 🙂
jane, how would it have mattered if you didn’t use expedia to redeem? Is it better going through the TYN people? Is using expedia not really saving anything? Sorry, I’m a newbie to points redemption (still wondering about this fixed point flight redemptino thingie). Maybe you can just guide me to a site that explains it all. Thanks!
If you use the variable option through Expedia, if the ticket would cost $450 otherwise, you’d need 45,000 points. But if the ticket was $150, you’d only need 15,000 points.
So if you are going to buy a ticket over $250 and you have an eligible credit card, it is definitely a better idea to use the fixed option, which is 25,000 ThankYou points no matter what the flight costs. Otherwise, go with the variable option. Hope that made sense.
thanks for the info johnathan. i never new about the mileage options. i drive about 22k miles a year so i can almost get a free flight every year just for driving. sweet!
You speak about the disadvantages and traps of travel credit cards, but, unfortunately, you do not give any definite recommendation. What should an ordinary customer choose for travelling – a hotel rewards card or an airline miles card? What is really more beneficial, or rather, less costly?
Hi Jonathan and the other bros,
Do the miles driven have to be matched with dollars spent? I mean, the points you earn from purchase must be larger or equal to the points you earn from miles. Citibank isn’t going to pay you for just driving around when you don’t use your drivers edge card to purchase. For example, suppose the points you earn from purchase is only 5000 points, so even you drive 20000 miles, you can’t get 20000 points, rather you only get 5000 points from these miles. Am I right?
Alex – You are correct. It’s pretty easy to get “full matching” for the 1st year though, as if you drive a lot, you buy a lot of gas 😉
Rough math:
$3 per gallon / 20 mpg x 6% = 0.9 points per mile driven.
So depending on your gas mileage and local cost of gas, you’re getting the majority your miles matched just from buying gas with the card. 😀
Thanks Jonathan for the smart equation.
But I still have some concerns.
Here is the detail: So how about after the promotional year? From 2nd year, you get 3% for gas/drug/grocery stores, and 1% otherwise in purchase. And by adding driving mileage(double the purchase points at best, since you can’t surpass points earned from purchase), your best result is 6% for gas/drug/grocery stores and 2% otherwise. But you have to do a lot of home work (e.g., mailing citi the auto service invoice etc, to show your mileage changes, bla bla) to achieve that. By contrast, you can easily get 5% for gas/drug/grocery (and 1% for otherwise) from some other citi cards like Dimond Preferred Card, etc., without so much headache. Or from
American Express SimplyCashSM Business Card, which gives you 5% on Earn 5% cash back on gas, office supplies, and wireless services.
Furthermore, if you simply want to make use of the extra points in the 1st year promotion from the driver’s edge card, you can achieve the similar result by applying for some citi cards to get some big welcome points (like 15000 free points when applying for some citi cards), and don’t need to worry about all these driving mileage headache, right ?
Overall, I doubt whether the extra points can offset the extra headache/ homework to manage the DE card.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Whether it’s worth the effort after the 1st year is up to the person. But the 1st year is sweet! 6% doubled to 12%. In addition, I love this fixed flight option and the effective return of over 20% by the end of the year if I drive enough, and will be signing up again when this 1st year is up for the same card again.
Personally, with the quick demise of the Citi Dividend Card from 5% to 2%, I just take what’s available these days.
Citi is vying hard for the points – that is for sure. Right now – the TY points show more promise than AMEX points. My parents recently just were screwed on an AMEX points transfer that would have cost them a boat load less if they had used TY points. Any card that gives you so many points for free is a good deal – use it while it lasts. I have to agree – I don’t think Citibank will use these cards indefinitely – which is a shame but i do believe that while we have it – it will be golden.
How do you get the 7% return when using TY points for Target gift cards? In my TY network, a $50 card is 6000 points which is less than 1%.
