There are a few important notes to highlight regarding these transfer partners:
Finally, except for EVA Air Infinity MileageLands and Finnair Plus, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to all airline partners listed above at a rate of 3 Bonvoy points to 1 airline point or mile. You will receive an additional 5,000 airline points or miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred, except with the following airline programs: American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles and Delta SkyMiles. Additionally, United MileagePlus awards 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points transferred.
: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?
Hotel transfer partners
As with transfers to airline partners, most transfers to hotel partners are instantaneous, though you can read more in our previously mentioned guides to transfer times for Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo.
How to earn transferable points or miles
The best way to earn transferable credit card points or miles is with the right credit card. Here’s a look at your best options.
American Express Membership Rewards
These are the most popular cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points:
You can also earn Amex points by signing up for Rakuten and setting your earning preference to Membership Rewards points instead of cash back.
Bilt Rewards
Bilt offers one credit card, the Bilt Mastercard®. Cardmembers can earn rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 Bilt Points in a calendar year), plus 2 points per dollar spent on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises and rental cars) and 3 points per dollar spent on dining. You need to make at least five transactions each statement period to earn points (see rewards and benefits). Best of all, the Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee (see rates and fees).
: Bilt Rewards program: Guide to earning points on rent, dining and more
Capital One miles
Here are the cards that currently earn transferable Capital One miles:
The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business 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.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Here are the cards that earn fully transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:
However, if you have one of these cards, you can also combine your rewards from cash-back cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees) and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) into a single account, effectively converting those cash-back earnings into fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points.
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards has 20 airline and hotel transfer partners. Currently, only a single card offers transfers to all of these programs: the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees). Note that if you’re still holding on to the Citi Prestige® Card, which is no longer open to new applicants, you also have the full transfer benefits.
However, as with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your Citi ThankYou Rewards points in a single account for select products. This allows you to effectively convert your fixed-value earnings from cards like the Citi Rewards+® Card (no longer open to new applicants) and the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) into fully transferable ThankYou points.
The information for the Citi Prestige and the Citi Rewards+ has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Wells Fargo Rewards
Though Wells Fargo offers multiple credit cards, including several that earn cash-back rewards, you can currently only earn transferable Wells Fargo Rewards points with the following cards:
Bottom line
Many transfer options are available among the major credit card loyalty programs. Transferable points and miles are generally more valuable than any single airline or hotel point or mile because of the added flexibility of choosing where to send your rewards … and when to do it.
Bookmark this cheat sheet so you know your options when applying for your next transferable points- or miles-earning credit card or deciding on your next redemption.
For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, here.