Oct 9, 2013, 1:33 pm
Last edit by: gooselee
Q. Where can I find a list of the airline and hotel transfer partners?
Partner airline and hotel programs, transfer ratios, and rules vary by the country where your American Express card is issued:
Australia: Airlines & Hotels
Canada: Airlines & Hotels
International Dollar & Euro Cards: Airlines & Hotels
New Zealand: Airlines & Hotels
UK: Airlines, Hotels
USA: Airlines & Hotels Transfer ratios explained below.
Q. What are the transfer ratios to USA airline and hotel partners?
Q. How long does it typically take to compete a transfer?
MR USA airline and hotel partner transfer times.
Q. How can I use Membership Rewards points to travel on American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines or other carriers which are not transfer partners?
Membership Rewards (USA) points can be transferred to three or more frequent flyer programs in each of the international alliances. Any program can arrange award travel on flights operated by all members of the same alliance. Points cannot be transferred from one frequent flyer program to another, instead you redeem for a partner award. The number of miles required is determined by the program through which you redeem, not by the airline operating the flights. Programs in the same alliance will require different amounts of miles, and different co-payments, for the same flights. Do not transfer until you understand the full cost of the flights you need. Do not transfer until you have confirmed availability for your specific dates and route.
To travel on American Airlines, US Airways or any other OneWorld carrier redeem through:
To travel on Delta Air Lines or any other SkyTeam carrier redeem through:
To travel on United Airlines or any other Star Alliance carrier redeem through:
To travel on Alaska Airlines redeem through:
Q. Rather than transferring now, can I preserve my Membership Rewards USA points balance without paying any annual fee?
Apply for an American Express Everyday card, and link it to the same Membership Rewards account. You may then close the other cards.
Partner airline and hotel programs, transfer ratios, and rules vary by the country where your American Express card is issued:
Australia: Airlines & Hotels
Canada: Airlines & Hotels
International Dollar & Euro Cards: Airlines & Hotels
New Zealand: Airlines & Hotels
UK: Airlines, Hotels
USA: Airlines & Hotels Transfer ratios explained below.
Q. What are the transfer ratios to USA airline and hotel partners?
For most frequent customer programs, 1,000 Membership Rewards points will equal 1,000 miles, points or credits and must be transferred in 1,000-point increments unless otherwise noted.
The only exceptions are:
JetBlue Airways: 250 points = 200 JetBlue TrueBlue® points; must be transferred in 250-point increments
El AL Israel Airlines: 1,000 points = 20 Matmid points
Starwood Preferred Guest®: 1,000 points = 333 Starpoints®
Hilton®: 1,000 points = 1,500 HHonors™ points
Virgin America: 200 points = 100 Elevate points; must be transferred in 200-point increments
The only exceptions are:
JetBlue Airways: 250 points = 200 JetBlue TrueBlue® points; must be transferred in 250-point increments
El AL Israel Airlines: 1,000 points = 20 Matmid points
Starwood Preferred Guest®: 1,000 points = 333 Starpoints®
Hilton®: 1,000 points = 1,500 HHonors™ points
Virgin America: 200 points = 100 Elevate points; must be transferred in 200-point increments
Q. How long does it typically take to compete a transfer?
MR USA airline and hotel partner transfer times.
Q. How can I use Membership Rewards points to travel on American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines or other carriers which are not transfer partners?
Membership Rewards (USA) points can be transferred to three or more frequent flyer programs in each of the international alliances. Any program can arrange award travel on flights operated by all members of the same alliance. Points cannot be transferred from one frequent flyer program to another, instead you redeem for a partner award. The number of miles required is determined by the program through which you redeem, not by the airline operating the flights. Programs in the same alliance will require different amounts of miles, and different co-payments, for the same flights. Do not transfer until you understand the full cost of the flights you need. Do not transfer until you have confirmed availability for your specific dates and route.
To travel on American Airlines, US Airways or any other OneWorld carrier redeem through:
- Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)
- British Airways
- Iberia Airlines
------------------ - El Al is not a OneWorld member, but they do have a rewards partnership with American Airlines, see HERE. Ends October 31, 2014.
