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One of the most asked questions in the points and miles world is: “Can you transfer your points and miles from different frequent flyer programs?”
Sadly, the disappointing answer is that you generally can't combine your points and miles between most programs. For example, despite Alaska Airlines and American Airlines being partners in the Oneworld alliance, you can't transfer Alaska points to American Airlines — or vice versa.
There are some workarounds, but these are generally not worth using as they destroy most of the value of your points and miles due to poor exchange rates. Overall, the general rule is that you shouldn't plan on transferring your miles between different frequent flyer programs.
However, like with most rules, there are some exceptions. And that's what we're here to discuss today.
Page Contents
- Avios are the Only Freely Transferable Mileage Currency
- Using Airline Miles to Book Partner Awards
- Transferring Hotel Points to Airlines
- Marriott Bonvoy® airline transfer partners
- Accor Live Limitless airline transfer partners
- Best Western airline transfer partners
- Choice Privileges airline transfer partners
- Hilton Honors airline transfer partners
- IHG One Rewards airline transfer partners
- Radisson Rewards airline transfer partners
- Shangri-La Circle airline transfer partners
- World of Hyatt airline transfer partners
- Wyndham Rewards airline transfer partners
- Transferring Airline Miles to Hotel Points
- Earning Credit Card Points is a Better Option
- Previous Ways to Transfer Points Between Frequent Flyer Programs
- Our Take
Avios are the Only Freely Transferable Mileage Currency
Avios are the best example of a freely transferable mileage currency. Five major airlines and one regional carrier share the Avios currency: British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, all part of the International Airlines Group (IAG). Then, Qatar Airways adopted the Avios program in early 2022, Finnair followed suit in 2024, and finally, Loganair in early 2025.
Now, all six programs earn the same currency: Avios. And you can transfer Avios between programs at no cost, instantly, at a 1:1 ratio.
This ability makes Avios unique in the points and miles world. It's important to note that free, rapid transfers at a 1:1 ratio between programs are practically unheard of elsewhere!
Related: Best Credit Cards for Earning Avios
Using Airline Miles to Book Partner Awards
Even though you generally can't transfer miles between frequent flyer programs, that doesn't mean you can't leverage airline partnerships to make your airline miles more valuable. You have options when it comes to booking flights on one airline with the miles in another airline's loyalty program.
Realizing that they needed to meet their passengers' needs and that airlines don't operate every route in the world, airlines have formed alliances and partnerships. The three main airline alliances are Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam.
- Star Alliance is the biggest alliance and features industry heavyweights like United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Avianca, and Singapore Airlines.
- Oneworld is another big player and features American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and Qatar Airways, amongst others.
- SkyTeam is the other major alliance, featuring airlines such as Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.
Using airline alliances is an excellent way for you to earn and redeem miles in one program when you fly on another airline. For example, you can use Air Canada Aeroplan points to fly on over four dozen airlines. However, it doesn't end there. Most airlines have other partnerships with non-alliance partners.
Take, for instance, one of the major Middle Eastern carriers: Etihad Airways. It's possible to earn miles from paid flights on Etihad with miles from American Airlines (Oneworld member), Air France KLM Flying Blue (SkyTeam), and Air Canada (Star Alliance). Historically, you could also redeem miles for flights on Etihad with these partners, but this ability has been severely restricted since late 2024.
With an extensive list of partnerships, you have many options to use your miles to book a route. Not being able to transfer miles from one frequent flyer program to another won't be a roadblock if you understand how to use miles from one program to book flights on partner airlines.
Related: How to Find Airline Partner Award Flight Availability
Transferring Hotel Points to Airlines
While you can't transfer frequent flyer miles between airline programs (such as moving American Airlines AAdvantage miles to Delta Air Lines SkyMiles), it is sometimes possible to transfer hotel points to airline miles, and sometimes from airline miles to hotel points.
At best, some transfer rates are decent, and others are downright awful. But these options exist if you need just a few miles for a redemption.
Marriott Bonvoy® airline transfer partners
Marriott Bonvoy® points transfer to 37 airlines. Almost all transfers are at a reasonable 3:1 transfer ratio, and you'll get a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring at least 60,000 points to most partners. These features make Marriott the most well-known and best option for transferring points from a hotel program to airline miles.
One thing to keep in mind is that the following programs do not qualify for the 5,000-point bonus when you transfer 60,000 points.
