Credit Cards That Allow Points Conversion to Airline Miles (1 to 1 or better)
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago
Programs: Mileage Plus, Rapid Rewards
Posts: 949
Credit Cards That Allow Points Conversion to Airline Miles (1 to 1 or better)
I'm particularly interested in non-Amex cards, but I'm interested in any. I'll start with the ones that I know of (updated to reflect posts below):
Fidelity Investments Signature Visa (Annual Fee: $0)- Air Canada Aeroplan
Fidelity Investments American Express (Annual Fee: $0)- Air Canada Aeroplan
Chase Amazon.com Visa (Annual Fee: $0)- British Airways Executive Club [No Longer Allows Points Conversion to BA Miles]
Starwood Preferred Guest Amex (Annual Fee: $65)- many
American Express Membership Rewards (Annual Fee: Varies) - many
Bank of America Merrill+ VISA 1:1 to BA in blocks of 5,000 ($0)
Diners Club Mastercard 1:1 to many airlines, but closed to new applicants ($95)
Chase Sapphire Preferred British Airways, Amtrak, and Continental ($85)
Wyndham Rewards Visa Not quite 1 to 1, but 0.8 to 1 on UA, CO, DL, AA, AC, and a bunch of others when you redeem 8,000 points ($4,000 in spending) for 3,200 miles ($0)
Fidelity Investments Signature Visa (Annual Fee: $0)- Air Canada Aeroplan
Fidelity Investments American Express (Annual Fee: $0)- Air Canada Aeroplan
Chase Amazon.com Visa (Annual Fee: $0)- British Airways Executive Club [No Longer Allows Points Conversion to BA Miles]
Starwood Preferred Guest Amex (Annual Fee: $65)- many
American Express Membership Rewards (Annual Fee: Varies) - many
Bank of America Merrill+ VISA 1:1 to BA in blocks of 5,000 ($0)
Diners Club Mastercard 1:1 to many airlines, but closed to new applicants ($95)
Chase Sapphire Preferred British Airways, Amtrak, and Continental ($85)
Wyndham Rewards Visa Not quite 1 to 1, but 0.8 to 1 on UA, CO, DL, AA, AC, and a bunch of others when you redeem 8,000 points ($4,000 in spending) for 3,200 miles ($0)
Last edited by CMHFlyerOH; May 16, 2011 at 10:32 pm Reason: updated Amazon.com Visa; Added Wnydham Rewards
#3
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AA,DL,BA,UA,SPG, and any other free trip!
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#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Chase Amazon.com VISA 1:1 to BA in blocks of 5,000 ($0)
Bank of America Merrill+ VISA 1:1 to BA in blocks of 5,000 ($0)
Diners Club Mastercard 1:1 to many airlines, but closed to new applicants ($95)
Bank of America Merrill+ VISA 1:1 to BA in blocks of 5,000 ($0)
Diners Club Mastercard 1:1 to many airlines, but closed to new applicants ($95)
#5
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 2,505
Chase Sapphire Preferred:
No. Annual fee is waived for the first year.
I successfully transferred to Continental last week.
The annual fee is waived for the first year via the offers on my website below.
No. Annual fee is waived for the first year.
The annual fee is waived for the first year via the offers on my website below.
Last edited by mia; Dec 29, 2010 at 7:07 pm Reason: Combine two consecutive posts
#6
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott // WN, AA, BA, UA, AS // Avis
Posts: 1,310
Chase Sapphire Preferred is a pretty nice card, as it also allows for transfers to Hyatt, Intercontinental Hotels & Marriott (and Amtrak)
If they added 1 or 2 more airlines (and keep transfer option to UA after merger /w CO), it could be one of the best cards out there, IMO. If they added Delta, it would mean all 3 alliances would have redemption possibilities.
Outside of the AMEX cards, its the only one I know that allows transfers to multiple partners.
As mentioned, it has an annual fee, waived for first year. And make sure you get the PREFERRED version, not the free version, as that does not allow transfer of points.
If they added 1 or 2 more airlines (and keep transfer option to UA after merger /w CO), it could be one of the best cards out there, IMO. If they added Delta, it would mean all 3 alliances would have redemption possibilities.
Outside of the AMEX cards, its the only one I know that allows transfers to multiple partners.
As mentioned, it has an annual fee, waived for first year. And make sure you get the PREFERRED version, not the free version, as that does not allow transfer of points.
#7
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
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Posts: 48,884
It seems improbable that they could make a deal with Delta, because of Delta's tight relationship with American Express and the intensifying rivalry between Amex and Chase. They might be able to work with a foreign Skyteam carrier, but there is no obvious opening, and the carrier would know that the card would generate a high level of partner redemptions.
Outside of the AMEX cards, its the only one I know that allows transfers to multiple partners.
#8
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott // WN, AA, BA, UA, AS // Avis
Posts: 1,310
Chase is the affinity card issuer for Amtrak, every airline, and every hotel chain which accepts transfers from this program. They haven't really done anything except repackage their existing card-issuing relationships, but there are curious omissions such as Southwest Airlines and United.
It seems improbable that they could make a deal with Delta, because of Delta's tight relationship with American Express and the intensifying rivalry between Amex and Chase. They might be able to work with a foreign Skyteam carrier, but there is no obvious opening, and the carrier would know that the card would generate a high level of partner redemptions.
Diners Club Mastercard
It seems improbable that they could make a deal with Delta, because of Delta's tight relationship with American Express and the intensifying rivalry between Amex and Chase. They might be able to work with a foreign Skyteam carrier, but there is no obvious opening, and the carrier would know that the card would generate a high level of partner redemptions.
Diners Club Mastercard
Still, if they are able to keep UA once the merger is 100% done, and BA, it would remain a worthwhile alternative to Amex for a lower fee.
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,927
Having the ability to transfer from Chase Sapphire Preferred would avoid this problem (since you could transfer only once you'd earned enough points for an award, and only right before you needed to use the award), but I doubt that Chase would make a SkyTeam airline a Sapphire Preferred partner if that SkyTeam partner didn't have a card of their own with Chase, which gets us back to the above paragraph.
#11
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Mountain View, CA (near SJC and SFO)
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, and no status whatsoever on the airlines (!)
Posts: 468
Compared to the SPG Amex card?
I'm curious to know what advantages this Sapphire Preferred card might have over the SPG Amex. For one, it's certain to be accepted more places.
But the annual fee is slightly higher, and the 7% bonus is dwarfed by the 25% bonus (5K free miles transferred for every 20K) with SPG. What am I missing here?
But the annual fee is slightly higher, and the 7% bonus is dwarfed by the 25% bonus (5K free miles transferred for every 20K) with SPG. What am I missing here?
#12
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AA,DL,BA,UA,SPG, and any other free trip!
Posts: 1,803
I'm curious to know what advantages this Sapphire Preferred card might have over the SPG Amex. For one, it's certain to be accepted more places.
But the annual fee is slightly higher, and the 7% bonus is dwarfed by the 25% bonus (5K free miles transferred for every 20K) with SPG. What am I missing here?
But the annual fee is slightly higher, and the 7% bonus is dwarfed by the 25% bonus (5K free miles transferred for every 20K) with SPG. What am I missing here?
#13
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Mountain View, CA (near SJC and SFO)
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, and no status whatsoever on the airlines (!)
Posts: 468
#14
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AA,DL,BA,UA,SPG, and any other free trip!
Posts: 1,803
#15
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: One Pass Silver, UA Premier
Posts: 152
I'm on a paid with cash M TPAC flight and the RT was around 1600 for M. It only costs me 30k miles +250 to get upgraded to BusinessFirst on CO