There are three USA issued credit card programs that accumulate points which can be transferred into several airline frequent flyer programs:

American Express Membership Rewards, discussed in the American Express section of Flyertalk, and described here...

http://membershiprewards.com


Diners Club Rewards, discussed in the Diners Club section of Flyertalk, and described here...

http://dinersclubus.com

https://www.citibank.com/dinersus/js...talog/english/

Note that all USA-issued Diners Club cards are Mastercards.


Starwood Preferred Guest credit card issued by American Express, discussed in the Starwood hotel and American Express sections of Flyertalk. It is not necessary to stay in Starwood hotels to use the credit card to earn airline miles. Details here...

http://spg.com

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...tner_list.html



Several credit card issuers also offer programs in which the cardholder accumulates miles or points that can be redeemed for air travel. The card issuer simply purchases the ticket when you redeem, and these programs have no connection to the airlines.

Citibank's program is called ThankYou Network and it is discussed in this section of Flyertalk. Official site here...

http://thankyou.com

ThankYou Network is more complicated than most programs, and the best value is obtained using the hidden "Fixed Flight" redemption option. Start here...

https://www.thankyou.com/faq.jspx

Expand the Travel Rewards topic and read everything.

Most airline programs do not permit transfers of miles to any other program, or only allow it with significant devaluation. You should plan on redeeming the miles you earn by flying in the program in which they are earned. This is where a program like Starwood Preferred Guest is very valuable, you can transfer in just the amount you need to claim a reward.

Bear in mind, however, that you do not always need to credit a flight to the program offered by the airline operating the flight. Most carriers belong to one of three alliances: OneWorld, SkyTeam, Star. Generally, you can credit all flights on all carriers in the same alliance to one program to avoid accumulating small amounts in several different programs.

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