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Delta SkyMiles
You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to all of the following airlines:
Accor Live Limitless airline transfer partners
You can also transfer points from Accor Live Limitless to certain airlines:
Best Western airline transfer partners
Best Western Rewards has these airline transfer partners:
Choice Privileges airline transfer partners
You can transfer Choice Privileges points to these airline partners:
Hilton Honors airline transfer partners
These are the transfer partners for Hilton Honors:
IHG One Rewards airline transfer partners
IHG One Rewards points transfer to the following airlines:
Radisson Rewards airline transfer partners
Radisson Rewards points can be transferred to these airline miles:
Shangri-La Circle airline transfer partners
You can transfer from Shangri-La Circle to the following:
World of Hyatt airline transfer partners
These are the World of Hyatt transfer partners:
Wyndham Rewards airline transfer partners
And Wyndham Rewards offers these:
Transferring Airline Miles to Hotel Points
Accor airline transfer partners
Of all of the hotel programs, Accor Live Limitless offers travelers the most opportunities to transfer airline miles into hotel points. Here are the current options:
Other airline-to-hotel transfer options
When you exclude Accor, only a few hotel programs allow miles transfers from airlines:
Earning Credit Card Points is a Better Option
So far, we've covered transferring points between airlines (rarely possible), transferring hotel points to airline miles (generally not worth it), and transferring airline miles to hotel points (usually even worse value). However, there's one more type of points transfer we need to discuss — and it's our favorite: transferring bank points to airlines/hotels.
We generally recommend earning flexible credit card points instead of individual airline miles or hotel points. Choosing flexible credit card points is ideal for these reasons:
- Flexibility: You can transfer your points to various airlines and hotel programs and redeem them for a flight. You can even opt to redeem them directly via your card issuer's travel portal, but you aren't locked into one program the way you are with an airline's frequent flyer miles. You can redeem them in the way that's best for your current vacation planning.
- Mimics elite perks: With premium travel rewards credit cards, you can score some of the benefits of airline elite status, like airport lounge access.
Let's take a look at the main flexible points currencies.
American Express Membership Rewards
The points program of American Express, Membership Rewards can be transferred to 20 airline and hotel partners, redeemed in the American Express Travel® portal, redeemed for statement credits on your bill, and much more. You can earn Membership Rewards with numerous cards, including these:
- American Express Platinum Card®
- American Express® Gold Card
- American Express® Green Card
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 2X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
Capital One Rewards
You can transfer miles from Capital One to 22 airline and hotel programs. Other options for using your miles include statement credit, offsetting recent travel purchases, and booking travel through the portal. Some of the cards that earn Capital One miles include:
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Capital One Venture X Business
If you have a miles-earning card and a card that earns cash back, you can combine those earnings, meaning these cards can also help you earn Capital One miles:
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per $1 on flights booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on other eligible purchases
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase's points program is called Ultimate Rewards, and you can transfer these points to 13 airline and hotel partners. You can also redeem points with Pay Yourself Back, as a statement credit, or in the Chase Travel portal — though this happens at different rates depending on which card you have. Some of the cards earning Ultimate Rewards points include:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
It's also possible to combine cash-back earnings with points if you have both types of cards, so you could earn Ultimate Rewards with these cards as well:
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees)
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Citi ThankYou® Rewards
You can transfer Citi ThankYou® Points to 15 airline and five hotel partners. You can also redeem points in the Citi travel portal, for statement credits, or to pay with points when shopping at various merchants. The following cards earn ThankYou Points:
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
- Citi Strata Premier® Card
- Citi Strata℠ Card
- AT&T Access Card from Citi
- Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card (not available to new applicants)
- Citi Prestige® Card (not available to new applicants)
Several Citi credit cards that are marketed as cash-back cards actually earn ThankYou® Points, though you'll have access to fewer transfer partners if you don't also hold a points-earning card with an annual fee. These include:
Bilt Rewards
You can also transfer Bilt Rewards Points to 18 airlines airline partners and five hotel partners. You can earn Bilt Points for a range of activities, from paying your rent to making purchases with The Bilt Mastercard® (Rates & Fees).
- 3x points on dining
- 2x points on travel
- 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year)
- 1x points on other purchases
- *You must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points—see Rewards & Benefits.
Brex Rewards
Last (and certainly least) is Brex Rewards. Brex previously offered checking and spending accounts for small businesses before tightening up its requirements and closing most small business accounts. Then, in March 2023, Brex significantly devalued its points with no notice. Remaining Brex Rewards account holders can transfer points to seven airlines at the following rates:
Previous Ways to Transfer Points Between Frequent Flyer Programs
In the past, travelers could use Points.com to transfer miles from one mileage program to another. This wasn't a particularly good option as most transfers occurred at atrociously bad rates, removing most value in the process. It was only worth gritting your teeth and performing these transfers in rare circumstances.
For example, say you needed just a dozen more miles for an award redemption, needed them now, and were willing to sacrifice value to gain it from a high-value redemption that you couldn't accomplish in another way. That's where this transfer method was helpful.
Unfortunately, Points.com killed off its point transfer program in September 2022. And we aren't aware of another legitimate way to move points directly between airline programs.
