Capital One vs. Chase vs. Amex: Who Has Better Transfer Partners?

For frequent travelers who use Capital One, Chase, or American Express travel cards, one of the most popular redemption options is to transfer your rewards from one of these credit card programs to the loyalty program of an airline or hotel partner.

This can help give you flexibility over how you use your points or miles, but don’t expect the available transfer partners to be the same between Capital One, Chase, and Amex. With a quick comparison between the three credit card issuers, you can see which program’s transfer partners might make the most sense for you.

Capital One vs. Chase vs. Amex airline transfer partners

These are the available airline transfer partners for Capital One, Chase, and American Express.

Capital One vs. Chase vs. Amex hotel transfer partners

These are the available hotel transfer partners for Capital One, Chase, and American Express.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards is Chase’s rewards program for credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. Ultimate Rewards is often thought of as one of the most flexible and valuable programs available because of how you can earn and redeem your rewards.

How to earn and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points

Earning Ultimate Rewards points is typically straightforward — use any credit card that earns these points to make purchases and you’ll earn rewards points.

Here are some of the best cards for earning and redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

Ultimate Rewards redemption options include:

• Transfers to travel partners
• Travel portal redemptions, including airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises
• Cash back
• Gift cards
• Dining
• Experiences
• Shopping

Chase transfer partners

Chase transfer partners include:

American Express Membership Rewards

Amex Membership Rewards is the travel rewards program for certain American Express cardholders. Similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, the Membership Rewards program is both flexible and valuable for frequent travelers.

How to earn and redeem Amex Membership Rewards points

Membership Rewards points can typically only be earned with American Express travel cards. If you use an applicable card to make eligible purchases, you should earn Membership Rewards.

Unlike the Ultimate Rewards program, you generally don’t have to manually combine rewards from your various Amex cards (you might if you have both personal and business accounts). If you have multiple cards that earn Membership Rewards points, your points should automatically pool together in your online account.

Here are some of the best cards for earning and redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points:

Membership Rewards redemption options include:

• Transfers to travel partners
• Amex Travel portal redemptions, including flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises
• Statement credits
• Shopping
• Gift cards

Booking flights or transferring your points to a travel partner often provide the most value with Membership Rewards points.

American Express transfer partners

Amex transfer partners include:

Capital One Venture Rewards

Capital One miles are associated with Capital One’s lineup of travel credit cards. These credit cards earn miles rather than points, though they function in much the same way as Ultimate Rewards points or Membership Rewards points.

How to earn and redeem miles

Capital One miles can be earned by using a Capital One travel card, including certain business credit cards, to make purchases.

Note that you can transfer rewards from certain Capital One cash back credit cards to Capital One travel rewards cards. For example, you can combine rewards between the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card(Rates and fees) and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card(Rates and fees) if you have both cards.

Here are some of the best cards for earning and redeeming Capital One miles:

Capital One miles redemption options include:

• Transfers to travel partners
• Covering recent travel purchases
• Capital One Travel portal redemptions, including flights, hotels, and rental cars
• Gift cards
• Cash back
• Shopping, including Amazon and PayPal

Most redemptions with Capital One miles offer the same value, which might make it easier for you to choose what to do with your rewards. But savvy travelers know that transfers to travel partners can offer big value if you’re able to find the right flight or hotel stay redemption.

Capital One transfer partners

Capital One transfer partners include:

How to choose a travel rewards card

To help decide between travel rewards cards, consider the following questions:

Does it align with your spending habits?

All travel cards earn rewards, but how do they earn them? It’s typically best to align a credit card’s bonus categories (where they have increased rewards rates) with your everyday spending habits to help increase your total points. For example, if groceries or dining out are often some of your largest expenses, it could make sense to consider credit cards that earn bonus points in one or both of these categories.

Is there a sign-up bonus?

Earning rewards on purchases you’re already making is a proven way to add to your points or miles total. But sign-up bonuses and welcome offers are often the easiest way to earn a large amount of rewards in a short period of time. In many cases, earning a welcome bonus could immediately provide enough rewards to help cover airfare or lodging for a trip.

What’s your credit score?

If you have good credit (typically above a 670 FICO Score), you’ll likely qualify for most travel credit cards. However, some premium options could require excellent credit, which is often an 800 or higher FICO Score.

Does it earn flexible rewards?

Travel cards are often split into two groups: general cards and co-branded cards. General cards earn flexible rewards that can be redeemed for purchases with a variety of travel companies. Co-branded cards earn rewards with a specific airline or hotel loyalty program, such as United MileagePlus or Hilton Honors. Using a co-branded card is often limiting, but it might not matter if you’re happy with a specific airline or hotel.

Which transfer partners are available?

If you prefer to fly with certain airlines or stay at certain hotels, it likely makes sense to have a travel card that has that airline or hotel as a transfer partner. This can help you use rewards on redemptions you find valuable.

Are there any fees?

Travel credit cards don’t typically have foreign transaction fees, but you’ll find many with annual fees — and some are much higher than others. But certain card benefits could help offset an annual fee.

Does it have helpful travel benefits and perks?

Travel protections and purchase coverage, such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance, travel accident insurance, or extended warranty coverage, are common benefits found on popular travel cards. You also might find airport lounge access (Priority Pass), TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee reimbursement, complimentary elite status with a hotel or car rental agency, annual travel credits, and more.

What’s the payment network?

Visa and Mastercard are accepted nearly everywhere credit cards are accepted, including worldwide. American Express and Discover are accepted throughout the U.S., but their international acceptance isn’t as widespread. Depending on where you like to travel, you might want to have a Visa or Mastercard credit card handy.

Every case is unique, and your travel goals could be different from someone else. But there are loads of available travel cards that could make sense in a variety of situations. For our top choices, check out our list of the best travel credit cards.

FAQs

Bottom line

Capital One, Chase, and American Express all provide valuable rewards programs that include useful transfer partners. However, you might find Chase and Amex transfer partners are more suited to domestic travel compared with Capital One partners. But overall, the best program for transfer partners depends on your travel preferences, including which airlines you like to fly and your preferred destinations.

And there’s more to a rewards program than its available transfer partners. If you want to make the most of any loyalty program, consider ways to earn more points or miles so you can make more redemptions. The easiest way to do this is often by utilizing multiple credit cards that earn the same rewards currency.

For a list of all our top credit card offers, use our dedicated page to compare credit cards and see which ones might make sense for you. You may find particular card comparisons, like Chase Ink vs. Capital One Spark, especially helpful as you narrow down your list.

Great for Flexible Travel Rewards

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Annual Fee

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Rewards Rate

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Benefits

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Card Details

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