Should You Transfer Points or Book With Banks?

April 24th, 2020

Each bank has a portal in which you can book travel, buy gift cards, or offset purchases. But you can also transfer to travel partner award systems and book through those portals (e.g. Chase to Hyatt). So that begs the question: “Which is better, and when should I use one over the other?” Below are a list of considerations:

• Generally, you can get more value by transferring your points to partners. This requires more work, however, in finding where that value lies.
• Know your transfer options: Here’s a quick chart to know what your options are with the points you want to use >
• Topping off or using up points: If you have a few thousand points with a certain awards system, that will usually tip the scales in favor of transferring to use up the points you already have.
  • (tip: it is usually best to use up the partner points before the more flexible bank points)
• Compare in real time: Do a quick search on the available options and simply determine which is the most desired result for the least amount of points. The bank portal is sometimes the best value (or only option).

The best mainstream transfer values to consider

• Chase to Hyatt, United, and Southwest
• Amex to Hilton, JetBlue, and Delta
• Citi to JetBlue and Singapore
• Capital One to Air Canada, Avianca, and Qantas

The best use of paying with points and portals rather than transfers

• When you can’t find a better deal through a partner
• For items where it’s difficult to use points, such as cruises and car rentals

The worst transfer values of points

• Since most points are worth a penny each, any transfer that results in using more points than you would if you paid cash (example: using 20,000 credit card points for a hotel you can book for under $200)
• A list of common offenders includes: Marriott, IHG, Raddison, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad (These systems do have merit with their own cards, just not as transfer only)

Check out our bank summaries for more on the best transfer options and guides on booking through the portals at the links below.