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The upside to earning a lot of points and miles is that you can take some amazing trips for a fraction of the cash cost. However, the downside is that sometimes you end up with a handful of points spread out across many different programs. Today we'll go over each of the five main transferable points programs and discuss how to consolidate points to book an award ticket with the most popular airline programs.
Page Contents
Transferable Points Programs
Transferable points are the easiest way to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to award travel. There are six flexible rewards programs, plus an additional program that might surprise you. Let's take a look at each of them.
American Express Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards are a fan-favorite for many reasons. First, they're flexible points that can be transferred to 17 different airline partners and three hotel partners. It's also easy to earn Membership Rewards through a variety of cards. Furthermore, you can boost your rewards through your regular spending by going through the Rakuten shopping portal and cashing out your earnings as Membership Rewards.
Barclaycard
Often overlooked because these transfers are available on just one card and the fact that card isn't available to new applicants, it's worth mentioning transfers from the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®. Transfer ratios vary, but the eight airline transfer partners include several programs that receive points from nearly every rewards currency on this list, as well as unique partners like InterMiles and Japan Airlines.
Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards points are earned through a variety of activities, including paying your rent through the Bilt program and Rent Day promotions on the first of each month. While it's possible to earn Bilt points without it, earning opportunities are greatly increased if you have The Bilt Mastercard®. Points transfer to 16 airline and five hotel programs.
Brex Rewards
Limited to businesses that qualify for the Brex Cash and Card, Brex Rewards points can be transferred to seven. Earning opportunities are tied to one card and promotions for cardholders, and the program is further complicated a March 2023 devaluation, where 1:1 transfers changed to 3:2 overnight.
Capital One Rewards
Capital One miles are arguably the simplest points to earn, with a basic earning structure for each card and no complicated bonus categories to keep track of. This makes it easy for people who don't want to think too hard about earning a lot of credit card rewards. There are three personal cards and three business cards that earn Capital One miles. Once you have miles, you can utilize the 16 airline programs and three hotel programs that are Capital One transfer partners.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards are often referred to as the most beginner-friendly points, with many people describing the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) as the best beginner card. Ultimate Rewards are some of the most valuable transferable points that exist. There are numerous valuable uses, including the Chase travel portal and the 11 airline and three hotel Chase transfer partners. Plus, earning points is easy with multiple personal and business cards that earn Ultimate Rewards.
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points may be the least-talked-about transferrable rewards program, but that doesn't mean that you can't get great value from these points. You can transfer points to the 14 airline and five hotel Citi ThankYou transfer partners. It's worth noting the sweet spot of doubling your points by transferring to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio. However, one difficult thing about Citi is that there are just five cards that earn ThankYou Points. However, that doesn't mean there aren't deals to be had.
Marriott Bonvoy
You might be familiar with Marriott Bonvoy as a hotel program, but did you know there are a whopping 40 Marriott Bonvoy airline partners? Points transfer at a 3:1 ratio for most airlines, plus you'll (generally) receive a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring at least 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points at one time. Marriott offers co-branded cards with both Chase and Amex, so you have multiple options for stocking up on points.
The Best Programs To Consolidate Transferable Points for an Award Ticket
Each of the programs below allows for points to be collected from at least four of the transferrable points programs listed above. Let's look at your options, starting with those that receive points from the most programs.
Air France–KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the award program for both Air France and KLM, and is one of four award programs that allow you to combine points from all of the major transferable points programs that we mentioned above — Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott — and it also accepts transfers several lesser-known programs. This opens up many options for gathering points needed to book an award flight. Not only is it easy to gather points, but Flying Blue is one of our favorite award programs because you can find some incredible sweet spots, like 15,000-mile economy award tickets and 55,000-mile business-class tickets between the U.S. and Europe. Flying Blue also releases monthly Promo Rewards with flights up to 50% off. And one more reason we love Flying Blue is that it's a great option for families since award tickets for kids ages 2–11 are 25% off.
Emirates Skywards
Dubai-based Emirates Skywards is another award program that allows transfers from all five transferrable points programs. This is excellent since the ultra-luxurious Emirates first class has long been one of the most sought-after award redemptions. Unfortunately, Emirates removed many of its partner booking options a few years ago. This means that having Emirates Skywards miles is important. Luckily, they're easy to accumulate. Another option is booking a business-class ticket and then using your miles to upgrade to first class.
