Interested in free travel? Transfer partners is the sweet spot in earning free travel. Earn points for everyday spending and then use them for whatever type of travel you want.
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This post is not intended as financial advice. Be sure to read all bank disclosures.
There are about a dozen major banks that offer credit cards in the United States and even more smaller and regional banks doing so. Most offer some sort of rewards points program as an incentive. However, only a handful have transfer partners. And transfer partners is the best way for you to maximize your returns.
Most credit card companies have a portal through which you can redeem the points you have earned at an average of about 1 cent per point. So 100,000 point will get you about $1000 in awards. However, with the right use of transfer partners the same 100,000 points could land you a roundtrip transpacific business class ticket on one of the most luxurious airlines in the sky–worth almost $20,000! (Or several long haul economy ticket if you’re not interested in YOLO travel.)
How Transfer Partners Work
This post is not an in-depth look at the workings of credit card reward programs. Rather, it is a concise summary of transfer partners. Therefore, this is a very brief overview of how to utilize transfer partners.
Step One: Earn
Each bank has a different name for its point currency. But, regardless of the name, spend like you normally would on your credit cards to earn those points. One way to earn a huge amount of points is with welcome bonuses. NEVER SPEND MONEY ON A CREDIT CARD THAT YOU DON’T HAVE AND WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE SPENDING. DO NOT GO INTO DEBT TO EARN POINTS. ALWAYS PAY OFF IN FULL.
Step Two: Plan
Even though I call this “step two”, part of planning can happen simultaneously–or even before–step one.
Planning before spending means that you already have a specific destination, airline, or hotel in mind. This goal will allow you to maximize your points on a credit card that has those transfer partners rather than just earning the most points.
Planning simultaneously would mean that you already have a large number of points on a particular card. So once you pick a destination you can look at which airlines/hotels your card partners with and determine what makes the most sense for your trip. (For ease of language, I am going to just refer to airlines/flights, but most cards have hotel transfer partners too and the process is the same. With the size of my family, I just tend to book vacation rentals rather than hotels anyway.)
Keep in mind that most airlines use dynamic pricing for their rewards tickets not just their cash tickets. This means that when you are initially planning you may see a ticket that costs 25,000 points. But, by the time you earn those points the price has gone up to 30,000 points.
Step Three: Pick
Pick the reservation you want. The more flexible you are with your dates, the better deal you will get. There are many apps and websites that can help you find the best points deal. Although a thorough review is beyond the scope of this article at the moment, some of the more popular ones for flights are AwardHacker, Point.Me, and the TPG App.
If you have a particular airline in mind, their website is a good place to start a search. But not necessarily the best place. I shared an experience I had booking a reservation a while back. By booking through a partner’s website I was able save almost 75% for the exact same flight! The same is true when redeeming points–make sure to check the alliance partners. Also, be aware that there will almost always be some sort of fee that you’ll have to pay in actual money. Occasionally it’s included, but more often than not it can range from $5-$200+ per flight segment. So keep this in mind when doing your price comparisons.
Some airline frequent flyer programs have a reputation for better redemptions and some regularly run specials. This could save you thousands of points which could translate to even more free travel.
Make sure you have a frequent flyer account with the airline with which you want to book. Some airlines won’t even let you search reward fares without logging in.
Step Four: Transfer
Once you pick a flight, you can’t book until you have the points in your frequent flyer account. So, you’ll have to transfer them from your bank. Some points take longer to transfer than others and you may lose the availability while awaiting the transfer. So take advantage when the airline you are eying allows for holds on award tickets. (Most often this needs to be done over the phone.)
Word of Caution: credit card point transfers work one-way only! Once you transfer to the partner airline you can not transfer back. So if you change your mind about the flight, you’ll only be able to use those points with that specific airline in the future.
Step Five: Book
Once your points have successfully transferred, make your booking as soon as possible so you don’t lose the seat or have the “price” go up. Your ticket is not booked until you have a confirmation that it is booked.
Step Six: Enjoy
Enjoy the trip! Especially when you are sitting next to someone who paid thousands of dollars for the same thing you got for free! Since you have the credit card anyway, make sure you take advantage of any of the travel perks that it comes with: no foreign transaction fees, airline/hotel/rental car status, rental car insurance, travel insurance, airport lounge access, TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, or even CLEAR membership.