Our Take
Being unable to transfer your points and miles between frequent flyer and loyalty programs is an unfortunate frustration of the points and miles world.
However, this inflexibility should not be a deal-breaker for getting involved with travel rewards. With a little planning and strategy, you can select the right mix of airline, hotel, and credit card programs to give you all the flexibility you need.
Transferring your miles freely would be the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, we can’t see that happening. Being able to transfer your points freely between programs would place the programs in direct competition with each other and drive the price of awards down. That is the last thing airlines want since it directly hits their bottom line.
A related topic is being able to share your points and miles with someone else within the same program. See here for our guide to sharing points and miles with others for free.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees), Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and The Bilt Mastercard® (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Thank you!
You can also transfer Etihad miles to Air Arabia 1 to 1 – but the transfer rate from Air Arabia to Etihad is 2 to 1.
Exchange rates are horrible on points.com
I used to credit hotels directly to BA/IB, or convert them regularly, but now I leave them in the hotel programme and keep track of their potential Avios value instead. My hotel points are my Transferrable Rewards – not that I have much in them…
I have a spreadsheet that shows what my B6 to IHG (via points.com) and then to BA Avios conversion would be if I ever needed it, and no, it doesn’t make sense – but at least I can see what’s possible.
Also an options (or was, is currently suspended) is SQ KrisFlyer to VA Velocity – 1.55:1.0 in both directions (used to be 1.35:1). Not sure if it’ll return, it’s been suspended since April 2020.
Soy adherente al programa de American Airlines y vivo en Argentina.
Hasta hace unos años juntaba millas con el Citibank, luego con el Banco Santander.
Tienen pensado que el programa de AA siga con algun banco de Argentina?
Muchas gracias por vuestra atencion
Marcelo Brzostowski
I love earning my Amex and Chase points. I am considering Citi, if they keep American as a transfer partner. I wonder if it would be a good idea to get a Citi card and transfer anything during their promo with American, if I have no plans yet with their miles?
I normally like just using the miles on the airline I have the account with but I may have to look at using them on partners. I just find that it can be limiting on partners for some.
It doesn’t make sense, why there isn’t only one integrated Avios Frequent flyer program for all the 3 aforementioned airlines and there is the segregation between Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia miles accrual .
By taking KLM and Air France as example, they also belong to the same group and share the same Flying Blue frequent flyer program in common and you manage your miles in only one account.
Bottom line: Not practical , despite the fact that British Avios are easily transferred as 1:1 ratio to Iberia and vice versa.
Hmm seems the exchange rate is very poor.
You are so right, the exchange rates at points.com are truly atrocious!
Major airline alliance partners already make it easier to pool our redemptions and earnings. Would be interesting to be able to transfer between partners, but that feels like a stretch as it can affect the bottom line for different companies.
Thanks for the reminder, I really need to sit and check all my accounts – last 1.5 years I travels lest and some of miles / points are probably better to transfer
Hi, its sound good and great idea. I can use soon! Thks
Every time I check points.com, there are even fewer partners. Also, some programs, like Delta, allow you to transfer TO, but not from the program.
It is definitely hard to transfer miles to other programs without losing a lot of the value. It is even hard to transfer miles to other family members on the same program except for Jetblue which allow pooling of points.
Transferring miles was something much more useful 20 years ago.
exactly : )
While transferring miles between programs will never realistically be practical, I wish more programs allowed free pooling of miles of similar accounts such as JetBlue and Hilton do now. This is a very attractive feature that wins my business for them over their competitors simply for this reason. It allows you to combine the points in several accounts so that you can actually get a reward worth having and take the family on a fun vacation.
This is the reason why you need to have flexible curriencies that transfer to multiple partners. Helps with devaluation as well.
If it were easy to move miles, the value of a loyalty program would diminish
Hi.
Now that LATAM seem to leaving OneWorld, I wonder what can be done to fly AA and add LATAM miles, something really handy in Argentina, where most locations, domestically and in close countries can be reached via LATAM flights, so it became real handy to flight the US via American, and use the miles via LATAM for domestic or flights within southamerica. Will this scheme still be valid in days to come? will we be able to transfer our AA miles to LATAM without leaving credit in the transaction? Thanks a ton, great piece of info the article. Rgds. Lucas.
Hey Lucas, nothing has changed so far, but the LATAM-AA partnership will almost certainly end. It looks like Delta will replace AA as the airline to use for flights to the US if you want to earn LATAM miles
Makes sense, even when not my preferred option.
Thanks!
Lucas
I used my American miles to book Alaska to Liberia Costa Rica. 35K plus $50. Unfortunately almost impossible to upgrade to first class. Booked premium seat $99 more
Hey, I have a delta sky miles account and an Amex gold delta credit card. If I purchase a JetBlue airfare ticket with my Amex gold delta credit card would I be able to transfer miles or points ?.
