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Probably the most versatile rewards applications simply acquired higher. Beginning Monday, Oct. 18, you possibly can switch your Citi ThankYou Rewards factors to the Selection Privileges resort program. The addition of Selection marks the one resort program included in ThankYou’s checklist of companions — of which there at the moment are 17 in whole.
Associated: From travel rewards to balance transfers, here are our favorite Citi credit cards.
Earlier than diving into the partnership, as a reminder, you possibly can earn ThankYou factors from bank cards just like the Citi Premier® Card and the Citi Rewards+® Card. The ThankYou factors earned from these playing cards can then be transferred to any of the ThankYou program’s companions — which now consists of Selection.
Selection is the most recent switch accomplice of Citi ThankYou
Whereas this may not be a resort program that’s usually in your radar, there are hidden gems. And since Selection operates greater than 7,000 properties the world over, there are literally thousands of alternatives to redeem your factors.
Though most Citi ThankYou companions require you to have a premium card to switch factors on to a accomplice program, with this new partnership, each these with an annual charge card and one which doesn’t cost an annual charge can switch their factors.
For the annual charge playing cards, such because the Citi Premier, factors switch at a 1-to-2 ratio, which means you’ll get 2,000 Selection Privileges factors for each 1,000 Citi ThankYou factors you switch. With the present 80,000-point sign-up bonus that comes with the Citi Premier, this might earn you 160,000 Selection Privileges factors — which could be redeemed for as much as 26 free nights at Selection properties.
Associated: 5 great ways to travel for free with the 80,000 bonus points on the Citi Premier credit card.
With the no-annual-fee playing cards, such because the Citi Rewards+, factors will switch at a barely inferior 1-to-1.5 ratio. This implies you’ll solely obtain 1,500 Selection Privileges factors for each 1,000 factors transferred over. Nevertheless, when you’ve got one Citi ThankYou account for a number of playing cards — together with a premium card — you’ll have the ability to switch on the increased ratio.
And whereas money again earned from the Citi® Double Cash Card can’t be transferred to ThankYou accomplice applications by itself, in the event you first switch your money again into ThankYou factors, you possibly can then switch the factors earned to a accomplice program. The switch ratio will depend upon whether or not you might have an annual charge card or no-annual-fee card tied to your account.
The Selection Privileges loyalty program is made up of many resort manufacturers, together with the next: Ascend Lodge Assortment, Cambria Accommodations, Consolation, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, High quality Inn, MainStay Suites, WoodSpring Suites, Suburban Prolonged Keep Lodge, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn. Inside the Ascend Lodge Assortment, there’s additionally the Bluegreen Trip resorts, that are Selection Accommodations’ trip membership properties.
Not like most different resort applications, properties aren’t tied to a selected class, so there’s no constant redemption fee. As a substitute, free nights vary between 6,000 and 35,000 factors (excluding within the Asia Pacific area, the place reward nights require as much as 75,000 factors), and award charges for every property are solely printed a couple of months out at a time. Sometimes, the variety of factors required fluctuates all year long primarily based on the season and whether or not you’re staying in the course of the week versus a weekend.
Immediately on the property web site, you’ll have the ability to discover the variety of factors required. For instance, on the Golden Eagle Resort in Stowe, Vermont, stays from Oct. 15 by way of Nov. 30, 2021, value between 16,000 and 25,000 factors per evening, however stays beginning Dec. 1, 2021, by way of Jan. 31, 2022, will improve to 25,000 to 30,000 factors per evening. However in the event you’re trying to keep in February or past, we received’t know the variety of factors required till the calendar for these dates is printed.
A pattern keep on the Golden Eagle Resort
Sadly, with award stays, Selection solely means that you can make a reservation for 100 days out. So in the event you prefer to plan out your holidays properly forward of time, this is likely to be an enormous roadblock.
On the plus aspect, you possibly can e-book any room kind with the identical quantity of Selection Privileges factors — together with suites. If you happen to’re trying to keep at a property that provides a number of bedrooms, which is frequent at a lot of its Ascend properties and Bluegreen Trip resorts, you’ll be charged the identical variety of factors as in the event you e-book a normal resort room. It is a true hidden gem in this system and one which my household has taken benefit of very often.
For instance, the Golden Eagle Resort is a property simply down the highway from well-known Stowe Mountain. The property presents many room sorts, together with a two-bedroom suite with a kitchen and hearth that may sleep as much as eight friends. If the room kind is on the market on the date you’re trying to journey, you possibly can e-book this room for the very same variety of factors as its lowest-level room.
Reward redemption choices on the Golden Eagle Resort
The Selection Privileges loyalty program additionally means that you can use a mix of factors and money to e-book the identical precise room kind. With the choice, you possibly can redeem simply 6,000 factors, plus a money outlay. The money portion requires you to pay $90 per 1,000 factors to finish the keep. For instance, in the event you’re trying to keep at a resort that requires 25,000 factors, you’ll have to pay a money equal of 19,000 factors (because you’re already paying 6,000 factors), thus costing you $171 to “buy” the extra factors.
Whereas this can be a nice possibility in the event you don’t have sufficient factors in your account to e-book absolutely with factors, if you find yourself canceling a reservation booked with factors and money, the money portion can be credited to you again within the type of factors — not money — on the identical $90 per 1,000 factors.
Whereas a lot of the Selection Accommodations received’t get you an identical luxurious keep as you would possibly obtain with the Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt or Hilton Honors program, it presents a good award chart — particularly in the event you’re touring on off-peak dates — whereas additionally permitting you to e-book a premium room at no extra factors. However, as a result of 100-day limitation, utilizing your Selection Privileges factors is finest for last-minute trip bookings.
In the end, this can be a good addition to the ThankYou program from Citi. By including a resort switch accomplice, ThankYou card holders now have a brand new possibility for redeeming their factors at no cost journey.
Learn CNN Underscored’s information on how to combine multiple Citi credit cards for the ultimate travel rewards.
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