General Transfer Times for Each Credit Card Rewards Program

With most credit card rewards programs, cardmembers have the option to spend their rewards points on flights, hotel stays, rental cars, merchandise and much more. However, in general, the best way to maximize the value of your credit card points is to transfer them to partner loyalty programs.

For instance, those who have Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards currently have the option to transfer Chase points to 14 different transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio. By transferring these points to travel loyalty programs, Chase members can find outsized-value redemptions, many of which offer several cents per point in value.

There are currently several credit card rewards programs that allow transfers to travel loyalty programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Bilt Rewards
• Brex Rewards
• Capital One Rewards
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Rewards
• Wells Fargo Rewards

All of these credit card rewards programs have different lists of transfer partners. Additionally, some travel loyalty programs offer more value than others, which makes it hard to say which credit card rewards program has the best list of transfer partners.

However, one aspect of these programs that’s often overlooked is the amount of time that it takes to actually complete a transfer. While some transfers are instantaneous, others can take several days or even over a week.

In this article, we’re going to explain why transfer times are worth paying attention to and include the transfer times for all of the major transferable credit card rewards programs. Plus, we’re also going to include the transfer times for the Marriott Bonvoy program, as this hotel rewards program also allows transfers to frequent flyer programs (albeit at a 3:1 ratio).

Why Points Transfer Times Are Important

The amount of time that it takes to transfer points to travel loyalty programs can either create or prevent unfortunate situations when transferring points.

For instance, let’s say that you find the perfect award flight that offers excellent value per point, but it leaves in two days. If your points transfer from your credit card rewards program to that frequent flyer program takes at least three days, then you won’t be able to redeem points for that perfect flight.

Additionally, when transfer times are longer, you run more of a risk of your desired flight or hotel stay filling up before your transfer is complete. For instance, let’s say that you transfer 20,000 points from your credit card rewards program to a frequent flyer program in order to purchase a specific award flight, and the transfer takes four days. Then, when the transfer is finally complete, the award flight is fully booked and no longer available.

As a result, you now have 20,000 hard-earned points in your frequent flyer account and nothing to spend them on. This is a far worse position than having those 20,000 points in your credit card rewards account where they could be transferred to other partners.

For these reasons, points transfer times are definitely worth paying attention to. If you make a points transfer expecting it to be instant and it ends up taking a week, you could find yourself in an unfortunate position.

Points Transfer Times by Program

In the following sections, we’re going to look at each transferrable credit card rewards program individually and explain how long it may take to transfer points to travel partners.

American Express Membership Rewards

The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of the most beloved credit card rewards programs in the industry, partially because the program offers 21 transfer partners (18 airline partners and three hotel partners). Some points transfers from Amex Membership Rewards can be instantaneous, while others can take as long as 15 days.

The following table includes estimated transfer times for each American Express transfer partner:

According to the American Express terms and conditions, “Typically, it takes 48 hours to process the transfer but some programs delay posting points to your partner loyalty account.” So, while it should take under 48 hours for your points transfer to post, you should still try to make your transfer as early as possible, as it can sometimes take longer.

Points transfers are irreversible in almost every case. However, there are certain cases where Amex will reverse your transfer if you’ve made an honest mistake and you contact them quickly.

Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards is a recent addition to the world of points and miles, having been founded in 2021. However, the program has quickly made a name for itself as the way to earn points on rent. First off, you can earn points simply by creating an account on the Bilt Rewards app and paying your rent through the app if you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance building. You can also earn points regardless of whether or not you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance building by signing up for the Bilt Mastercard®, which earns points on rent as well as everyday purchases.

Regardless of how you earn your Bilt Points, you can transfer them to 16 different transfer partners (12 airline partners and four hotel partners), all at a 1:1 ratio. Bilt Blue tier members must transfer a minimum of 2,000 points per transaction whereas Bilt Silver, Gold and Platinum tier members transfer a minimum of 1,000 points per transaction.

