Chase Transfer Partners Explained

Chase Ultimate Rewards points work differently from most credit card rewards. Instead of booking through a portal at a fixed rate, you can move points directly into partner loyalty programs — often at far higher value. That option exists because Chase maintains transfer partnerships with 13 airlines and hotels, all at a 1:1 ratio with no fees.

This guide covers how the program works, which partners are worth using, which cards give you access, and the exact steps to complete a transfer.

Quick Answer

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers at 1:1 to 13 partners — 10 airlines and 4 hotels. Eligible cards: Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred. Minimum transfer: 1,000 points. Transfers are permanent and cannot be reversed.

How Transfers Work

When you transfer Chase points to a partner, your Ultimate Rewards balance decreases and the partner program's balance increases by the same amount. The ratio is 1:1 for every Chase partner — 1,000 Chase points becomes 1,000 miles or hotel points — with no transfer fees.

Most partner transfers process immediately or within one business day. Chase states processing can take up to seven business days in some cases, so plan transfers a few days before a time-sensitive booking.

Transfers are one-way and permanent. Once points move to a partner, they cannot be returned to Chase or redirected to a different program. Confirm award availability before transferring.

All Chase Transfer Partners

Which Cards Can Transfer Points

Not all Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points can access transfer partners. Three cards unlock direct transfers:

Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95/year), Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550/year), and Ink Business Preferred ($95/year).

Freedom, Freedom Flex, and Freedom Unlimited cards earn Ultimate Rewards points but cannot transfer to partners on their own. If you hold a Freedom card alongside a Sapphire or Ink Preferred, you can move your Freedom points into the Sapphire account first, then transfer from there.

How to Transfer Points (Step by Step)

Step 1: Sign in to your Chase account at chase.com and select the card you want to use for the transfer.

Step 2: Navigate to "Use Points" and choose "Transfer to Travel Partners" from the dropdown menu.

Step 3: Select the partner program. If you do not already have an account with that airline or hotel program, create one before proceeding — Chase requires the account to exist before a transfer can be initiated.

Step 4: Enter the number of points to transfer. The minimum is 1,000 points, and all transfers must be in increments of 1,000.

Step 5: Review and confirm the transfer. Most transfers post to partner accounts immediately or within one business day.

Best Partners for Maximum Value

World of Hyatt

Hyatt is the strongest hotel transfer option in the Chase program. It still uses an award chart, which means you know exactly how many points a stay costs before searching. High-end properties — including Park Hyatt and Alila brands — often require 25,000–35,000 points per night for stays that retail for $500–$1,000 or more.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan is one of the most flexible airline partners for premium cabin travel. It allows booking of Star Alliance flights — including Lufthansa first class — with no fuel surcharges on most awards. Lufthansa first class from North America to Europe books for approximately 90,000–100,000 Aeroplan points.

United MileagePlus

United MileagePlus is useful for booking Star Alliance business class, particularly to Europe and Asia. Chase transfers to United at 1:1, and United provides access to partners including Lufthansa, ANA, and Singapore Airlines on the same award chart.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

KrisFlyer is the program for booking Singapore Airlines' own Suites and business class products. Award availability on Singapore metal is limited but present year-round, and the products are widely considered among the best in the world.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic's program is particularly useful for booking Delta One business class and ANA first class at rates often significantly lower than what Delta and ANA charge through their own programs.

Partner Deep Dives — Less-Discussed Programs

The top-tier partners — Hyatt, Aeroplan, United, KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic — get most of the attention, but several of the remaining partners have niche use cases that can return strong value for the right traveler.

Aer Lingus AerClub

Aer Lingus runs its own version of British Airways Avios, with a distance-based award chart that prices short routes cheaply. Transatlantic awards from the U.S. East Coast to Dublin start at 13,000 Avios one-way in economy or 60,000 in business class — both lower than what most Star Alliance partners charge for similar routes. Surcharges are present but moderate.

The best AerClub use case is one-way transatlantic business class from Boston, New York, Chicago, or Washington — the surcharges are tolerable and award space is usually present several months out.

British Airways Executive Club

British Airways uses the same Avios currency as Aer Lingus and Iberia, but its strongest values are short-haul redemptions. Flights under 651 miles cost as little as 7,000–9,000 Avios one-way in economy through partner airlines including American and Alaska — well below cash prices for short domestic routes.

Avoid British Airways for transatlantic premium cabin awards; the fuel surcharges on BA-operated flights routinely add $700–$1,200 per direction, which usually exceeds the cash savings from using points.

Iberia Plus

Iberia is the third Avios partner in the Chase program. Off-peak transatlantic awards on Iberia-operated flights are among the cheapest in any U.S. airline program — New York or Chicago to Madrid in business class can be found for 34,000 Avios off-peak with moderate surcharges. The catch is that Iberia restricts which partner aircraft and dates qualify for those rates, and award inventory is tighter than on BA or American.

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue is a useful partner for travelers who already fly TrueBlue domestically or to the Caribbean. The program prices most awards as a fixed cents-per-point ratio of the cash fare, so transferring Chase points to TrueBlue is only worthwhile when JetBlue cash fares are high. As a rule of thumb, transfers return roughly 1.3 cents per point — only modestly better than the Sapphire Preferred portal at 1.25 cpp.

