Readers Share Their Favorite Transferable Points Programs

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I enjoy hearing from y’all about how you like to use miles & points.  So I loved reading your comments from a recent British Airways Avios points giveaway!

We asked your favorite flexible points program for Big Travel.  And we received a lot of enthusiastic responses!

The giveaway is now closed.  But if you’re looking for ideas for how to use transferable points, here are some suggestions from Million Mile Secrets readers!

The Trick to Travel Flexibility Is Transferable Points

Link:   Handy Chart Showing Which Points Transfer to Which Airlines

One of the best tricks miles and points enthusiasts use is collecting transferable points to use on award tickets, hotel stays, and more!

Instead of focusing on earning points in a specific frequent flyer or hotel guest program, folks who collect transferable points have many more options for how they use them!  That’s because you can choose to transfer your points to dozens of different programs.

Here are Million Mile Secrets readers’ favorite transferable points programs!

1.   AMEX Membership Rewards Points

Lots of readers prefer collecting AMEX Membership Rewards points.  They especially like transferring points to British Airways!  Reader Mel likes transferring his points to British Airways when there’s a transfer bonus.

Richard likes to deposit his AMEX Membership Rewards points into Flying Blue (the loyalty program of Air France and KLM) for cheap flights to Hawaii.

And reader Aaron also uses his points to get to Hawaii.  But he transfers his points to British Airways.  You can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii for just 12,500 British Airways Avios points one-way in coach.

2.   Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

By far our readers’ favorite flexible points are Chase Ultimate Rewards points (they’re my favorite, too!).  I always suggest the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for newbies.  And for folks who have a small business, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card currently has the highest sign-up bonus of all Chase Ultimate Rewards points earning cards!

Reader Rebecca uses her points for award flights on United Airlines to visit home across the ocean for the holidays.

Sean transfers his points to Southwest because of the great perks, like free checked bags and free cancellation up to 10 minutes before your flight.

And Kristin also likes Southwest.  She uses the Southwest Companion Pass to nearly double the value of her Chase Ultimate Rewards points!  Because when you have the Companion Pass, a travel buddy can fly with you for only the cost of taxes and fees.

Reader Noko uses Chase Ultimate Rewards points to fly to Hawaii via Korean Air!  Team member Joseph recently did the same, and was able to get a round-trip coach flight to Hawaii for 25,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Lynda lives near Chicago O’Hare, United Airlines’ largest hub.  So she gets good use transferring her points to United Airlines. Jason like transferring points to United Airlines, too.  But he likes flying United Airlines’ Star Alliance partners, which can take him just about anywhere in the world! Denis uses points for free nights at Hyatt.  This is also one of my favorite ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  I’ve stayed at the Park Hyatt Milan, Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, Park Hyatt Sydney, and many more places!

3.   Starwood

Starwood points are some of the most valuable points you can earn.  There are lots of ways to use Starwood points for Big Travel, including transferring them to 35+ airlines!

Reader Doug likes to transfer his points to Delta when booking an international Business Class seat.

Kate uses Starwood points to fly on American Airlines’ partner LATAM for flights around South America!

And John likes to transfer his points to British Airways for flights on their partner American Airlines.  And when he transfers his points in increments of 20,000, Starwood gives him a bonus 5,000 miles!

And Jason and Tiffany use Starwood points for flights to Asia.  You can transfer Starwood points to Alaska Airlines and fly on partner Cathay Pacific!

And reader wm d transfers Starwood points to American Airlines to follow the Seattle Seahawks around the country!

4.   Citi ThankYou Points

Not many folks chose Citi ThankYou points as their favorite transfer partner.  Readers Jon, Melanie, and Rob all use Citi ThankYou points with Singapore Airlines!

Team member Joseph also likes Citi ThankYou points, because he transfers them to Flying Blue.  He likes using them for domestic flights on partner airline Delta, as well as for discounted promo awards between Europe and the Middle East.

Flying Blue is a transfer partner of all 4 transferable points programs.  But he can earn them the quickest with his Citi Prestige (he doesn’t have the Chase Sapphire Reserve).

Bottom Line

Thanks everyone for all your feedback, and sharing with other readers your favorite transferable points program!

Flexible points can be the best way to accomplish your travel goals.  Whether it’s a coach flight home for the holidays, or a 5-star hotel in Asia!