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Citi is offering a 20 percent transfer bonus when you move ThankYou points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, good through August 22, 2026.
Flying Blue runs its own monthly discount on select routes at the same time, and the two stack. Combined, this can be useful for business or premium class to Europe using Citi ThankYou points.
What the Flying Blue Transfer Bonus Covers
The offer is simple on the surface. Transfer ThankYou points to Flying Blue between now and August 22, and Citi adds 20 percent more miles to the transfer. You move the points, the bonus is already built into the math.
Where it gets more complicated is the starting ratio, because Citi doesn’t transfer every card at the same rate. That’s the part worth understanding before you move anything.
Which Citi Cards Actually Qualify
Hold a Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, or Prestige card, and you transfer at a full 1:1 ratio before the bonus. Add the 20 percent, and 1,000 points becomes 1,200 Flying Blue miles. That’s the version of this offer actually worth chasing.
| Card Tier | Base Rate | Bonus | Total Rate | Example (1,000 pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige, AT&T Access More | 1:1 | +0.2 | 1.2 Flying Blue miles per point | 1,200 miles |
| ThankYou Preferred, Strata, ThankYou Mastercard, Double Cash, Custom Cash, AT&T Universal Rewards/Savings/Points Plus, AT&T Access | 0.7:1 | +0.14 | 0.84 Flying Blue miles per point | 840 miles |
Hold a Citi Strata, Double Cash, Custom Cash, or ThankYou Preferred card instead, and the starting ratio is already reduced. Even with the bonus applied, 1,000 points only gets you 840 miles. The 20 percent number is the same on both cards. The outcome isn’t.
Who Actually Benefits
This is where Flying Blue’s own promotion changes the math. Every month, Flying Blue discounts a batch of routes by up to 25 percent under its Promo Rewards program. Right now, one-way economy awards from more than a dozen North American cities are down to 18,750 miles. Premium economy is 30,000. Business class out of New York starts at 45,000 miles, bookable now for travel through the end of the year.
Stack the two together and a Strata Elite or Prestige cardholder could transfer 37,500 ThankYou points, receive 45,000 Flying Blue miles once the bonus lands, and book that discounted business class seat outright. That’s a business class flight to Europe for well under 40,000 points, using a currency you were probably already earning on groceries.
The worst case here is a speculative transfer with no seat actually available. Business class Promo Rewards space tends to disappear within the first week or two of the month, so check availability before you move a single point. If nothing’s there for your dates, this offer isn’t worth acting on yet.
Why This Is Worth More Than the Headline Suggests
A 20 percent transfer bonus by itself wouldn’t be news. Citi runs this exact promotion to Flying Blue roughly once a year, and 20 percent sits at the low end of what we’ve seen historically. What makes this month different is that it happens to overlap with Flying Blue’s own discount cycle, and that overlap is what turns an ordinary offer into a genuinely good one.
It’s also a reminder that Flying Blue miles aren’t limited to Air France and KLM metal. You can use them on Delta as a SkyTeam partner redemption too, which is worth keeping in mind if a transatlantic seat doesn’t pan out. And if you end up holding miles you’re not ready to spend, Flying Blue’s expiration policy changed recently and you no longer need to track them closely. Worth knowing how to keep miles active if a redemption isn’t imminent.
Our Take
Check award availability before you do anything else. This deal only works if the seat you want actually exists.
If you hold a Strata Elite, Strata Premier, or Prestige card and a Promo Rewards route lines up with where you want to go, transfer and book, since both steps are final.
If your only ThankYou card is a lower tier, skip the transfer bonus math entirely and focus on the Promo Rewards discount instead, since that part applies no matter how the miles arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, and Prestige cards all transfer at a 1:1 ratio. With the 20% bonus applied, every 1,000 ThankYou points becomes 1,200 Flying Blue miles.
Those cards start at a reduced 0.7:1 transfer ratio to Flying Blue. Even with the 20% bonus, 1,000 points only yields 840 miles, making the offer significantly less valuable than it is for premium Citi cardholders.
The two promotions run simultaneously and can be combined. For example, a Strata Elite cardholder can transfer 37,500 ThankYou points, receive 45,000 Flying Blue miles after the bonus, and use those miles to book a discounted business class seat to Europe currently priced at 45,000 miles under Promo Rewards.
Right now, one-way economy awards from North American cities start at 18,750 miles, premium economy is 30,000 miles, and business class out of New York starts at 45,000 miles for travel through the end of the year.
No u2014 you should confirm a seat is available before transferring anything, since both the transfer and the booking are final and cannot be reversed. Business class Promo Rewards space tends to sell out within the first week or two of the month, so availability is the first thing to check.
