Have you ever seen photos of a travel influencer jetting around the world in business or first class? Chances are, they didn’t buy their ticket for the full price of $5,000 or more. And they probably didn’t redeem half a million miles directly through their credit card travel portal either. Instead, they likely transferred a smaller number of credit card reward points to an airline and redeemed those miles with the airline for their premium class, international flight.
That’s because the key to receiving the most valuable travel rewards from your credit card is using credit card transfer partners. But while millions of Americans use credit cards that offer the ability to transfer rewards to airline or hotel partners, many don’t take advantage of this powerful option.
The basics of credit card transfer partners
Several major credit cards offer reward points that can be transferred to airline or hotel partners. These transfers are typically provided on a 1:1 basis, meaning that you get a single airline mile or hotel point for each reward point transferred and redeemed. Most card rewards programs with this option offer instant transfers to their airline and hotel partners in increments of 1,000 points/miles.
Why you should transfer your credit card rewards
Most credit card reward programs offer several ways to redeem your points, including for cash back, gift cards and merchandise. Many of these programs also offer the option of redeeming your credit card rewards directly for travel reservations made through your card’s travel portal. When you redeem your credit card reward points in any of these ways, you’re likely to receive just one cent in value per point redeemed, and often less. So if you want to purchase a $5,000, business class international ticket this way, it would likely cost 500,000 credit card reward points.
But by transferring your credit card reward points to an airline partner, it can be possible to book the same business class ticket for a fraction of the cost. That’s because airlines often price international award flights at much less – oftentimes between 100,000 to 200,000 miles.
And it’s important to remember that when you transfer your credit card reward points to an airline’s frequent flier program, they can be redeemed for award flights operated by that airline’s partners as well. For example, United’s MileagePlus program regularly offers business class tickets to Europe for 160,000 miles, round-trip. And these award flights can be operated by United, or any combination of its Star Alliance partners including Air Canada, Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss and others. There are other airline transfer partners that offer round-trip business class award tickets to Europe for 100,000 miles, or even less.
When you’re able to redeem a business class ticket to Europe for 100,000 miles, then you’re receiving the equivalent of about five cents in value per point redeemed, 500% more than if you had redeemed your credit card rewards points directly through the card’s travel portal.
And the same calculation frequently holds true for hotel awards. For example, the World of Hyatt program is a transfer partner of two different credit card programs, and it’s very easy to find award night stays that give you two to three cents in value for each World of Hyatt point redeemed. That’s because there are many Hyatt properties that might cost $300 a night, but require just 12,000 points for a free night award.
➤ LEARN MORE:Best travel credit cards
Which credit cards offer transferable reward points?
Currently, six major credit card rewards programs offer cardholders the ability to transfer their rewards to travel partners. Here’s a quick overview of each:
American Express Membership Rewards
American Express offers credit card transfer partners for many of its personal and business cards.
Membership Rewards points can currently be transferred to 18 airline and three hotel partners. The most valuable transfer partners are Air Canada, ANA and Avianca which are part of the Star Alliance; Virgin Atlantic and Air France/KLM, which are part of the SkyTeam Alliance; and Iberia which is part of the OneWorld Alliance. Hilton is also a valuable hotel partner.
➤ LEARN MORE:Guide to American Express Membership Rewards
Bilt Rewards Mastercard
The Bilt Rewards Mastercard is offered by Wells Fargo, and its rewards program offers credit card transfer partners including 13 airline and five hotel programs.
Their most valuable airline partners are Air Canada, Avianca and United which are part of the Star Alliance; Virgin Red and Air France/KLM and Alaska, which are part of the SkyTeam Alliance; and Iberia which is part of the OneWorld Alliance. Hilton is also a valuable hotel partner as is World of Hyatt.
Capital One Miles
Capital One offers its own proprietary “Miles” from consumer and business cards like its Venture suite of cards and Spark Miles cards. These cards also feature credit card transfer partners including 16 airline and two hotel programs. Their most valuable airline transfer partners are Air Canada and Avianca, which are part of the Star Alliance; Air France/KLM, which is part of the SkyTeam Alliance; and British Airways and Qantas, which are part of the OneWorld Alliance.
➤ LEARN MORE:Guide to Capital One Miles
Citi Thankyou Rewards
Citi offers ThankYou Rewards points from its card_name and AT&T Points Plus cards. Holders of these cards can also pool points with other eligible Citi cards. Among its credit card transfer partners, Citi offers 14 airline transfer partners and five hotel partners. Its most valuable airline transfer partners include Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue, which are part of the SkyTeam Alliance; Avianca, which is part of the Star Alliance; and Qantas, which is part of the OneWorld Alliance. There is also strong value in transferring rewards to Wyndham hotels, which can be done at a 1,000 to 1,200 ratio, and the Choice Privileges program, at a 1,000 to 2,000 ratio. Citi is a CardRatings advertiser.
➤ LEARN MORE:Guide to Citi ThankYou Points
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase offers several personal and small business cards that feature credit card transfer partners within the Ultimate Rewards program. These cards include their card_name and card_name personal accounts, as well as their card_name. And while reward points from their card_name, card_name, card_name and card_name can’t be directly transferred to travel partners, these points can be combined with points from other cards, and then transferred.
Chase currently offers eight airline partners and three hotel partners. Their most valuable airline partners include United and Air Canada, which are part of the Star Alliance; Air France/KLM and Virgin Atlantic, which are part of the SkyTeam Alliance; Iberia, which is part of the OneWorld Alliance; and Southwest Airlines, which doesn’t participate in any alliance. The World of Hyatt program is also a transfer partner and is very valuable.
➤ LEARN MORE:Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Wells Fargo Rewards
The card_name offers credit card transfer partners including six airline transfer partners. The most valuable ones are Air France/KLM and Virgin Atlantic, which are part of the SkyTeam Alliance; Avianca, which is part of the OneWorld Alliance; and Avianca, which is part of the Star Alliance. It can also be very valuable to transfer rewards to Choice Hotels points, which can be done at a 1:2 ratio.
How to transfer credit card points to airline and hotel partners
One of the reasons that cardholders don’t take advantage of point transfer partners is that it can be more difficult and confusing than simply booking a ticket directly through a card’s travel portal. But the savings in points is worth the extra effort.
To redeem your credit card rewards points for the most possible value, you will first need to find the price and availability of the flights, or hotel nights you are looking for, understanding that the best values will usually be found when searching further in advance, and being flexible with your dates, or even with your departure locations. You should also take into account any additional fees that airlines impose on their award tickets. Thankfully, hotel programs offer much greater award availability, and rarely impose any additional fees, making them a great option for transferring rewards.
To book your desired flights or hotel rooms using your credit card rewards, simply transfer points from your credit card to the travel provider’s loyalty program via your card’s travel portal. Remember to have a loyalty account established beforehand. Once the transfer is complete, your miles will be available in your loyalty account, allowing you to book travel as you normally would.
Bottom line
If you want to redeem your credit card rewards for the most valuable airline and hotel stays, then you need to consider using credit card transfer partners. By understanding what credit card transfer partners are, and how to use them, you can soon find yourself in luxurious airline seats and glamorous hotel rooms, for fewer points than you might have thought possible.
