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 highlights the best cards for transferable points and miles and breaks down which credit card points and miles you can transfer to which airline, hotel and rail programs, along with their respective transfer ratios.

We also list our latest valuation for each transfer partner so you can get the best value to maximize your hard-earned points and miles.

Best credit cards for flexible transfer partners

The best way to earn transferable credit card points or miles is with the right credit card. Here are some of our favorite options from each issuer:

• American Express Membership Rewards: American Express Platinum Card®
• Bilt: Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees)
• Capital One miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Ultimate Rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees)
• Citi ThankYou Rewards: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees)
• Wells Fargo Rewards: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey® Card (see rates and fees)

Related: How I transitioned from cash-back rewards to my points and miles card strategy

Airline transfer partners

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

**The Capital One Venture X Business transfer to Emirates at a 4:3 ratio. All other transferable Capital One cards transfer at a 1:1 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, Loganair Loyalty, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Vueling Club accounts at a 1:1 ratio. Transfers are generally instant and can be reversed if needed.
• Programs occasionally offer transfer bonuses, which we highlight in our frequently updated guide to transfer bonuses.

Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer to more than 35 airline loyalty programs, generally at a rate of 3 Bonvoy points to 1 airline point or mile. Many overlap with the programs listed above, though Marriott does not partner with every program in the table.

You will receive an additional 5,000 airline points or miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred to most partners, except American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles and Delta SkyMiles. United MileagePlus awards 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

Related: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?

Hotel transfer partners

***The hotel ratios shown are for premium Citi cards. Other eligible Citi cards transfer to Accor Live Limitless at a 1:0.35 ratio, Choice Privileges at a 1:1.05 ratio, Leaders Club at a 1:0.14 ratio, I Prefer Hotel Rewards at a 1:1.4 ratio and Wyndham Rewards at a 1:0.7 ratio.

****Bilt Points currently transfer to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. This will change to 4:3 on Jan. 1, 2027.

*****World of Hyatt transfers remain 1:1 for Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ cardholders. They transfer at a 4:3 ratio for those with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or the legacy Ink Plus® Business Credit Card.

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

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

Rail transfer partners

How to earn transferable points or miles

You can add one of these popular cards from the top issuers to earn transferable points or miles. Here's a look at these options, broken down by issuer.

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 Membership Rewards points by signing up for Rakuten and setting your earning preference to Membership Rewards points instead of cash back.

You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to 16 airlines and four hotel partners. Three of our favorite Amex transfer partners are Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Club and Delta SkyMiles.

Bilt

There are three cards that earn Bilt Points:

• Bilt Palladium Card
• Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees)
• Bilt Blue Card (see rates and fees)

You don't need a Bilt card to earn Bilt points. You can also earn this currency by signing up for the Bilt loyalty program, linking your non-Bilt cards and transacting with certain Bilt partners (such as Bilt Dining restaurants).

Bilt has 19 airline partners (including Virgin Red), seven hotel partners and one rail partner. Some of the best-value options include Atmos Rewards and World of Hyatt.

Capital One miles

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

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Business
• Capital One Venture X Business
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business (no longer available)
• Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business (no longer available)

Capital One miles transfer to 15-plus loyalty program partners. Our favorites include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Singapore KrisFlyer and Virgin Red.

The information for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business and the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business 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 Reserve
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (see rates and fees)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business (see rates and fees)
• Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (see rates and fees)

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.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to 10 airlines and four hotel loyalty programs. Some of the highest-value Chase transfer partners include Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

These are the cards that earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points, which transfer to most partners at a 1:1 ratio:

• Citi Prestige
• Citi Strata Elite
• Citi Strata Premier

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 to most partners:

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

Citi points can be transferred to 16 airlines (including Virgin Red) and five hotel loyalty programs. Some of our favorites include American Airlines AAdvantage and Wyndham Rewards.

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

Wells Fargo Rewards points can be transferred to nine airlines (including Virgin Red) and two hotel loyalty programs. Some highlights include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Club and Iberia Club.

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, hotel or rail currency 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