No, you’ll earn Delta miles on the purchase which aren’t transferable. Check the best cards to pay for airfare here – https://awardwallet.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-for-travel/
These are some great ideas. Only wish I had know earlier
Wow, I completely forgot about Points.com! Thank you! I do remember that it didn’t give many options for transferring points around and since I was new to this game it deflated my enthusiasm for it all. You all gave me the best education and still are! So now I am getting the ins and outs, so many possibilities has opened up for travel to me and my family. Thank you!
I wonder if I can exchange my Spirit miles to a different Airline?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. Let me know how that works out for you.
Not gonna happen. Too bad that points no longer have the individual exchange like they used to do.
points.com conversions are atrocious. IMHO Unless we are down to non redeemable amount of miles we should not be using that option.
A good guide for those new to the game. This question comes up every now and then.
I wish there was a easier way to transfer points/miles between program. May be it’s time for an industry standard.
I’m actually surprised anyone allows it at all – the idea I think is to encourage loyalty and sticking with the airline you earnt the points with.
I try to only earn AS or B6 miles from flying, and keep everything else in flexible currency.
I transferred a bunch of frontier miles via points.com after they became a low cost carrier and closed down the Milwaukee hub, rendering the miles useless. Poor value is better than no value.
In the past I have used points.com to do some swaps without problems apart from the not favorable conversion.
From a couple of years or even more I am not able to do some exchanges because less airlines and hotels give this possibility and even when they participate there are some restrictive thresholds (minimum miles or points to convert).
Thats what I love about flexible currencies. You’re never locked in to just one redemption possibility
I never heard of webflyer.com before this post. Now I know more options, but i will take your advisement that transferring between frequent flyer programs is a poor transaction.
Is there any way to transfer miles out of Delta? Points.com not allowing it and I have some miles that I need to get rid of
Unfortunately, no. You’re probably best using them at the SkyMiles Marketplace if you have no other use: https://marketplace.delta.com
The caution is well warranted. You didn’t really mention though that you can always try to top up an orphaned account (with SPG, buying miles/points etc.) to get a good value reward, rather than just wasting several thousand on a points.com conversion or similar.
It’s a shame that the exchange rates at points.com are terrible but do act as a life line to some orphaned points in some circumstances.
The other routes are equally as bad, maybe one day all airlines will be able to agree a universal cost per point and open up transfers.
The only time I found transferring miles is helpful is when you only need a small amount of miles to be able to get an award ticket with another airline.
didnt know points.com. Could be useful if a little bit short on something.
Good summary, and I appreciate the honest cautionary words.
Is it possible to transfer united miles –> Marriott–>SPG–>delta miles?
Yes but the transfer ratio is oh so bad.
I agree that the exchange rate for Points.com is terrible however I have used it in the past two keep my accounts active by transferring a tiny amount such as a few points.
Great suggestions. If anyone’s stuck for ways to activate an Iberia account (so you can transfer in/out of British Airways, Avios and AerLings), I paid a few pounds for a ferry between Schinoussa and Iraklia and entered my Iberia #FF. The miles turned up pretty quickly. I didn’t use the ferry!
Is there a reason points.com limits the list of airlines for which miles transfers can be done?
It’s such a small list of airlines and I really wish there were more.
The limitations have to do with the relationships they have with airlines.
Or there are programs like Virgin Atlantic that let you transfer to Hilton for example
A note on transferring Avios between Iberia and British Airways and vice versa…. you must have a few Iberia miles in the account and has to be older than 90 days…. plus, each account must have identical names and emails, otherwise transferring online will get hiccupped..
I transferred some orphaned Citi ThankYou points to Hilton points.
I have never found it worthwhile at all. I’d much rather extend the lifespan of a point with a $2 shopping portal bonus.
In addition to an unsatisfactory conversion rate, Points.com options are very limited.
Another vote for points.com as a way to turn useless (and expiring) points into something I can at least USE. The exchange rate was terrible, but to me, the value of the points I traded away was ZERO so I was happy to get anything for them.
I know this is a unique case, but Virgin American transferred to Alaska currently runs at 1:1.5, which isn’t that bad.
Alan that is an excellent point. While it is indeed temporary, it is a great way to squeak out some added value while you can: https://awardwallet.com/airlines/alaska-atmos-rewards/
Booking partner awards is a good way to go. One can also use orphaned points to buy stuff, maybe not things of great value but better than letting points expire.
Another great article. I once used points.com to transfer points . The transfer ratio wasn’t great but at least I could use the orphaned points .
Points.com has come in handy for me in the past, for disposing of obscure point-currencies that would otherwise have been forfeited, but yes, their exchange rates are bordering on criminal, and it seems like their rules about minimum transfer balances, etc., shift without notice.
You are right!