Credit Card Transfer Partners, Programs: What to Know

Earning credit card points and miles can be a way to protect yourself against devaluations from hotel or airline rewards programs. If you have credit card points, also known as transferable points, then you have more flexibility in where you can use your travel rewards.

For example, if you want to book an award ticket on United Airlines and you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you could transfer those points to Air Canada, ANA, Avianca or Singapore Airlines because all these airlines are part of Star Alliance alongside United.

If you’re confused, we’ve compiled a list of all the major transferable points programs and their currencies, plus the airlines and hotels they each partner with. Which program you want to use will depend on a variety of factors, including how much of each currency you have available.

Here are the credit card points and transfer partners you need to know.

The five best transferable points currencies can be earned by spending on credit cards issued by American Express, Capital One, Chase or Citi. Marriott Bonvoy points are also unique in that though they are hotel points, they still transfer to several dozen partner airlines.

Credit card transfer partners chart

Here’s a quick overview of credit card travel partners.

1. AmEx transfer partners

AmEx Membership Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to 16 of the airlines, generally with a 1,000-point minimum:

The other two airlines have different transfer ratios:

• Aeromexico Club Premier: 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,600 Club Premier points.

American Express also has three hotel transfer partners. The transfer ratio varies by program:

2. Capital One transfer partners

Points transfer to most airlines at a 1:1 ratios unless stated otherwise:

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 2:1.5.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Capital One has the following transfer ratios to its hotel partners:

3. Chase transfer partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards® has 14 transfer partners. You can transfer Ultimate Rewards® points to 11 airlines and three hotels at a 1:1 ratio.

And here are the three hotel partners that Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer to:

4. Citi transfer partners

Citi ThankYou Rewards has nearly 20 hotel, airline and retail transfer partners. ThankYou points transfer to most airline partners at a 1:1 ratio, with a 1,000-point transfer minimum, and at variable rates for retail and hotel partners.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus.

• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Sears transfer partner: Citi ThankYou points can also be transferred to Sears Shop Your Way loyalty program at a 1:10 ratio.

Citi’s partnership with Choice Hotels is notable as it gives Citi Strata Premier℠ Card holders a 1:2 ratio and Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card holders a 1:1.5 ratio.

Additionally, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card holders can transfer to Wyndham Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, while Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card holders can transfer at a 1:0.8 ratio.

Marriott Bonvoy is a hotel loyalty program, but it also offers the ability to transfer Bonvoy points to nearly 40 airline partners. Points transfer 3:1 to almost all of the airline partners, with a 5,000 point bonus if you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points.

In other words, transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points gets you 25,000 airline miles. Note that this transfer bonus does not apply to American, Delta, Avianca or Korean Air.

• Aer Lingus AerClub Avios.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• American Airlines AAdvantage.

• Asiana Airlines Asiana Club.

• British Airways Executive Club.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

• Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club.

• Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles.

• Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank.

• Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

• Saudia Arabian Airlines Alfursan.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go.

• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus.

• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

• Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer.

There is one Marriott Bonvoy airline partners that don’t transfer at the 3:1 ratio:

• Air New Zealand Airpoints (200:1).

Credit card transfer partners, recapped

These five transferrable point programs offer excellent opportunities to earn points in currency that offers ultimate flexibility. Deciding which program to earn points with depends on which airlines award space you want access to. With so many credit card transfer partner options, you can’t go wrong.

The information related to Citi Prestige® Card and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.