- Hawaiian Airlines is not a OneWorld member, but they do have a rewards partnership with American Airlines, see HERE.
To travel on Delta Air Lines or any other SkyTeam carrier redeem through:
- Delta Air Lines
- AeroMexico
- Alitalia
- FlyingBlue (Air France, KLM, Air Europa, Kenya Airways, Aircalin and Tarom.)
*Note: DL permits one-way awards as of 01 JAN 2015, however trips originating outside of USA carry additional surcharges.
To travel on United Airlines or any other Star Alliance carrier redeem through:
- Aeroplan (Air Canada) No fuel surcharge on flights operated by UA and many other airlines. Read current list HERE.
- All Nippon Airways. Read about ANA fuel surcharges HERE. Read about changes to partner redemption charts in April 2015 HERE.
- Singapore Airlines. Read HERE
Read about Singapore Airlines' reciprocal mile conversion arrangement with Virgin Australia HERE.
To travel on Alaska Airlines redeem through:
- Asia Miles
- British Airways
- Delta Airlines
- Emirates
- FlyingBlue
Q. Rather than transferring now, can I preserve my Membership Rewards USA points balance without paying any annual fee?
Apply for an American Express Everyday card, and link it to the same Membership Rewards account. You may then close the other cards.
Transfer Membership Rewards points to which airline or hotel program? [2008 - 2014]
Dec 3, 2012, 7:22 am
#271
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, *A Silver
Posts: 4,896
Doesn't US Airways charge at least 25K points per round trip flight (cheapest)? And United charges somewhere close to that as well, correct? So I guess the best bet would be to BA. I don't have any destination in mind, but I'll fly out of EWR really to anywhere, I'm sure there are nice spots I could visit.
Dec 3, 2012, 7:48 am
#272
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 40
gk17
She will be cancelling her Amex Gold Rewards card. It was a promotional 50,000 points with no first year fee. Now I am trying to figure out the best use of the 50,000 MR points before not renewing the card. Her other earned miles are in her accounts and will not expire. I listed my accounts to show where possible transfers could be made.
Is it possible to transfer her MR points to my account? If that is allowable that may be the best place to put those points.
She will be cancelling her Amex Gold Rewards card. It was a promotional 50,000 points with no first year fee. Now I am trying to figure out the best use of the 50,000 MR points before not renewing the card. Her other earned miles are in her accounts and will not expire. I listed my accounts to show where possible transfers could be made.
Is it possible to transfer her MR points to my account? If that is allowable that may be the best place to put those points.
Dec 3, 2012, 8:22 am
#273
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
There is no published feature which permits this. There are anecdotal reports that customer service will do it on an exception basis, and apparently they are more likely to do it if you first request a supplementary card in her name on your account.
Dec 3, 2012, 9:31 am
#274
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: BOS
Posts: 85
The answer nobody wants to admit is YES. I am not sure why everybody says they are not sure.
Just call AMEX and tell then you need to close her account and you would like to transfer her miles to your account. They will do it and it takes 3 minutes. I did it last month.
Just call AMEX and tell then you need to close her account and you would like to transfer her miles to your account. They will do it and it takes 3 minutes. I did it last month.
Dec 3, 2012, 9:41 am
#275
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,529
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
What UA or US charges is irrelevant if you transfer your MR to Aeroplan. In that case, it is what Aeroplan charges. But yes, even in that case, I believe that a domestic Coach roundtrip on UA/US would cost 25K Aeroplan miles.
However, if you wanted to go from EWR to, say, SFO or SAN, the roundtrip on AA would cost 34K or 35K Avios, depending on routing.
Of course, if you're happy to go to ORD or MIA on AA nonstops from EWR or DTW, Avios would provide good value.
Originally Posted by agp423
Doesn't US Airways charge at least 25K points per round trip flight (cheapest)? And United charges somewhere close to that as well, correct? So I guess the best bet would be to BA. I don't have any destination in mind, but I'll fly out of EWR really to anywhere, I'm sure there are nice spots I could visit.
