Best Transfer Partners
Transferable Bank Currency
Amex: ANA, Singapore, Emirates, Delta, Aeromexico, Cathay
ANA is unique to Amex and is the best program alongside Virgin to book ANA metal to Japan, as well as Star Alliance awards pretty much anywhere given cheap rates. My favorite award is 50k one way for United Polaris anywhere in the US to anywhere in Europe and 52.5k ANA business class from US to Japan.
Delta is also unique to Amex and can be worth a transfer situationally for flights NOT touching the US. DL has a fixed award chart and there is genuinely excellent value for flights between Asia/Europe (80k) and intra Asia long haul like CGK ICN (40k). Don't waste your time transferring if you plan to redeem for any flight touching the US though.
Singapore: Singapore Airlines is a transfer partner common to many programs, and is the best way to book SQ metal since long-haul premium cabin availability is blocked to most partners and rates are decent. SQ miles are not cheap to buy so it's best to transfer them from cards.
Emirates: Like with Singapore, Emirates miles aren't cheap to buy and are one of the best ways to redeem/upgrade to premium cabins on Emirates
Aeromexico: This is an extremely situational program which can SOMETIMES be good value since the transfer ratio is 1:1.6 to reflect the program's use of Km rather than miles. My favorite awards are the RTW option for 220k Amex point equivalent in business, AM metal to NRT for 80k, and Skyteam partner awards to Asia/Europe.
Capital One: Japan Airlines, Turkish, EVA, Singapore, Cathay
Japan Airlines occasionally have transfer bonus from Capital One with 30% bonus (1000:975). Normal transfer at 3:2 (1000:750).
Turkish is best redeemed through its own program for the most availability, and has last seat business availability from NA to IST for 130k - really solid.
EVA has dramatically more availability through its own program, and is the best combo of low cost, quality product, and consistent availability to get from the US to anywhere in Asia in business class for 75k EVA / 100k C1 miles since transfer ratio is 4:3
Cathay is the best way to redeem CX metal as they have cut partner availability. 89k from US to HKG in business and 125/160k in first is a great deal. CX is also the best program to book BA flights under 5000 mi, as they only charge 63k vs 80-100k via BA, and for some reason surcharges are not fully passed through like AA/AS do.
Chase: United, Singapore, Emirates, JetBlue
United is unique to Chase and is a useful transfer in conjunction with UA elite status or a credit card to get access to expanded XN/IN saver award buckets. XN economy awards cost 20k across the US which are excellent value given how big availability is and how far you can travel for this price (SEA-SJU which is 10 hours!)
JetBlue: While not unique to Chase, Chase does have a better transfer ratio than Amex and Capital One, and there are some decent redemptions to be had on JAL, Qatar, and hopefully United when their partnership is formalized.
Emirates: With Amex announcing a devaluation to Emirates transfers, Chase is the last program likely to keep 1:1 transfers given they are 1:1 on all other partners, including JetBlue who are not 1:1 on Amex/C1. Most redemptions have high surcharges, but the 5th freedom routes don’t, and can represent great value
Citi: AA, EVA, Turkish, Singapore, Cathay, Thai
AA for best use of Citi points alongside EVA and Turkish
Transfer to AA to book Japan Airlines. Business starting at 55-60k. First class at 90k.
Unlike Chase, Citi transfers to EVA at 1:1 ratio making these points slightly better value. 75k for business class.
Thai is a unique transfer partner, and is worth transferring for business BKK to Australia or Europe at 65k and 90k, respectively. Thai's own program is also the best way to redeem TG first and tickets cost 125k to Europe.
Loyalty Programs
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines Atmos
75k for Starlux business class from US West coast to Taipei.
85k for Singapore business class from US West coast to Tokyo.
15k for Korean Air business class between Asian cities like TPE to ICN.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada runs frequent sales with a cost per point between 1.2 and 1.4 CPP
Aeroplan has the most partners of any frequent flyer program and these are some of the most useful miles.
My favorite redemptions are 87.5k Singapore to the US, Gulf Air Asia to Europe, ANA 75k to Japan, and United to Asia/Europe when combined with an AC/LH/NH segment to keep the standard pricing
Lufthansa first class transatlantic flights.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin runs frequent sales at 1.21 CPP which is excellent value
VS miles are best used for ANA and VS metal itself where points costs can be very low, but cash surcharges very high, and were recently doubled
JetBlue
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
JAL has a distance based partner award chart. Depending upon the length of the flights, this can lead to great award prices on partners such as Emirates and Korean Air.
EVA
ANA Mileage Club
Now allows one-way bookings (as of 2025)
ANA business and first class.
Air France\KLM Flying Blue
Like BA, Air France also runs a subscription program where the largest annual package paid for in Euros can be as low as ~1.2 CPP depending on the EUR:USD exchange rate
AF also runs frequent sales where the price can vary between 1.53-1.70 CPP, a so-so deal
Best redemptions are 60k AF/KL saver awards from the US to Europe
Flying Blue miles excel when you take advantage of strategic redemptions and monthly promotions. The program offers discounts up to 50% on select routes through Promo Rewards.
Avianca Lifemiles
Avianca runs monthly sales where the avg cost of acquisition is 1.2 CPP.
Worth noting Avianca has high cancellation and change fees, but the redemption rates are very very good, especially for non North America routes
Lifemiles (and Aeroplan points) have been nerfed to match UA's own redemption rates for United metal, so your best redemptions are for other carriers
Once a top-tier program, Avianca LifeMiles has gone through multiple devaluations. However, deals still exist for those willing to search.
Avios (Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club, Iberia Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club)
Avios is a points currency shared across multiple airlines, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Qatar Airways. Members can transfer Avios between the different airline loyalty programs, making it a flexible currency in its own right.
BA and Finnair both have Avios subscriptions, and the largest package paid annually yields Avios at a cost of 1.1 CPP
BA also lets you boost your Avios earned in the last 30 days which is effectively a purchase at 1.0 CPP - very good deal
Best redemptions are BA/AY/IB saver availability from US to Europe and Qatar saver availability between US/DOH and Asia/Europe.
Delta SkyMiles
Consider getting a Delta-branded credit card that offers the TakeOff 15 benefit, which gives you 15% off award travel on Delta-operated flights.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Miles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email.
Tips for Redeeming Amex Membership Rewards
Don’t transfer until ready to book: Don’t transfer points until high-value awards are available and you are ready to book them. Transfers are one-way only. Membership Rewards points are valuable for their flexibility. Once you transfer, you are locked into a single program that may or may not have awards available.
It’s possible to transfer points to a friend’s loyalty account: You can transfer points to a friend’s loyalty account as long as you add them as an authorized user or employee to one of your Membership Rewards accounts. Once your friend has been an authorized user for 90 days, you can transfer points to their loyalty accounts.
Watch out for transfer bonuses: Amex often offers improved transfer ratios through limited-time transfer bonuses. You can see the full list of current transfer bonuses below.
Always have at least one transferable credit card account: Some Membership Rewards cards do not directly allow point transfers (such as the discontinued Blue for Business card), but most do. As long as you have at least one card that permits transfers, then you’re good to go. The best fee-free options that allow transfers are: Blue Business Plus (my preferred choice) and Amex EveryDay.
Don’t forget about the pay with points option: Usually, paying for travel with Amex points results in poor value: 1 cent per point or less. However, the Amex Business Platinum card makes it possible to get approximately 1.5 cents per point value or more on certain flights. See our Membership Rewards Guide for details.