Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels

We love transferable credit card points and miles here at TPG.

The ability to transfer your rewards to a wide range of airline and hotel loyalty programs provides valuable flexibility to maximize your travel. You're not locked into a single redemption scheme as you plan your trips. If you can't find the seats available in one program, you can choose another program before transferring any credit card points or miles. If a program devalues its currency without notice, you can switch to a different program for your next points or miles transfer.

With dozens of different transfer possibilities, it can be difficult to remember just how many options you have.

Here's a handy guide that breaks down which credit card points and miles you can transfer to which airline and hotel programs, along with their respective transfer ratios. We also list our valuation for each transfer partner so you can get the best value to maximize your hard-earned points and miles.

Airline transfer partners

*You can transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio with certain Citi cards — the Citi Prestige® Card, Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees) and Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees). Rewards with other Citi cards transfer at a 1:0.7 ratio.

The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

There are a few important notes to highlight regarding these transfer partners:

• Many transfers are instantaneous, though you should check out our guides to transfer times for American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase and Wells Fargo for more details.
• You can transfer Avios between Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club, Finnair Plus, Iberia Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts in any direction at a 1:1 ratio.
• Programs occasionally offer transfer bonuses, which we highlight in our frequently updated guide to transfer bonuses.

Finally, except for EVA Air Infinity MileageLands and Finnair Plus, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to all airline partners listed above at a rate of 3 Bonvoy points to 1 airline point or mile. You will receive an additional 5,000 airline points or miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred, except with the following airline programs: American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles and Delta SkyMiles. Additionally, United MileagePlus awards 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

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Related: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?

Hotel transfer partners

As with transfers to airline partners, most transfers to hotel partners are instantaneous, though you can read more in our previously mentioned guides to transfer times for Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo.

Related: Why you should master a few credit card transfer partners, and (most likely) leave the rest behind

How to earn transferable points or miles

The best way to earn transferable credit card points or miles is with the right credit card. Here's a look at your best options.

American Express Membership Rewards

These are the most popular cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Platinum Card®
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Business Gold Card

You can also earn Amex points by signing up for Rakuten and setting your earning preference to Membership Rewards points instead of cash back.

Bilt Rewards

Bilt offers one credit card, the Bilt Mastercard®. Cardmembers can earn rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 Bilt Points in a calendar year), plus 2 points per dollar spent on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises and rental cars) and 3 points per dollar spent on dining.

You must complete at least five transactions per statement period to earn points. Best of all, the Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee.

The information for the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Capital One miles

Here are the cards that currently earn transferable Capital One miles:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Business
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business
• Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Here are the cards that earn fully transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (see rates and fees)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

However, if you have one of these cards, you can also combine your rewards from cash-back cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees) and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) in a single account, effectively converting those cash-back earnings into fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points.

The information for the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi ThankYou Rewards has 21 airline and hotel transfer partners, plus one retail partnership with Shop Your Way. If you hold the Citi Prestige, Strata Elite or Strata Premier, you can leverage these partners at their full transfer ratios.

However, as with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your Citi ThankYou Rewards points in a single account for select products. This unlocks the full transfer ratios. If you transfer from one of these cards without holding a premium Citi card, you'll get a 1:0.7 transfer ratio:

• Citi Custom Cash® Card
• Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees)
• Citi Strata℠ Card (see rates and fees)

The information for the Citi Custom Cash Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Wells Fargo Rewards

Though Wells Fargo offers multiple credit cards, including several that earn cash rewards, you can currently only earn transferable Wells Fargo Rewards points with the following cards:

• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see rates and fees)
• Wells Fargo Autograph® Card (see rates and fees)

Related: How to choose the best credit card for you

Bottom line

Many transfer options are available among the major credit card loyalty programs. Transferable points and miles are generally more valuable than any single airline or hotel point or mile because they give you the added flexibility to choose where to send your rewards — and when to do it.

Bookmark this cheat sheet so you know your options when applying for your next transferable points- or miles-earning credit card or deciding on your next redemption.

Related: These apps and websites make award redemptions easier to find