Quiz any points and miles guru about their favorite type of rewards and they’ll all say the same thing: transferable currencies. These points are a jack-of-all-trades, making it easier to nab the award you want.
Instead of committing to rewards with a single airline or hotel, you earn rewards that can be transferred to partner airlines and hotels at any point in the future—or even use them as cash if your plans or goals change.
The flexibility of transferable points comes with several advantages:
- Increased award availability. As you’d expect, searching for open awards on 10 programs yields more options than limiting yourself to one.
- Access to sweet spot awards. When you’re ready to book, you can transfer points to the program that offers the best price for your chosen award.
- Freedom from commitment. You can earn rewards on an ongoing basis and determine where you want to go and how you want to use your points later.
- Protection against devaluation. Even if one airline or hotel program suffers a major devaluation, you can still use your points with another transfer partner.
- Option to bypass blackout dates and other restrictions. When you can’t find the perfect airline or hotel award, you can use your points to book travel through the program’s booking portal at a fixed value (typically 1 to 1.5 cents per point).
For travelers who are focused on rewards rather than in-flight benefits like free checked bags or priority boarding, credit cards that earn transferable points are frequently the best solution.
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Types of Transferable Credit Card Points
There are several types of transferable credit card points, each unique to their corresponding card issuer:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Bilt Rewards
- Brex Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Wells Fargo Rewards
While all of them are good, they’re not equal. Just like with hotels and airlines, each program has its strengths, weaknesses and quirks. There’s a good chance any of them could meet your needs but truly maximizing them may take a bit more effort.
As you consider which type of transferable currency is best for you, remember that redemption options are only half the equation. You’ll need to earn the points before you spend them. Luckily, each flexible credit card points program has a few cards to choose from so you can find your perfect match.
American Express Membership Rewards
Membership Rewards was one of the first types of flexible travel rewards programs and it’s still one of the most well-rounded. If you’re looking for sheer options, American Express delivers with more transfer partners than any other credit card program. With multiple airline and hotel partners, travelers should find a solution for their needs.
American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM FlyingBlue
- All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Delta SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest Rewards
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- Hilton Honors
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Qantas Loyalty
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Virgin Atlantic FlyingClub
Most Membership Rewards transfers are a 1:1 ratio and many post instantly—making it easy to nab availability the moment you need it. Additionally, American Express offers transfer bonuses a few times a year. During these promotional periods, you’ll receive 10% to 50% more miles when transferring to their highlighted partner so you can book rewards with fewer Membership Rewards points.
When transferring points won’t work for your needs, you can also use points to book through the American Express Travel portal. Points are worth a fixed rate when booking airfare (1 cent per point). If you have The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) and book qualifying airfare then you may be eligible for a 35% points rebate (up to 1 million points per calendar year on the Business Platinum) Terms apply.
For more inspiration, read up on Amex awards you can book with 75,000 to 125,000 Membership Rewards points.
Earn Membership Rewards with select American Express cards, including the American Express® Gold Card (Terms apply), The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply) and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Terms apply).
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Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards is making waves as the only way to earn rewards by paying rent, up to 100,000 points in a calendar year, with no transaction fee. Right now, there’s only one credit card associated with the program—the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®. Regardless, it’s not hard to rack up rewards quickly and they’ve amassed a solid set of travel transfer partners for redemptions.
Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners.
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Alaska Airlines MileagePlan
- American Airlines AAdvantage (ending June 2024)
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Miles
- Iberia Plus
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Points
- World of Hyatt
Transfers are on a 1:1 ratio and post quickly—instantly in most cases—so you can wait to initiate transfers until you’re ready for a specific redemption. Bilt Rewards offered a 100% transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines for Bilt Rent Day in February 2023.
Although transferring Bilt Rewards to travel partners will likely be the most valuable way to redeem points, there are other options for anyone who doesn’t need to boost their travel budget. You can redeem points toward rent payments, book fitness classes or buy merchandise on Amazon.com or in the curated Bilt Collection.
Brex Rewards
Like Bilt, Brex Rewards can only be earned with a single credit card—the Brex Card*. Despite that, it’s a valuable program with one caveat: It’s only for businesses. If you’re a small business owner looking for flexible points, it’s an option with no annual fee.
Brex Rewards Transfer Partners
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Qantas Loyalty
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Though the list of transfer partners is short, all transfers are processed in one business day or less (often instant). Besides transferring miles to partners, Brex Rewards can be used in their travel portal at 1 cent each to make travel reservations without brand restrictions or blackout dates. Gift cards and statement credits are also redemption options, though the redemption value is worse.
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Capital One Rewards
After years of marketing Capital One “miles” as a way to book travel with no blackout dates, Capital One’s rewards program expanded into transferable points in 2018. Now, you have the best of both worlds. There are more than 15 transfer partners to choose from, several of which offer instant transfers. All transfers are 1:1 unless noted otherwise.
