Understanding Transfer Partners: A Beginner's Guide
Once you accumulate some credit card points, you start to dream about how you can use them. Credit card companies have travel portals, and you can spend your points on the travel portal, typically the value there is not so great. That’s where transfer partners come into the game. Here's the thing: transfer partners are where points go from "neat, I used points 40,000 points for a $400 a night hotel on the portal’ to "wait, did I just book a $2,000 a night hotel room for 25,000 points?"
But if you are new to points and miles, dipping your toe into “transfer partners,” can feel like trying to decode a foreign language (or when you get a new job and don’t know the acronyms). Including airlines and hotels, Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to 14 different programs. Capital One has partnerships with airlines you've never heard of. American Express? They've got partnerships with everyone and their cousin. Well, not Hawaiian Airlines (and thus Alaska Airlines) anymore. Moment of silence for that loss.
There are a LOT of variables. Take a deep breath. You don't need to understand all of this right now. Start with the basics; start by identifying airline and hotel partners that make sense for you, your home airport, your travel goals etc.
What Are Transfer Partners, Actually
Think of your credit card points like a universal gift card that you can convert into specific store gift cards. Your Chase Ultimate Rewards points can become United miles, Hyatt points, or Southwest points. Your Capital One miles can become Air France miles or Turkish Airlines miles. Why does this matter?
The magic happens because these transfers often give you way more value than just using your points through your credit card's travel portal. Sometimes dramatically more.
Why Transfer Instead of Using the Portal?
Here's a recent example of mine: I wanted to book a flight from Boston to Dublin. Through Chase's travel portal, a seat in business class would have cost me 330,000 Ultimate Rewards points one way (it’s a $6,000 cash ticket). But that same business class seat could be booked directly with Aer Lingus for 50,000 Avios points. And even more exciting: sometimes the credit card companies have a transfer bonus, and at the time I was looking at flights, American Express was offering a 30% transfer bonus to Avios. I was able to transfer 39,000 Amex MR points, and these points became 50,000 points. Now, I wouldn’t spend 330,000 points (or $6,000) for a business class seat; I would use 39,000 points all day. That's the power of transfer partners.
Start Here: Your First Transfer Partner Strategy
If you have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, learn these three first:
Hyatt – Their points are incredibly valuable for hotels, especially luxury properties.
United – Great for domestic flights and international routes from major US hubs
Southwest – Perfect for domestic travel, especially if you're near a Southwest hub
If you have Capital One miles, start with:
Turkish Airlines – Excellent for Star Alliance flights at lower mileage rates
Air France/KLM – Strong European network and reasonable award availability
British Airways – Great for short domestic flights * and specific international routes.
If you have American Express points:
Delta – If you're near a Delta hub, this partnership is solid
Hilton – Transfers at 1:2 ratio, so your points go further for hotel stays
British Airways – Same benefits as mentioned above
And a bonus note about British Airways Avios: you can book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios, which is helpful because neither Chase, Capital One nor American Express transfer to American Airlines. This is a leveled up strategy (and there will be another post on the more advanced strategies).
The "Don't Overwhelm Yourself" Rules
Rule 1: Pick one transfer partner to learn deeply before moving to the next. Master booking United awards before you worry about Avianca Lifemiles (which you can use to book United Flights but more on that later).
Rule 2: Don't transfer points until you're ready to book. Most transfers are immediate and irreversible. Research first, transfer second.
Rule 3: Start with partners that serve routes you actually want to fly or hotels where you actually want to stay. Don't get seduced by "great value" to places you'll never visit.
Rule 4: It's okay to use the credit card portal sometimes. Perfect is the enemy of good, and if you find a reasonable redemption through your card's portal, that's still way better than paying cash. Chase’s Portal introduced “boosted” points this summer, and there is definitely some value to be found there.
When You're Ready to Go Deeper
Once you've gotten comfortable with 2-3 transfer partners, you can start exploring:
Sweet spot redemptions (routes that offer exceptional value)
Combining points from different programs for complex trips
Understanding award charts and availability
Advanced booking strategies
But that's advanced stuff. Right now, focus on understanding how one or two partners work, and actually using them to book trips.
Your Action Plan
Choose your first transfer partner based on your home airport and travel goals
Create an account with that airline or hotel program (it's free)
Browse their award chart to see what flights/stays cost in points
Practice searching for award availability before you need to book. It’s actually a fun hobby to “practice” bookings. At least for some of us.
Make your first transfer only when you're ready to immediately book something
The Bottom Line
Transfer partners aren't supposed to be overwhelming – they're supposed to make your points more valuable. But you don't need to master the entire ecosystem before you start benefiting from it.
Pick one partner that makes sense for your travel style. Learn how they work. Book one trip using transferred points. Celebrate the money you just saved. Then, when you're ready, you can explore the next partner.
The travel hacking community loves to geek out over obscure redemptions and complex routing rules. That's fun once you're into it, and once you’ve got the basics figured out, but it's not required for getting great value from your points. Start simple, build confidence, then expand your knowledge when it feels exciting rather than overwhelming.
Remember: every expert was once a beginner who successfully booked their first award flight. You've got this.
Ready to pick your first transfer partner? Start with the ones I mentioned above, and don't feel pressured to learn them all at once. Master one, then move to the next when you're ready for more adventure.
