We love transferable points programs. The ability to move bank points into multiple airline and hotel programs makes it possible to get far outsized value from your points.
Want to book ANA First Class from the U.S. to Japan? Great. Once you find available award space, you can transfer points from Amex, Chase, Citi, or Marriott to Virgin Atlantic to book this sweet-spot award.
The problem is that not all transfers are instant. That coveted first class award space may disappear before your points have converted to miles. This post is intended to help with that and below you’ll find data-driven time estimates for point transfers from all of the major bank rewards programs (and Marriott) to the various airline and hotel loyalty programs.
How transfer times are determined
AwardWallet is a tool that helps you keep track of your points and other rewards (details about AwardWallet can be found here). AwardWallet also has a cool feature called Balance Watch that will check your account balance frequently and alert you when points post. This is great to use when transferring points to book an award because you’ll get an alert when points post. That’s far preferable to logging into your rewards account over and over again to check.
Another cool feature of AwardWallet is that they use real world Balance Watch data to come up with data-driven transfer time estimates. You can find their results here or in the post below. Many of the time estimates shown below come from AwardWallet’s data, but in quite a few cases where they didn’t have data we provided results from our own experience, or from readers. We’ve also added this information to our Transfer Partner Master List.
American Express Membership Rewards
For details about Amex points, see: Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1.6 (Instant) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Choice | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax (Instant) |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Hawaiian Miles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax (Instant) |
| Hilton | 1 to 2 (Instant) |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 (~12 - 72 hours (slower over weekend)) |
| JetBlue | 250 to 200 plus excise tax (Instant) |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 (12 - 24 hours) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
Bilt Rewards
For details about Bilt points, see: Bilt Rewards Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Bilt Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Alaska MileagePlan | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Hilton | 1 to 1 (Unknown) |
| Hyatt | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| IHG | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 20K to 25K (Instant) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| United MileagePlus | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
Capital One “Miles”
For details about Capital One Miles, see: Capital One “Miles” Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Capital One Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1000 to 500 (Instant) |
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 (1 - 2 days) |
| Choice | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1000 to 750 (~1 day) |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 (~12 - 24 hours) |
| TAP Air Portugal | 1 to 1 (Unknown) |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Wyndham | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
Chase Ultimate Rewards
For details about Chase points, see: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Chase Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Hyatt | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| IHG | 1 to 1 (5 hours) |
| JetBlue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 to 1 (1 - 2 days) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 via BA (Instant) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| United MileagePlus | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
Citi ThankYou Rewards
For details about Citi points, see: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Citi Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1000 to 500 (Instant) |
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day) |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1 (~6 days) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Choice | 1 to 2 (Instant) |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 (~1 hour) |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1 to 1 (~2 days) |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day) |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day) |
| Jet Airways Inter Miles | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| JetBlue | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Leading Hotels of the World | 1K to 200 (Instant) |
| Malaysia Enrich | 1 to 1 (1 to 2 days) |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Shop Your Way Rewards | 1 to 10 (Instant) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 (~1 day) |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | 1 to 1 (3 to 7 days) |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 (12 - 24 hours) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
| Wyndham | 1 to 1 (Instant) |
Marriott Bonvoy
For details about Marriott points, see: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide.
| Rewards Program | Marriott Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|
| Aegean Miles + Bonus | 60K to 25K (~3 days) |
| Aer Lingus Avios | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 60K to 25K (2 - 4 days) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 60K to 25K (4 - 5 days) |
| Air China Phoenix Miles | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 60K to 25K (1 - 3 days) |
| Air New Zealand Air Points | 60K to 307 (1 - 2 days) |
| Alaska MileagePlan | 60K to 25K (12 - 24 hours) |
| American AAdvantage | 3K to 1K (~2 days) |
| ANA Mileage Club | 60K to 25K (4 to 7 days) |
| Asiana | 60K to 25K (~1 day) |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3K to 1K (~1 day) |
| British Airways Avios | 60K to 25K (~10 hours) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 60K to 25K (~1 day) |
| China Eastern Airlines | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| China Southern Airlines’ Sky Pearl Club | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 60K to 25K (~3 days) |
| Delta SkyMiles | 3K to 1K (1 - 2 days) |
| Emirates Skywards | 60K to 25K (~3 days) |
| Etihad Guest | 60K to 25K (3 - 5 days) |
| Frontier Miles | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Hainan Airlines | 60K to 25K (12 hours to 1 day) |
| Hawaiian Miles | 60K to 25K (1 - 2 days) |
| Iberia Avios | 60K to 25K (~1 - 2 days) |
| JAL (Japan Airlines) Mileage Bank | 60K to 25K (~3 days) |
| Jet Airways Inter Miles | 60K to 25K (~7 days) |
| JetBlue | 60K to 12.5K (Unknown) |
| LATAM Pass | 60K to 25K (~1 day) |
| Multiplus | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 60K to 25K (~2 days) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 60K to 25K (3 - 4 days) |
| Saudia Airlines | 60K to 25K (~5 days) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 60K to 25K (~4 days) |
| South African Airways Voyager | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 60K to 25K (1 - 2 days) |
| TAP Air Portugal | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | 60K to 25K (~4 days) |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 60K to 25K (~1 day) |
| United MileagePlus | 60K to 30K (2 - 5 days) |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 60K to 25K (12 - 24 hours) |
| Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
| Vueling Club | 60K to 25K (Unknown) |
Sorted by Loyalty Program
Note that if you prefer to see the transfer times arranged by loyalty program rather than by transferable points program, see our Transfer Partner Master List.
The post How long does it take to transfer points to airline and hotel programs? appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.