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Last week, AwardWallet broke the news that Ramp seemed to be on the verge of launching a transferable points program. And sure enough, Ramp just soft-launched a new option to transfer rewards to 10 different airline and hotel transfer partners.
Ramp Rewards has yet to make a formal announcement about this new addition. Instead, Award Travel stumbled across this new functionality in their account.
Here's what we know so far and why we're a bit disappointed by how this is playing out.
Ramp Rewards Launch Transfer Partners
Ramp Rewards is starting its transferable points program with 10 transfer partners:
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Aviana LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Etihad Guest
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- TAP Portugal Miles & Go
- Wyndham Rewards
Ramp Rewards Transfer Rate
The biggest disappointment of this new Ramp Rewards program is the transfer rate isn't 1:1. Instead, Ramp Rewards points transfer to all 10 transfer partners at a ratio of 1.5 Ramp Rewards points = 1 airline mile or hotel point.
That certainly makes Ramp Rewards less lucrative compared to other transferable point programs serving small businesses.
The no-annual-fee Ramp Visa Corporate Card earns 1.5X on all purchases. That essentially means Ramp cardholders can effectively earn 1 airline mile or hotel point per dollar spent on all purchases.
Most Valuable Ramp Transfer Partners
AwardWallet publishes average redemption rates for a couple dozen bank, airline, and hotel programs — including half of Ramp's first batch of transfer partners. Based on recent AwardWallet user redemptions, here are the most valuable Ramp Rewards transfer partners:
| Transfer Partner | Average Redemption Value |
|---|---|
| Aviana LifeMiles | 2.85¢ |
| British Airways Executive Club | 2.56¢ |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 2.16¢ |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1.24¢ |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.94¢ |
Note that these are the redemption rates per airline mile or hotel point — not per Ramp Rewards point. To calculate the value per Ramp Rewards point, you'll need to divide by the 1.5 transfer rate.
When you do the math, you'll see that Ramp's hotel transfer partners generally don't offer more than 1 cent per Ramp Rewards point in value. That's a key threshold, as Ramp users can redeem rewards for cash back at 1 cent each.
In short, Ramp Rewards members need to find redemptions worth more than 1.5 cents per airline mile or hotel point in order to justify transferring points rather than redeeming them for cash back.
Some Reason for Optimism?
Nowadays, a 3:2 transfer rate simply doesn't cut it for transferable points programs. All major transferable points programs (Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Miles) all transfer to most partners at a 1:1 transfer rate.
Although Ramp is launching its program with a 1.5:1 transfer ratio, that doesn't mean it's stuck with that transfer rate.
When Capital One first launched transfer partners, it used a 2:1.5 transfer rate for most partners and a worse 2:1 transfer rate for others. But, after several improvements to Capital One transfer rates, almost all Capital One transfer partners are 1:1 transfer partners.
There's nothing preventing Ramp Rewards from also improving its transfer rates over time.
Final Thoughts
As we scooped the news last week, Ramp Rewards has launched a new transferable points program. The initial set of 10 airline and hotel transfer partners includes a solid list. However, the initial 1.5:1 transfer ratio means Ramp Visa Corporate Card users will effectively earn just 1 airline mile or hotel point on every dollar spent.
The ability to earn 1 airline mile or hotel point per dollar isn't terrible considering the card doesn't charge an annual fee. However, this lacks compared to other no annual fee credit cards that earn transferable points — such as the The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 17.49% - 27.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening. APR will not exceed 29.99%
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
- You've got the power to spend beyond your credit limit* with Expanded Buying Power. *The amount you can spend above your credit limit is flexible, so it adapts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us, and other factors. Just remember, the amount you can spend with Expanded Buying Power is not unlimited.
- No Annual Fee
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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