Etihad Guest
Another program from the U.A.E. is Abu Dhabi-based Etihad. The Etihad Guest program had several incredible sweet spots before the award charts were altered in early 2023. Unfortunately, most awards went up in cost, but the silver lining is short American Airlines flights in the U.S. that price as low as 6,000 miles per person in economy.
Iberia Plus
Avios are the points currency for four different award programs: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club. You can collect Avios in any of the four programs, and then transfer to any of the other programs at a 1:1 ratio. That's on top of the other transfer partners, allowing you to amass Iberia Avios from multiple sources. Our favorite redemptions with Iberia include business class and premium economy to/from Spain for as low as 34,000 miles in business or 31,750 Avios in premium economy. You'll need to fly on off-peak dates to get these fantastic prices, but Iberia publishes a calendar of those dates here.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance network, meaning multiple airline partners exist for booking Singapore Airlines flights. However, KrisFlyer miles provide two advantages. First, Singapore provides extra seats for redemptions in its own program. Second, you can't book Singapore's famous first-class suites from partner programs, so you'll need a stash of KrisFlyer miles. Thankfully, you can transfer points from all five major points programs. Multiple sweet spots make KrisFlyer miles very valuable. Options like round-trip flights from the U.S. to Hawaii for just 39,000 miles or East Coast to Europe in business class for 81,000 miles each way. Additionally, Singapore Airlines has a few well-known fifth-freedom routes, and we've found a ton of award space for business-class flights on these routes.
Aeromexico Rewards
While the program has multiple transfer partners, the Aeromexico Rewards sweet spots deserve pause before you start moving your rewards into this program. Once the cheapest award tickets run out, the remaining seats are priced dynamically. However, you can find value with flights from the U.S. to Mexico for 18,000 in economy and 36,000 in business. Mexico to southern South America for 50,000 or 100,000, respectively, also can present value. But the fact only Amex points transfer 1:1.6 (to account for Aeromexico using kilometers for distance) means not all points should be moved to this program.
Air Canada Aeroplan
One of the most popular ways to use Air Canada Aeroplan points is to book a partner flight. Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, but you can book much more than just those airlines; in fact, you can book 47 airlines with Aeroplan pointsWhat makes this a great option is that Air Canada doesn't pass along many of the surcharges that other carriers do, so you won't be stuck with a high cash copay on your award ticket. Additionally, Air Canada lets you pool points with up to seven other people, meaning you can easily build a hefty stash.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has reduced its global footprint over the past few years; however, its award program retains its worldwide reach thanks to its Oneworld alliance partners. Cathay Pacific prices award flights based on distance, which means there are some great sweet spots to be had, even though some of our favorites were lost with a change to award charts in October 2023. Those of us who live on the West Coast, or are willing to take a positioning flight to get there, can fly on a partner airline to Tokyo for 27,000 miles in economy. However, 84,000 miles in business on this route isn't anything special. Around-the-world bookings also can present fantastic value when using your Asia Miles.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Like Flying Blue and Singapore, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner for all major programs. There are a few Virgin Atlantic sweet spots to be found, namely with partner airlines like Delta, Aeromexico, and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as a much-heralded option for booking ANA business- and first-class flights. Virgin Atlantic is still using award charts, which means that shorter-distance flights can go for very low prices. It's worth noting that surcharges can be quite high when booking an award ticket through Virgin Atlantic, so consider that when planning a trip.
Avianca LifeMiles
Avianca may not be an airline that you have flown; however, if you're familiar with the points and miles world, you may have heard of the numerous sweet spots available with LifeMiles. Examples include flying from the U.S. to Europe in business class for as low as 60,000 LifeMiles and transcontinental U.S. business class for just 25,000 LifeMiles. Even better, just like Air Canada, Avianca also does not pass along surcharges, so award tickets are that much more valuable.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways is another program using Avios as a rewards currency. British Airways has multiple airline partners, making it easy to find flights to just about anywhere in the world. What makes British Airways award flights even more valuable is their distance-based pricing. This means that short-haul partner flights — up to 3,000 miles — can be as low as 13,000 Avios in economy. If it's an even shorter flight — 650 miles or less — it can be just 6,000 Avios each way. Crazy! And the ability to load up on Avios through numerous partners makes these awards even more accessible.
