MONEY / CREDIT CARD POINTS
The six US points currencies that move into airline and hotel programs, what each one reaches, what the cards cost, and the one rule that decides whether any of it is worth it: pay the balance in full.
MMT money desk · Partners and fees read on each issuer's own page, 24 September 2026 · US market
Each card is one bank's points program. Colors mark the issuer; fees are for the card that earns the most flexible points in each family.
At the issuers' own estimate of about one cent a point, a card earning two points a dollar returns about 2%. A balance at the 2024 average APR of 25.2% costs more than twelve times that. The points vs cash calculator shows what a specific redemption is worth, and the foreign transaction fee guide covers the card you carry abroad.
The airline side of the matrix, with every program's alliance, is on the airline loyalty hub. Hotels:
| Hotel program | Amex | Chase |
|---|---|---|
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 | - |
| Hilton Honors | 1:2 | - |
| IHG One Rewards | - | yes |
| Leaders Club (LHW) | 4:1 | - |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | yes |
| World of Hyatt | - | yes |
| Wyndham Rewards | - | yes |
Points from a bank's own program that you can move into an airline or hotel program, usually 1,000 at a time. Five US banks run them according to the CFPB's 2024 rewards report: American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo. Bilt, a rent-rewards program, runs one too.
Issuers typically value a point at about one cent, according to the CFPB. A transfer to an airline can be worth more or less than that; the points vs cash calculator shows the math for a specific flight.
Almost never. The average card APR was 25.2 percent in 2024, and 27.5 percent on new accounts, per the CFPB. At one cent a point and two points a dollar, rewards return about 2 percent a year against interest ten times that.
Of the partner lists we could read on the issuers' own pages, only Citi ThankYou names American AAdvantage. Amex, Chase and Capital One do not transfer to it.
No. Every issuer treats a transfer to an airline or hotel as final. Find the award seat first, then transfer.
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