Why transferable points are more valuable than other rewards
If you are familiar with Valuation of TPGYou will notice American Express Members Rewards Points, Bonus Points Bilt, Capital One mile, Chase the ultimate bonus points And Citi ThankYou Bonus Points consistently ranked as some of the most valuable rewards.
You can earn these rewards with some best travel credit card. But what makes these rewards especially valuable is the ability to transfer them to different airline and hotel programs — that’s why we call them transferable rewards.
However, if you look at TPG’s valuation, you’ll notice that you almost always “lose” value when transferring these rewards. For example, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt with 1:1 ratio. But we rate Chase points at 2 cents per point and Hyatt points at 1.7 cents per point, meaning you’ll “lose” 0.3 cents per point with this transfer.
You may wonder why we value transferable rewards over miles and hotel points. In this story, we will answer that question by discussing what makes Valuable transfer points and why you should earn transfer points.
Diversify your exposure
With so much devaluation, it’s no secret that points and miles are one poor long-term investment. That’s why we don’t recommend hoarding points and miles. But if you want to build a pool of rewards for an upcoming trip, one of the best ways to protect yourself from devaluation is to earn transferable rewards.
This year alone, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Etihad guests And United Airlines MileagePlus cut the sweet spot by dramatically increasing the prize rate. Virgin Atlantic Flight Club also quietly devalued All Nippon Airways’ first-class awards right after it joined Sky group.
If you have a large portion of your points and miles in a single loyalty program, you will suffer when these devaluations occur. But with transferable rewards, you can switch to the program with the best rewards rates when you’re ready to book.
Related: Rising prices worldwide, United mileage rates up 122%
Access to many hotel and airline programs
This is a simple concept. Transferable rewards give you more flexibility.
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For example, if you have accumulated Delta Air Lines SkyMiles above Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, you are limited to redeeming miles in the SkyMiles program. If you need to fly from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) on a specific date and the flight is 100,000 Delta miles, it’s our redemption option. Friend.
On the other hand, if you have earned Chase the ultimate reward point with Chase Sapphire Reserveyou can transfer your points to Air France-KLM flies green, British Airways Executive Club or Virgin Atlantic Flight Club (all of which regularly have lower prize percentages). And if you find a one-way flight for $450, you can redeem 30,000 Chase points to book it via Chase Ultimate Rewards Gate.
TPG’s pricing fixes the value of transferable rewards higher than the currency of airline and hotel programs you can switch to because you have more flexibility with transferable points .
Related: These are the attractive redemption points of Flying Blue that you need to know
Transfer bonus
The main types of bonuses credit cards usually offer transfer bonus. You can transfer your points at a better rate with the transfer bonus. Typically, these range from 15% to 40%; However, Bilt Rewards give 100% transfer bonus on May 1st to Air France-KLM Flying Blue for Date of hire.
Depending on what’s available when you’re ready to book, a favorable transfer bonus can increase the value you can get from your transferable bonus. You can even get enough points or miles for a premium economy seat if you transfer the rewards you normally need to an economy seat during the transfer bonus period.
Related: A complete list of transfer bonuses over the past decade — which issuer is the most generous?
Points and miles are transferable
Now you know why transferable rewards are worth more than miles and hotel points. If you are ready to add one or more Best card to earn transfer points into your wallet, here are some things to consider about each major program.
American Express Membership Rewards
The Bilt Reward
Capital One mile
Chase the ultimate reward
Citi Thank You Bonus
Related: This is why Venture X and Amex Gold are the only 2 cards in my wallet
bottom line
With transferable credit card rewards, you can convert your hard earned rewards into points and miles with various hotel and airline loyalty programs. That way, you can avoid losing value when a hotel or airline program devalues its rewards. And instead of being limited to one airline or hotel program, you can explore our extensive network of partners and choose the network that delivers the most value and benefits per redemption.
View Bilt Mastercard rates and fees This.
View Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits This.