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The key to successful rewards travel is flexibility.
Flexible rewards currencies enable you to transfer points to a variety of travel partners and provide access to dozens of different rewards programs.
When you transfer points to partners, you can book award travel to your chosen destination across a huge array of airlines and hotel brands while extracting maximum value from rewards points.
Determining the best flexible rewards points for travel, however, is highly subjective. It's dependent on your travel goals, where you live, how you spend your money, and maybe above all, how you travel.
If you stay primarily in Airbnb properties and hostels, collecting points that transfer to Hilton and Hyatt is unlikely to provide a good return. You will find more value in a cashback card like the Savor Rewards from Capital One, or a fixed-value currency like points earned on the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card.
- $300 Cash Back after you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, plus 3% at grocery stores and 1% on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- 4% cash back on dining
- 4% cash back on entertainment
- 4% cash back on popular streaming services
- 3% cash back at grocery stores
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
If luxury travel is on your radar, earning a currency that transfers to luxury hotels and several airlines will provide the best value and the most flexibility.
What Are Flexible Rewards Points?
Flexible currencies take a few different forms.
- Cashback rewards
- Fixed-value points/miles
- Transferable points
Ultimately, cashback is the most flexible rewards currency, but it's not the most valuable. You can’t leverage a cashback card for higher value; it’s a straight 1-2% cashback on everything you spend, plus additional cashback on bonus categories if the card features them.
Fixed-value points and miles like those earned with the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card are very flexible. They can be redeemed for almost any travel purchase. But, again, points are only worth 1.25¢ each when redeemed for travel purchases. The Altitude Reserve earns 5X points prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center, 3X on eligible travel purchases and mobile wallet spending, and 1X on all other purchases, and points are perfect if you’re staying in a hotel that doesn’t belong to a rewards program or purchasing transit tickets like a Eurail Pass. But there are more valuable options.
Transferable Rewards Points Offer Higher Value
The last are transferable points. There are five rewards programs we think offer high-value flexible rewards currencies.
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
These programs offer flexible points, a variety of high-value transfer partners, and a diverse range of earning options including credit cards, online malls, or with Marriott, via regular stays and promo opportunities.
The Best Flexible Rewards Currencies for Travel
Chase Ultimate Rewards
We consider Chase Ultimate Rewards to be the best flexible rewards currency available today. Chase offers a variety of credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, with well-thought-out bonus categories and stellar benefits. Ultimate Rewards earning cards include:
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
- Member FDIC
- 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase
- 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
Ultimate Rewards gives members the ability to build a substantial balance of points in a short space of time. These points are both flexible & valuable: Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can redeem points at a value of 1.5 cents per point through UltimateRewards.com (other cards allow redemptions at a value of 1.0-1.25 cents per point). The golden opportunity, however, is to transfer to partners with a much higher potential value per point.
| Partner Program | Time for Points to Transfer |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub (Avios) | Instantly |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 47 minutes |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Instantly |
| British Airways Executive Club (Avios) | Instantly |
| Emirates Skywards | Instantly |
| Iberia Plus (Avios) | Instantly |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | Instantly |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 day |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Instantly |
| United MileagePlus | Instantly |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Instantly |
| IHG One Rewards | 5 hours |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 2 days |
| World of Hyatt | Instantly |
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott now grants members access to the combined Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and SPG hotel chains under a single rewards program, plus more than 40 airline partners nearly all of which transfer at a 3:1 ratio. Points can be a little hard to come by with the new application rules for Marriott co-brand cards, but make no mistake, Marriott is still a program worthy of attention.
Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood has provided Marriott Bonvoy members some fantastic new sweet spots, and additional methods for earning rewards. Cards that earn Bonvoy points include:
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
- The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card (No longer accepting applications)
- 3X points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- 2X points on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains)
- 1X point on all other purchases
If you want the best chance of getting into first or business class, Marriott offers the largest number of airline transfer partners of any rewards program in the U.S.
| Frequent Flyer Program | Transfer Ratio (Bonvoy points:miles) | Bonus for transferring 60,000+ points |
|---|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines Miles+Bonus | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 3:1 | 5,000 Avios |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 3:1 | 5,000 points |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 | 5,000 points |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | 3:1 | |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Air New Zealand AirPoints | 200:1 | 25 Airpoints |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 3:1 | n/a |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 | n/a |
| British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 | 5,000 Avios |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | 3:1 | |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Delta SkyMiles | 3:1 | n/a |
| Emirates Skywards | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Etihad Airways Etihad Guest | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Frontier Airlines Miles | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Iberia Plus | 3:1 | 5,000 Avios |
| InterMiles (formerly Jet Airways JetPrivilege) | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 3:1 | n/a |
| LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Multiplus Fidelidade LATAM Pass | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 | 5,000 points |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Saudia Alfursan | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 3:1 | 5,000 points |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| United MileagePlus | 3:1 | 10,000 miles |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 | 5,000 points |
| Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 3:1 | 5,000 miles |
| Vueling Club | 3:1 | 5,000 Avios |
American Express Membership Rewards
Amex offers members the most credit card options for earning points. Whether it’s 5x points on airfare for The Platinum Card® from American Express (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year booked directly with airlines) or earning 2x at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1x with Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, Membership Rewards has a huge stable of points-earning cards with options ranging from no-annual-fee cards for everyday purchases to ultra-premium cards that offer the best elite perks and lounge access in rewards travel. Some of our favorite Membership Rewards earning cards include:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Amex EveryDay® Credit Card
- American Express® Gold Card
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card®. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Up Benefits are excluded.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®.
