Can You Transfer American Airlines Miles to Chase Ultimate Rewards?

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Million Mile Secrets reader, Giss comments:

I have 160,000 miles in my American Airlines account. I also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.  I like the way Chase Ultimate Rewards allows me to redeem miles easier.  Is it possible to transfer my miles from American Airlines to Chase Ultimate Rewards?

Giss can NOT transfer American Airlines miles to Chase Ultimate Rewards.

I’ll explain the ways you can transfer different types of miles and points.   And give Giss some suggestions on other ways to use American Airlines miles.

How Can You Transfer Miles & Points?

Here’s a look at how you can transfer different types of points.

1.   Flexible Points

You can transfer flexible points like AMEX Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou points to airline, hotel, or rail partners.

The quickest way to earn these flexible points is through bank branded cards.

2.   Airline Miles

Airline miles do NOT transfer to other airlines.  But sometimes you can use miles from 1 airline to book award flights on partner airlines.

For example, you can book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios points.  But you can NOT combine the miles in your American Airlines account with those in your British Airways account.

And sometimes you can transfer airline miles to hotel points.  For instance, Virgin Atlantic miles transfer to Hilton at a 2:3 ratio.

3.   Hotel Points

And sometimes you can transfer hotel points to airlines.

This makes it easy to earn lots of British Airways Avios points!  But transferring hotel points to airlines isn’t always a good value.

How Can You Use American Airlines Miles?

Emily and I have used our American Airlines miles to book award flights to destinations such as Mumbai and Maui.

If you need help finding ways to use American Airlines miles, you can check out my series, How to Book American Airlines Award Flights Like a Pro.  And for assistance with finding routing and flights that will work for your vacation plans, you may consider working with an award booking service.

Bottom Line

Unfortunately, you can NOT transfer American Airlines miles to Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  You can transfer flexible points (such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points) to airline, hotel, or rail partners.

But it does NOT work the other way around.

If you’re looking for a way to use your American Airlines miles, my American Airlines award booking guide has tips!  You can also check out our trip reports for ideas.

Or if you’d rather let someone else do the booking, you may want to use an award booking service.