Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels

3 weeks ago 11

We love transferable credit card points here at TPG.

The ability to transfer your rewards to a wide range of airline and hotel loyalty programs at a moment's notice provides valuable flexibility to maximize your travel. You're not locked into a single redemption scheme as you plan your trips. If you can't find the seats available in one program, you can choose another program before transferring any credit card points. If a program devalues without notice, you can simply switch to a different program for your next points transfer.

With dozens of different transfer possibilities, it can be difficult to remember just how many options you have.

Here's a handy guide that breaks down which credit card points can be transferred to which airline and hotel programs — including their respective transfer ratios. We also list our valuation of each transfer partner so you can get the best value to maximize your hard-earned points.

Airline transfer partners

Citi ThankYou Rewards points also transfer to Virgin Red (airlines and hotels) at a 1:1 ratio.

There are a few important notes to highlight regarding these transfer partners:

Many transfers are instantaneous, though you should check out our guides to transfer times for American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo for more details.
Avios can be transferred between British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, Finnair Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts in any direction at a 1:1 ratio.
Transfers from Bilt or Capital One to Virgin Atlantic happen via Virgin Red.
Programs occasionally offer transfer bonuses — which we highlight in our frequently updated guide to transfer bonuses.

Finally, except for EVA Air Infinity MileageLands and Finnair Plus, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to all airline partners listed above at a rate of 3 Bonvoy points to 1 airline point or mile. You will receive an additional 5,000 airline points or miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred except for the following airline programs: American AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles and Delta SkyMiles. Additionally, United MileagePlus awards 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

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Hotel transfer partners

Like airline partners, most hotel transfers are instantaneous, though you can read more in our previously mentioned guides to transfer times for Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo and Citi.

How to earn transferable points

The best way to earn transferable credit card points is with the right credit card. Here's a look at your best options.

American Express Membership Rewards

These are the most popular cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points:

You can also earn Amex points by signing up for Rakuten and setting your earning preference to Membership Rewards points instead of cash back.

The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bilt Rewards

Bilt offers one credit card, the Bilt Mastercard®. Cardmembers earn rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 Bilt Points in a calendar year), 2 points per dollar spent on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises and rental cars) and 3 points per dollar spent on dining. You need to make at least five transactions each statement period to earn points (see rewards and benefits). Best of all, the Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee (see rates and fees).

TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

Capital One miles

Here are the cards that currently earn transferable Capital One miles:

The information Capital One Spark Miles Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Here are the cards that earn fully transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

However, if you have one of these cards, you can also combine your rewards from cash-back cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® into a single account, effectively converting those cash-back earnings into fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi ThankYou Rewards has 18 airline and hotel transfer partners. Currently, only a single card is available that offers transfers to all of these programs: the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees). Note that if you're still holding on to the Citi Prestige® Card, which is no longer open to new applicants, you also have the full transfer benefits.

However, like Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your Citi ThankYou Rewards points into a single account for select products. This allows you to effectively convert your fixed-value earnings from cards like the Citi Rewards+® Card (see rates and fees) or the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) into fully transferable ThankYou points.

The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Wells Fargo Rewards

Though Wells Fargo offers multiple credit cards, including several that earn cash-back rewards, you can currently only earn transferable Wells Fargo Rewards points with the following cards:

Bottom line

Many transfer options are available among the five major credit card loyalty programs. Transferable points are generally more valuable than any single airline or hotel point or mile because of the added flexibility of choosing where to send your points — and when to do it.

Bookmark this cheat sheet so you know your options when applying for your next transferable points-earning credit card or deciding on your next redemption.

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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