Southwest Rapid Rewards

Southwest also uses a revenue-based award chart, with points worth roughly 1.4–1.5 cents on Wanna Get Away fares. Transfers from Chase make sense when Southwest is the most convenient airline for a specific route, but the value rarely beats redeeming through the Chase travel portal. The exception is travelers chasing the Companion Pass, where every Chase-transferred point counts toward the 135,000-point threshold (with some restrictions).

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue runs monthly Promo Rewards that drop business and premium economy awards by 25–50% on specific routes. Transfers from Chase make sense if a Promo Reward matches an upcoming trip — Paris from the U.S. East Coast frequently appears at 35,000–45,000 miles in business class during promotions. Outside promo periods, standard Flying Blue pricing is similar to other SkyTeam programs and rarely best-in-class.

Sweet-Spot Redemption Examples

Concrete examples illustrate where Chase points punch above their weight. The table below shows the cents-per-point return on premium-cabin awards versus the same itinerary booked through the Chase travel portal at the Sapphire Preferred rate of 1.25 cpp.

Every row beats the Chase portal — the airline business and first class redemptions typically by 3–10x. The grocery and dining categories of points redemption — small, frequent, low-friction — almost never beat the portal. Premium-cabin awards are where transferred points earn their reputation.

Chase Transfer Bonuses — Pattern and History

Chase periodically offers transfer bonuses — temporary uplifts that add 25%, 30%, or occasionally 50% extra miles when moving points to a specific partner. They typically run for 4–6 weeks and apply to all transfers initiated during the window. Historically, these have appeared on the following partners with varying frequency:

Most Common Partners for Bonuses

Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and Aer Lingus have each been featured with 25–30% bonuses at least once in the past three years. These bonuses meaningfully widen the cents-per-point gap versus the portal — a 30% bonus on a 70,000-point Aeroplan transfer pushes the effective cost down to ~54,000 Chase points, raising the return above 5.5 cpp on a typical $3,000 transatlantic business award.

How to Take Advantage

Three practices improve transfer-bonus outcomes. First, confirm award availability on the partner before transferring — promotions do not extend deadlines if a transfer is incomplete. Second, do not transfer speculatively. Bonuses tempt accumulators to top up partner balances, but partner program changes can devalue points faster than bonus rates can replace them. Third, time large bookings to coincide with bonus windows when possible — a 30% bonus on a 200,000-point hotel transfer is real money saved.

Chase publishes active transfer bonuses on the Ultimate Rewards portal, and tracking sites such as Frequent Miler and One Mile at a Time maintain historical logs. Setting a calendar reminder to check current promotions every 6–8 weeks is a low-effort way to stay informed.

Comparing Chase to Other Major Programs

Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of four major transferable currencies in the U.S. market, alongside American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Miles. Each program has overlapping and unique partners — choosing where to concentrate spending depends on which partners match your typical travel.

Where Chase Stands Out

Chase is the only major transferable program with World of Hyatt — by a wide margin the best hotel transfer partner in the U.S. market. It also has the strongest mix of airline partners for domestic travelers (Southwest, JetBlue, United) and offers Aeroplan, the most flexible Star Alliance program.

Where Chase Has Gaps

Chase does not transfer to ANA Mileage Club, which has the lowest published Star Alliance award chart for U.S.-to-Asia business and first class — that partnership belongs to Amex. Chase also lacks Delta SkyMiles (Amex) and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (Amex/Citi). Travelers who frequently fly Delta or fly to Asia in premium cabins may find Amex Membership Rewards more useful.

Most rewards strategists eventually accumulate points in two programs to cover the gaps. A common setup pairs Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve with the Amex Gold or Platinum — Chase for Hyatt and Aeroplan, Amex for ANA and Delta. The annual fees stack, but so does the coverage.

Account Linking and Transfer Logistics

A few practical details prevent more transfers from failing than any other issue. The most common: name mismatches. Chase will not allow a transfer to a partner account whose name does not exactly match the name on the Chase account, including middle names where applicable. Open the partner account using your full legal name before initiating any transfer.

Second: pre-existing partner accounts must be created in advance. Some loyalty programs reject newly-opened accounts for transfers until the account has activity. Air Canada Aeroplan, for example, occasionally requires the partner account to be at least 30 days old before accepting a transfer.

Third: balance display lag. Even when Chase confirms the transfer has been initiated, the partner balance may take several hours or up to seven business days to reflect the new points. Do not initiate the same transfer twice if the partner balance appears unchanged after a few hours — open a chat with Chase to confirm status before re-transferring.

Mistakes to Avoid

Transferring without confirmed award availability. Transfers are permanent. Search for and confirm or hold award space before moving points.

Transferring to low-value hotel programs. Marriott, IHG, and Wyndham generally deliver less value than redeeming points through the Chase travel portal. Hyatt is the exception.

Using a Freedom card without a transfer-eligible card. Freedom points cannot leave the Chase ecosystem unless pooled with a Sapphire or Ink Preferred account first.

Missing transfer bonuses. Chase occasionally offers limited-time bonuses — typically 25–30% extra points — to select partners. Transferring during a bonus window can meaningfully improve value.

Frequently Asked Questions