One of the potential problems with transferring points to airline miles, for some people, is the time it takes; but who should / shouldn’t care?
Great award availability at low rates often doesn’t last long, so it can be stressful to think about what could happen with availability during the time it takes for your transfer miles to arrive, because many transfers aren’t instant. So poof of availability is possible.
Are you quick enough on the “draw” in your particular circumstance?
It’s high noon, let’s swing those saloon doors open and get out on Main Street to find out.
FIRST: Point-Transfer-Friendly Credit Card Partnerships
With speedy points-to-miles transfer credit card partnerships such as Amex Rewards tight integration with Air Canada, British Airways, and Emirates and Chase’s integration with Air France, Virgin Atlantic, and United for example, you subject yourself to virtually no risk when opportunity shows its shiny face.
What’s your risk factor when it comes to transferring points?
the five types of people who have no—or very low—risk of missing award availability, and why
Instant-Transfer Tom
He can transfer credit card points to an airline that turn instantly into miles. He can move forward confidently as long as he has a reservation ready to book as soon as he transfers the points. Below is a chart showing the airlines and points that post points instantly.
Partnerships With No Risk Factor in Transferring Points to Airline Miles
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Award-Hold Harry
He can book and hold award space without having miles in his mileage account, if the hold time an airline will hold a booking (without payment) is the same (or more) than the points transfer credit card time.
So, Harry might focus more on the carriers that will hold a mileage award seat when he doesn’t have the necessary miles in the carrier’s loyalty program to book it (especially if he has few miles and isn’t flexible).
In effect, these carriers are lending him the time to transfer the miles needed. (For more details on What the Humble Pea Can Point Out About Using Miles & Points for Premium Air Travel, go here.)
These award-hold friendly airlines include:
Air France/KLM: Holds free award space on its flights for 48 hours if you call (800-375-8723). For partner flights hold times vary by airline and route.
American: For tickets booked 15 or more days in advance and online, AA usually holds free award space for five days. This perk also applies to partners Airberlin, Alaska, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian, Qantas, and Royal Jordanian Airlines.
Awards on other partner airlines, such as Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific, must be booked by phone. Departures booked within 14 days only net a 24-hour hold option. I find that they can sometimes be more lenient on a hit-or-miss basis.
Korean Air: Holds free award space on Korean flights if you call (800-438-5000), but it varies by each reservation and can be up to a month. No partner award hold offered.
United: Offers the “Fare Lock” option, which, for a fee of about $7 to $20, gives you a hold-time of three or seven days on United-operated flights only, not partner flights.
Virgin Atlantic: Holds award reservations for 48 hours based on inventory and the agent, but it’s available only by calling the mileage desk (800-365-9500). For partner flights, hold times vary by airline and route for up to 48 hours.
Lots-of-Points Lulu
If you have a ton of points like Lulu, don’t worry about longer transfer times because you can find ways to use them in the future when award space changes or another trip comes up. This way, the next time you go to make an award booking you won’t have this problem as you will already have miles in the account. Lulu has no worries. So this report isn’t for her.
Flexible Felicia
She’s flexible. She knows that if an airline she’s looking to book award space with is “wide open”—meaning they have many dates, seats, and flights with award availability—then making the booking after the points have transferred shouldn’t be an issue, as even if availability shifts a bit, her flexibility will help her adjust course and still score the deal, just maybe on a different date. In the real world, “Felicias” tend to be retired folks, business owners, or anyone who has flexibility in the dates they can take vacation time.
Below are some awesome examples of recent FCF Sweet Redeem alerts that Felicia and Friends might take advantage of because they are flexible:
Fly Delta Business Class to Australia Cheap with Delta Miles, Amex or Chase Points
Fly Business Class to Hawaii Easy with American Miles, Amex, Chase and Marriott Points
Fly Delta Business Class to Santiago and Beyond for Only 1,000 Miles More than Coach
Always-Has-Miles Mary
She transfers to airline mileage programs where she always keeps a regular balance anyway, so she’s OK, as she often books with this mileage program. Credit card transfer times—just like for Flexible Felicia and Lots-of-Points Lulu—mean nothing, as her mileage program always has miles and she often transfers just to keep a balance in there.
Here are five types of TRAVELERS that have some risk
No-Instant-Transfer Tom
He transfers points to an airline where points DO NOT post instantly into miles, so he’s in danger of missing out as mileage award space could disappear before his miles even hit his account. Below is a chart showing some major partnerships for which points are NOT posted instantly.
When Transferring Points to Airline Miles Might Have Risk
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No-Award-Hold Hillary
She might miss out on award space if she CANNOT book and hold award space (or the hold is less than the transfer time) without having miles in her mileage account. She might be saying sayonara to a seat as award space can change at any time.
Limited-Points Pete
At any given time, Pete only has enough points for one trip in his account, so he must be careful. Because it’s a one-way street as points cannot be transferred back.
Not-Flexible Francine
She doesn’t have a lot of points, and is not flexible with travel dates. The airline only has limited space for travel dates, so her choices are limited. If she can’t book on the dates she wants, she won’t be able to use the points again, as they cannot be transferred back.
Limited-Award-Space Larry
He is looking to book on an airline that has very limited award availability—meaning for example, only one month with five days—so he’s in the lap of chance as mileage award space can change any time.