The interesting thing is that in some cases, it costs fewer Alaskan miles
than the partner airlines miles for their own flight.
Second, most airlines open more award space to their own members
than partner airlines, which means that a flight available on the United website might not be available to someone with Singapore or Thai miles (and vice versa).
Banks tend to be tougher about penalties for late payments
than their partner airlines.
Not exact matches
If you're booking an economy class ticket and you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve ℠ Card, you might be better off booking through the Chase travel portal
than transferring to an
airline partner.
The suite of
partners is a little more restrictive
than those offered by Chase and American Express and has a higher proportion of Hotel
partners vs
Airlines.
If booking a
partner award, double check what the cost would be from the individual carriers, rather
than just taking the quote from the ticket issuing
airline.
Point transfer rates to
airline and hotel loyalty programs vary (depending on the programs and how you utilize the points after transfer), but if you transfer your points to one of the
partners (hotels or
airlines), you may get even more
than 1.25 cents per 1 point.
However, a point's value can vary from $ 0.01 to more
than $ 0.02 if transferred to
airline partners and redeemed for international travel.
The suite of
partners is a little more restrictive
than those offered by Chase and American Express and has a higher proportion of Hotel
partners vs
Airlines.
The most profitable way to redeem points is to use them to get free hotel stays at Carlson Club hotel or to exchange them for
airline miles at more
than 20
partner airlines.
Use your miles to fly to 1,300 + destinations in 190 + countries with Air Canada and its global network of more
than 25
partner airlines
American
Airlines partners with Etihad, and if you have American
Airlines miles, many awards on Etihad are cheaper
than using Etihad Guest Miles.
Hawaiian
Airlines gives you more chances to earn HawaiianMiles
than most
airline loyalty programs, with offers ranging from national
partners to local deals.
You can also earn HawaiianMiles by using the Hawaiian
Airlines credit cards or making purchases with other
partners, like Avis Car Rental and more
than 30 hotels.
Another difference is that Delta is part of the SkyTeam alliance and has totally different
airline partners than American.
The partnership allows eligible Chase credit cardholders to redeem points for travel with 36 Flying Blue
airline partners, including Air France and KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines, reaching more
than 1,000 destinations worldwide.
> Value: 25,000 miles is enough for a roundtrip Economy Class award less
than 1,201 miles each way on Cathay or
partners like American
Airlines.
The choice of
airline and hotel
partners is also much better
than the transfer options of American Express» Membership Reward Points.
In general, you may be able to squeeze out more value by transferring to a hotel or
airline partner than redeeming through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Flying Blue, one of the leading loyalty programs in Europe with 25 million members, has 36 member
airlines including Air France and KLM, and more
than 100 non-airline
partners.
Rather
than «transferring» them to other
airline partners, you can simply use them to book award flights with any Star Alliance
partner.
Some
airlines may release fewer seats to loyalty members of
partner airlines than they release for their own customers.
Once down there, you can travel throughout Chile and Argentina on a
partner airline like Avianca or Copa (which offer better Economy amenities
than United).
And on some routes, like to Hawaii, you'll pay fewer Singapore
Airlines miles
than you would for the same flight if you used United
Airlines or other
partner miles.
Chase has fewer
partners than other transfer programs with just six
airlines, but they go a long way.
Transferring 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to one of their
airline partners, like the Korean Air SKYPASS miles program, would give you more
than enough miles to book a first class one - way flight from the U.S. to Korea.
The Ink Business Preferred ℠ Credit Card is better
than the Alaska
Airlines Visa ® Business Card if you want travel rewards without being locked into Alaska
Airlines and its
partners.
Not only can the points be used to earn free hotel nights — Starwood points can also be transferred to more
than 30
airline partners.
To complicate things more, Membership Rewards has more and better
airline transfer
partners than ThankYou, but the Prestige card has better earning potential, offering bonus miles for purchases in several different categories.
The Starwood Preferred Guest program has more
than 30
airline mileage transfer
partners.
Redeem miles toward travel on Delta and more
than 15
airline partners.
Option # 5: Look for awards travel on
partner airlines; some of them may end up being cheaper
than flights on Delta, and you may find better availability.
What's more important, however, is that there are times when using a
partner airline's currency might get you a better deal
than paying for your ticket with United miles.
You can't earn points and miles for the same stay, but you can choose between the 2 options since Marriott
partners with more
than 40
airlines.
Redeeming rewards on this Hawaiian
Airlines partner will be based on regions rather
than distance flown or ticket costs.
Check American
Airlines» reward
partners, transfer options — If you're trying to build American
Airlines miles, or fly where that
airline goes, you have more options than you may think... (See Airline points transfer pa
airline goes, you have more options
than you may think... (See
Airline points transfer pa
Airline points transfer parnters)
This means that if you were already planning a 5 - night award, by paying an extra 32,000 / 30,000 Starpoints, you get 50,000
airline miles — a better transfer rate
than regular transfers to
airline partners.
Generally, the only time it makes sense to book flights through the travel portal is when there are cheap cash tickets available, which allows you to book with fewer points
than by transferring to an
airline partner.
For ClassicFlight awards, Air Canada's award chart is usually better
than many of its
partners, including United, but the
airline often passes on fuel surcharges levied by
partners.
The American Express Membership Reward points can be used to book travel through AmEx or transferred to hotel and
airline partners such as Delta, British Airways, Hilton and more
than a dozen other loyalty programs.
Airlines have
partnered with these types of programs to pay you in miles rather
than in cash.
This can be a good way to boost the value of your points as it can sometimes be more advantageous to book
partner flights
than directly from the
airlines you plan to fly.
If you're booking an economy class ticket and you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve ℠ Card, you might be better off booking through the Chase travel portal
than transferring to an
airline partner.
The only catch is that you can not mix more
than one
partner airline in addition to an Alaska flight.
Singapore
Airlines KrisFlyer has more
than 30 hotel
partners including Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.
With more
than 10
airline transfer
partners, you have plenty of choices when it comes time to redeem points for an amazing flight.
With 100,000 miles in your account, think about all the places you could travel on Alaska
Airlines and their more
than 15 global
partners!
Most folks believe Membership Rewards points are more valuable
than that since you can transfer them to a number of
airline partners for premium award redemptions.
What's more important, however, is that there are times when using a
partner airline's currency might get you a better deal
than paying for your ticket with United miles.
With 31 different
airline transfer
partners, you need to make sure that your SPG flight is actually cheaper
than the free flights offered otherwise.