What are transferable travel points? If you’ve started learning about travel points, you’ve probably heard the term “transferable points.”
But what does that actually mean? And why do experienced points travellers care so much about them?
In this guide, we’ll break it down in a simple way so you can understand how flexible points work and whether they’re right for you.
What Are Transferable Travel Points?
What Are Transferable Travel Points? These are flexible travel rewards that can be moved from your bank program into airline or hotel loyalty programs.
Instead of being locked into one airline or one booking platform, What Are Transferable Travel Points let you choose where to use your rewards based on your trip.
In Canada, the two main programs that offer What Are Transferable Travel Points are:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- RBC Avion Rewards
These programs are popular because they give you more flexibility when booking travel.
Beginner’s Guide to Amex Membership Rewards
👉 Learn more
Beginner’s Guide to RBC Avion Rewards
👉 Learn more
How Transferable Points Work
When you earn transferable points, you can:
- Keep them in your credit card account
- Transfer them to partner programs when needed
- Redeem them for travel in different ways
For example, you might earn points through Amex Membership Rewards, and later decide to transfer them to Aeroplan when you find a flight you are ready to book.
Unlike fixed-value points, transferable points give you more flexibility in how and where you use your rewards.
What Are Fixed-Value Travel Points?
When Transferable Points Make the Most Sense
Transferable points are especially useful when:
- You want flexibility before deciding how to use your points
- You want access to multiple airline and hotel programs
- Flight prices are high and you want more booking options
- You want the ability to adapt based on your travel plans
Because your points are not tied to a single airline or booking platform, you can choose the program that works best for a specific trip when you’re ready to book.
This flexibility can also give you access to airline partners you may not normally collect points with directly, including international programs and airlines that would otherwise be harder to use regularly in Canada.
Transferable points give you more flexibility and more control over how you book travel.
Instead of being locked into a single airline or booking platform, you can transfer your points to the program that works best for your trip when you’re ready to book.
That added flexibility can give you more booking options and potentially much more value from your everyday spending.
