Unlocking the magic of transfer partners
You can unlock 10 times (!!) the value.
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Hi! Mary Ellen here, coming in hot with an important travel rewards lesson everyone needs to learn.
Just last week, I helped a friend transfer 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards points over to Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM. She then booked a summer business-class flight worth $6,000 from Paris back to the U.S. The points that could have been cashed in for a $600 statement credit were instead used to maximize insane travel value.
Read on to see how your points can be worth 10x more than a basic statement credit — all thanks to transfer partners.
Points and miles tip of the week
If you're new to the points and miles game, one of the foundational concepts is having credit cards that earn a transferable points currency. Translation? The points or miles you earn don't have to be redeemed for cash or a statement credit. Instead, they can be transferred to a host of great hotel and airline transfer partners. Each major bank has its own list of partners.
For example, here are just a few options you have:
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Transfer Chase points to book a Hyatt hotel or a Southwest Airlines flight.
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Transfer Amex points to book a business-class ticket on Air France or a Hilton hotel stay.
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Transfer Citi points to American Airlines or even double them for Choice Hotels.
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Transfer Capital One miles to Preferred Hotels or the Virgin Red loyalty program.
TLDR:Often, the value you get from transferring your hard-earned points from the bank to one of its hotel or airline partners is far greater than if you cashed them in for a simple statement credit. The next time you think about cashing in your rewards, STOP — and consider booking a fabulous trip instead!
Listen to the Wonderland on Points podcast
In this episode: In Episode 81 of Wonderland On Points, we look at past trends of transfer partner bonuses. These are the magical moments when you can get even more value by transferring your points to hotel and airline partners.
