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Home Travels & Tours How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points

How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points

9 Mins read

If you’re looking to improve your travel game this year, there’s one important strategy you can pursue: Focus on earning (and then redeeming) transferable credit card rewards.

Transferable rewards are, simply put, the most valuable type of currency to earn in the world of points and miles. This is entirely due to their versatility. American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo offer rewards credit cards that earn points or miles you can transfer to various airline and hotel partners.

This can be especially valuable when you hope to travel in a premium cabin or want to minimize the number of points or miles you redeem for an award. Instead of being limited to a single airline (and its partners) or one hotel program, you can leverage your rewards to book the best available option for the lowest possible price.

And if you’re looking to optimize your redemptions this year, learning how to transfer your credit card rewards can be one of the most important steps.

Here’s why you should focus on transferable rewards — and which cards to consider.

Why are transferable points so valuable?

In short, transferable points or miles offer flexibility when it’s time to use your rewards to book travel. For example, if you have a large stash of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, you can only redeem your miles on American and its partners.

However, you have many more options if you have a big balance of Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Park Hyatt New York — SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY

Here are just a few:

Book travel on any airline through the Chase Travel℠ portal.
Transfer points to British Airways or Iberia to book American award flights.
Transfer points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue to book SkyTeam award flights.
Transfer points to United Airlines MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan to book Star Alliance award flights.
Transfer points to Virgin Atlantic to book flights operated by Delta Air Lines or many other Flying Club partners.

You could also transfer points to World of Hyatt for luxurious hotel stays.

You’re in the driver’s seat, as you can hold on to your hard-earned rewards until you find a specific trip you want to book.

When should you transfer points?

From flights and hotel stays to gift cards, merchandise and more, there are seemingly infinite ways to use your points. It can be quite complex. While you shouldn’t consider your loyalty program account balances as long-term investments, you should ensure that you spend your points just like hard-earned money: strategically and efficiently. Determining when to transfer points to partners over other redemptions becomes critical.

When you want to redeem your transferable points for travel, there are several ways to go about it. You can purchase flights and hotel stays through the travel site specific to the bank (like the Chase Travel portal or Amex Travel), or you can transfer your points to a loyalty program and book based on that program’s award rates. While your end goal is the same — booking travel using your rewards — the costs can vary widely.

For example, when I booked a trip to New Orleans, I wanted to stay at Maison Metier (formerly Maison de la Luz and now part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection). Booking directly with Hyatt would have cost $690.

A one-night paid stay at the Maison Metier in New Orleans — HYATT

Meanwhile, as a Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) cardholder, my points are worth up to 2 cents apiece (depending on the specific redemption) when used through Chase Travel (see your rewards program agreement for full details).

With a slight difference in cash rates booking directly and through Chase’s portal, I would’ve needed to use nearly 50,000 points for the stay.

A one-night stay at the Maison Metier in New Orleans through Chase Travel — CHASE

However, since I can transfer Chase points to my World of Hyatt account at a 1:1 ratio, I can book that same room for just 29,000 points per night. At 2.38 cents each, my Chase points outperform our September 2025 valuation of 2.05 cents.

A one-night stay at Maison Metier in New Orleans using Hyatt points — HYATT

Now, it’s worth noting that booking a flight directly with an airline or via a credit card portal means you’d earn miles on that flight, and while this typically isn’t true with hotels, we have seen Chase add this option for select properties. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that transferring will give you more value than booking directly.

However, in many situations — especially for premium-cabin flights or luxurious hotel stays — you can really maximize your redemptions this way.

Emirates A380 first class — BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

Thankfully, transferring your points or miles is relatively straightforward, and the vast majority of transfers post instantly. You can review our full guide on how to transfer credit card rewards to partner programs, but here are a few quick reminders:

Wait to do so until you have a specific redemption in mind. Otherwise, you risk a program making a negative change that could affect your ability to use those points or miles.
Transfers are not reversible. If you change your mind, can’t find the redemption you want or later cancel your trip, the rewards will remain in your loyalty program account. They can’t be converted back to your issuer’s currency.
The name on your credit card must match the name on your loyalty account. For example, I can’t be “Nicholas” on one and “Nick” on the other.

So, what kind of points can you earn to eventually transfer to your favorite airline program? Let’s dive into the five most well-known credit card rewards currencies so you know your options.

American Express Membership Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards points are a favorite transferable rewards currency, with a value of 2 cents per point according to TPG’s September 2025 valuations. These points can get you some incredible awards thanks to Amex’s array of transfer partners, including ANA Mileage Club and Delta SkyMiles — both unique to Amex.

It’s also worth noting that American Express offers frequent transfer bonuses for its airline and hotel partners, though these are sometimes targeted, so keep your eye on your account for these offers to pop up.

With a variety of options to use these points, maximizing Membership Rewards points can feel a bit difficult, so refer to our guide if you need help.

