The Best AmEx Transfer Partners — and Those to Avoid

Once you’ve earned a stash of American Express Membership Rewards points, the next step is figuring out how to get the most value from them.

In many cases, that means transferring your points to one of AmEx’s transfer partners, a collection of airline and hotel loyalty programs that allow you to exchange your AmEx points for points or miles in their programs. Generally, if you’re leveraging the best AmEx transfer partners, you’ll be able to get more value out of your Membership Rewards points than if you were to redeem them in other ways, such as through American Express’ travel portal, where each point is worth 1 cent when booking flights.

To help you get the most out of your points, here’s a complete list of the best and worst AmEx transfer partners.

NerdWallet values AmEx points at 1.6 cents each when transferred to partners, so you should aim for at least that value when deciding whether to transfer your points. If your redemption value is below 1 cent per point, then you should consider booking your travel through AmEx’s travel portal.

The best AmEx transfer partners

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is a popular AmEx transfer partner, thanks to its distance-based award chart and the ability to book awards on Star Alliance airlines. It also partners with a number of non-alliance carriers, giving customers more options to choose from. NerdWallet values Aeroplan points at 1.1 cents each when booking economy flights on Air Canada itself; however, some of the best value redemptions you can get using Aeroplan points are through its partner award chart. That’s especially true if you’re interested in flying premium cabins, such as transatlantic flights in Lufthansa first class.

One downside to Aeroplan is its introduction of dynamic award pricing for some of its partners, including United Airlines. That makes award rates more volatile, since they may fluctuate depending on factors like demand. In the past, Aeroplan has been a great option for scoring cheap domestic flights on United, but you’ll need to make sure your redemption value is still worth it before you book.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue miles are a versatile and popular currency, largely because of how easy it is to collect them or transfer them from the major transferable currencies. Their value is boosted by plenty of award sweet spots on Air France, KLM or one of Flying Blue’s partners, including those in the SkyTeam alliance. However, NerdWallet values Flying Blue miles at 0.8 cent each for economy awards, so you’re often better off booking premium cabin awards.

Some ways to get the most value out of your Flying Blue miles include taking advantage of the program’s monthly Promo Rewards, which offer discounted award pricing on select routes up to 50%. Plus, if AmEx is running a credit card transfer bonus with Flying Blue, then you can get even greater value from your Membership Rewards points.

» Learn more: The ultimate guide to Flying Blue

ANA Mileage Club

ANA Mileage Club, the loyalty program for Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, offers great value for its members, especially since it started allowing one-way award bookings in 2025. Since ANA is a member of Star Alliance, its miles can be used for booking on ANA itself and its airline partners, including United, Lufthansa and Air New Zealand.

Before you transfer your AmEx points to ANA, there’s one thing to be aware of: Transfers are typically not instantaneous and can take between two to four days. If you’re trying to book a rare award — such as ANA’s popular business or first class cabins — award availability may dry up before your AmEx points reach your Mileage Club account. However, if you’re looking to book economy awards, this might not be as much of an issue.

Keep in mind that ANA miles typically expire 36 months after they are earned.

Avios programs (Aer Lingus AerClub, The British Airways Club, Iberia Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club)

Avios is a points currency shared by a number of airlines, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Qatar Airways. A nifty feature of Avios is that members can transfer Avios between the different airline loyalty programs, making it a flexible currency in its own right.

While all of the points in these programs are called Avios, they’re not all worth the same. Each loyalty program sets its own rules and redemption rates for redeeming Avios, so you can find different sweet spots for using Avios. According to NerdWallet’s valuations, British Airways Avios are worth 1.2 cents each.

AmEx points are perhaps one of the best transferable currencies for Avios because they partner with most of the airlines that use them. That’s a big help because you have more options to transfer directly to the program you want, thus removing an extra step and potentially avoiding any hiccups along the way. (Finnair Plus is the major omission on the list of AmEx’s Avios transfer partners.)

Delta SkyMiles

Delta SkyMiles is probably American Express’ flagship transfer partner, given the close relationship the two companies have. While Delta SkyMiles often gets a bad rap for its unfavorable redemption rates, there are plenty of great ways to use your Delta miles, especially for domestic award travel. Plus, Delta also runs flash sales on occasion that allow you to get outsized value for your SkyMiles. (NerdWallet values Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents per point.)

Another quirk of the Delta SkyMiles program is the ability to book basic economy fares using miles. This means you can book cheaper award fares as long as you’re OK with some additional restrictions. This isn’t for everyone, so make sure you’re familiar with the rules of Delta basic economy before booking.

Those who are all in on Delta might consider getting a Delta-branded credit card that offers the TakeOff 15 benefit, which gives you 15% off award travel on Delta-operated flights.

» Learn more: Is a Delta SkyMiles credit card worth it?

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer partners with multiple transferable currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards® and Citi ThankYou. That makes it easy to amass a large number of points, especially if you’re eyeing a premium cabin redemption on Singapore Airlines itself, such as in one of its incredibly fancy Singapore Suites.