- $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only.
- $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Visit https://platinum.equinox.com/ to enroll.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR Plus at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®. Learn more.
- $100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. An Equinox+ subscription is required to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike and access SoulCycle content. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U.S. only. Enrollment Required.
- Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
- $695 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 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.
Membership Rewards points transfer to 17 different airline partners and 3 hotel partners. One of the better redemption strategies for Membership Rewards can be found in updates to the Business Platinum Card. Cardholders get a 35% rebate on points when using Pay with Points on their selected airline, or when booking first or business class with any airline, through the American Express Travel website. This could potentially save thousands of dollars over the long haul.
| Membership Rewards Transfer Partners | Minimum Points to Transfer | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Avios | Instant |
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,600 AeroMexico Rewards Points | Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Aeroplan Points | Instant |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Flying Blue Miles | Instant |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 ANA Mileage Club Miles | 1-2 days |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 LifeMiles | Instant |
| British Airways Avios | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 British Airways Avios | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Asia Miles | 9 hours |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 SkyMiles | Instant |
| Emirates Skywards | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Skywards Miles | Instant |
| Etihad Guest | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Etihad Guest Miles | Instant |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 HawaiianMiles | Instant |
| Iberia Plus | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Iberia Avios | 1 day |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 250 | 250 : 200 TrueBlue Points | Instant |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 500 | 500 : 500 Qantas Points | Instant |
| Qatar Privilege Club | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Qatar Avios | Instant |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles | 3 hours |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Virgin Points | Instant |
| Choice Privileges (Hotel) | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Choice Privileges Points | Instant |
| Hilton Honors (Hotel) | 1,000 | 1,000 : 2,000 Hilton Honors Points | Instant |
| Marriott Bonvoy (Hotel) | 1,000 | 1,000 : 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points | 1 hour |
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards doesn’t offer anything in the way of hotel transfers, with Hilton no longer a transfer partner as of December 2017. However, ThankYou Rewards' airline transfer partners cover all three major alliances, and most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio. Members can earn Citi ThankYou Points via these credit cards:
- Citi Premier® Card
- Citi Prestige® Card
- Citi Rewards+® Card
- Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card
- Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card
- Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card for College Students
- 60,000 point signup bonus worth $800 towards airfare through the ThankYou Travel Center, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through ThankYou.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, hotels, and at gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
ThankYou Points are excellent for travel in and around Asia-Pacific, counting Qantas, Singapore, and Cathay Pacific as transfer partners.
| Citi Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Times |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1 | Up to 6 days |
| Accor Live Limitless | 2:1 | Unknown |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Instant |
| Choice Privileges | 1:2 | Unknown |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Unknown |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1 hour |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Instant |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:1 | Instant |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Sears Shop Your Way® | 1:12 | Unknown |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 | 3 days - 7 days |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1:1 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Instant |
Capital One Rewards
The latest program to join the ranks of transferrable rewards programs (although you can still redeem Capital One miles using the fixed-value redemption function), Capital One now boasts 15 airline transfer partners. While Capital One currently lacks a big domestic transfer partner, there are some high-value frequent flyer programs on offer that overlap with the other transferable currencies like Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards. You can earn transferable Capital One Rewards via four credit cards:
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $750 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
With the exception of Singapore KrisFlyer and Emirates Skywards, the majority of partners transfer at 1x Capital One mile to 1x airline mile. When you factor in that the Capital One Venture and Spark Miles both earn 2x miles on non-bonus purchases, you're effectively getting 2x airline miles for each dollar you spend. Not a bad return when used for non-bonus spending.
| Capital One Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | ...which you can use to book award flights on: |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1:1 | Delta |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | United |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Delta |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | United |
| British Airways (Executive Club) | 1:1 | American and Alaska |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | American and Alaska |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | United |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 | American |
| Finnair Plus | 1:1 | American and Alaska |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | American and Alaska |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | 1:1 | United and Alaska |
| TAP Air Portugal (Miles&Go) | 1:1 | United |
| Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles) | 1:1 | United |
| Virgin Red | 1:1 | Delta |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 4:3 | United |
Final Thoughts
Flexible rewards points provide one of the best methods of maximizing rewards travel. Offering travelers the chance to leverage sweet spots across multiple programs and the flexibility to change airlines or hotels when award availability is slim or in the case of a program devaluation.