Capital One Transfer Partners
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Accor Live Limitless (1:.5 transfer rate)
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges (U.S. accounts only)
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest Rewards
- EVA Infinity MileageLands (1:.75 transfer rate)
- Finnair Plus
- Qantas Loyalty
- Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer
- TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
Cardholders can still use their miles to cover the cost of any eligible flight or hotel room without blackout dates, including with providers that aren’t formal partners. In fact, using Capital One miles to cover the cost of eligible travel is still the most widely advertised method of using rewards although it only yields a fixed value of 1 cent per mile.
Earn Capital One Rewards with select credit cards including the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Spark Miles for Business*.
Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Chase is a beginner-friendly transferable currency, thanks to a handful of transfer partners that are widely recognized and high-value. Its Ultimate Rewards credit cards are also beloved for offering a strong suite of benefits that appeal to travelers without the fine print that some other issuers require.
Ultimate Rewards has access to a relatively small number of airline and hotel transfer partners, however, they have several transfer partners you won’t find in other programs, such as United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt, which makes some cardholders fiercely loyal to Ultimate Rewards.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- IHG Rewards Club
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- World of Hyatt
Cardholders can combine balances from multiple cards (including those from your spouse or domestic partner) so that you can hit your goals faster. Customer-friendly policies like this increase the utility of your miles and add intangible extra value.
The Chase Travel℠ booking portal can also be a useful option when you don’t want to be limited by blackout dates or specific brands and partners. Compared to other transferable currencies, Chase leads the pack in value, offering up to 1.5 cents per point when using Ultimate Rewards to pay for travel through their booking engine.
Learn more about high-value Chase redemptions as inspiration for your own trips.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards by spending on credit cards including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*, Chase Sapphire Reserve®* and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Citi ThankYou® Points
The Citi ThankYou Points program isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but it offers some incredible values when used strategically. On one hand, there is great earnings potential if you choose the right cards. On the other hand, the program’s 13 airline partners include a number of obscure programs that only the most dedicated are familiar with. Most transfers are instant and there are occasional transfer bonuses as well.
Citi ThankYou Points Transfer Partners
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Accor Live Limitless
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest Rewards
- EVA Infinity MileageLands
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- The Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club
- Qantas Loyalty
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Shop Your Way
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
While Citi focuses on programs you may not be familiar with, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’ll find several programs with low or no fuel surcharges on awards and a few sweet spot rewards where tickets are a fraction of the cost compared to other award charts. If you don’t want to study up to find these hidden values, consider hiring an award booking service that gives you all of the knowledge you need without any of the frustration or time commitments.
One major downside to ThankYou Points is a lack of marquee hotel partners. Of special interest is Choice, however, especially if you have the Citi Premier® Card which transfers points at a 1:2 ratio for certain Citi cardholders.
Earn Citi ThankYou Points with select credit cards such as the Citi Premier® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card.
Wells Fargo Rewards
Wells Fargo is the newest member of the transferable points club. The program only has six transfer partners, three of which are Avios based, but each has its own unique sweet spots if you’re willing to dig a bit.
Conversion rates are your standard 1:1, meaning 1 Wells Fargo Reward will turn into 1 partner point or mile, with the exception of Choice, which transfers 1:2.
Wells Fargo Rewards Transfer Partners
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air France-KLM
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Choice Privileges Rewards
- Iberia Plus
Wells Fargo currently only offers two credit cards with the ability to convert your points to travel partners: the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card. However, all points from credit cards that earn Wells Fargo Rewards can be combined. So if you have the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, for example, and pair it with the Journey, your points will be lumped together and you can then convert them to travel partner points or miles.
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Bonus: Marriott Bonvoy Points
Although Marriott Bonvoy isn’t a credit card program, its points work similarly to transferable currencies. You’re not limited to booking hotel stays—you can convert Bonvoy points into miles with over 35 frequent flyer programs. In most cases, miles transfer at a 3:1 ratio (for example, 30,000 Bonvoy points yields 10,000 airline miles). Marriott even throws in a 5,000 mile bonus if you transfer 60,000 points in a single transaction.
If all this sounds too good to be true, you should know there’s one major caveat to Marriott conversions. Unlike credit card point transfers which are often instant, Marriott points typically post in about a week. Travelers hoping to book an award flight will need to wait patiently and hope the seats they need don’t disappear.
Earn Marriott points with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Terms apply) and other Marriott credit cards.
Bottom Line
By their very nature, transferable points are a 10-in-one solution since you can convert points into any of the program’s transfer partners. While all of them achieve the flexibility that travelers need and want, there are nuances with each program that may make one a better fit for you. Regardless of which you choose, though, all of them are an easy way to collect a diverse and balanced collection of travel rewards for hassle-free future redemptions.
Find the Best Credit Cards for 2024
No single credit card is the best option for every family, every purchase or every budget. We've picked the best credit cards in a way designed to be the most helpful to the widest variety of readers.
To view rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for American Express® Gold Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card please visit this page.
