A quick guide to transferable points programs

In our opinion, transferable points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards are the most valuable points (or “miles”) to accumulate. These points can often be used to book discounted travel and, even better, can be strategically transferred to airline and hotel programs when valuable awards are available.

Each of the programs discussed here allow you to transfer points to multiple airline and hotel programs at a fair exchange rate (usually 1 to 1). This “transfer-ability” then gives you the ability to book valuable travel awards opportunistically.

Suppose you’re finally ready to book that dream trip to Asia and you find (*gasp*) that Delta has the best award availability, but you don’t have a big stash of Delta miles. That’s not a problem if you do have a big stash of Amex Membership Rewards points since Amex points transfer 1 to 1 to Delta SkyMiles. Even better, you may be able to book the same flights for significantly fewer miles by booking through one of Delta’s partners, like Air France or Virgin Atlantic, whose miles are available through multiple transferable points programs.

It can be difficult to wrap your head around these transferable points programs, given the plethora of rewards programs and award charts that are involved; not to mention the varying rules for point transfers, pooling and expiration.

This post is a brief, big picture, “toe-dipping” guide to the primary transferable points currencies that exist today.

Earning transferable points

Transferable points are primarily earned through credit cards. Points can be earned with credit card welcome offers, credit card spend, through promotions such as “refer a friend” and via shopping with various merchants.

Please see our complete guides to each program for full details about how to earn points.

Complete guides to transferable points programs

If you want to dive deeper into any of the individual programs discussed in this post, check out the guides below:

a swimming pool in a hotel
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to Hyatt are one of the most popular in points in miles.

Transfer ratios of each points program

  • Amex Membership Rewards: Points transfer to most partners 1 to 1. The exceptions are Aeromexico (1:1.6), Hilton Honors (1:2) and JetBlue (1:0.8). Amex offers more frequent transfer bonuses than any other transferable program, averaging ~20 per year.
  • Bilt Rewards: Points transfer to most partners 1 to 1, the one exception being Marriott Bonvoy, where you can get a 5,000 point bonus by making a 20,000 points transfer. Bilt offers around 5-6 transfer bonuses per year, often at excellent value.
  • Capital One “Miles”: Points transfer to most partners is at a 1 to 1 ratio, with two exceptions: EVA Air (1:0.75) and Accor Live Limitless (2:1). Capital One averages around 7-8 transfer bonuses per year that improve the transfer ratio.
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: Points transfer to all airline and hotel partners at a 1 to 1 ratio. Chase averages 8-10 transfer bonuses per year, although Hyatt is never one of them.
  • Citi ThankYou Rewards: Points transfer to most partners at a 1 to 1 ratio. Exceptions include: Accor Live Limitless (2:1), Choice Privileges (1:2) and Leader’s Club (5:1). Citi regularly offers transfer bonuses, averaging ~10/year.
  • Wells Fargo Rewards: Points transfer to most partners at a 1 to 1 ratio, except for Choice Privileges (1:2). So far, Wells has never offered a transfer bonus to any of its partners.

Transfer bonuses

a screenshot of a website
American Express Membership Rewards offers more annual transfer bonuses than any other program.

Transferable points programs often run promotions where they’ll offer more airline miles or hotel points than usual when transferring your points. For example, it’s common to see 25% transfer bonuses to Flying Blue (the loyalty program shared by Air France & KLM). When a 25% transfer bonus promotion is available, it means that you’ll get an extra 25% Flying Blue miles when you transfer your points. For example, if you transfer 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards points during a 25% transfer bonus to Flying Blue, you’ll receive 125,000 Flying Blue miles.

You can find current and past transfer bonuses here: Current point transfer bonuses.

Transfer partners for each points program

While there is a lot of overlap between them, each transferable points program has its own unique set of transfer partners.

A full list of all transfer options can be found in the Frequent Miler Transfer Partner Master List.

