Free interactive tool
Which Bank's Points Should You Transfer for This Award?
When an award can be paid from more than one bank, send the points that cost you least per program point: your value for that bank’s point divided by what one point becomes in the program. This calculator prices one award from every Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One and Bilt Rewards balance you enter, at each one’s printed ratio, your Citi card tier, any transfer bonus running today and Amex’s fee on U.S. airlines, then tells you which bank to send from, or how to split the transfer when no single balance covers it.
The formula
rate = program points per bank point × (1 + bonus running today) points to send = (award − program points you hold) ÷ rate, rounded up to the transfer step cost = points to send × your ¢ per bank point ÷ 100 (+ Amex fee: $0.0006 a point, max $99, Delta and JetBlue) send first from = the bank with the lowest cost per program point
The value you give each bank’s point decides the answer as much as the ratio does. If you would otherwise spend Amex points as a 0.6¢ statement credit, they are cheaper to give up than Chase points you could cash out at 1¢, even at the same 1:1 ratio.
Run your numbers
In brackets: who transfers there, from each one's own partner page.
From the program's own award search.
Only the shortfall needs transferring.
To check the award against paying cash.
Paid on top of the points either way.
Leave blank if you don't hold them.
Chase: 1.0¢ as cash back or standard Chase Travel.
Leave blank if you don't hold them.
Amex: 1.0¢ on flights via Amex Travel, 0.6¢ as a statement credit.
Leave blank if you don't hold them.
Citi Travel pays 1.0¢ on every card Citi lists.
Leave blank if you don't hold them.
Capital One publishes no fixed rate; 1.0¢ is an example.
Leave blank if you don't hold them.
Bilt Rewards: 1.0¢ is an example; enter what your Bilt points are worth to you.
| From | 1,000 become | Points to send | Your balance covers it? | Cost at your value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase → Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1,000 | 50,000 | no, 10,000 short | $500.00 |
| Amex → Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1,000 | 50,000 | no, 20,000 short | $500.00 |
| Citi → Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 700 | 72,000 | no, 12,000 short | $720.00 |
Ratios and bonuses are each bank’s or Bilt’s own printed figures (dates on the transfer matrix); a bonus counts only while its window is open. The pre-filled award, fares and balances are a hypothetical example.
Worked example (hypothetical numbers)
A Flying Blue award costs 50,000 miles + $220; the same flight is $1,050 in cash. You hold 40,000 Chase points, 30,000 Amex points and 60,000 Citi points on a Double Cash, and value each at 1¢ (hypothetical numbers, not a quote).
- Chase and Amex both send Flying Blue 1:1: 50,000 points each, $500 of value. Citi’s lower-tier rate is 700 miles per 1,000, so the same award takes 72,000 Citi points ($720).
- No single balance covers 50,000 at 1:1, so the calculator fills it from the cheapest banks: 40,000 Chase plus 10,000 Amex. Both land in the same Flying Blue account.
- Against the cash fare, the award returns (1,050 − 220) ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 1.66¢ a point, above the 1¢ you put on them, so the award beats paying cash.
Change Amex to 0.6¢ (its statement-credit rate) and the order flips: 30,000 Amex plus 20,000 Chase, $380 of value instead of $500.
When should you not follow the cheapest bank?
- Keep the points you can use more widely. If two banks cost about the same, spend the one with fewer other uses for you. Among the banks, Chase alone reaches United, Southwest and Hyatt, Amex alone reaches Delta, ANA and Hilton, and Citi alone reaches American; Bilt Rewards also reaches United, Southwest, Hyatt and Hilton, and is the only list in this calculator that reaches Alaska’s Atmos Rewards. The transfer partner matrix shows which programs sit on only one list, and the coverage tool scores which currencies reach the programs you book.
- Never transfer part of an award. If your balances fall short, the calculator says so. Points sent to a program cannot come back, and a half-funded award strands them.
- Two-step routes are not modelled. Chase, Amex, Capital One and Bilt reach British Airways directly; Citi reaches Avios only through Qatar Airways, which the Avios row counts because British Airways lets Avios move between those programs at the same value. Routes through a hotel program, such as Marriott Bonvoy points into airline miles, lose value and are left out.
- Rates change on dated days. Chase moves World of Hyatt to 4:3 for Sapphire Preferred accounts opened before June 15, 2026 after September 30, 2026; Citi’s 30% JAL and 25% Avianca bonuses end October 24, 2026. The calculator counts a bonus only inside its window.
- Citi pooling is not modelled. The Citi rate follows the card you pick. Whether points combined from another Citi card transfer at the full rate is a question for your own Citi transfer screen.
Where the ratios come from
Every ratio, transfer step and bonus comes from the bank’s own partner page, the same data as the transfer partner matrix:
- Chase, Transfer credit card points with Chase Ultimate Rewards, checked 2026-09-25; next check 2026-12-25.
- American Express, Membership Rewards transfer partners, checked 2026-09-26; next check 2026-12-26.
- Citi ThankYou, Points Transfer partner listing, checked 2026-09-25; next check 2026-10-24.
- Capital One, Miles Transfer Partners (page dated Jan 29, 2026), checked 2026-09-25; next check 2026-12-25.
- Bilt Rewards, Transfer partners (each partner's own page and terms), checked 2026-09-27; next check 2026-12-27.
The default point values are the fixed rates each bank publishes, from the Points Value Index (checked September 15, 2026): Chase cash back 1¢, Amex flights through Amex Travel 1¢ (statement credit 0.6¢), Citi Travel 1¢. Capital One publishes no fixed rate, so its 1¢ is an example to replace with the rate on your own rewards screen, and the same goes for Bilt’s 1¢. Bilt’s minimums and its Marriott bonus (5,000 extra points per 20,000 sent in one transfer) are shown as notes, not counted. Amex’s fee is from its transfer page and its Membership Rewards terms (last updated September 2026).