ANA business class — ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Of course, before you redeem American Express points, you first need to earn them. Here are the most popular cards that earn Membership Rewards points:

Don’t forget to add Amex Offers to your card(s); you can earn thousands of additional bonus points or save money on select purchases.

Finally, you can also use Rakuten to earn bonus points when you buy items online. This online shopping portal partners with thousands of retailers to award bonus cash back on your purchases. However, you can elect to earn Membership Rewards points instead. You can sign up and earn a one-time bonus of $30 by spending at least $30 at participating merchants in the first 90 days of joining.

Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards allows cardholders to earn points for paying rent. This is great news since renting can amount to thousands of dollars spent per year. Although Bilt Rewards is a relatively new entrant to this competitive space, the program offers an impressive list of transfer partners, including Atmos Rewards and World of Hyatt.

Currently, Bilt offers one credit card: the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees).

Park Hyatt Johannesburg room — ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Cardholders earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent (up to 100,000 points per calendar year) without the transaction fee (see rates and fees), 2 points per dollar spent on travel (flights, hotels, cruises and rental cars) and 3 points per dollar spent on dining. You need to make at least five transactions each month to earn points. Best of all, the Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee (see rates and fees).

Consistent with the other major programs that have transferable currencies, Bilt Rewards occasionally offers transfer bonuses, often during its monthly Rent Day promotion.

Capital One miles

Capital One has become a strong player in the world of transferable points and miles. While its cards were once primarily associated with straightforward, fixed-value rewards, the issuer has expanded its offerings by introducing a broad network of transfer partners — dramatically increasing the value potential for cardholders.

Among the standout products is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which combines premium travel benefits with the ability to transfer miles to 15-plus airline and hotel partners. Cardholders also enjoy access to Capital One Lounges and a unique dining concept called The Landing, adding further appeal to the portfolio.

The Capital One Venture X Business card builds on this momentum by catering to small-business owners, pairing a lucrative welcome bonus with valuable ongoing rewards and travel perks.

Capital One Lounge JFK — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Popular Capital One transfer partners include Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles and British Airways Club. There are also occasional transfer bonuses. I used one in 2022 to book an American flight using British Airways Avios that would’ve set me back over $1,000.

Here are the cards that currently earn transferable Capital One miles:

The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you’re sitting on a stash of Capital One miles, transferring them to airline partners can unlock some great awards. For full details on these options, check out our guides on how to transfer Capital One miles and when it makes sense to transfer instead of redeeming at a fixed value.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase doesn’t have as many cards or transfer partners as American Express, but Ultimate Rewards points are still quite valuable. While many travelers can’t open too many new Chase cards due to the issuer’s 5/24 rule, many argue that Ultimate Rewards is the best transferable points program out there.

You can transfer these points to 11 (soon 10 without Emirates) airline and three hotel partners, all at a 1:1 ratio. These include Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt.

United Polaris Boeing 767-300 — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Here are the cards that earn fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points:

The information for the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

You can also maximize earning rewards on other personal and business cards and convert cash back to points using one of the four cards above.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Citi also has a transferable currency with its ThankYou Rewards program. While most of Citi’s transfer partners are international carriers, the issuer recently added American Airlines AAdvantage to its program, which creates even more value.

Either way, leveraging alliances and partnerships can help you get tremendous value from your points. For example, you can use a program like Avianca LifeMiles to fly on United or a program like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to fly on Delta.

Transfer ratios between Citi ThankYou and its partners depend on the card you hold. Citi has offered transfer bonuses to a handful of its partners in the past, including Avianca and Virgin Atlantic.

American Airlines first class A321neo — KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

You’ll receive higher ratios — as well as the ability to transfer to AA — with the following cards:

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees)
Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees)
Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants)

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

That said, like with Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can combine your Citi ThankYou Rewards points in a single account for select products, allowing you to effectively “convert” your fixed-value earnings from cards like the Citi Strata℠ Card (see rates and fees) or Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) into fully transferable ThankYou points.

Wells Fargo Rewards

Wells Fargo Rewards is a newer entrant in the realm of transferable credit card currencies. The program has a modest list of partners, including three Avios programs, Flying Blue, Flying Club, LifeMiles and Choice Privileges.

With only two cards that earn transferable points, the program is still small but offers significant potential — and likely has room to grow. Those cards are:

I was thrilled to add the Autograph Journey card to my wallet and am still deciding how to use the lucrative welcome bonus.

Bottom line

Earning and redeeming points takes effort, but transferring them to airline and hotel partners is the key to unlocking maximum value. It stretches your rewards far beyond fixed-rate options and gives you flexibility — especially for last-minute or premium bookings.

For the top options that make this possible, see our guide to the best travel credit cards with transferable rewards.

See Bilt Mastercard rates and fees here.
See Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.