5 Best Credit Card Points Programs and Who They Partner With

Earning credit card points and miles can be a way to protect yourself against devaluations from hotel or airline rewards programs. If you have credit card points, also known as transferable points, then you have more flexibility in where you can use your travel rewards.

For example, if you want to book an award ticket on United Airlines and you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you could transfer those points to Air Canada, ANA, Avianca or Singapore Airlines because all these airlines are part of Star Alliance alongside United.

If you’re confused, we’ve compiled a list of all the major transferable points programs and their currencies, plus the airlines and hotels they each partner with. Which program you want to use will depend on a variety of factors, including how much of each currency you have available.

Here are the credit card points and transfer partners you need to know.

» Learn more: AmEx points vs. Chase points

The five best transferable points currencies can be earned by spending on credit cards issued by American Express, Capital One, Chase or Citi. Marriott Bonvoy points are also unique in that though they are hotel points, they still transfer to several dozen partner airlines.

Here's a quick overview of credit card travel partners.

American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners include 18 airlines and three hotels.

Airlines

AmEx Membership Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to 16 of the airlines, generally with a 1,000-point minimum:

• AerLingus AerClub.

• Air Canada Aeroplan.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Alitalia MilleMiglia.

• ANA Mileage Club.

• Avianca LifeMiles.

• British Airways Executive Club.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

• Delta SkyMiles.

• Emirates Skywards.

• Etihad Guest.

• Hawaiian Airlines.

• Iberia Plus.

• Qantas (500-point transfer minimum).

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

The other two airlines have different transfer ratios:

• Aeromexico Club Premier: 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,600 Club Premier points.

• JetBlue TrueBlue: 250 Membership Rewards = 200 TrueBlue points.

Hotels

American Express also has three hotel transfer partners. The transfer ratio varies by program:

• Choice Privileges: 1:1.

• Hilton Honors: 1:2.

• Marriott Bonvoy: 1:1.

» Learn more: The best AmEx transfer partners — and those to avoid

Capital One Miles transfer partners include more than a dozen hotel and airlines.

Airlines

Points transfer to most airlines at a 1:1 ratios unless stated otherwise:

• Aeromexico Club Premier.

• Air Canada Aeroplan.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Avianca Lifemiles.

• British Airways Avios.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

• Emirates Skywards.

• Etihad Guest.

• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 2:1.5.

• Finnair Plus.

• Qantas Frequent Flyer.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go.

• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

Hotels

Capital One has the following transfer ratios to its hotel partners:

• Accor Live Limitless: 2:1.

• Choice Hotels Choice Privileges: 1:1.

• Wyndham Rewards: 1:1.

» Learn more: The best and worst Capital One transfer partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards® has 14 transfer partners. You can transfer Ultimate Rewards® points to 11 airlines and three hotels at a 1:1 ratio.

Airlines

• AerLingus AerClub.

• Air Canada.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• British Airways Executive Club.

• Emirates Skywards.

• Iberia Plus.

• JetBlue TrueBlue.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.

• United Airlines MileagePlus.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Hotels

And here are the three hotel partners that Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer to:

• World of Hyatt.

• IHG Rewards Club.

• Marriott Bonvoy.

» Learn more: The best Chase transfer partners

Citi ThankYou Rewards has nearly 20 hotel, airline and retail transfer partners. ThankYou points transfer to most airline partners at a 1:1 ratio, with a 1,000-point transfer minimum, and at variable rates for retail and hotel partners.

Airlines

• Aeromexico Club Premier.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Avianca Lifemiles.

• Cathay Pacific.

• Emirates Skywards.

• Etihad Guest.

• EVA Air Mileage Rewards.

• JetBlue TrueBlue.

• Qantas Frequent Flyer.

• Qatar Privilege Club.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus.

• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Hotels

• Choice Hotels.

• Wyndham Rewards.

Sears transfer partner: Citi ThankYou points can also be transferred to Sears Shop Your Way loyalty program at a 1:10 ratio.

Virgin Red: Use a 1:1 ratio to transfer Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Red. Virgin Red members redeem Virgin Points for events like virtual masterclasses, sporting matches or cruises.

Only holders of the Citi Chairman American Express Card, Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants) and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card can transfer ThankYou points to all the airline partners listed above. Cardholders of the Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Rewards+® Card or Citi Double Cash® Card can only transfer ThankYou points to JetBlue.

Citi's partnership with Choice Hotels is notable as it gives Citi Strata Premier℠ Card holders a 1:2 ratio and Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card holders a 1:1.5 ratio.

Additionally, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card holders can transfer to Wyndham Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, while Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card holders can transfer at a 1:0.8 ratio.

» Learn more: The best Citi ThankYou partners

Marriott Bonvoy is a hotel loyalty program, but it also offers the ability to transfer Bonvoy points to nearly 40 airline partners. Points transfer 3:1 to almost all of the airline partners, with a 5,000 point bonus if you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points.

In other words, transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points gets you 25,000 airline miles. Note that this transfer bonus does not apply to American, Delta, Avianca or Korean Air.

Airlines

• Aegean Miles+Bonus.

• Aer Lingus AerClub Avios.

• Aeroflot Bonus.

• Aeromexico ClubPremier.

• Air Canada Aeroplan.

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

• Alitalia MilleMiglia.

• American Airlines AAdvantage.

• ANA Mileage Club.

• Asiana Airlines Asiana Club.

• Avianca LifeMiles.

• British Airways Executive Club.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

• Copa Airlines ConnectMiles.

• Delta SkyMiles.

• Emirates Skywards.

• Etihad Guest.

• Frontier Airlines Miles.

• Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club.

• Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles.

• Iberia Plus.

• Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank.

• Jet Airways Intermiles.

• Korean Air Skypass.

• LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass.

• Qantas Frequent Flyer.

• Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

• Saudia Arabian Airlines Alfursan.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards.

• TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go.

• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus.

• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles.

• United MileagePlus.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

• Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer.

• Vueling Club.

There is one Marriott Bonvoy airline partners that don’t transfer at the 3:1 ratio:

• Air New Zealand Airpoints (200:1).

» Learn more: The best and worst Marriott transfer partners

These five transferrable point programs offer excellent opportunities to earn points in currency that offers ultimate flexibility. Deciding which program to earn points with depends on which airlines award space you want access to. With so many credit card transfer partner options, you can’t go wrong.

The information related to Citi Prestige® Card and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.