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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 miles 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.
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!
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
Welcome Offer
As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer. You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
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
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Welcome Offer
As High As 175,000 points. Find Out Your Offer. You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
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®.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Welcome Offer
Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
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:
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:
Welcome Offer
Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee$95
Credit ScoreExcellent, Good
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
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:
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 350 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer partner added July 27, 2025. Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 560 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced transfer rate.
Transfer partner added October 20, 2024. Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 2,800 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
25% transfer bonus through September 20, 2025. Transfer rate for Citi Strata EliteSM, Citi Strata Premier®, and AT&T Access More Cardmembers. Other eligible Citi cardmembers may be eligible for a reduced 1,000 -> 700 transfer rate.
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.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Rates & Fees)
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