Earn up to 50% more points towards your next trip with these credit card transfer bonuses

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American Express, Chase, Capital One and Citi offer credit cards that earn transferable rewards. These points and miles can be transferred to various airline and hotel loyalty programs to be redeemed for flights and hotel rooms. You’ll often get a bigger bang for your buck when redeeming this way instead of directly through a card’s travel portal or for cash back — particularly when booking premium cabin flights and luxury hotels.

Generally speaking, most credit card rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio, although there are some exceptions. However, from time to time, card issuers run bonuses where you can earn additional points as you transfer them over. Think of it as a discount on an award flight or hotel stay since you’re using less of your points.

Below, Select details all credit card transfer bonuses currently available and what you need to know about earning transferable rewards. Note that some transfer bonuses may be targeted, meaning not all card members will be eligible. Additionally, some promotions may require advance registration.

All of the four major transferable points programs are currently offering bonuses for transferring points to select loyalty programs. Most transfers process instantly, while some can take two to three days.

Unfortunately, American Express Membership Rewards® is not offering any transfer bonuses at this time. We’ll update this list when a new promotion launches.

Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points

American Express offers a number of consumer and business cards that earn Membership Rewards. Here are some of our top picks of cards that will help you earn lots of Membership Rewards points quickly:

Additionally, as long as you have one of the three cards listed above, you can convert the cash back earned with the following cards into transferrable Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months from account opening
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back. That’s 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening

Capital One cards that earn Capital One Miles

If you’re looking to earn Capital One Miles and take advantage of the program’s transfer bonuses, you can do so with these cards:

*This promotion is being offered directly by LifeMiles so the bonus won’t be reflected on Citi’s website. The bonus miles will be reflected as a separate line item in your LifeMiles account.

Citi cards that earn Citi ThankYou® Rewards points

If you’re short on Citi ThankYou® points and want to utilize a future transfer bonus offer, you can boost your balance with these cards:

• Citi Premier® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
• Citi Rewards+® Card: Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within the first three months of account opening.

If you have one of the cards above, you can also convert the cash back you earn with the Citi® Double Cash Card to transferable ThankYou points.

Regardless of which rewards program you’re using, the transfer process is roughly identical. To get started, log into your credit card’s online portal and head to the rewards page. From there, you should see a ‘transfer points’ section.

On that page, there will be a list of loyalty programs that are partnered with your credit card issuer. Select the airline or hotel loyalty program you’d like to transfer your points to, provide your membership number of that loyalty program and begin the points transferring process.

Most transfers must be in increments of 1,000 points with a 1,000-point minimum. Depending on the program and partner, you may need to pay a small excise fee to complete the transfer.

If you have a credit card with transferable miles, you’re in a great position to earn some of the most valuable rewards in the credit card space. However, keep these four things in mind as you redeem them:

• Don’t transfer them until you’re ready to spend them. Have your flight or hotel stay completely planned out so you know exactly how many you will need. Point transfers are irreversible.
• Point transfers can take time. In some cases, it can be instantaneous, while in other cases, a few days.
• Consider airline alliances. For example, if you have Capital One miles and want to fly Delta, which isn’t a transfer partner, you can transfer your points to Flying Blue and book a Delta flight since Air France/KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance with Delta.
• Spend your points, don’t hoard them. Hoarding points leave you in a vulnerable position in case a devaluation happens from the rewards program. Additionally, you could become the target of hackers that will aim to steal your points. In fact, it has happened to me twice.

Transfer bonuses are a great way to stretch the value of your points when using them for flights and hotel stays. While we don’t recommend transferring points unless you have a specific redemption in mind, you shouldn’t hoard them either. It serves you no good to maintain a large points balance — if you’re not spending your points (strategically), you’re missing the point.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus, click here.