Our favorite flexible rewards currency and the one we think provides the best value is Chase Ultimate Rewards. With cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Preferred offering up one of the best rewards earning combos available today. Ultimate Rewards can help you take your rewards travel game to the next level.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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I have 13, 357 Flying Blue KLM airmiles, which I will never use.
They are valid until December 2022.
I would like to transfer them to my Virgin Atlantic Airmiles account.
Or can I sell them ?
Is this possible, and how do I do it.?
No, you can’t transfer Flying Blue miles to Virgin Atlantic (or other mileage programs). And we don’t recommend selling them (it’s against the rules and you might be permanently shut down). However, you can transfer Flying Blue miles to Accor Live Limitless: https://awardwallet.com/blog/accor-flying-blue-partnership/
I have just converted 3000 Marriott Bonvoy points into 1000 AAdvantage miles. It seems that one must convert a minimum of 3000 Marriott points for such a transaction.
I haven’t had the best experiences with Marriott. Their customer service often leaves much to be desired. It also takes way too long for points to credit and redeem.
I love seeing the competition. I think Chase is the easiest to use and has the best redemption rates. Capital One has very unique partners that come in handy in Europe. Amex has the most options, but I don’t like that they charge to transfer.
Best option, collect all three!
I have owned Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards (Sapphire and Freedom) and for building points, these are definitely the easiest cards to use. I really wish they had more US Domestic Airlines attached to their points system but having United, Southwest and Marriott attached provides more than enough options. I also have a Capital One Venture Card that is more of a dollar reward than miles reward but for someone who travels a lot, was super easy to claim the initial $500 card opening reward as you basically deduct $500 from your credit card statement on travel related purchases. I just opened a Bonvoy card and look forward to the benefits that come with it!
I’ve been happy with both Capital One and Bank of America’s mile redemption system. Although I’m interested in switching to a card with lounge access perks.
Anyone have any tops on getting to Mykonos from NY with one stop, flying 1st class using points? Right now I have 500 UR, 500k Bonvoy, 100k BA.
Any advice would be great!
A little disappointing to not see any major financial institutions.card providers described in this article partnering with American Airlines…
I like Citi TY points.
Always difficult to compare apples to apples. Thanks for the great writeup!
I love UR from Chase, the only thing missing was transfer bonus like American Express had but now they got that too!!! Now they just have to have Chase offers have a possibility of earning UR instead of cashback
I hope that the BA transfer bonus is the start of a trend. I’d love to see Chase continuing this.
In my opinion Chase UR points has the best transfer deals and partners. Having a Chase Sapphire Reserve card also allows the flexibility of redeeming those points at 1.5 cents each which is an amazing 50% premium.
Hands down Chase points are the best of all I can think of.
I am from Canada, and unfortunately our credit card deals are not as competitive as the Americans. From the rewards described above, only AMEX Membership Rewards is applicable here. However AMEX is not widely accepted as it charges a higher fee on the merchants. I did manage to collect a good sum of AMEX points, but must carry as Visa or Mastercard as backup if encountered a merchant who refuses to take AMEX.
The best thing to do is not to accumulate too many points. These points are good but they are not gold – they will not appreciate in value!
Well said. Quite the opposite in fact. Points depreciate and get devalued constantly.
We have loved our UR points. We just used them for a few nights in Portugal and it was totally worth it!
I’ve been really pleased with UR points and have transferred them to some amazing Business Saver awards. 80k in Business from Chicago to Adelaide with a long enough layover in Singapore that I was able to check out the city. Worth it!
My favorite is the chase ultimate reward points they always seem to be the best transfer deals for me
Ulimate Rewards and Membership Rewards have both been pretty good to me.
I really like UR points. Best use is for luxury Hyatts around the world. You can use extra points for club lounge access and really up your experience.
great breakdown of the different flexible programs. I think most are in favor of UR but I can see utility in having others too.
I can transfer points only from American Express and Marriott even though with the new travel package offer the conversion from Marriott is not as favourable as it was in the past.
Regrettably we have limited opportunities for flexible rewards programs in Australia compared to those in the US. We have Amex but the devaluation has kicked in and Citi doesn’t seem like a value for money proposition over here.
I somehow figured out that the Chase UR were really good, but until I found Abroaders to help me figure out how to use them, I was using the Chase site to book flights….. Not the best thing!! So glad I found these folks!
Sometimes I think of my citicashback card as “travel currency”. I simply use my 2% cash back to offset the price of travel. Probably the most flexible way to go.
True but don’t you miss finding opportunities for outsized value?
