As a complement to last week’s post on booking award flights, I thought it’d be helpful dive into each section in more detail. The sections covered in the previous post were Transferable Points, Wikipedia, Award Hacker, Google, and Award Search. For this post, I’ll kick it off by focusing on Transferable Points to help you book cheap flights.
Transferable Points
If you’re new or have been into points and miles for a short time, you’ll hear or read about transferable points. Transferable points are points earned from loyalty programs that can be converted into airline miles or hotels points, among other uses. The four main programs are Chase Ultimate Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, Citi ThankYou Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Ultimate Rewards (UR) is the first of the four transferable point’s programs. The program rules allow Chase credit card members to redeem points on travel, gift cards, cash back and experiences. I’ll focus on redeeming points for travel as it provides the most value.
UR currently partners with nine airlines and four hotels. Chase credit card members can instantly transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to any of the partners below with UR earning credit cards. I personally recommend the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve credit cards.
For an example of how to use UR points, I covered how members can transfer points directly to Southwest Airlines in this post. With Southwest Airlines’ miles, members can book domestic flights and flights to the Caribbean. Add in the Companion Pass and you receive an additional ticket for free.
Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is the second of the four programs. The program rules allow you book SPG hotels, Travel, Moments, Transfer Points to Marriott, and more. I’ll only focus on Travel but also recommend evaluating SPG hotel redemptions.
The program partners with airlines and Amtrak. SPG currently has 33 airline partners, the most of all four transferable point programs. SPG points are primarily earned from hotel stays and spend on the personal and business co-branded American Express credit cards. Program members can transfer their points to all airlines at a 1:1 ratio excluding Air New Zealand (65:1), GOL (2:1) and United (2:1).
The added benefit of SPG is the transfer bonus. When transferring SPG points to airlines, members receive a 5,000 airline mile ( read 5,000 point) bonus for every 20,000 miles transferred. The program limits transfers to airlines at 79,999 per 24 hour period. I recommend transferring 60,000 points in the first 24 hour period followed by the additional 20,000+ points in the second 24 hour period. This will allow you to receive the 5,000 mile (5,000 point) bonus on all of the points you transfer.
As an example of how to use SPG points, members can transfer their points directly to Korean Air. With Korean Air miles, members can book Korean Air flights to Asia as I mentioned in this post.
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards (TY) is the third of the four major programs. TY allows members to redeem points for Gift Cards, Merchandise and Travel. I’ll home in on Travel as I think it’s the best use of yours TY points.
TY partners with airlines, hotels, car rental and cruise ship companies. The program has 15 airline partners. TY points can be earned through Citi’s TY point earning credit cards like the Citi Prestige and Citi Premier. Program members can transfer points directly to airlines at a 1:1 ratio excluding jetBlue (2:1).
For an example on how to use TY points, check this out. Virgin Atlantic partners with Delta Air Lines as I mentioned in my Virgin Atlantic post. By transferring TY points to Virgin Atlantic, members can book Delta flights to Hawaii cheaper than Delta requires with their own SkyMiles.
American Express Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards (MR) is the last of the four major programs. MR allows members to redeem points for Shopping, Gift Cards, Statement Credits and Travel. Transferring MR points to travel partners is the best use of your points.
MR partners with airlines, hotels, taxis and retailers. The program 12 airline and 3 hotel partners. Amex has several MR points earning credit cards including the Platinum Card and the Business Platinum card. Program members can transfer points directly to airlines at a 1:1 ratio excluding Aeromexico (1:1.6), El Al (1:0.2) and jetBlue (2.5:2). Points transfer directly to hotels at a 1:1 ratio excluding Hilton (1:2) and SPG (1:0.33).
For an example of how to use MR, here’s a post on Iberia flights. By transferring MR points to Iberia, members can book domestic American Airlines flights cheaper than American Airlines requires with their own AAdvantage miles.
Conclusion
As I covered in this and this post, earning transferable points is my current strategy. I value flexibility in the points I earn because programs are continually devalued. With points/airlines miles tied into one program, members are forced to redeem at much higher rates than when said points/miles were earned.
Hopefully this post sheds light into the major transferable programs and how to receive maximum value. What’s your favorite transferable point program? What’s your best value redemption transferring points from a program to an airline? Please share in the comments or by sending me an email pointswithq@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading!
