Transfer partners, explained
The partner you transfer to decides what your points are worth. Here is how the lists, the ratios and the timing actually work.
The short answer
A transfer partner is an airline or hotel program that accepts points from a bank currency. Each bank keeps its own list. The lists overlap, but not completely — and the gaps are where the interesting redemptions live.
Four lists, partly overlapping
Amex Membership RewardsThe longest airline list of the four, weighted towards international carriers, plus a small set of hotel partners.
Chase Ultimate RewardsFewer partners, but it is the only one of the four that reaches some major domestic airlines, and it transfers to Hyatt.
Citi ThankYouAirline-heavy, with several partners it shares with Amex and a few it does not.
Capital One milesA broad airline list that overlaps heavily with Citi and Amex, and a thinner hotel list.
Some partners take points from three of the four banks; a handful take them from only one. If a specific airline is the point of the trip, check which currency reaches it before you decide which balance to buy.
Ratios: mostly 1:1, with exceptions
Most transfers run at 1:1 — a thousand points in, a thousand miles out. Two kinds of exception matter:
- Worse than 1:1. A few partners take more points than they give miles. Read the ratio on the transfer screen, not from memory.
- Better than 1:1. Hotel programs sometimes convert at several hotel points per bank point. A large number out does not mean a good deal — those points are individually worth much less.
- Transfer bonuses come and go, typically 20–30% extra for a limited window. Useful if you were transferring anyway; a poor reason to transfer if you were not.
How long it takes
Some transfers land in seconds. Others take days, and a few take longer when a program queues them for review. Treat anything other than instant as the normal case when you are agreeing a sequence with someone: hold the award space if you can, and do not assume the points will be there this afternoon.
The one-way door
No bank will pull points back out of a partner account for you. Confirm the award is bookable, confirm the receiving account details, then transfer. In that order, every time.
When transferring is the wrong move
- There is no award space, and you are transferring on the hope that some appears.
- The redemption you want is worth less than the bank's own cash-style rate. Do the arithmetic first.
- You are chasing a bonus with no trip in mind. A committed currency you cannot use is worth less than a flexible one you have not spent.
If none of the exits work for you, the balance still has a value to someone whose exits are different. That is what this marketplace is for — see transferable points explained for how to price one.