I’ve been stepping up our coverage of credit card miles hacking, and have had readers ask me, what is the best starter card for credit card miles? The card I started with was the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and I would say it is the best card for 80% of readers.
But for those of you who follow the 80/20 rule like I do, I want to know what’s the absolute best travel card.
For me, since I run a business, my Amex Platinum is my go-to. I earn 50% bonus points when I charge over $5,000 on a single transaction, $200 airline travel credit, plus the 5X on airfare and hotels really makes this a huge point-earner for me.
If I didn’t run a business, my goto travel card would be the Chase Sapphire Reserve, for the fact that it gets 3x points on dining and travel, plus a $300 annual travel credit which I can apply to Uber.
Best Point Redemption: Transfer 100,000 points to Hyatt for four nights in a Category 6 property. You can use your Ultimate Rewards points to stay in the amazing Andaz Tokyo, which we stayed in and absolutely loved back in 2016.
Chase Sapphire Reserve Transfer Partners
| Chase Transfer Partners (Airline) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Flying Blue AirFrance / KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Chase Transfer Partner (Hotel) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Marriott Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Hyatt Gold Passport | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| IHG Rewards Club | 1:1 | 1 day |
| The Ritz-Carlton Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
Best Point Redemption: For just 120,000 miles you can fly in Singapore Suite class for free with points.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Transfer Partners
| Chase Transfer Partners (Airline) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Flying Blue AirFrance / KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Chase Transfer Partner (Hotel) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Marriott Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Hyatt Gold Passport | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| IHG Rewards Club | 1:1 | 1 day |
| The Ritz-Carlton Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
Best Point Redemption: Cut the lines in availing transfers. Members will simply check on their website for booking with a 1:1 ratio.
Best Point Redemption: Fly Business Class from the US to Europe for 50,000 miles by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to United.com.
Chase Ink Preferred Transfer Partners
| Chase Transfer Partners (Airline) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Flying Blue AirFrance / KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Chase Transfer Partner (Hotel) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Marriott Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Hyatt Gold Passport | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| IHG Rewards Club | 1:1 | 1 day |
| The Ritz-Carlton Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
Source
Source
Best Point Redemption: Transfer points to Singapore Air and fly Economy Class from New York/Houston to Singapore for 40,000 miles.
| Amex Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| AeroMexico | 1:1.6 | 2-12 days |
| Air Canada | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Alitalia | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| ANA | 1:1 | 2-3 days |
| British Airways | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Cathay Pacific* | 1:1 | 1 day to 1 week |
| Delta Air Lines | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| EL AL | 50:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| FlyingBlue AirFrance/KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hawaiian | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Iberia | 1.25:1 | 1-3 days |
| JetBlue | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Virgin America | 1:0.5 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
| Etihad Airways | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
Source
Source
Best Point Redemption: Transfer points to Singapore Air and fly Domestic US Business Class for 40,000 miles.
| Amex Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| AeroMexico | 1:1.6 | 2-12 days |
| Air Canada | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Alitalia | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| ANA | 1:1 | 2-3 days |
| British Airways | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | 1:1 | 1 day to 1 week |
| Delta Air Lines | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| EL AL | 50:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| FlyingBlue AirFrance/KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hawaiian | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Iberia | 1.25:1 | 1-3 days |
| JetBlue | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Virgin America | 1:0.5 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
| Etihad Airways | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
Source
Source
Best Point Redemption: Use 130,000 SPG points for 5 nights at the St. Regis Maldives.
| Amex Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| AeroMexico | 1:1.6 | 2-12 days |
| Air Canada | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Alitalia | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| ANA | 1:1 | 2-3 days |
| British Airways | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | 1:1 | 1 day to 1 week |
| Delta Air Lines | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| EL AL | 50:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| FlyingBlue AirFrance/KLM | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hawaiian | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Iberia | 1.25:1 | 1-3 days |
| JetBlue | 1.25:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Virgin America | 1:0.5 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
| Etihad Airways | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
Source
Source
Best Point Redemption: Transfer 25,000 miles to AAdvantage for a saver business class seat from NYC to LAX!
| Citi Transfer Partner (Airline) | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | 1:1 | 24 hours |
| Etihad Airways** | 1:1 | 6 days |
| EVA Air | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Garuda Indonesia | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Malaysia Airlines | 1:1 | N/A |
| Qantas Airways | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Qatar Airways | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Singapore Airlines | 1:1 | 2 days |
| Thai Airways | 1:1 | 4 days |
| Virgin America | 1:0.5 | 2 days |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | 1:1 | 2 days |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:0.8 | 2 days |
Source
Source
Best Point Redemption: You can use your points on any hotel or plane ticket you wish, without any blackout dates or restrictions.
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