In most cases, points transfers from Bilt Rewards will take under 20 minutes. However, according to Bilt’s terms and conditions, “…it may take up to 48 hours for transfers to be completed. Transfers to American Airlines may take up to 72 hours.”

Points transfers from Bilt Rewards cannot be cancelled or reversed once confirmed unless otherwise noted.

Brex Rewards

Launched in 2018, Brex is also a new player in the world of credit card rewards. However, Brex Rewards has differentiated itself as a program that’s only available to businesses (and is specifically geared towards startups). By signing up for Brex’s credit card and managing your finances through the Brex portal, you can earn rewards points at competitive rates. Those points can then be redeemed in a variety of ways, including transferring them to travel loyalty programs.

Here is the current list of Brex transfer partners:

• Emirates Skywards
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Aeromexico Rewards
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Qantas Frequent Flyer

Unfortunately, Brex points transfer to these frequent flyer programs at a 1:0.6 ratio. For instance, for every 1,000 Brex points transferred, you’ll receive 600 airline miles.

According to the Brex website, “The amount of time it will take for points to appear in your account will vary by travel partner. Please refer to the processing times quoted in the dashboard for the most accurate information about each airline partner.”

In most cases, transfers from Brex Rewards will be processed within one business day and, in many cases, will be instantaneous. However, some Brex users have claimed that transfers may take up to a week.

Capital One Rewards

Capital One first entered the world of transferable miles in 2018 when it added transfer partners to its travel rewards credit cards. Today, Capital One Rewards is one of the most popular programs among points and miles enthusiasts, especially since the launch of the issuer’s top-tier luxury travel card the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This program has 18 transfer partners, most of which offer a 1:1 transfer ratio.

The following table includes all of Capital One’s transfer partners and the estimated amount of time it should take to transfer Capital One Miles to each one:

Regardless of which program you’re transferring Capital One Miles to, there’s a minimum transfer requirement of 1,000 Capital One Miles. Once you’ve transferred Capital One Miles, they can’t be transferred back to your Capital One account.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

The Chase Ultimate Rewards program has long been a fan-favorite in the world of transferable credit card points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the most popular travel credit cards out there, with great spending bonuses and a manageable annual fee of $95.

If you have the Sapphire Preferred card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you have access to Chase’s excellent list of 14 transfer partners (11 airline partners and three hotel partners), all of which offer a 1:1 transfer ratio.

According to Chase’s website, “After completing a transfer in the Chase Travel℠, the points should post within several business days.” According to most user testimonies, though, transfer of Chase Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners are almost always instantaneous. However, there are two exceptions:

• Transfers to Marrriott Bonvoy can take up to 48 hours to process.
• Transfers to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer are processed by Chase on the same day. However, it’s been reported that points may take up to 48 hours to appear in your KrisFlyer account. Some people have even reported transfers to KrisFlyer taking up to 7 days.

While most people report that transfers to the 12 other transfer partners of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program are instantaneous, you should still try to make your transfers as early as possible to avoid any unfortunate situations.

Chase points can be transferred in increments of 1,000, and all transfers are final and irreversible.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

While the Citi ThankYou Rewards program trails behind other transferable credit card rewards programs, such as Amex and Chase, in popularity, there are several ThankYou points-earning cards that could be a great addition to your credit card strategy. For instance, the Citi Strata Premier® Card offers 3X points on everyday categories such as supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations and more, and charges a modest annual fee of $95.

Plus, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program has a solid list of 18 transfer partners (14 airline partners and four hotel partners). While the majority of these transfer partners offer a 1:1 transfer ratio, some of these partners offer different transfer ratios, depending on which Citi ThankYou card you have.

According to Citi’s website, for nearly every one of their transfer partners, transfers “…are often completed within 24 hours, however the process may occasionally take up to 5 business days.” The lone exception to this is Thai Airways Royal, for which the Citi website says, “Transfers to Thai Airways are often completed within 7 days, however the process may occasionally take up to 14 days.” However, according to Citi cardholders, transfers to most travel loyalty programs are instant.

