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The key to successful rewards travel is flexibility. Flexible rewards points let you transfer to a wide range of travel partners. This gives you more ways to book award travel to your destination while maximizing the value of your rewards.
Choosing the best flexible points program is highly personal. It depends on your travel goals, where you live, how you spend, and how you prefer to travel.
If you stay mostly in Airbnbs or hostels, collecting points that transfer to hotel chains like Hilton or Hyatt won't deliver much value. But if you prefer high-end stays, earning points that transfer to luxury hotel brands and multiple airlines will give you both value and flexibility. And if you live near a hub for a specific airline, focusing on points that help you fly that carrier might be your highest priority.
Not all flexible rewards currencies are created equal. Before you commit to earning one over another, here’s what makes each one worth considering.
Page Contents
What Are Flexible Rewards Points?
Cash back cards are popular for their simplicity. You can usually redeem rewards for gift cards or statement credits, typically at a value of 1 cent per point. However, cash back cards offer limited upside. Most earn a flat 1% to 2% back, with higher rates in select bonus categories if the card happens to offer them.
Airline or hotel-specific points and miles can offer better value than cash back, depending on how you use them. But earning rewards tied to a single program limits your redemption options.
However, transferable rewards points can unlock significantly more value. These currencies let you transfer to a variety of airline and hotel partners, which gives you more chances to book with fewer points or access experiences you would not pay for with cash.
Here are seven rewards programs that offer high-value flexible points:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Bilt Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Citi ThankYou® Rewards
- Wells Fargo Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
Each program offers a mix of useful transfer partners and diverse earning opportunities. You can earn points through credit cards, online shopping, dining programs, and, in Marriott’s case, regular hotel stays and promotions.
Next, we will look at which credit cards earn each type of point, the programs they transfer to, and some of the best ways to redeem them.
Related: Back to Basics: An Introduction to the Types of Reward Points
The Best Flexible Rewards Currencies
American Express Membership Rewards
American Express offers members great options for earning its Membership Rewards points. Whether it’s 5X points on airfare with the American Express Platinum Card® (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year booked directly with airlines) or earning 4X at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X) with the American Express® Gold Card, there's a huge stable of cards that earn Amex points.
Credit card options range from no-annual-fee cards for everyday purchases to ultra-premium cards that offer the best elite perks and lounge access in award travel.
(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.
Membership Rewards points transfer to 17 different airline partners and three hotel partners. And there's no shortage of excellent ways to redeem them. Here are some of our favorite ways to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points:
- Transfer points to ANA Mileage Club to book round-trip United Airlines business class flights to Europe
- Transfer points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book ANA First Class between the United States and Japan
- Transfer points to Delta SkyMiles to book low-cost domestic flights or business class awards to and from select international destinations
And this is just a small sample of what you can do with Amex transfer partners. For more options, check out the full list of American Express partner programs:
Related: Complete Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners
Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards launched in 2021 with a focus on earning points through rent payments. The program has continued to grow and now features 22 transfer partners.
Bilt Points are easy to earn, especially with The Bilt Mastercard® (Rates & Fees), which offers 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee (up to 100,000 points each calendar year), plus 1x on other purchases. But just remember, you need to use the card five times each statement period to earn points.
- 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.
What sets Bilt apart is its extensive list of transfer partners, including a few exclusive ones, as well as frequent transfer bonuses through Rent Day promotions. Standout partners include:
- United Airlines — Bilt is the only alternative to Chase for United transfers.
- Alaska Airlines — Bilt is the only program that transfers directly to Alaska Atmos Rewards.
- World of Hyatt — Only Bilt and Chase transfer to Hyatt, which offers unbeatable value for award stays.
- Accor Live Limitless — While other programs transfer to Accor at a 2:1 ratio, Bilt transfers at 3:2, which gives you 33% more value for your points. This can be especially useful for stays at properties like the Fairmont Banff Springs.
You can find the full list of Bilt transfer partners below:
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most valuable flexible rewards currencies. The bank offers a wide range of credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, with lucrative bonus categories and practical travel benefits.
With so many card options, it is easy to build a large balance of points over time. Ultimate Rewards points are both flexible and valuable, whether you redeem through the Chase Travel℠ portal or transfer to one of Chase’s many travel partners.
- 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
But one of the biggest advantages of the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem is that you can combine points earned across personal and business cards. You can also pool points from Chase’s cash back cards and use them for travel redemptions if you hold at least one Ultimate Rewards-earning card with an annual fee.
You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for great travel experiences, including:
- Transfer to World of Hyatt to book five-star hotels like the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme or budget-friendly options starting at just 3,500 points per night
- Transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan to access dozens of airline partners and book award flights at competitive rates with minimal taxes and fees
- Transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book Upper Class awards between the United States and the United Kingdom from 29,000 points plus taxes and fees
Or, you can transfer them to even more partners:
Capital One miles
Capital One launched its transferable rewards program more recently than others on this list, but it has quickly closed the gap by adding more partners and improving transfer ratios. You can now transfer Capital One miles to 22 airline and hotel programs. And if you don't fancy transfers, you can redeem miles to cover travel purchases.