I just wanted to let you know that it appears Driver’s Edge cards no longer qualify for Fixed Flight Options (per https://www.thankyounetwork.com/faq.jspx#tab66)
The site now states:
Certain ThankYou Members have the option of redeeming for air travel at fixed point amounts. Currently, ThankYou Members with the following Card accounts are eligible for fixed flight airline tickets at fixed ThankYou Point amounts: Citi PremierPass? Card, Citi PremierPass? Card – Elite Level, Citi ProfessionalSM Card with ThankYouSM Network, CitiBusiness PremierPassSM Card, CitiBusiness? Card with ThankYouSM Network and Citi? ChairmanSM Card. This list is subject to change without notice. Fixed flight option Travel Rewards are only available when you call the ThankYou Service Center. Agents will work to offer you the best deal on available flights ? you are not required to select the fixed flight option.
Interestingly I was just looking at this myself and today the footnote has changed again:
“3. Am I eligible for fixed flight options for airline tickets?
Certain ThankYou Members have the option of redeeming for air travel at fixed point amounts. Currently, ThankYou Members with a Smith Barney, Citibank? or the following Card accounts are eligible for fixed flight airline tickets at fixed ThankYou Point amounts: Citi PremierPass? Card, Citi PremierPass? Card – Elite Level, Citi ProfessionalSM Card with ThankYou? Network, CitiBusiness PremierPassSM Card, CitiBusiness? Card with ThankYou? Network, Citi? ChairmanSM Card and Citi Chairman? American Express? Card. This list is subject to change without notice. Fixed flight option Travel Rewards are only available when you call the ThankYou Service Center. Agents will work to offer you the best deal on available flights ? you are not required to select the fixed flight option.”
I wonder what the phrase “Currently, ThankYou Members with a Smith Barney, Citibank? or the following Card accounts are eligible…” means. Perhaps a Smith Barney or Citibank banking account qualifies? Nice if it did but I sort of doubt it…
Hmm.. the Citi Professional seems to be easiest for anyone to get, with no annual fee. I have that one and also the CitiBusiness card with no annual fee.
So, are you giving up on Driver’s Edge? It seems like a good deal even before the Fixed Flight discovery, but I’m still unsure.
I’ve nearly pulled the trigger on this one a couple times now.
Definitely not! I have both the Driver’s Edge AND the Professional. You can still earn the ThankYou points via Driver’s Edge card and redeem for a flight if you have the Professional.
Ahh!!! The thank you network has made changes to the fixed point redemption values. Not all bad news but they have tightened things up.
There is an FAQ with the changes on the site under travel.
20,000 points = $400 domestic flight max.
Not as good as before but lower entry point (instead of 25,000 points = $600 domestic flight max.)
Yet another revelation, the TYN FAQ now states:
3. Am I eligible for fixed flight options for airline tickets?
Certain ThankYou Members have the option of redeeming for air travel at fixed point amounts. Currently, ThankYou Members with a Smith Barney Account, Citibank? Account, Expedia? Account or the following Card Accounts are eligible for fixed flight airline tickets at fixed ThankYou Point amounts: Citi PremierPass? Card, Citi PremierPass? Card – Elite Level, Citi ProfessionalSM Card with ThankYou? Network, CitiBusiness PremierPassSM Card, CitiBusiness? Card with ThankYou? Network, Citi? ChairmanSM Card and Citi Chairman? American Express? Card. This list is subject to change without notice. Fixed flight option Travel Rewards are only available when you call the ThankYou Service Center. Agents will work to offer you the best deal on available flights ? you are not required to select the fixed flight option.
Looks like all you need to qualify for fixed point flights is to sign up for a free account on expedia.com unless I’m missing something?
My card used to qualify for the fixed flight option, but now it does not. If I were to get another card like the Premier Pass and link it to my rewards account, would I be able to use the points mostly earned with Diamonds Reward Card with the fixed flight option because know I have the Premier Pass?
Yes – is my understanding. As long as you have one product on the list of fixed-flight options, all your points are eligible. I do not think the Thank You representatives care where the points came from, just what products you have (and if they are eligble for fixed-flight)
Andrew, thanks for you reply. I just signed up for the expedia account, so hopefully that will be enough (for now)!
I am a member with ThankYou and using your credit card is not the only way a member can earn Points. You can earn by signing your name when using your debit card instead of entering your PIN. You can also get points by having a checking, savings account, by paying your bills online. You can really accummulate a lot of points quickly this way!