Aer Lingus AerClub
The final Avios program on our list, Aer Lingus Avios are useful when taking advantage of the East Coast to Europe sweet spot in which off-peak award tickets cost just 13,000 Avios each way in economy. This applies to Aer Lingus flights only, and, if we're being honest, the other Avios programs are more useful on nearly every route beyond this.
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
While many airlines have ditched award charts in favor of dynamic pricing, Turkish Airlines, thankfully, has not. This has left space for some great sweet spots in Miles & Smiles. These come mostly from Star Alliance partner redemptions, meaning you'll book through Turkish but fly on one of its many partners. Most notably, Turkish prices award flights within the U.S. at just 10,000 miles one-way, no matter your starting and ending destinations. This means that you could fly from the East Coast all the way to Hawaii for just 10,000 miles each way on United Airlines, assuming you can find availability on these popular routes. And you'll pay just 12,500 miles per person in business class each way.
Bottom Line
As you can see, there are many ways to consolidate points and miles to book an award ticket. Not only can you combine points from some or all of the transferable points programs, but many airlines participate in alliances or partnerships with each other. This means that you can find a program that works best for you and the points you have available. Additionally, some programs allow you to pool points and miles with your friends and family, providing additional options for adding your miles together for an upcoming flight.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
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Does this chart get updated throughout the year, as the credit cards might change?
Yes, we do our best to keep this updated.
Fantastic post! Thanks a lot, it really helps to have all this info in a single place!
This chart will be very useful in the future to find transfer options.
Fantastic list. Lots of consideration for partner travel. Chase has some of the best transfer options.
Please keep this post pinned at the top and update this great chart.
ah! great chart to use as a reference in the future!
Thanks for a very useful post. I have stayed away from the bank points but you’ve made me reconsider that.
Good to know that I can merge points! Sad though that Chase Sapphire recently reduced their partnering airlines 🙁
Nice to find alternative systems to consolidate accounts for redemptions.
Very useful summary and consolidated information
This is a useful post, thank you.
Thanks, useful summary. I’ve bookmarked for future reference
Great chart with details! This is m go-to page now for award conversion/consolidation.
I will probably say just leave them in your bank until you need to redeem them and transfer them onto the award. You will have more flexibility this way.
Thanks for the information! Need to be updated.
This chart is so helpful! Definitely will bookmark it for future follow up. I noticed Ethiopia Airlines wasn’t on here. Are their points transferable? I have a few thousand points that I would love to transfer or donate.
Hey Kevin, unfortunately, Sheba miles cannot be converted into another rewards currency. However, you can use those miles to fly Star Alliance partner airlines if you have enough miles. If you have no use for your Sheba miles, you can donate them to a charity using the ‘Donate Miles’ button on this page – https://shebamiles.ethiopianairlines.com/#/SpendMiles
Very helpful! I love this blog!!!
Great chart thanks
Thanks for posting this info all in one place.
I’ve Bookmarked– really useful summary, didn’t know most of this! Thanks again.
Thank, this is a great reference. I only collect flexible points now, it’s so hard to be tied to one program.
Great post, thanks for all the info! I am new to all of this so I am taking in all the knowledge you share.
Hm… that is a very interesting option! I will look into it. Thank you!
Thanks for your post.
I am using SQ\CX\BA FFP. There is some niche in each program.
Therefore, flexible program is good for frequent flyers.
Thanks for the post. It’s also a great way to protect yourself from programs devaluations.
FYI there’s a typo that says “AirFranace”.
Great article but would like to see broader partnerships from Chase.
This is an awesome resource for piecing together award travel using a combination of AmEx, Chase and Citi points. Many thanks!
Wow, I never knew this was even an option. Another great way to earn more airline miles!
Very useful guide! Thank you. Bookmarked!
I think that the capital one card allowing transfers is a game changer. I had the venture card a while back but the points required to get a flight were too high, now with transfer partners, I think it will be much better. Thanks for the article Jess.
Glad you found it helpful.
Great post. Looks like Chase and AMEX are best in terms of transferrability. Personally, I have cards with both for coverage over most loyalty programs.
Great resource! Thanks.
We’ve been saving Chase & Marriott points – was planning on using them for hotels, but might do a nice flight instead for our next trip to Africa.