However, transfers present an easy way to get the most from your hard-earned miles. For example, you could spend the miles you get with a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card welcome bonus in the following ways:
- Transfer to Etihad Guest to book American Airlines flights from 6,000 miles
- Transfer to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles to book United flights to Hawaii for only 10,000 miles per person
- Use Wyndham Rewards to book hotel stays starting at just 7,500 points per night
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5 Miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 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 (through 12/31/2025)
- 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
Alternatively, you could allocate your miles across the following Capital One transfer partners:
Related: How to Maximize Capital One Miles for Flights Within North America
Citi ThankYou® Rewards
Citi ThankYou® Rewards may not be as well-known as other programs on this list, but with the right card or a combination of Citi cards, you can unlock amazing value.
Cardholders of the Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants) or the Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees) can transfer points to all of Citi's 21 airline and hotel partners. Other ThankYou Rewards cards only allow transfers to Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards.
Some of the best ways to use Citi ThankYou Points include:
- Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles to book United flights within the U.S. for fewer miles than United typically charges
- Transfer to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer to take advantage of the airline’s monthly Spontaneous Escapes offers
- Use points for travel across Asia-Pacific through partners like Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay Pacific
Citi also offers point transfers to these programs too:
Related: Best Uses of Citi ThankYou Points for Flights Within North America
Wells Fargo Rewards
Wells Fargo is a newcomer to the transferable points space. The bank offers two cards that earn flexible rewards. The Wells Fargo Autograph® Card (Rates & Fees) and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (Rates & Fees) both earn points that can be transferred to travel partners. These cards offer solid welcome bonuses and earn bonus points in a broad range of categories.
Rates & Fees
- 3x on travel – including airfare, hotels, car rentals, timeshares, cruises, and more
- 3x on transit – including parking, tolls, subways, ride shares, railways, ferries, and more
- 3x on dining – including dining in, take-out, catering, delivery and more
- 3x at gas stations – including gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations
- 3x on phone plans – including landline providers and cell phones
- 3x on streaming services
- 1x on other purchases
Rates & Fees
- 5X points per $1 spent on hotels
- 4X points per $1 spent on airlines
- 3X points per $1 spent on other travel and restaurants
- 1X points per $1 spent on other purchases
If you also have a cash rewards card such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (Rates & Fees), you can combine rewards into one account, making all your points transferable.
Currently, you can transfer Wells Fargo Rewards to seven airline programs and to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio. Here are a few high-value ways to redeem:
- Transfer to Flying Blue to book Air France or KLM promo awards starting at 18,750 miles one way in economy to Europe
- Transfer to Iberia Airlines to book flights to Spain from 17,000 miles in economy or 34,000 in business class
- Transfer to Choice Hotels at 1:2 to book stays like the Hotel Aquarius in Venice for just 10,000 Wells Fargo points per night
Here's the bank's full list of transfer partners:
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy is the only hotel loyalty program on this list, but its points can be considered flexible thanks to the ability to transfer to 37 airline partners.
While this is not the most valuable use of Bonvoy points, transfers occur at a 3:1 ratio and can help you grow your balance with airlines that are not partners of other programs, such as American Airlines. They also provide an additional option for topping off frequent flyer accounts.
If you’d like to earn Marriott Bonvoy points, Marriott offers several co-branded credit cards through both American Express and Chase. These cards come with welcome bonuses, automatic elite status, and bonus points on Marriott stays and select everyday spending categories.
On average, AwardWallet users redeem Marriott points for 0.93¢ each. But Marriott’s dynamic pricing model means this value can fluctuate depending on the property and date.
If you prefer not to deal with the complexities of hotel redemptions, you can still unlock solid value by transferring points to airline partners. Better yet, Marriott awards a 5,000-mile bonus when you transfer at least 60,000 points to most — but not all — airline partners.
Comparing Flexible Rewards Points
When it comes to flexible rewards points, not all currencies are created equal.
The most important factor to consider when choosing a program is where you can transfer your points and how much value you can extract from those redemptions. This can vary widely depending on your travel goals. Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citi all offer transfer options within the major airline alliances, along with credit cards that unlock these features.
Depending on which cards you hold, you may also receive added perks like bonus earnings on portal bookings, annual credits, lounge access, and more. Because of Chase’s 5/24 rule, which limits how many cards you can be approved for in a short period of time, it may make sense to begin with Chase’s ecosystem if you are new to earning flexible rewards.
Marriott Bonvoy’s transfer options are more limited and generally less valuable than the others. Still, the ability to top off an airline account with hotel points can be useful if it helps you secure an award flight you'd prefer not to book with cash.
Final Thoughts
Flexible rewards points provide one of the best ways to maximize your award travel. Redeeming for more than the typical 1¢ per point that cash back cards offer is the key to unlocking outsized travel experiences. These points give travelers access to sweet spots across multiple programs and the ability to compare options when award space is limited or a program devalues.
The best program for you will depend on your travel style, goals, and which airlines or hotels you use most often. What works for one traveler may not be the right fit for another.
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 Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and Citi Strata Premier® Card (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.
I would be interested to know when Marriott transferability at 3:1 to an airline program that does not accept other points will EVER result in better redemption value than even overvalued programs that accept multiple transferrable rewards points. Does not matter that Bonvoy has so many transfer partners when the value is nearly always worse than bank transferrable points. Otherwise, it’s amazing how points and miles bloggers just can not let go that Starwood 1:1 is GONE since merger with Marriott.
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/hotels/accor-live-limitless/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.