Citi is running a limited-time promotion offering 10% off gift cards when you redeem ThankYou Points. While any discount sounds appealing, this deal requires careful consideration before you drain your points balance.

From now through April 30, 2026, you can redeem ThankYou Points for gift cards from 11 select retailers at a 10% discount. That means a $100 gift card costs 9,000 points instead of the usual 10,000. The participating brands include MGM Resorts, Starbucks, Sephora, and several restaurant chains.

Here's the reality check: Even with the 10% discount, you're still only getting about 1.1 cents per point. That's significantly below what your points are actually worth when used strategically.

The Math Behind the Deal

Let's break down what you're actually getting.

Without the promotion, Citi values points at exactly 1 cent each for gift card redemptions. A $25 gift card normally requires 2,500 points, and a $100 gift card costs 10,000 points.

During this sale, those same redemptions drop to 2,250 points and 9,000 points respectively. That works out to approximately 1.11 cents per point—a modest improvement, but nowhere near optimal value.

For comparison, our valuation of Citi ThankYou Points sits at 1.6 cents per point when you use them strategically. That means the typical person leaves about 0.5 cents per point on the table with this redemption method.

Here's what that looks like in real numbers: if you redeem 50,000 points for gift cards during this sale, you'll get about $555 worth of gift cards. Those same 50,000 points could easily be worth $800 when transferred to airline partners for award flights.

Which Brands Are Included

The promotion doesn't apply to Citi's entire gift card catalog. Only these 11 retailers are participating:

• MGM Resorts
• Starbucks
• Sephora
• Maggiano's Little Italy
• Buca di Beppo
• The Capital Grille
• Seasons 52
• Yard House
• Eddie V's
• Bahama Breeze
• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Most of these are Darden Restaurant Group properties, which suggests Citi negotiated volume discounts that they're partially passing along to cardholders.

Gift cards are available in denominations ranging from $25 to $100, and the 10% discount applies to all denomination levels equally. There's no limit on how many you can purchase.

When This Deal Actually Makes Sense

I'm generally skeptical of gift card redemptions, but there are three scenarios where this promotion might work for you.

First, if you're already planning purchases at these specific retailers. Maybe you've got a Vegas trip booked and you'll be staying at an MGM property anyway. Or perhaps you're a regular at The Capital Grille for business dinners. In these cases, you're essentially getting a 10% discount on money you were going to spend regardless.

Second, if you've accumulated a massive points balance and already have your travel covered for the next 12-18 months. Some of our readers have built up six-figure ThankYou Points balances through aggressive credit card strategies. If you've already booked all your planned trips and the points are just sitting there, converting some to gift cards for everyday expenses isn't the worst use.

Third, if you're gifting. A $100 Starbucks gift card can be a solid thank-you gift for a colleague or friend. Using 9,000 points instead of paying cash preserves your actual money for other purposes. Just don't position this as your primary redemption strategy.

The Better Alternatives

Before you jump on this promotion, consider what else you could do with those points.

Transfer to airline partners. This is consistently the highest-value option. Citi has 18 airline transfer partners, including Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, and Turkish Airlines. I routinely see redemption values of 2-3 cents per point when booking premium cabin flights or taking advantage of sweet spots in partner award charts.

For example, 60,000 ThankYou Points transfers to 60,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, which books a one-way business class ticket from the U.S. to London on Delta. That same ticket often costs $3,000-4,000 if purchased with cash, giving you 5-6 cents per point in value.

Book travel through the Citi portal. If you have the Citi Prestige Card (no longer open to new applicants but still valuable for existing holders), you get 1.25 cents per point when booking through Citi's travel portal. The Citi Premier and Citi Strata Premier cards offer 1.25 cents per point on hotels and car rentals, but only 1 cent per point on flights.

Pay with points for recent purchases. Citi allows you to redeem points to erase recent travel purchases and dining charges at 1 cent per point. This matches the gift card value but offers more flexibility since you're not locked into specific retailers.

How to Access the Promotion

If you decide this deal fits your situation, here's how to take advantage:

Log into your ThankYou Points account at thankyou.com and navigate to the "Gift Cards" section. You can filter by "On Sale" to see only the participating retailers.

Select your desired gift card and denomination, then proceed through checkout. The 10% discount will automatically apply—you'll see the reduced points price before confirming your redemption.

Digital gift cards typically arrive via email within 24-48 hours. Physical cards take 7-10 business days if you choose that option.

One important note: gift card redemptions are final. Unlike travel bookings where you might have some flexibility to cancel or change, once you confirm a gift card purchase with points, there's no going back. Make sure you actually want what you're ordering.

The Strategic Play

Here's my take after covering points and miles for years: deals like this are designed to deplete your points balance at below-optimal value.

Banks profit when you redeem for gift cards instead of transferring to partners. They've negotiated bulk discounts with retailers, marked up the "regular" points price, and are now offering a "sale" that still generates revenue for them.

The 10% discount creates urgency and makes you feel like you're getting a bargain. But you're really just getting less of a bad deal.

That said, I'm not completely opposed to this redemption if you meet one of the three criteria I outlined earlier. The key is being intentional rather than impulsive.

If you've got 200,000 ThankYou Points, booking your dream trip in business class using 100,000 points and then converting 10,000 points to a Starbucks gift card for daily coffee runs is perfectly reasonable. You've prioritized high-value redemptions first and are using the excess for convenience.

What doesn't make sense is draining your entire balance for gift cards when you haven't explored transfer partners or calculated what you're actually giving up.

Bottom Line

The Citi ThankYou Points gift card sale runs through April 30, 2026, offering 10% off redemptions at 11 select retailers. While this provides slightly better value than normal gift card redemptions, it still falls well short of what you can achieve by transferring points to airline partners.

This promotion makes sense in limited circumstances—mainly when you were planning to spend at these retailers anyway, or you've already maximized high-value redemptions and have excess points sitting unused.

For most people, the smarter move is passing on this sale and saving your points for award travel where you can easily achieve 2-3 cents per point or higher. If you're looking to earn more ThankYou Points, check out the current offers on the Citi Premier Card or Citi Strata Premier Card.

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