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Points and Miles: The Best Transferable Options

July 14, 2014 by Holly Johnson 8 Comments  Richmond Savers has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Richmond Savers and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Disclosures.

ocean- caribbean where we goingWith all of the different types of credit card rewards to choose from, it truly becomes overwhelming at times.  That’s because there are literally dozens of co-branded credit cards that offer hotel loyalty points, airline miles, and even cash-back. However, most travel rewards enthusiasts will agree that the most valuable points are ones that can be transferred. This post will explain a few of the most popular rewards programs with transferable points, and some of the best ways to use them. Let’s start with my favorite transferable points: Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Ultimate rewards points are my favorite points to earn. Why? Because there are so many options they can be almost anything you want them to be! For starters, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for cash back at .01 cent apiece. What that means is that 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points can become a $400 statement credit if that’s what you want. Not bad. However, there are far more lucrative ways to use your Ultimate Rewards points, and most of them involve transferring your points to another loyalty program. For example, Ultimate Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to these airlines:

  • British Airways
  • United
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Southwest
  • Korean Air

Ultimate Rewards points can also become hotel loyalty points by transferring 1:1 to the following programs:

  • IHG Rewards Club
  • Hyatt Gold Passport
  • Marriott Rewards
  • Ritz-Carlton Rewards

The fact that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to so many partners is good news for several reasons. First, the added flexibility means that you aren’t tied down to using them in any particular way. Second, you can typically transfer points in increments as small as 1,000 points, which means that you can use your Ultimate Rewards balance to top off other balances as needed.

For example, if I were running 2,000 Avios short of a redemption I wanted, I could simply transfer 2,000 UR points to British Airways.

Our favorite transfer partners for the best values are: United, British Airways, Southwest and Hyatt.

Note: Also, keep in mind that you can book travel directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website which can be a great (or less than ideal) value depending on what you’re booking.  This gets you 1.25 cents per point, so this is definitely a better option than just getting the 1 cent per point statement credit, but still not nearly as good (in most cases) as transferring the points to a partner hotel/airline.

American Express Membership Rewards

American Express offers a transferable program for its participants called Membership Rewards. Just like Ultimate Rewards points, Membership Rewards points transfer out to a wide range of airlines and hotel loyalty programs. For example, Membership Rewards points transfer out to some of the most popular airline programs, including:

  • Delta Skymiles
  • Aeromexico
  • Frontier Airlines
  • Jetblue
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Virgin America
  • British Airways
  • Air Canada
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
  • Iberia
  • Asia Miles

Membership Rewards points also transfer to the following hotel loyalty programs:

  • Best Western Rewards
  • Hilton HHonors
  • Starwood Preferred Guest (you need 3 MR points per 1 Starpoint)
  • Choice Privileges

Just like with Ultimate Rewards points, you don’t have to transfer your entire balance out either. You can simply rack up as many Membership Rewards points as you can, then use them to top off balances as it suits you. Keep in mind, you can also book your travel directly through the American Express Membership Rewards website and use your points that way instead, but again, the transfer option is usually best.

Starwood Preferred Guest

Starwood Preferred Guest points are certainly different than Ultimate Rewards points or Membership rewards since they are hotel loyalty points themselves. However, I thought it would be wise to include them on this list since they transfer out to so many airline partners.

Transferring SPG points to airlines also comes with an added bonus. For every 20,000 SPG points you transfer to an airline, you get a 5,000 bonus. So, transferring 40,000 SPG points, for example, would net you 50,000 airline miles. I like it. Keep in mind, the 5,000 bonus is only good for airlines that allow you to transfer points at a 1:1 ratio. For airlines that do not, the bonus is adjusted accordingly. For now, you can transfer your SPG points to the following airlines. Brace yourself, there are quite a few!

Frequent Flyer ProgramExchange Ratio (Starpoints : Miles)
Aeromexico Club Premier1:1
Aeroplan/Air Canada1:1
Air Berlin1:1
Air China Companion1:1
Air New Zealand & Air Points65:1
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan1:1
Alitalia MilleMiglia1:1
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club1:1
American Airlines AAdvantage1:1
Asia Miles1:1
Asiana Airlines1:1
British Airways Executive Club1:1
China Eastern Airlines1:1
China Southern Airlines’ Sky Pearl Club1:1
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles1:1
Emirates Skywards1:1
Etihad Airways1:1
Flying Blue1:1
Gol Smiles2:1
Hainan Airlines1:1
Hawaiian Airlines1:1
Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank1:1
LAN Airlines LANPASS Kms1:1.5
Miles and More1:1
Qatar Airways1:1
Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan1:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer1:1
Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus1:1
US Airways Dividend Miles1:1
United Mileage Plus2:1
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club1:1
Virgin Australia1:1

Transferable Points Rule the Game

When it comes to earning points and miles, transferable options rule the game. That’s because they don’t tie you down to using a specific program, airline, or hotel. Instead, they allow you to use the points and miles you’ve accrued to design the type of vacation you want. And to me, that’s what this hobby is all about in the first place.

Which points are your favorite to earn?  Why?

About the Author: Holly Johnson is a wife, mother of two, and frugal lifestyle enthusiast. She is the co-founder of Club Thrifty and a staff writer at Get Rich Slowly, Frugal Travel Guy, and U.S. News and World Report’s “My Money Blog.” Holly has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger Personal Finance, Fox Business, and Daily Finance.

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Richmond Savers has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Richmond Savers and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Filed Under: Travel Rewards

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Comments

  1. Done by Forty says

    July 14, 2014 at 10:31 am

    We’ve never transferred, but maybe we should start looking harder at those options. Thanks, Holly!

    Reply
    • Holly@ClubThrifty says

      July 15, 2014 at 11:54 am

      We transfer points occasionally, but only when it benefits us. Sometimes the benefit is huge!

      Reply
  2. Syed says

    July 15, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    Great summary. I really like Chase UR points as well since they have the cash back option that the other programs don’t have. Even though I may get better value transferring points to a certain program, getting a $500 check and using it towards my student loans just for signing up for a card is an amazing value for me.

    Reply
    • Holly@ClubThrifty says

      July 16, 2014 at 8:46 am

      UR points are my hands-down favorite. They are so versatile!

      Reply
  3. Practical Cents says

    July 17, 2014 at 9:44 am

    Hey Holly, this is exactly what I needed. I have the SPG card and the Gold Amex card and soon will be churning the Chase Sapphire so it can get confusing to keep up with all the options available. I’ll be book marking this post. Thanks for laying it out like this.

    Reply
    • Holly@ClubThrifty says

      July 23, 2014 at 7:35 am

      Awesome! It really does get confusing.

      Reply
  4. Pretired Nick says

    July 24, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    This is actually pretty helpful! We’re still fumbling our way through the points game, although we just purchased next year’s trip to Hawaii. Total cost for the three of us was around $100. That included some point transfer fees and we bought the insurance on one flight when we weren’t sure that might need to change it. Lodging is our next biggest expense, but since we usually stay in condo rentals, we have some ways to go there still.

    Reply
  5. Susan Casper says

    August 18, 2014 at 8:27 am

    We have Frontier miles and would like to go to England. Anyway to trade to a carrier with a British route?

    Reply

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