Guide: How to Transfer Credit Card Points to Partners

Author: Matthew February 7, 2024

In so many of my previous posts, I talk about transferring points from credits cards to different partners. It's through transferring I'm able to get so many free flights and hotel stays to places like Brussels.  In this post I'll show the step-by-step process of transferring points from Chase, American Express, Capital One to different transfer partners and some important beginners mistakes to avoid. 

In a later guide we will get more in-depth on the why's and when's of transferring points. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay updated weekly. 

Having a Premium Travel Credit Card to Transfer Points

Only specific credit cards  have points that can transfer to airline and hotel partners. The rest generally are only cash back points or you'll need to transfer their points to a premium card that can transfer.  To find out what card to get, fill out an initial consultation form or contact us! The major banks have the following cards that can transfer points. 

Chase - Ultimate Rewards

Chase has so many differnt cards that earn Ultimate Reward points, but only the three below allow you to transfer to partners. In a later blog post, we'll go step by step into how you can combine points between cards and even your points partner. 

• Sapphire Preferred

• Sapphire Reserve

• Ink Business Preferred

American Express - Membership Rewards

What's nice about American Express cards is that all the below earn Membership Reward points that pool into one personal bank automatically. There is no transferring between cards as your points are pooled and thus can be transferred out as you want. Keep in mind, you'll need at least one of these cards active to keep the points and have the ability to transfer. 

• Platinum (Personal and Business)

• Gold (Personal and Business)

• Green

• Blue Business

Capital One - Miles

Capital One is similar to Chase where the Venture line has the transfer power and other cards can combine. 

• Venture (entire family line) 

How to Transfer Points

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

Mismatching Names

When signing up for a frequent flyer or rewards account, you must ensure the names match. Otherwise the points might take longer to transfer or won't at all. If you make this mistake, you can ask the airline to change the name or you could potentially create a new account, but it's best to avoid those situations in the first place by making sure your names are matching. 

Test Transfers

For beginners transferring for the first time, a common test is to send only a small increment of points to your loyalty account before sending the full amount you need. Commonly, the first transfer goes through and the second one takes days or almost a week to pass through. This is because doing this action of two successive transfers usually triggers a fraud warning that can't be reversed. Trust the process, just transfer all the points you need at once. Mentally it can be scary seeing all your points drain, but it's better than the points being stuck in limbo due to a fraud investigation. 

Miscalculating Transfer Bonuses

Banks will provide transfer bonuses to some partners during a promotional period. It's a very easy calculation to make, but can often trip beginners up. First step is to find how many points you need in a specific airline. For my recent United Polaris flight, I needed 147,000  Air Canada points for two business class seats. Chase was running a 20% Air Canada bonus then, so that means I only needed to transfer 123,000 Chase points. The math is 147,000 / 1.20 = 122,500 (123,000) when you round up. You divide the total points you need by the transfer bonus.  Beginners mess up on these transfers in different ways and end up transferring not enough or too many points. 

Freaking Out on Delayed Transfers

Most transfers are instant, and even when you've done everything right, sometimes they might just take longer. Don't panic. Your points will be on their way and you'll be able to book your seat. Here are some tips to take when you don't see the points popping up in your loyalty account. 

• Log out and log back in

• Refresh/clear your browser cache

• Wait for little - while you're waiting call the airline to see if they can hold the award reservation you see

• Wait up until the allotted business days - sometimes the transfer for some reason or the other doesn't go through instantly. While that sucks, it's the minimal risk that you'll face sometimes. Fortunately,  at Wuhoo Group we've helped clients pivot their points to make sure they're still getting a good deal/flight.