You can also take advantage of KrisFlyer sweet spots like Alaska Airlines partner awards to Hawaii, which cost 13,500 KrisFlyer miles one-way from the West Coast. While many people report KrisFlyer transfers to be instant, AmEx cautions that it could take up to 48 hours.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offers some of the best award travel deals, whether you’re interested in flying Virgin Atlantic or one of its partner airlines. You can typically find cheap award redemptions — whether in economy or business — although keep in mind that you’ll often need to pay a good amount extra for taxes and fees (if you’re averse to paying a lot out of pocket, this transfer partner is probably not for you). NerdWallet values Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points at 1.4 cents each.

Some of the best uses of Virgin points is booking premium cabin awards on partner airlines like All Nippon Airways, assuming you can find availability on those flights. It’s not an easy task (award search tools are your friend here), but it can be highly rewarding if you’re able to snag a seat.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

Decent AmEx transfer partners

Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca is another Star Alliance member, meaning you can use its loyalty program, LifeMiles, to book partner awards on airlines like United and Lufthansa. However, Avianca LifeMiles has gone through multiple devaluations, causing it to lose its luster as a reliable method for booking cheap Star Alliance awards.

However, that’s not to say it’s always a bad program. There are still deals to be had, and sometimes you can get lower award pricing for mixed-cabin awards. You’ll just need to work harder to find them, especially because its website interface is hard to navigate for newcomers.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific’s award chart is distance-based, meaning that your award pricing will depend on how far you’re flying and whether you’re flying on Cathay Pacific or its Oneworld partners. Given its redemption structure, award travelers will often find the best deals on shorter flights.

If you’re looking to fly in one of Cathay Pacific’s premium cabins, Asia Miles can be a good way to book those.

Etihad Guest

While Etihad isn’t a part of an airline alliance, it does have numerous partnerships with airlines like American Airlines, ANA, Air Canada and JetBlue. That helps the Abu Dhabi-based airline give its loyalty program members the ability to redeem their miles for more than just Etihad flights.

Etihad Guest uses a distance-based award chart, but its long-haul award rates tend to be higher than other frequent flyer program options. However, if you’re looking to fly on Etihad’s premium-class product, you’ll likely have the most success booking those seats using your Etihad Guest miles.

AmEx transfer partners to avoid

Aeromexico Rewards

At face value, Aeromexico Rewards may seem like a good transfer partner. After all, you get 1.6 AeroMexico points for every 1 AmEx point transferred. However, it can be needlessly complicated to book an award ticket with Aeromexico, and there aren’t great redemptions to be had. With so many other options to choose from, we’d skip this one.

Choice Privileges

Choice Privileges can be valuable, but they’re so much more valuable when transferred from Citi ThankYou points. That’s because Citi points transfer at a 1:2 ratio for select cards, doubling the amount of Choice points you’d get compared to transferring from AmEx. If you’re looking for Choice Privileges sweet spots, consider opening a card that earns Citi ThankYou points.

Emirates Skywards

Emirates offers some of the finest experiences in the sky, but its awards are notoriously expensive to book — in terms of points required as well as taxes and fees. It doesn’t help that AmEx points transfer to Emirates Skywards at a 5:4 ratio starting September 2025, meaning you only get 4 Emirates points for every 5 AmEx points transferred.

NerdWallet values Emirates miles at just 1 cent apiece for economy bookings, making it a difficult currency to maximize.

Hilton Honors

Hilton Honors is another transfer partner that seems great at face value, with the ability to transfer 1 AmEx point for 2 Hilton points. However, factor in that NerdWallet values Hilton points at 0.4 cent cent per point, and you’ll see why it’s not as great of a deal as it seems.

Still, there are ways to boost the value of your Hilton points, such as taking advantage of its fifth-night-free perk for elite status holders, allowing you to book five award nights for the price of four. It’s also possible to find great deals if you're willing to hunt for them, especially at luxury properties with high cash rates.

» Learn more: The guide to book reward nights with Hilton points

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue TrueBlue points don’t transfer at a 1:1 ratio with AmEx’s Membership Rewards. Instead, they transfer at a 5:4 ratio, meaning you’ll get 200 JetBlue miles for every 250 AmEx points you transfer. Plus, if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, you can transfer those to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio.

JetBlue redemptions are typically tied to the cash price of the ticket, so you won’t often find outsized value on JetBlue flights. If you do decide to use JetBlue points, you might be able to find better value redeeming points for the airline’s Mint business class seats or flights on one of its partners like Japan Airlines.

Marriott Bonvoy

NerdWallet values Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cent per point. That’s not great, as you can redeem AmEx points for more value when booking flights through AmEx’s travel portal. Instead, boost your Marriott points stash by earning a welcome offer on a new Marriott credit card. These cards can also include helpful travel perks, such as complimentary elite status or a free night award, depending on the card.

The one time that might be acceptable to transfer AmEx points is if you need a few thousand points to top off your balance to make a redemption. That’s what I did when I visited Bali, Indonesia, and stayed at Mandapa, one of the chain’s ultra-luxurious Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties.

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Qantas Frequent Flyer uses a distance-based award chart that underwent major changes in August 2025, making awards more expensive and less appealing. There weren’t that many great redemption options to begin with, and with the even-higher prices after the devaluation, you’re probably better off skipping this one.

Credit cards that earn AmEx Membership Rewards points

Looking to boost your stash of AmEx Membership Rewards points (or to get started on earning them)? You’ll need to have an eligible AmEx card that earns these points.

To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page.

To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.

To view rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, see this page.