However, if you wanted to go from EWR to, say, SFO or SAN, the roundtrip on AA would cost 34K or 35K Avios, depending on routing.
Of course, if you're happy to go to ORD or MIA on AA nonstops from EWR or DTW, Avios would provide good value.
Dec 3, 2012, 11:15 am
#276
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
Perhaps because the Membership Rewards terms explicitly state that it cannot be done?
http://www.membershiprewards.com/cat...rmsSplash.aspx
Points accrued in any program account do not constitute property of the CM and are not transferable by operation of law or otherwise to any person or entity and cannot be transferred to any other account.
Last edited by mia; Dec 3, 2012 at 11:30 am
Dec 3, 2012, 12:29 pm
#277
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 32
I have 100K MR and friend has 100K UR. We are trying to get something from SFO to europe (munich-dublin-amsterdam trip). BA is the only airlines common to both the programs. Another option is that I xfer to Aeroplan, and he to united and we try getting on the same flights (likely will end up being lufthansa though co-ordinating will be a mess). The other option is we just get a roundtrip flight to LHR and then internally use some trains for those 3 countries. Anyone going for a europe trip have any suggestions?
Dec 3, 2012, 1:19 pm
#278
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,529
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
BA Avios can be redeemed on Air Berlin, which offers (seasonal?) service from SFO to Germany. There have been some reports of no fuel surcharges when redeeming BA Avios on AB, but you might want to check that.
BA Avios are also redeemable on Aer Lingus, which offers TATL flights from DUB to BOS, JFK, ORD, and MCO, with low fuel surcharges. You would have to call BAEC to redeem Avios on Aer Lingus; the ba.com website does not support award bookings on partner carriers that are not oneworld members.
Redeeming BA Avios for TATL flights on other carriers (including BA) will have hefty fuel surcharges.
Originally Posted by darth
I have 100K MR and friend has 100K UR. We are trying to get something from SFO to europe (munich-dublin-amsterdam trip). BA is the only airlines common to both the programs. Another option is that I xfer to Aeroplan, and he to united and we try getting on the same flights (likely will end up being lufthansa though co-ordinating will be a mess). The other option is we just get a roundtrip flight to LHR and then internally use some trains for those 3 countries. Anyone going for a europe trip have any suggestions?
BA Avios are also redeemable on Aer Lingus, which offers TATL flights from DUB to BOS, JFK, ORD, and MCO, with low fuel surcharges. You would have to call BAEC to redeem Avios on Aer Lingus; the ba.com website does not support award bookings on partner carriers that are not oneworld members.
Redeeming BA Avios for TATL flights on other carriers (including BA) will have hefty fuel surcharges.
Dec 5, 2012, 7:37 am
#279
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: New York, NY
Programs: DL-Gold, Starwood. Previously AA Gold and United Premier Gold, and OnePass
Posts: 179
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
BA Avios can be redeemed on Air Berlin, which offers (seasonal?) service from SFO to Germany. There have been some reports of no fuel surcharges when redeeming BA Avios on AB, but you might want to check that.
BA Avios are also redeemable on Aer Lingus, which offers TATL flights from DUB to BOS, JFK, ORD, and MCO, with low fuel surcharges. You would have to call BAEC to redeem Avios on Aer Lingus; the ba.com website does not support award bookings on partner carriers that are not oneworld members.
Redeeming BA Avios for TATL flights on other carriers (including BA) will have hefty fuel surcharges.
BA Avios can be redeemed on Air Berlin, which offers (seasonal?) service from SFO to Germany. There have been some reports of no fuel surcharges when redeeming BA Avios on AB, but you might want to check that.
BA Avios are also redeemable on Aer Lingus, which offers TATL flights from DUB to BOS, JFK, ORD, and MCO, with low fuel surcharges. You would have to call BAEC to redeem Avios on Aer Lingus; the ba.com website does not support award bookings on partner carriers that are not oneworld members.
Redeeming BA Avios for TATL flights on other carriers (including BA) will have hefty fuel surcharges.
