5 Best Credit Card Points Programs and Who They Partner With

Earning credit card points that can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs gives travelers more choices and the potential to redeem their points at a higher value than they would get by redeeming them in the credit card issuer's travel portal.

The best transferable points currencies can be earned by spending on certain credit cards issued by American Express, Capital One, Chase or Citi, or earning points on rent payments and credit card purchases with Bilt Rewards.

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

» Learn more: AmEx points vs. Chase points

Here's a quick overview of airlines and hotels that are credit card travel partners and their transfer ratios. A 1:1 ratio means that if you transfer 1,000 credit card points, you'll receive 1,000 points in that airline or hotel's loyalty program. A transfer ratio in bold indicates an exclusive transfer partner, meaning only one of these five credit card programs transfers to this partner.

Airline transfer partners

Hotel transfer partners

*Note: The transfer ratios of Citi ThankYou points vary by the card you have. The values in these tables reflect the transfer ratios of the Citi Strata Premier® Card, Citi Premier® Card (no longer open to new applicants) and the AT&T Access More Card. Skip down to the Citi transfer partners section to learn more.

American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners include 17 airlines and three hotels.

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

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

» 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.

» Learn more: The best Chase transfer partners

Citi ThankYou Rewards has more than 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.

Only holders of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier® Card and Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants) can transfer ThankYou points to all the airline partners listed above. That's because only those cards allow transfers to American Airlines' AAdvantage program, the only major transferable currency that does so.

Citi's partnership with Choice Hotels is notable as it gives Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card holders a 1:2 ratio, while most other card holders get a 1:1.4 ratio.

» Learn more: The best Citi ThankYou partners

Bilt Rewards transfers to 16 airlines and five hotels.

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

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