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travel reward cards

tag
GTT
Regular Contributor

travel reward cards

I'm talking about those credit cards which are for a particular carrier, such as BoA travel reward or CSP.

Are those mile points can be transferred to the miles of a partner carrier 1:1? is this the general rule for all this kind of cards?

 

If that's the case, so those cards which are bound to particular carriers(e.g. Amex Delta) don't have too much advantages from the miles earning point ( of course there might be other benefit, e.g. first checked bag free ).

 

I just want to know whether 1:1 transfer rate is always true.

Message 1 of 30
29 REPLIES 29
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: travel reward cards


@GTT wrote:

I'm talking about those credit cards which are for a particular carrier, such as BoA travel reward or CSP.

Are those mile points can be transferred to the miles of a partner carrier 1:1? is this the general rule for all this kind of cards?

 

If that's the case, so those cards which are bound to particular carriers(e.g. Amex Delta) don't have too much advantages from the miles earning point ( of course there might be other benefit, e.g. first checked bag free ).

 

I just want to know whether 1:1 transfer rate is always true.


Are BofA travel rewards transferable to partners?   For the other common cards, CSP/Ink, Amex MR and Amex SPG the ratios can vary with card and partner. but are often around 1:1  (And for  things like SPG, if you transfer 20K points, you get a 25% bonus, so the 1:1 becomes 1.25:1)

 

Apart from things like first checked bag, priority boarding, some airline cards allow you to get points towards status on that airline, which a transfer card may not (depending on the card).  More expensive airline cards will also allow better lounge access (e.g. AA now available only with the Citi AA card)

 

But generally your point is right, that is why people value the transfer cards so much: you don't lose a lot of benefit compared to dedicated cards, and you add a lot of flexibility.   But if you always use airline X and hotel Y, it may make more sense to get those cards.

Message 2 of 30
GTT
Regular Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

thanks. I think UR gets 20% off for ticket.

 

So which carrier's mile is more valueable? Now I travel more with Delta and I know its point is unvaluable.  An international ticket might need 160k miles.

What about others?

Message 3 of 30
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

GTT, which airlines choices are available to you? Its best to narrow it down from there. Anyone can tell you which airline miles is most valuable, but if your flight routes are not serviced by that particular airline, then it's pretty pointless.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 4 of 30
PhoenixDown
New Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

Everyone I know with the Amex SWP card loves it. Great transfer value and all Lethe love of an Amex.

I personally went with the CSP because I fly only once or twice a year and wanted the flexibility the card offers, esp now when miles and hotel points are being devalued so quickly. If I don't like the conversion rate - I'll put it toward something else.

I am however considering the Citi AA card. Mostly because I want back in with Citi and thank you points suck. I figure pri 1 boarding and the preservation of my miles is a good enough perk
Message 5 of 30
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: travel reward cards


@PhoenixDown wrote:
Everyone I know with the Amex SWP card loves it. Great transfer value and all Lethe love of an Amex.

I personally went with the CSP because I fly only once or twice a year and wanted the flexibility the card offers, esp now when miles and hotel points are being devalued so quickly. If I don't like the conversion rate - I'll put it toward something else.

I am however considering the Citi AA card. Mostly because I want back in with Citi and thank you points suck. I figure pri 1 boarding and the preservation of my miles is a good enough perk

The AA cards are good for the sign up bonus, and the group1 boarding is also nice.   What do you mean by preservation of miles?   The 10% on redemption, or keeping miles alive?   If the latter, there are cheaper ways, such as using the AA shopping mall once every 18 months!

Message 6 of 30
jenn_bar
Frequent Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

I agree that it would help to know your home airport to let us know the best carriers available to you, but for a base:

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred: transfers 1:1 with Southwest, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Korean Air.

2. AMEX SPG: transfers 1:1 with many carriers such as American, Hawaiian, and Delta. Others can be found: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/transfer/airline_partner_list.html
PS: With this card, for every 20k points you transfer, they add 5k.


Those are my favorite two basic travel transfer CC's that have a lot of versatility.
Message 7 of 30
GTT
Regular Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

I'm living close to Detroit and travel with Delta the most.

I was thinking of CSP but it seems it doesn't partner with Delta.

Message 8 of 30
jenn_bar
Frequent Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

I would probably look into the AMEX SPG then or the PRG (higher annual fee FYI). They both transfer 1:1 with Delta.

 

That way, if you need to fly other carriers, you have the option to transfer and are not stuck with just Delta if you were to get the Skymiles card. In general, Skymiles are not too valuable, so it's always nice to have options to transfer your points elsewhere if the need comes up.

 

And again, that 5k bonus after transferring every 20k points becomes very valuable, especially with Delta!

Message 9 of 30
GTT
Regular Contributor

Re: travel reward cards

I know that I can transfer point from Chase freedom to CSP. Can I do the same for Amex? I have Amex BCE but not sure they allow point trasnfer between cards

Message 10 of 30
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