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TPG reader Jill emailed me to ask about transferring points:
If you’re new to travel rewards (or even if you’re not), it’s easy to mix up which loyalty programs are connected and whether you’re allowed to transfer points between them. Many programs, rewards and co-branded credit cards add to the confusion by using names that sound similar even though they’re unrelated — like United MileagePlus and Alaska Mileage Plan. Knowing what your points can and cannot do is an important step in learning to maximize their value, and will help you avoid mistakes when you’re ready to redeem.
A good place to start is to understand the difference between credit card issuers, networks, brands and loyalty programs. Referring back to Jill’s question, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is issued by Chase Bank, and operates on the Visa network. It’s branded as a Visa Signature, which means it offers certain benefits specific to Visa Signature cards. Finally, Sapphire Preferred earns points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.
Just because two cards are issued by the same bank or operate on the same network does not necessarily mean you can transfer points between them. For example, the Fairmont Visa Card is issued by Chase, but there’s no way to transfer from Ultimate Rewards to Fairmont President’s Club (or vice versa). Similarly, the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card uses the same network as Sapphire Preferred, but Hilton HHonors is completely separate from Chase Ultimate Rewards, so again there’s no transfer option.
Ultimate Rewards features other cards that are issued by Chase and use the Visa network. Not all of them have the Visa Signature brand — some are just regular Visa cards, while the new Chase Sapphire Reserve Card is a Visa Infinite card. However, you can move points between those accounts regardless of how they’re branded, since they all belong to the same rewards program.
When you’re trying to book an award with mismatched points, look for creative ways to split the cost. If none of your balances are high enough to cover a round-trip flight, then consider booking two one-way tickets from separate programs. Similarly, you could split a longer hotel stay into two (or more) reservations, each one booked with different points as needed. There’s some potential downside to this, like missing out on the fifth night free offered by certain hotel programs, so make sure you’re not outsmarting yourself and sacrificing value in the process.
For more on transferring and combining Chase Ultimate Rewards points, check out these posts:
If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.
Source: thepointsguy.com