I find CSR to be a great card that has value for me. The actual annual fee ends up being $150 if you take into account the $300 travel credit. For $150 you get the flexibility to transfer to other loyalty programs or redeeming them straight for travel at one-and-a-half the value that you would if you had other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. If you redeem your points for a $450 flight you would have made back the $150 annual fee compared to redeeming that same flight with other Chase credit cards.
great post. I had no idea we can consolidate some of these points!
in terms of consolidation, i’ve gotten the best value out of transferring to Singapore airlines as they certainly have much better award availability with Krisflyer points and the taxes and fees are usually reasonable (unlike BA)
Great article, extremely helpful. I just received an email today that Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards & SPG are all officially combined into Marriott Bonvoy now, with a new app and everything. I’m curious to see if there are any changes coming on the transfer rates now that the combination is completed.
Thank you. I have been finding it increasingly difficult to earn flexible reward bonuses compared to airline specific bonuses.
Thank you for this very useful guide!
Cant wait to get my wife on a long haul first class reward flight.
The chart is especially useful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before. Thank you.
Great info… anything to stop accumulating orphan points
Wow – I did not know about some of these – thank you so much. Quite informative.
The chart is super helpful! Thanks for posting.
Thanks! Great info to help plan for upcoming trips.
Being able to transfer flexible points to airline and hotel partners is very interesting and useful.
Shared this article with a few people, excellent reference.
This is a very useful post. Thanks for putting all the information together!
On top of the regular transfer ratio, Marriott Rewards give a bonus of 5000 airline miles for every 60000 Marriott Rewards transferred.
Quite useful if you want to maximize your benefits!!
Great article, very useful information. Thank you!
Jess, this is super useful; thank you! I knew that certain airlines (e.g., SQ) had multiple transfer partners, but being able to access this information visually is a huge value add. Definitely going to bookmark this!
Thanks Dan, glad you found it useful.
Very helpfull. I didnk know much of this stuff. Thank you very much
Appreciate the article as flexibility is always the key to making adventures possible.
I didn’t even know you could do this! How useful to know.
New to the site today, looking forward to learning and contributing as much as I can. Thanks for the comprehensive list. The Marriott transfer ratios appears fairly standard across the board with the major exception of Air New Zealand Airpoints, any idea why this is off the charts at 200:1?
Air NZ operates a revenue based rewards currency called Airpoints, and every Airpoint is worth NZ$1 towards airfare. Most transfer partners are 3:1 as the miles you are transferring points into are worth roughly 1.5 cents per mile. The 200:1 transfer ratio reflects the higher value of Airpoints (although we don’t recommend transferring points to Air NZ as the value is terrible).
Jess, thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
I hope Marriot ups it’s game and gets faster transfer times….or at least make a huge bonus to validate the long transfer time.
Barclays Arrival Premier Miles are also transferrable to airlines, but the card is no longer available to new customers
I just love this cheat sheet 🙂
Good summary.
As living in Europe there are not so many opportunities anyway.
any recommendations on how to combine JAL points and Singapore airline points (both expiring late this year) for 4 business class tickets from USA to ASIA? what transfer options and what partner airlines can I book 2+2 biz class tickets on?
It is useful having an airline program to consolidate small amounts of points into for a redemption. Although often poor value it can also be useful to consolidate small amounts of hotel points into an airline program if you are never going to earn enough for a hotel redemption.
I need to look into avios aer lingus to fly to europe this summer. thanks for the post. Fred
I do agree with the poster who requested a column that states the (estimated) delay it takes for the points to transfer. I have lost at least one premium cabin award while I waited for the points to transfer — it’s best to know the risks.
Mary, this is something we are actively working on and hope to have all the info finalized shortly. Will update the post and table when we have all the transfer times confirmed.
Yes I love being able to transfer from Chase to United! It helps top off my account to redeem for flights. I like having options and Chase gives me those. I’m focusing on getting an Amex card soon. I’m still on the fence about Citi and Capital One.
Anyone have recent experience in transferring Marriott points to an airline?
If so, any recommendations?
Great list!!!! Accumulating the miles needed to fly premium cabin awards can be tough, thank you for this reference list.
It is nice, but it is a shame I can’t transfer my Spirit airlines to a different Airline or hotel.
Good information. I hope to transfer miles via partners. I wish I knew about this process earlier. I’ve wasted many opportunities!
Even better when you have a bonus offer.
This post is the most valuable travel post I have ever seen. Thank you ever so much!
