Hi

I am looking for a reward program for my Credit Card;
Currently with United MP;

I am interested in either universal flight points (not specific to an airlines) or cash or something else.

Any recommendations?

I guess I still earn airline miles when I fly on their planes - is there a transfer program that is recommended?

There are three USA issued credit card programs that accumulate points which can be transferred into several airline frequent flyer programs:

American Express Membership Rewards, discussed in the American Express section of Flyertalk, and described here...

http://membershiprewards.com


Diners Club Rewards, discussed in the Diners Club section of Flyertalk, and described here...

http://dinersclubus.com

https://www.citibank.com/dinersus/js...talog/english/

Note that all USA-issued Diners Club cards are Mastercards.


Starwood Preferred Guest credit card issued by American Express, discussed in the Starwood hotel and American Express sections of Flyertalk. It is not necessary to stay in Starwood hotels to use the credit card to earn airline miles. Details here...

http://spg.com

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...tner_list.html



Several credit card issuers also offer programs in which the cardholder accumulates miles or points that can be redeemed for air travel. The card issuer simply purchases the ticket when you redeem, and these programs have no connection to the airlines.

Citibank's program is called ThankYou Network and it is discussed in this section of Flyertalk. Official site here...

http://thankyou.com

ThankYou Network is more complicated than most programs, and the best value is obtained using the hidden "Fixed Flight" redemption option. Start here...

https://www.thankyou.com/faq.jspx

Expand the Travel Rewards topic and read everything.

Most airline programs do not permit transfers of miles to any other program, or only allow it with significant devaluation. You should plan on redeeming the miles you earn by flying in the program in which they are earned. This is where a program like Starwood Preferred Guest is very valuable, you can transfer in just the amount you need to claim a reward.

Bear in mind, however, that you do not always need to credit a flight to the program offered by the airline operating the flight. Most carriers belong to one of three alliances: OneWorld, SkyTeam, Star. Generally, you can credit all flights on all carriers in the same alliance to one program to avoid accumulating small amounts in several different programs.

Please use the "Search this Forum" function in each section of Flyertalk to find previous discussions of your topic. This will allow you to find more information faster, and will often answer questions that you did not know you needed to ask .

I second Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX. You can transfer to many airlines at 1:1 ratio and you get 5k miles bonus when you transfer 20k pts.

If it is 2:1, does it mean that you need Starwood 10k points to get 5k points with the airlines?

Do you still think that it is better than Thank you points with Citi - because, you can get GCs instead - then buy your flights with cash, when you need.

Correct, SPG transfer to CO and US at an unattractive rate, probably to protect Chase from competition. (Chase is the bank that issues both CO and UA mileage credit cards.)

Converting ThankYou points to giftcards, on the basis 20,000 = $200 is far from the best value, because 20,000 TYP = one domestic ticket worth up to $400.

What is (abbreviation):
-CO
-US

Which is the Bank that does SPG ?

How would TYP stack up against SPG?

Is SPG the best airline point system?

SPG also has an annual fee of $45.

There are lots of good cash back card offers listed on the Free Cards page of the Credit Card section of my website below.

Whatever card you decide upon, be sure you look at the appropriate place on my website for the best deal. Often there are cash bonuses available for miles and cash back cards. For example, you can get 10,000 Starwood points plus $35 for the Starwood personal card and 10,000 Starwood points plus $65 for the Starwood business card, both of which I think are the best all around mileage cards. Both waive the $45 annual fee for the first year. (So cancel them before that year is up if you don't want to pay the fee.)