The following table includes all of Citi’s current transfer partners, their respective transfer ratios (depending on which card you have) and how long transfers to each partner take (according to user testimonies):

Leaders Club is the guest loyalty program of The Leading Hotels of the World, a relatively small hotel company that currently operates over 400 luxury hotels in over 80 destinations. And, while the Leaders Club program is relatively unheard of, you can actually get solid value for your Citi points by transferring them to Leaders Club.

Once again, the transfer times listed in the table above are estimates, and you should try to make your transfer as far in advance as possible to avoid having transfer delays screw up your travel plans.

There’s a minimum transfer quantity of 1,000 Citi ThankYou points per transaction and a maximum of 500,000 ThankYou points per transfer. A submitted transfer request cannot be canceled or reversed.

Marriott Bonvoy

While Marriott Bonvoy isn’t a credit card rewards program, it does currently allow members to transfer points to 39 different frequent flyer programs all around the world. Unfortunately, Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to the vast majority of these programs at a 3:1 ratio, which means you’ll be greatly devaluing your Bonvoy points by transferring them. You’re much better off redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points for Marriott hotel stays.

However, if you do choose to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to airline partners, most airline partners offer a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer in one transaction. For instance, if you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points to the Avianca LifeMiles program, you’ll receive 25,000 LifeMiles (with the 3:1 transfer ratio and the bonus 5,000 miles).

All in all, Marriott Bonvoy points transfers tend to take longer than transfers from the other programs listed in this article. Members have reported that the majority of transfers are processed in about 36 hours. However, certain Marriott Bonvoy transfers can take up to a week.

You can transfer a minimum of 3,000 points and a maximum of 240,000 points from the Marriott Bonvoy program per day. All transfers from the Marriott Bonvoy program are final and cannot be canceled or reversed.

Wells Fargo Rewards

The Wells Fargo Rewards program is the most recent credit card rewards program to begin allowing transfers to travel loyalty programs (as of April 4, 2024). The addition of transfer partners to the Wells Fargo Rewards program coincided closely with the release of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card, the bank’s new travel-focused rewards credit card with an annual fee of $95.

And, while the Wells Fargo program only currently has six transfer partners (five airline partners and one hotel partner), these current partners are high-quality, and Wells Fargo has pledged to add more transfer partners in the near future. All current transfer partners offer a 1:1 transfer ratio.

According to the Wells Fargo website, “Typically, transfers made to a partner program will be available in seconds. However, please allow 72 hours for transfer partners to complete the transfer to your partner account.”

Since the addition of transfer partners to the Wells Fargo Rewards program was so recent, we don’t currently have any data points on the actual times that it takes for Wells Fargo points transfers to process.

Unlike most other credit card rewards programs, Wells Fargo doesn’t have a minimum amount of points that can be transferred per transaction. There is a maximum transfer amount of 999,999 Wells Fargo points.

All points transfers from Wells Fargo Rewards are final and irreversible.

The Bottom Line

With most transferable credit card rewards programs (including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards and more), the best way to maximize the value of your rewards points is to transfer them to partner travel loyalty programs. Then, once these points land in partner airline and hotel rewards programs, they can be used for outsized-value hotel and flight redemptions that offer considerably more than 1 cent per point in value.

However, when making transfers from credit card rewards programs (or from Marriott Bonvoy), it’s important to pay attention to the time it takes for that transfer to process. If a points transfer takes too long, your desired flight or hotel stay may not be available by the time the transfer processes. Then, you could end up with a balance of airline miles or hotel points that can’t be transferred back to your credit card account.

So, before you make your next points transfer, make sure to check this article for the estimated transfer times for each credit card rewards program. It could help you avoid an unfortunate situation where you can’t make your desired redemption, and you waste valuable points.