The Guide to Chase Transfer Partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards® are some of the most valuable transferable points available. Called Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, they can be redeemed for travel through Chase's travel portal for 1 cent each on certain cards. However, they can be redeemed at a higher value of 1.25 cents each if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or an even more impressive 1.5 cents each if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve®. That type of exchange on its own makes for an excellent way to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

However, that's not necessarily the best way to redeem Chase points because three specific Chase cards available in 2024 offer what might be potentially far more value.

The cards at play here are the:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

» Jump to learn more about these card options.

With those cards, you have the additional option to send those points to one of Chase's transfer partners, which are generally hotel chains and airlines. And assuming you hold (or someone in your household owns), one of those three Chase cards, you'll very likely unlock even greater value out of your spending rewards when you use one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partners. That's because converting Chase points to hotel points or airline frequent flyer miles can often maximize their value.

Here's a summary of each Chase transfer partner and how you can get the most from your Chase points.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

Of the 14 Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partners, 11 are airline mileage programs, which are:

Aer Lingus AerClub

Aer Lingus AerClub became one of the Chase travel partners in 2017. While not officially part of the Oneworld alliance, Aer Lingus partners with several Oneworld airlines — most notably British Airways, Iberia and Qatar.

Air Canada Aeroplan

There are plenty of reasons not to overlook Aeroplan — the newest of the Chase Sapphire airline partners. Air Canada is a Star Alliance member, so you can use Aeroplan points to book award flights on any Star Alliance airline, including United.

Seek out those Aeroplan sweet spots to help boost the value of Aeroplan points to 1.4 cents for award tickets.

» Learn more: A guide to Air Canada’s Aeroplan rewards loyalty program

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France, KLM, Kenya Airways and a few smaller airlines. Because many Flying Blue airlines are members of the SkyTeam alliance, you can transfer points from Chase to Flying Blue to book award flights on other SkyTeam member airlines, such as Delta Air Lines.

The Flying Blue program offers a monthly Promo Rewards promotion that discounts certain routes by up to 50% — which can make Flying Blue sweet spots even a better deal.

» Learn more: A points collector’s guide to Air France-KLM Flying Blue

British Airways Executive Club

Most travelers might think of flights to London when thinking about British Airways. However, that's not where the value of British Airways Avios lies. In fact, most British Airways Avios sweet spots don't involve flying British Airways.

Instead, use this Chase transfer partner to book inexpensive awards on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and other Oneworld partners — including flying to the Caribbean.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the British Airways Avios program

Emirates Skywards

Dubai-based Emirates Airlines is best known for its glitzy business- and first-class products. And while premium cabins command huge cash prices, paying with miles through the Emirates Skywards loyalty program is possible and considered the best use of miles (as opposed to using miles to book in the Emirates economy class). A NerdWallet analysis found that you only get about 0.6 cent per mile in value for Emirates economy, but the value of Emirates miles jumps up if you redeem an award in Emirates business class.

Unfortunately, the Emirates Skywards sweet spots are limited — particularly on partner airlines. That said, the Skywards program is one of only a few ways to book Emirates first class with points since the airline restricts award availability through partner airlines.

» Learn more: The guide to Emirates Skywards

Iberia Plus

Just like British Airways, Iberia is a member of the Oneworld alliance and uses the Avios program. And after Iberia's recent overhaul to its award chart, award rates to book American Airlines flights match the British Airways Executive Club’s rates on partner airlines. However, other Iberia sweet spots include some incredible gems. Iberia often offers among the cheapest business class awards to Europe.

» Learn more: What to know about Iberia Airlines Plus loyalty program

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue uses a revenue-based TrueBlue points program in which the required number of points for an award roughly equates to the cash price of the flight. That means you can't get outsized value from redeeming TrueBlue points.

However, just because the program doesn't have an upside doesn't mean JetBlue isn't a good Chase transfer partner. TrueBlue points are worth 1.5 cents per point — making it a valuable currency for economy flights among U.S. airlines.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the JetBlue TrueBlue rewards program

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines is another Star Alliance Chase travel partner that can provide excellent premium cabin redemptions. Singapore KrisFlyer sweet spots include flights to Europe and Hawaii, and flights within the continental U.S. Luxury travelers also flock to KrisFlyer, as it's typically the only way to book the award-winning Singapore first class product with points.

» Learn more: The guide to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer frequent flyer program

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Like JetBlue, Southwest uses a revenue-based redemption program, where points prices correlate with cash prices. This means you don't have to seek out sweet spots to get good value from your Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

Instead, the value of Southwest Rapid Rewards is a predictable 1.5 cents per point when redeemed for Southwest flights. Steer clear of other Rapid Rewards redemptions for hotels, rental cars or merchandise though, as the redemption value can drop to 0.6 cents per point.

» Learn more: The complete guide to Southwest Rapid Rewards

United MileagePlus

United joins JetBlue and Southwest as the three U.S.-based Chase Sapphire airline partners. MileagePlus miles are worth around 1.2 cents per mile when redeemed for United economy flights.

In addition to redeeming miles on United, you can redeem United MileagePlus miles for award flights on other Star Alliance partners. Just keep in mind that United can charge more miles for partner awards.

» Learn more: The complete guide to United MileagePlus program

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

London-based Virgin Atlantic is a member of the SkyTeam alliance and it uses a different redemption chart for each partner, meaning the Flying Club sweet spots are just as diverse as its partners.

» Learn more: The guide to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Chase has just three hotel loyalty program parters, which are:

IHG One Rewards

The IHG loyalty program is good, but it's generally a weak Chase transfer partner.