Step Seven: Repeat
Once you’re home (or even before you leave or are still away), you can start earning more points towards your next trip.
List of Transfer Partners
While there is some overlap, each bank has some unique transfer partners. Click on your bank to jump to the list of its transfer partners. Keep in mind that not all cards issued by the bank is eligible to access its transfer partners. Refer to the bank’s terms and conditions.
Many banks regularly run bonus point promotions with their transfer partners, so you may get more than what I have listed below. So, if you have more than one card thar partners with your airline of choice, it’s worth double checking if one of your cards has a current promo.
I have also highlighted the transfer partners unique to each bank in red and included the airline’s alliance membership, when applicable.
American Express (Membership Rewards)
American Express has 20 transfer partners: 17 airlines and 3 hotels, including 3 unique partners. Most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio in quantities of 1,000-999,000 points in 1,000 point increments and are processed in 48 hours. Exceptions are noted below.
Aer Lingus (Aerclub)
AeroMexico (Club Premier) SkyTeam Alliance
*Transfer ration 1:1.6
Air Canada (Aeroplan) Star Alliance
Air France/KLM (Flying Blue) SkyTeam Alliance
ANA (Mileage Club) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time 4 days
Avianca (LifeMiles) Star Alliance
*Quantity 1,000-750,000 LifeMiles in 1,000 increments
*Transfer Time 72 hours
British Airways (Executive Club) OneWorld Alliance
Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) OneWorld Alliance
Delta (SkyMiles) SkyTeam Alliance
Emirates (Skywards)
Etihad (Guest)
Hawaiian Airlines (HawaiianMiles)
Iberia (Plus) OneWorld Alliance
JetBlue (TrueBlue)
*Transfer Ratio 250:200
*Quantity 250-999,750 TrueBlue Points in 250 increments
Qantas (Frequent Flyer) OneWorld Alliance
*Quantity 500-999,500 Qantas Points in 500 increments
Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) Star Alliance
Transfer Ratio 1:1
Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) SkyTeam Alliance
Choice Hotels (Privileges)
Hilton (Honors)
*Transfer Ratio 1:2
*Quantity 1,000-3,000,000 Hilton Honors Points in 1,000 increments
*Transfer Time 24 hours
Marriot (Bonvoy)
BILT (BILT Points)
BILT has 14 transfer partners: 12 airlines and 2 hotels, including 1 unique partner. With BILT there is a 1:1 transfer ratio with all partners and the transfer time is almost instantaneous (except American Airlines can take up to 24 hours).
When holding the entry level Blue Status, transfers must be in 2,000 point increments. For Silver Status and above, transfers can be in 1,000 point increments.
Aer Lingus (AerClub)
Air Canada (Aeroplan) Star Alliance
Air France/KLM (Flying Blue) SkyTeam Alliance
American Airlines (AAdvantage) OneWorld Alliance
*Transfer Time 24 hours
British Airways (Executive Club) OneWorld Alliance
Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) OneWorld Alliance
Emirates (Skywards)
Hawaiian Airlines (HawaiianMiles)
Iberia (Plus) OneWorld Alliance
Turkish Airlines (Miles & Smiles) Star Alliance
United (MileagePlus) Star Alliance
Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) SkyTeam Alliance
IHG (One Rewards)
Hyatt (World of Hyatt)
Capital One (Capital One Miles)
Capital One has 18 transfer partners: 14 airlines, 3 hotels, and Virgin Red, including 2 unique partners. Most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio at a minimum of 1,000 Capital One miles and are processed instantly. There are some notable exceptions below.