American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesAmex Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
AeroMexico ClubPremierAeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program.1 to 1.6 (Instant)
Air Canada AeroplanRedeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
ANA Mileage ClubRedeem for Star Alliance flights. Multiple stopovers allowed. ANA offers many great sweet-spot awards, including flying around the world in business class for as few as 115K miles! See also: ANA - a terrific Membership Rewards gem.1 to 1 (~1 day)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Cathay Pacific Asia MilesCathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details.1 to 1 (~1 day)
ChoiceChoice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World.1 to 1 (Instant)
Delta SkyMilesDelta no longer charges change or cancellation fees on awards originating in North America. Flash award sales and flights to/from locations other than the U.S. or Canada can offer great value. See: Best uses for Delta miles.1 to 1 plus excise tax (Instant)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Etihad GuestEtihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights.1 to 1 (Instant)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
Hawaiian MilesHawaiian Miles can be converted instantly to Alaska Mileage Plan miles. Alaska Airlines offers decent oneworld award pricing, excellent short-distant pricing, and uniquely allows free stop-overs one one-way awards. Additionally, Alaska allows free award changes and cancelations (although they do have a small non-refundable partner award booking fee)1 to 1 plus excise tax (Instant)
Hilton5th Night Free awards. Best value is usually found with very low end or very high end Hilton hotels. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Note that Hilton points often go on sale for half a cent each and so its rare for point transfers to Hilton to be a good value.1 to 2 (Instant)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (~12 - 72 hours (slower over weekend))
JetBlueJetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards.250 to 200 plus excise tax (Instant)
Marriott Bonvoy5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find.1 to 1 (Instant)
Qantas Frequent FlyerBest use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions)1 to 1 (Instant)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 (12 - 24 hours)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).1 to 1 (~1 day)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)

Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesBilt Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Accor Live LimitlessUse to pay hotel bill with value of 2 Euro cents per point. In some cases (such as hotel to airline transfer bonuses) it may make sense to convert Accor points to the following airline miles at a 1 to 1 ratio: Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Virgin Australia3 to 2 (Unknown)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air Canada AeroplanRedeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
Alaska MileagePlanAlaska Airlines offers decent oneworld award pricing, excellent short-distant pricing, and uniquely allows free stop-overs one one-way awards. Additionally, Alaska allows free award changes and cancelations (although they do have a small non-refundable partner award booking fee)1 to 1 (Instant)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Cathay Pacific Asia MilesCathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
Hilton5th Night Free awards. Best value is usually found with very low end or very high end Hilton hotels. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Note that Hilton points often go on sale for half a cent each and so its rare for point transfers to Hilton to be a good value.1 to 1 (Unknown)
HyattUse for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth at least 2 cents each, but they’re sometimes worth far more. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees.1 to 1 (Instant)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
IHGIHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offer very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays.1 to 1 (Instant)
Marriott Bonvoy5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find.20K to 25K (Instant)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
TAP Air PortugalSurcharge-free Emirates redemptions. Increased availability on TAP flights between US and Europe.1 to 1 (Unknown)
Turkish Airlines Miles & SmilesMiles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US.1 to 1 (Instant)
United MileagePlusUnited offers free award changes and free cancelations. Like Avianca and Aeroplan, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. Unfortunately, United charges many more miles for international first class awards. Good uses of miles include United's Excursionist Perk awards and (sometimes) dynamically priced United economy awards.1 to 1 (Instant)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)

Capital One Miles Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesCapital One Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Accor Live LimitlessUse to pay hotel bill with value of 2 Euro cents per point. In some cases (such as hotel to airline transfer bonuses) it may make sense to convert Accor points to the following airline miles at a 1 to 1 ratio: Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Virgin Australia1000 to 500 (Instant)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
AeroMexico ClubPremierAeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air Canada AeroplanRedeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Cathay Pacific Asia MilesCathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details.1 to 1 (1 - 2 days)
ChoiceChoice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World.1 to 1 (Instant)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Etihad GuestEtihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights.1 to 1 (Instant)
EVA Air Infinity MileageLandsIf you want to fly one of the best business class products in the sky, the best way to snag EVA flights is with their own miles since they release more award space to their own members. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles. Fuel surcharges are very low on these routes.
1000 to 750 (~1 day)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 (Instant)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
Qantas Frequent FlyerBest use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions)1 to 1 (~1 day)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).1 to 1 (~12 - 24 hours)
TAP Air PortugalSurcharge-free Emirates redemptions. Increased availability on TAP flights between US and Europe.1 to 1 (Unknown)
Turkish Airlines Miles & SmilesMiles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US.1 to 1 (Instant)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)
WyndhamWyndham often allows booking multi-room suites for the same price as a standard room. It's sometimes possible to get great value from points in that way. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Additionally, you can book Vacasa vacation rentals for only 15K points per room per night. Wyndham Earner cards offer automatic 10% discount on award stays.1 to 1 (Instant)

Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesChase Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air Canada AeroplanRedeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know.1 to 1 (Instant)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
HyattUse for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth at least 2 cents each, but they’re sometimes worth far more. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees.1 to 1 (Instant)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Instant)
IHGIHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offer very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays.1 to 1 (5 hours)
JetBlueJetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards.1 to 1 (Instant)
Marriott Bonvoy5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find.1 to 1 (1 - 2 days)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 via BA (Instant)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).1 to 1 (~1 day)
Southwest Rapid RewardsAward flights are fully refundable. Point values vary due to certain taxes not being charged on awards, but tend to average around 1.5 cents per point.1 to 1 (Instant)
United MileagePlusUnited offers free award changes and free cancelations. Like Avianca and Aeroplan, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. Unfortunately, United charges many more miles for international first class awards. Good uses of miles include United's Excursionist Perk awards and (sometimes) dynamically priced United economy awards.1 to 1 (Instant)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)

Citi ThankYou Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesCiti Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Accor Live LimitlessUse to pay hotel bill with value of 2 Euro cents per point. In some cases (such as hotel to airline transfer bonuses) it may make sense to convert Accor points to the following airline miles at a 1 to 1 ratio: Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Virgin Australia1000 to 500 (Instant)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
AeroMexico ClubPremierAeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program.1 to 1 (~6 days)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Cathay Pacific Asia MilesCathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
ChoiceChoice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World.1 to 2 (Instant)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Etihad GuestEtihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights.1 to 1 (~1 hour)
EVA Air Infinity MileageLandsIf you want to fly one of the best business class products in the sky, the best way to snag EVA flights is with their own miles since they release more award space to their own members. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles. Fuel surcharges are very low on these routes.
1 to 1 (~2 days)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Jet Airways Inter MilesJetAirways JetPrivilege miles are useful only for a few very specific cases such as certain flights to Hawaii for as low as 15K (30K business) one-way, or to the Caribbean or Central America for as low as 10K (20K business) one-way. Details can be found here.1 to 1 (Instant)
JetBlueJetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards.1 to 1 (Instant)
Leading Hotels of the WorldIt is often possible to get 8 cents per point value, or more from LHW points.1K to 200 (Instant)
Malaysia EnrichGiven Malaysia's award chart devaluation in June 2017, I'm not aware of any good uses for these miles.1 to 1 (1 to 2 days)
Preferred Hotels & Resorts I PreferRedeeming points for hotel stays offers the best theoretical value but availability can be hard/impossible to find. Next best option is to look for good value points+cash opportunities. Redeeming for certificates is always poor value.1 to 4 (Instant)
Qantas Frequent FlyerBest use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions)1 to 1 (~1 day)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 (~1 day)
Shop Your Way RewardsDon't do it. Shop Your Way points can be redeemed for a variety of gift cards. That said, unless Shop Your Way starts offering discounted gift cards, there's no point in converting transferrable points to Shop Your Way.1 to 10 (Instant)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).1 to 1 (~1 day)
Thai Airways International Royal Orchid PlusI'm not aware of any good uses for these miles1 to 1 (3 to 7 days)
Turkish Airlines Miles & SmilesMiles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US.1 to 1 (12 - 24 hours)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)
WyndhamWyndham often allows booking multi-room suites for the same price as a standard room. It's sometimes possible to get great value from points in that way. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Additionally, you can book Vacasa vacation rentals for only 15K points per room per night. Wyndham Earner cards offer automatic 10% discount on award stays.1 to 1 (Instant)

Wells Fargo Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesWells Fargo Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Unknown)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Unknown)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Unknown)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Unknown)
ChoiceChoice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World.1 to 2 (Unknown)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via BA (Unknown)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 (Unknown)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 via BA (Unknown)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Unkown)