NerdWallet values IHG points at 0.8 cent each. But since Chase points transfer to IHG One Rewards at the same 1:1 transfer ratio as all other partners, that makes for a pretty bad transfer that can actually devalue your points. Unless you find a killer IHG redemption, only transfer points from Chase to IHG to top off your account if you're a few points shy of booking a hotel you want with the rest of your IHG points. Otherwise, you’re generally better off booking IHG hotels via Chase's portal.

» Learn more: What you need to know about IHG One Rewards

Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott Bonvoy is one of the largest hotel loyalty programs around. You can redeem Bonvoy points for free nights and room upgrades at over 7,000 properties across more than 30 brands.

However, bigger isn't always better. When NerdWallet analyzed the value of Marriott Bonvoy points, we found that points were worth around 0.8 cent each. That puts Marriott in the same category as IHG, where points often lose their value when you transfer them from Chase to Marriott Bonvoy.

Considering Chase points can be redeemed for 1.25 cents or 1.5 cents each (depending on which Sapphire card you have), make sure that you're getting at least this much value before transferring Chase points to Marriott Bonvoy — which is unlikely. With that, save Bonvoy transfers only for situations where you find an outstanding hotel deal, or if you need just a few more points to book using your existing Bonvoys.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the Marriott Bonvoy program

World Of Hyatt

World of Hyatt is undoubtedly Chase's most valuable hotel transfer partner — and perhaps its most valuable travel partner overall, too. In NerdWallet's analysis, World of Hyatt points are worth 2.3 cents each when used for award stays.

Hyatt is one of a few hotel loyalty programs that still publishes an award chart. That means predictability in planning how many points an award stay may cost. Award nights start at 3,500 points, meaning you can really stretch out your Chase points at Hyatt hotels.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the World of Hyatt loyalty program

So that's a list of all the transfer partners — but which ones are the best? After all, some Chase travel partners are far better than others.

Before we dig into the best Chase Sapphire transfer partners, here's a complete overview of their estimated value, sorted in alphabetical order:

Using that estimated value stated above, here's the ultimate NerdWallet power ranking of the six best Chase transfer partners (with No. 1 being the best) are:

1. World of Hyatt.

2. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

3. JetBlue TrueBlue.

4. Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.

5. Air Canada Aeroplan.

6. Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

Best airline partner for Chase points

As far as Chase's airline transfer partners go, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is Chase' best airline transfer partner. Even still, you can easily get more than 1 cent per point in value from Chase points when you transfer points from Chase to fixed-value programs like Southwest Rapid Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue.

Other airline transfer partners can be hit-and-miss, such as Emirates, which is generally a miss when points are transferred to book Emirates economy class. But, it's usually a massive hit if you can transfer Chase points to be used for booking the incredibly-swanky Emirates business class on points.

Best Chase hotel transfer partner

Meanwhile, World of Hyatt comes out on top as the best Chase hotel partner. And not only is it the best hotel partner, but it's the best travel partner period given that eye-popping value over 2 cents.

Is it worth transferring Chase points to united?

While you might book hotels and airfares with cash or through Chase’s travel portal, it’s clearly often a better deal to put in the extra effort and transfer your points to one of Chase’s transfer partners — especially those named above. That said, folks seeking to maximize value should always calculate the value of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® points relative to the price to pay for airfare or hotel rooms in cash.

Use NerdWallet’s Chase points calculator below to determine the value of your points, based on both the baseline and NerdWallet estimated values:

With a little bit of research, you can get even more value through other Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partners versus using them to book travel directly through Chase's travel portal.

The most common way to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points is through spending on a Chase credit card that participates in Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You might earn points through taking advantage of introductory offers — where you can get a windfall of points upon meeting a certain threshold within a window of time upon card approval — and via ongoing spending.

Just note that not all Chase credit cards earn transferable Ultimate Rewards® points. That said, Chase cards that do earn transferable Ultimate Rewards® points include:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Chase Freedom Flex℠

• Chase Freedom Unlimited®

• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Some of these cards offer bonus points in certain categories, so someone seeking to maximize their points earning might have multiple cards in their wallet to use depending on the transaction. To maximize points, you might use the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to pay at restaurants (it earns 3 points per $1 spent on dining), the Chase Freedom Flex℠ to pay at drugstores (it earns 3% back at drugstores) and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card to pay the monthly internet bill (it earns 5% back on internet, cable and phone services, up to a combined $25,000 in annual spending).

Even though the latter two cards don't let you transfer your rewards directly to any of the above airline or hotel partners, you can transfer them to another card that you hold (or that someone in your household holds), as long as that card is one of the cards that allows for transfers to partner airline and hotel brands.

The three Chase travel cards with transfer partners are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Use this guide to learn how to transfer Chase points between two credit cards you own.

Here's how to to transfer Chase points to family member or spouse.

Once you've got all the points you need in one account, you're ready to then send them to the actual airline or hotel loyalty program you want to convert your Chase points into. Learn how to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to travel partners here.

Chase may lag other transferable bank point currencies like American Express, Capital One and Citi when it comes to the raw number of transfer partners. But some say that size matters not (at least in terms of number of transfer partners).

It's more about their value — and some Chase travel partners are particularly valuable. Just look at Hyatt as an example. Using this Chase hotel partner can morph a point that might be worth a measly 1 cent each when exchanged for Chase to something worth more than 2 cents when used for a Hyatt hotel room. That offer becomes even more tantalizing when you consider that NerdWallet ranks World of Hyatt among the most valuable hotel rewards programs out there.

With that, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points rank among the most valuable transferable points available.