AeroMexico (Club Premier) SkyTeam Alliance
Air Canada (Aeroplan) Star Alliance
Avianca (LifeMiles) Star Alliance
British Airways (Executive Club) OneWorld Alliance
Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) OneWorld Alliance
*Transfer Time up to 5 business days
Emirates (Skywards)
Etihad (Guest)
*Transfer Time up to 1 day
EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) Star Alliance
*Transfer Ratio 2:1.5
*Transfer Time up to 5 business days
Finnair (Plus) OneWorld Alliance
Qantas (Frequent Flyer) OneWorld Alliance
Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) Star Alliance
TAP (Miles&Go) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time usually same day
Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time usually same day
ALL (Accor Live Limitless)
*Transfer Ratio 2:1
*Transfer Time up to 5 business days
Choice Hotels (Privileges)
*Transfer Time usually same day
Wyndham (Rewards)
*Transfer Time usually same day
Virgin Red
*Transfer Time usually same day
Chase (Ultimate Rewards)
Chase has 14 transfer partners: 11 airlines and 3 hotels, including 1 unique partner. All transfers are at a 1:1 ratio (unless there is a promo). According to Chase’s website, transfer are processed by the next business day, although may take up to seven business days. However, there is anecdotal evidence that most are actually instant other than those noted below.
Aer Lingus (AerClub)
Air Canada (Aeroplan) Star Alliance
Air France/KLM (Flying Blue) SkyTeam Alliance
British Airways (Executive Club) OneWorld Alliance
Emirates (Skywards)
Iberia (Plus) OneWorld Alliance
JetBlue (TrueBlue)
Singapore Airline (KrisFlyer) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time 12-24 hours
Southwest (Rapid Rewards)
United Airlines (MileagePlus) Star Alliance
Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) SkyTeam Alliance
Hyatt (World of Hyatt)
IHG (One Rewards)
*Transfer Time 1 day
Marriott (Bonvoy)
*Transfer Time 2 days
Citi (ThankYou Points)
Citi has 17 transfer partners: 14 airlines, 2 hotels, and Shop Your Way, including 2 unique partners. Most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio in quantities of 1,000-500,000 points in 1,000 point increments and are processed instantly. There are some notable exceptions below.
AeroMexico (Club Premier) SkyTeam Alliance
Air France/KLM (Flying Blue) SkyTeam Alliance
Avianca (LifeMiles) Star Alliance
Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) OneWorld Alliance
*Transfer Time 12-24 hours
Emirates (Skywards)
Etihad (Guest)
EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time 1-3 days
JetBlue (TrueBlue)
Qantas (Frequent Flyer) OneWorld Alliance
*Transfer Time 1-2 days
Qatar Airways (Privilege Club) OneWorld Alliance
*Transfer Time 1-2 days
Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time 12-48 hours
Thai Airways (Royal Orchid Plus) Star Alliance
*Transfer Time 4-7 days
Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles) Star Alliance
Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) SkyTeam Alliance
Choice Hotels (Privileges)
*Transfer Ration 1:2
Wyndham (Rewards)
Shop Your Way
*Transfer Ratio 1:10
*No minimum quantity
HSBC (Rewards Points)
HSBC has recently more than doubled their number of transfer partner to 13: 11 airlines and 2 hotels. However, HSBC doens not currently have an y unique transfer partners. Transfers are at a 1:1 ratio.
Aer Lingus (AerClub)
Air France/KLM (Flying Blue) SkyTeam Alliance
Avianca (LifeMiles) Star Alliance
British Airways (Executive Club) OneWorld Alliance
Emirates (Skywards)
EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) Star Alliance
Iberia (Plus) OneWorld Alliance
Qantas (Frequent Flyer) OneWorld Alliance
Qatar Airways (Privilege Club) OneWorld Alliance
TAP (Miles&Go) Star Alliance
Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles) Star Alliance
ALL (Accor Live Limitless)
Wyndham (Rewards)
If you play your cards right (no pun intended), you can easily have access to 37 different transfer partners. With over 5,000 airlines worldwide, that may not sound like a lot. But, keep in mind that this covers all three major alliances a well as many others that offer codeshare bookings. This will give you access to at least six continents. (Antarctica usually requires a boat anyway, but some of these transfer partners enable award bookings for cruises too.)
Furthermore, since each hotel partner represents multiple brands, you’ll have access to bookings at almost 45,000 properties from over 170 brands across just as many countries.
If you really can’t find what you’re looking for, and don’t want to book through the portal, some cards even allow you to use your points to retroactively wipe out any travel related expenses!
There are so many ways to maximize your credit card rewards when using transfer partners. The possibilities are only as endless as your imagination and the ends of the earth. Where will you go? Need help planning?
Start earning rewards today:
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