Imagine this scenario: You must book a flight with Alaska Airlines. You find a ticket, but you do not have enough frequent-flyer miles. You wish you could transfer your American Airlines miles to your Alaska Airlines account.
You cannot transfer miles between different travel accounts directly. However, third-party websites allow you to swap miles between loyalty programs. In the next five minutes, learn how to transfer miles between different accounts.
Note: the information is true at the time of writing, August, 2021.
Transferring through the Hilton Honors program
Travel program partners including Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Amtrak allow you to transfer points to the Hilton Honors program. Afterward, you can transfer the Hilton Honors points to travel loyalty programs including British Airways, Delta Airlines, and Qantas Airways. Here is how:
Transferring Miles into the Hilton Honors Program
1. Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines never offers an automated process to transfer miles, so you will need to call the customer service team.
Share both your Hawaiian Airlines account number and Hilton Honors account number with the representative. They will carry out the rest of the process. You will see the transferred miles on your Hilton Honors account within 15 business days.
Hawaiian Airlines offer a 1:1.5 ratio for transferred miles. For one Hawaiian Airlines mile, you will receive 1.5 Hilton Honors points.
You must share at least 10,000 miles per transfer.
2. Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic does not offer an automated process to transfer miles to the Hilton Honors program, so you will have to call the customer support team.
Share your Hilton Account number with the customer service representative, as well as your Virgin Atlantic account number. That is it. The representative will do the rest.
The transferred miles will show up on your Hilton Honors account within 30 days.
Two Virgin Atlantic miles translate to three Hilton Honors points. If you transfer 5,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, you will receive 7,500 Hilton Honors points.
You must transfer at least 10,000 Virgin Atlantic points in the first transfer. Afterward, the threshold lowers to 5,000 miles per transfer.
3. Amtrak
If you want to transfer Amtrak points, you must own the Amtrak World MasterCard or have Amtrak Elite status. Amtrak has additional restrictions as well.
If you are an Amtrak Select or Select Plus member, you can transfer up to 50,000 points in a calendar year. However, if you are an Amtrak Select Executive member, you can transfer any number of points in a calendar year.
If you own the Amtrak World MasterCard, you must spend at least $20,000 on the card in a calendar year. Afterward, you can transfer up to 25,000 points per calendar year.
Amtrak offers a 1:2 ratio for transferring points to the Hilton Honors program. If you transfer 5,000 Amtrak points, you will receive 10,000 Hilton Honors points.
Transferring Hilton Honors Points to Travel Loyalty Programs
Login to your Hilton Honors account and go to the ‘exchange’ section. Select the travel loyalty program where you want to send the points, and then enter how many points you want to transfer. That is it.
For 10,000 Hilton Honors points, you will receive:
- 1,000 British Airways Avios points.
- 1,000 Delta Airlines SkyMiles points.
- 1,500 Qantas Airlines frequent flyer points.
Transferring through Points.com
Points.com has partnered with 100 travel partners, including Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Amtrak. You can add the partner travel programs under your Points.com account. The website shows you all the available miles in real-time.
Here is how you can transfer miles:
- On your points.com account, go to Menu, and then from the drop-down list, choose ‘Exchange.’
- Select which program you want to take the miles from, or enter which program you want to transfer the miles into.
- Select how many miles you want to exchange. You will see a pop-up with any exchange rules that will apply. Accept, and head to the bottom of the page.
- Check the transfer details in the summary section. Click on Exchange. Then, another pop-up will appear with the option ‘Yes, Exchange.’
- Accept and you are all set.
The process takes up to five business days to complete. Afterward, you will receive a confirmation email.
The exchange rate varies between programs. However, the rates are typically low. Here are a couple of examples: For 10,000 JetBlue TrueBlue miles, you will receive 3,706 Hawaiian miles. For 10,000 American Airlines miles, you will receive 1,046 Air Canada miles.
Transferring through Diners Club Rewards
Diners Club Rewards allows you to transfer miles between 14 airline partners, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and British Airways. Furthermore, you can transfer Amtrak Guest Rewards miles as well.
Call the customer service team of the airline and share your frequent flyer number and Diners Club account number. The customer service representative will transfer your miles into the Diners Club account.
The conversion rate into Diners Club Rewards is 1:1. If you transfer 10,000 American Airlines miles, you will receive 10,000 Diners Club Rewards points. You must transfer at least 10,000 miles into rewards points at a time.
Diners Club offers three ways to transfer Rewards points into frequent flyers programs. You can call customer service at 1-800-234-4034, you can fax a Club Rewards redemption form to 1-800-260-4034, or you can transfer points from the Diners Club website.
Diners Club offers a 2:1 ratio when you transfer points into frequent flyer programs. If you transfer 10,000 Rewards points, you will receive 5,000 Southwest Airlines miles. Furthermore, you must transfer at least 2,000 points every time.
The process takes up to six weeks to complete.
Transferring through Amtrak
You can transfer United, Continental, and Southwest miles into Amtrak points. To do so, you must call the airline’s customer service. Share your frequent flyer number and Amtrak Elite member number, and the customer representative will transfer your miles to the Amtrak Guest Rewards.
Airlines offer a 1:1 conversion rate. If you transfer 5,000 United Airlines miles, you will receive 5,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards points.
Amtrak Select and Select Plus members can transfer up to 50,000 points in a calendar year. Amtrak Select Executive members can transfer any number of points. Furthermore, Amtrak World MasterCard owners must spend at least $20,000 in a calendar year on the card. Afterward, Amtrak allows you to transfer up to 25,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards points.
Amtrak also offers a 1:1 conversion ratio. For 10,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards points, you will receive 10,000 United Airlines miles.
You might lose miles
The low conversion rates can sometimes cost you more than if you paid upfront. So, be sure to compare the two before you decide.
No matter how you’re paying for your trip, be sure to purchase travel insurance before you go. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, or your baggage is lost, your travel insurance plan may be able to provide benefits that prevent you from losing money. Don’t let a nonrefundable hotel booking charge wipe out the money you’ve saved due to a cancelled or delayed flight. Buy travel insurance so you can be protected.