It is great to have lots of transfer options as it leaves you less at risk of a sudden change or devaluation in a particular program.
UR points are clearly the best, as I’ve been able to get crazy good value from Hyatt. I once booked a room at a Hyatt Place in Ann Arbor, MI on a football weekend for 8,000 points a night. The rooms were going for $449 a night (plus taxes!). I’ve also transferred to Hyatt to book the Park Hyatt Maldives for 20,000 points a night (villas go for $1200 a night!). Also, if you happen to be fortunate enough to have earned a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, you can get amazing value from transfers to Southwest as well.
That’s a really good point. Getting the companion pass doubles the value of your UR points. It could be good to stockpile UR points if you want to make a run at SW CP.
I really wish you all would stop promoting the Arrival Plus. It’s not a good card for the long term and the only reason to get it is for the sign up bonus. Beyond that, virtually everyone would do better with a no annual fee 2% cash back card.
Thanks for the feedback, Robert. We do our best to cover cards that appeal to different types of goals. For folks that like simplicity, the Barclay Arrival is 5% better than a 2% cash-back card for travel, and the welcome bonus is far better than what you’d find with most cash-back cards.
It has an $89 annual fee if I’m remembering correctly though right? So an extra .1% (that’s 0.001) for $89? You have to spend $89,000 a year to come out ahead of a no annual fee 2% cashback card.
The one and only perk is that it has no foreign transaction fees so if you live overseas, you would them compare to the Quicksilver or a 1.5% cashback card so that’s a difference of .6% (0.006) which would then be a breakeven point of $14,833 of overseas spending.
Not my cup of tea but situations do theoretically exist where this is a good card for someone.
I have them all. The instant transfers are the best.
Do you have the Capital One? How are those airlines/transfers?
Recently added Arrival Plus for for more flexibility.
Amex seems to have the best transferable points program nowadays.
Chase really needs to add new partners to stay competitive.
Chase should also look to do bonuses like with what they’re doing with BA right now. It’s not been done before but hopefully it continues.
i don’t trust Marriott Bonavoy. Maybe because they gutted SPG.
I personally think UR is the best: I use to move my points either to Southwest or British Airways Avios, which I’ve already used a couple of times to reach Hawaii from the West Coast for 25k (two-way)!
I am also a flexible points convert. Since I like to have status with airlines, I tend to “buy” my flights through the travel portal with those points: not the best value on the surface, but when I have status and can change my flights without fees and get home earlier…that is worth a lot. An upgrade to business class here and there isn’t bad either. Since I earn points from my flights, I use those for the expensive long haul business class seats.
Same, or similar. It doesn’t make sense to have the United card and earn crap miles when you can have CSP or CSR and transfer your miles if you so choose but you earned more miles on those two cards than the United card would have.
Gosh! Excellent summary. I have to get on the Arrival Plus card and maybe a Chase card too.
Arguments can be made either way, but I do prefer Ultimate Rewards for flexibility.
I think Chase is the one! Able to transfer mostly instant to most airline.
That’s a good point. Transfer partners are important but timeliness of the transfer is also valuable.
I just got the Amex Everyday. I’m still waiting on my points to come in. I hit the 20 charges and I am eager to see how many points I’ll earn.
I’m hoping to earn points faster with Amex instead of Chase. Has anyone come across that they earn points faster with Amex than Chase?
I have the freedom card and sapphire with Chase and my points increase fairly well but need more for a trip I’m planning. I’m hoping that Amex will make up some difference.
Use both but use the card that nets the most points ie groceries vs dining.
Citi needs more partners. Amex MR and UR are way better to use than Citi TYP
Chase points are great!
Chase UR and Amex MR for the win
Excellent for European travel, especially when you’re staying in a hotel that doesn’t belong to a rewards program or purchasing transit tickets like a Eurail Pass. Works for me.
UR for the win!
yes transferable points are the way to go
Agreed. The value is in the versatility and not being locked into one program.
I agree that Chase is the best. I get outsized value just from Hyatt transfers, but when there is no Hyatt I can turn to IHG or Marriott. United’s program has also enabled me to garner huge value with Business class partner flights but that is somewhat of a thing of the past now. Losing Korean Air was a bit of a bummer though. I was able to transfer enough UR points to fly them Business to São Paulo for the 2014 World Cup, which was a huge score.
The loss of Korean was a bummer indeed. Still Chase retains the greatest number of loyalty programs that I actively engage with, that’s why they generally remain my first choice when pulling a card out of my wallet.
Huge score indeed… both the Business seats and the particular event your trip took you. You got to see the team that’s good enough to have earned the nickname “The Team” win yet another.
The best advice is always to diversify one’s portfolio, even when it comes to flexible points. I personally prefer UR and AmEx MR points.
I totally agree with you.
Definitely agree but holding two high cost cards has to make sense too.