How to redeem points for paid travel at better than 1 cent per point value

Other not-too-terrible uses for transferable points

  • Amex Membership Rewards: Cash out points at 1.1 cents each with the Schwab Platinum Card (1,000,000 points/year max).
  • Bilt Rewards: Bilt Rewards members can use points toward their down payment at a value of 1.5c per point when redeemed through participating lenders for eligible home purchases.
  • Capital One “Miles”: Capital One Entertainment can be an incredible deal for terrific seats to Major League Baseball games. “Cardholder Exclusive” seats are often within a few rows of the field and sometimes include club access – for only 5,000 miles per ticket.
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: Bid on experiences; Redeem for gift cards when they offer a significant discount on those gift cards; Redeem for cash at 1 cent per point value.
  • Citi ThankYou Rewards: N/A
  • Wells Fargo Rewards: N/A

Moving points to another person’s account

  • Amex Membership Rewards: United States cardholders cannot move their Membership Rewards points to other accounts. However, you can transfer points to a friend’s loyalty account as long as you add them as an authorized user or employee to one of your Membership Rewards accounts. Once your friend has been an authorized user for 90 days you can transfer points to their loyalty accounts.
  • Bilt Rewards: Bilt doesn’t allow points transfers to other members’ accounts.
  • Capital One “Miles”: Capital One allows members to freely move “miles” to anyone else’s account without limits.
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: Chase allows cardholders to freely move points from/to a household member. The recipient must also have a Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards points.
  • Citi ThankYou Rewards: Citi allows ThankYou members to move points to anyone’s ThankYou account, but points then expire 90 days after transfer. Citi only allows you to transfer or receive a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year.
  • Wells Fargo Rewards: Wells Fargo Rewards allows you to transfer between member accounts free of charge. You can also transfer between cashback-earning cards and points-earning cards.

How to keep transferable points alive

  • Amex Membership Rewards: Points do not expire as long as you have an open credit card that earns Membership Rewards points.
  • Bilt Rewards: Points do not expire as long as your account remains open and is active. An account becomes “inactive” when there has been no activity for 18 months.
  • Capital One “Miles”: If you cancel a card account that has Capital One “miles”, you will lose those points. Move points first to another account held by you or someone in your household. Alternatively, product change to a no-fee Capital One Miles card such as the VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: Points in an open account will not expire. If you close a card that earns Chase points, you will lose any points associated with that card. You should first combine points and move them away from the card you intend to close and to another card that will remain open before canceling.
  • Citi ThankYou Rewards: There are several situations in which you may have Citi ThankYou Rewards points that will expire: 60 days after cancelling an account, 90 days after a point transfer and after 18 months of inactivity for some credit cards.
  • Wells Fargo Rewards: Points do not expire as long as you have an open credit card that earns Wells Fargo Rewards points.
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Sean the frequent reader

“not-toO-terrible” (not “not-to-terrible”)

😉

Lee

The entire article is a great resource that newbies ought to bookmark. As newbies might not be familiar with the term “transfer bonus,” it might be worth adding some sort of introductory language (even though there’s a link to the other article). Just trying to help.

“A transfer bonus is a powerful tool that amplifies points and occurs when a bank affords a higher transfer rate than it normally does to a given loyalty program. Between a specific bank and a specific loyalty program, transfer bonuses range from never occurring to one/twice per year and typically in the amount of 10 percent to 30 percent extra points. Larger transfer bonuses have occurred but are unusual.”

Greg The Frequent Miler

Great suggestion. I added a section explaining transfer bonuses

Lee

Newbies to the hobby thank you. 🙂

jeph36

I think (but have not done it myself) that you can cash out TYP for effectively 1.1 cpp if you have the Rewards+, 100k annual cap. Lower cap than Amex, same rate of return, and no AF card required. Also makes the DC effectively a 2.2% everywhere card.

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Dalo

It would be good if you could update this article to reflect cards now available and cards no longer available . May I specifically suggest mentioning Marriott . Only so many hours in the day right ?
Thanks for your efforts .

Greg The Frequent Miler

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve corrected the obvious out of date stuff and threw in a few Marriott mentions. Hopefully I’ll find time to redo this guide altogether!

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