Last edited by InfoMofo; Dec 7, 2012 at 10:23 am
Dec 5, 2012, 9:22 pm
#280
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 1,389
I have 100K MR and friend has 100K UR. We are trying to get something from SFO to europe (munich-dublin-amsterdam trip). BA is the only airlines common to both the programs. Another option is that I xfer to Aeroplan, and he to united and we try getting on the same flights (likely will end up being lufthansa though co-ordinating will be a mess). The other option is we just get a roundtrip flight to LHR and then internally use some trains for those 3 countries. Anyone going for a europe trip have any suggestions?
Then, the Singapore First class deal opened up so I transferred their points to KrisFlyer and booked them JFK-FRA-JFK. The surcharges were a bit lower, to the tune of $500pp.
For intra-Europe flights, I'm going to have them use their UA/UR miles/points.
I'd say the easiest is to xfer to Aeroplan and try to get the same *A flights. No escaping that damn YQ I guess.
Dec 10, 2012, 12:21 am
#281
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Leicestershire, UK
Posts: 146
Is Aeroplan a transfer partner for UK Amex card holders - I don't see it on the list?
Dec 22, 2012, 7:32 pm
#282
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 40
What to do with 50,000 MR Points
My wife received an offer from Amex for a Gold Rewards card. 50,000 MR points and fee waived first year. No brainer, she took it. Now we need to do something with the MR points before her renewal. I have over 100,000 BA Avios and she has various mileage accounts. I also have close to 400,000 HH points. Where to transfer her 50,000 points is the question of the day. All suggestions accepted
Dec 22, 2012, 11:29 pm
#283
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hertz Pres. Circle, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 561
It depends on which one you value more. Right now American Express has the following transfer rates:
1K MR = 2K HHonors Points
1K MR = 1,300 BA Miles
I'm not a fan of Hilton point redemption as I find them overvalued. I find more benefit from flying domestic using BA miles but that's just how I look at it.
If you do go with Hilton HHonors points instead, it might be better for you to transfer the MR points to Virgin Atlantic instead. Then transfer from Virgin Atlantic to HHonors at a 1:2 ratio. So in the end it will be:
1K MR = 1,350 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles
1,350 Flying Club Miles = 2,700 HHonors points vs 2K points if you went straight from MR to HHonors
1K MR = 2K HHonors Points
1K MR = 1,300 BA Miles
I'm not a fan of Hilton point redemption as I find them overvalued. I find more benefit from flying domestic using BA miles but that's just how I look at it.
If you do go with Hilton HHonors points instead, it might be better for you to transfer the MR points to Virgin Atlantic instead. Then transfer from Virgin Atlantic to HHonors at a 1:2 ratio. So in the end it will be:
1K MR = 1,350 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles
1,350 Flying Club Miles = 2,700 HHonors points vs 2K points if you went straight from MR to HHonors
Jan 1, 2013, 6:57 pm
#284
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LIS/AUS
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Gold, Marriott Titanium, TAP Gold
Posts: 263
What to do with MR points when canceling?
Hi Everyone!
I'm canceling my Platinum card in February - I have accumulated over 50k in MR points over the past year and I have no idea what to do with those points. I don't know whether I should transfer to an airline or hotel partner. I typically fly United, but that's not an option because it's not an airline partner. I have a trip coming up in February where I'll need to stay in a hotel for a few nights in Paris.
I'm thinking I should either transfer to BA while there's still that transfer bonus or transfer MR points to a hotel program. Am I forgetting anything else? What should I do? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
I'm canceling my Platinum card in February - I have accumulated over 50k in MR points over the past year and I have no idea what to do with those points. I don't know whether I should transfer to an airline or hotel partner. I typically fly United, but that's not an option because it's not an airline partner. I have a trip coming up in February where I'll need to stay in a hotel for a few nights in Paris.
I'm thinking I should either transfer to BA while there's still that transfer bonus or transfer MR points to a hotel program. Am I forgetting anything else? What should I do? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Jan 1, 2013, 9:01 pm
#285
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: DFW
Posts: 683
You can transfer points to Aeroplan and use them for United flights, at least if you are in the U.S. MR program.