For starters, having a credit card that earns flexible, transferable points is key to getting outsize value — think cards that accrue American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and others.
Sure, with those points, you can choose to book a trip through the card issuer’s portal at a fixed value per point. As we often talk about, though, you’ll get the best mileage out of your points by transferring them to an airline or hotel partner.
Many travelers find particularly strong value in transferring points to an international airline’s loyalty program, like transferring Amex points to Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program, where business-class redemptions to and from Europe can start at 50,000 miles. That’s fewer miles than what you’ll find with major U.S. carriers. This can help you land that lie-flat seat you’ve been waiting for.
This same concept works with hotel partners. For example, one of TPG’s favorite hotel programs is World of Hyatt, and you can transfer Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, which can be to your advantage over using those points at a fixed value for travel.
I recently redeemed 25,000 World of Hyatt points for a stay at the Palacio Duhau, a Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires, avoiding a $600-plus nightly rate. That was a return of 2.4 cents per point — much better than if I used the points at a fixed rate of 1-1.25 cents each.
Seem like a lot to keep track of? Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered. Not only do we offer the free Points 101 email series, but we also now have a TPG Transfer Partner Cheat Sheet exclusively available for our newsletter subscribers.
In addition, here are some guides to help you get started with transferring your hard-earned points for the best value:
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