Nice roundup! Personally I use Chase and Marriott to combine points. After reading this, I feel that I’m making a wise choice!
Thanks for this summary, I wish I had more opportunities to get flexible point cards… Being Canadian has it perks but it sure has restrictions for award cards.
Another very helpful compilation of information. The table above is great!
This is great advice, and a great consolidated resource. I always recommend starting out with transferable currencies, and having all the ratios consolidated in one page is amazing.
This is definitely one of those bookmark pieces. Many thanks.
Very useful resource. Thanks.
Being able to combine all of these points made our trip possible on Singapore first class Suites!!
Citi has been doing a good job adding more airline partners.
I hope they will continue doing that as the TY Rewards program still needs better airline partners.
Really interesting article!
I currently only use Chase and love it so far with the flexibility. I am interested in the Citi as my next go around.
This is a good informative post with a nice table, but I with that there was an extra column that estimated transfer time for each transferable currency transaction. Many transactions are instant. Others take a while, and if there are limited award seats this can be an issue. By the time points transfer, award availability is no longer available.
Thanks for the excellent summary. I’ve recently had miles expire in multiple program since the balance wasn’t sufficient to do anything with. However, with consolidation, I think an option opens up.
Nice to see how usable Marriott Rewards are.
Very helpful article saved me hours of work trying to figure it out
I currently have the Chase Reserve but because of the annual fee I’m considering closing it. What will happen to my points? Do I transfer them first? Can the points be transferred to someone else’s account? Example my daughter’s South West account. I may consider applying for the Sapphire but I’m not sure if there is a waiting period after closing the Reserve. Please advise on both situations.
Thanks in advance!
Rather than cancel the Sapphire Reserve, you can downgrade to the Sapphire Preferred, Freedom, or Freedom Unlimited (just be aware you won’t receive a signup bonus). We go into more detail here – When Should I Downgrade a Credit Card. If you still want to cancel the card, you can transfer your points to another member of your household with an Ultimate Rewards account, or, if you have an authorized user on your account, you can transfer to that person’s frequent flyer or hotel rewards account. Unfortunately, Chase has introduced application restrictions for the Sapphire cards and you won’t be eligible for a signup bonus on these cards if you currently hold Sapphire card, or have received a Sapphire signup bonus in the previous 48 months. See this post for details – Updated Terms for Approvals & Signup Bonuses with Sapphire Credit Cards
I will probably downgrade my CSR next year; just not using it enough for the $450 annual fee. I did get the 100K points bonus, but actually haven’t used those either. Need to review my travel/purchases for the best card……
Do you travel enough to get the $300 credit? That’s step one. Step two is using Priority Pass (it’s fantastic at some airports and useless at others). You could say step three is Global Entry but that’s not a huge perk. I’ll admit that I’m on the fence about keeping mine but I download my annual report each year and the numbers speak for themselves. Once I move and change airports, I’ll have to re-evaluate how valuable Priority Pass is to me.
Or downgrade it to just the Sapphire card so you won’t have to pay any annual fee.
Thank you for the update indeed.
Very comprehensive article on a topic I haven’t seen covered that much.
I don’t understand the transfer ratios chart. It needs a legend or more explanation. Thanks.
Hey Cindy, thanks for reaching out. I’ll use Air France/KLM Flying Blue as an example.
Hope that makes it a little more clear.
Thanks, Jess. I get that. The chart looks different now than it did when it was first posted — it was lacking words. Now it is super useful. Thanks!
Jess,
I just figured out the issue. When reading this post in portrait orientation on an iPad the chart gets all messed up. That was my initial confusion. Interesting. In landscape that is fine. Thanks.
Hey Cindy, thanks for letting us know. I will have our tech team to take a look.
Howie: how about a post comparing all the tax filing offers out there? I just got an offer from AA, and there is usually an offer from SWA.
I’d immediately second this, as I was just trying to do this myself, and it was a slog. Been spoiled by you all doing the work and consolidating offers for us!
Thanks for the chart. Very helpful.
Now that SPG points have been consolidated into Marriott, is anyone transferring Marriott points to airlines?
If so, what are the best ways to do this, to maximize value.
Would appreciate hearing from others who have recently done this
this is great to know! I didn’t know about the capital one rewards until I’ve read this!
Thank you for all the information!! Great post!
Hugely useful, one-stop reference; bookmarked. Thank you!