Best International Flights Point Systems

American Express has more and often better international flight options through its partners than Chase, who usually tops most transferrable points system rankings. The main drawback with Amex is that their points have been harder to earn, historically. The gap has narrowed with Chase’s recent restrictions on signup bonuses though, and Amex offers huge bonuses on several of their cards. Amex shares several partners with Chase, including Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, and Iberia. It also adds high-value partners that Chase does not. ANA offers excellent sweet spots to Japan in all classes, and Singapore Airlines provides strong opportunities to Southeast Asia. Avianca Lifemiles gives you solid pricing and availability to South America, and you can transfer directly to Qatar for premium award options. The range of possibilities is extensive, and if you can supplement Chase Ultimate Rewards with Amex Membership Rewards, you will unlock a wide set of international airfare options.

Chase’s flexibility and breadth of transfer partners put it close to the top of the list. Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to all three airline alliances and offers strong international sweet spots. You can book premium flights to Europe and South America through Air Canada and United, or find cheap economy redemptions to Europe through Virgin Atlantic and Iberia. Flying Blue promos also offer solid deals to Europe. JetBlue adds partner opportunities to Asia. You can still earn plenty of Chase Ultimate Rewards points through a variety of credit cards, although recent changes make the system a bit less lucrative than before. Chase remains one of the most reliable option for international redemptions across the globe. You can also get solid value through the Chase travel portal if you hold a Sapphire Reserve card, where Points Boost redemptions can reach 2 cents per point. Another thing that puts Chase behind Amex when it comes to international airfare is that we usually recommend saving Chase Ultimate Rewards for transfers to Hyatt. A secondary use would be topping off for airline redemptions.

Air Canada can cover the globe when it comes to international airfare redemptions. Its partner network is massive, with Star Alliance coverage to almost every region. You can redeem for flights to Asia with Singapore, ANA, and EVA; to Europe with Lufthansa, United, Swiss, and TAP; to Central and South America with Copa and Avianca; to the Middle East with EgyptAir and Ethiopian; and to South Africa with South African Airways. The credit card partner list is just as impressive, since you can transfer from Chase, Amex, Capital One, and Bilt at 1:1 ratios. The only drawback is the limited number of co-branded cards. With so many transferable partners, though, you should have little trouble building Aeroplan points for excellent international redemptions.

Citi has been climbing the ladder of transferable points programs, giving Chase and Amex a run for their money. Their international airfare options are strong, and they share many of the same partners as both Chase and American Express. All three programs transfer to JetBlue, Flying Blue, Virgin, and Singapore, and each airline offers solid international opportunities. Citi also shares Qatar with Amex and EVA with Capital One, giving you unique paths to premium redemptions with each. What sets Citi apart is its partnership with American, since Citi is the only transferable currency that transfers to AAdvantage. American provides strong options to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East through its broad partner network. The main drawback with Citi is the limited number of partner-transfer credit cards, as only the two Citi Strata cards transfer to all partners at the best rates.

American offers a strong set of international options through its oneworld partners. You can book flights to Europe for a low number of miles in both economy and business, and the taxes stay at $5.60 as long as you fly on American or Finnair and avoid British Airways. You can also fly American to Japan in economy for slightly more miles than ANA but with far lower taxes, or book business or first class on Japan Airlines when award space appears. Travelers heading to Australia in business class have several paths. Qantas and Fiji require fewer miles, though availability is limited, while flying on American costs slightly more but offers a better chance at finding saver space. American has five co-branded cards to help you earn miles, with additional top-up potential from Citi Strata cards.

Atmos has become a strong contender over the past couple years, especially after the Alaska–Hawaiian merger. They offer solid international options on Alaska and Hawaiian metal as well as through partners. You can fly to Seoul with competitive pricing in both economy and business, with the best availability from the West Coast and very low taxes. There is also strong coverage to Europe on partners like American, Finnair, and Aer Lingus, with appealing business class rates. The main challenge with Atmos is earning points, since they do not partner with major transferable currencies other than Bilt. They do offer strong co-branded cards with solid bonuses, but those will only take you so far.

Qatar is a strong international airfare option for several reasons. They offer one of the best premium products in the world, and finding saver award space is often easiest directly through their program rather than through a partner. They also use Avios as their currency, and you can freely move Avios between all seven airlines that use it. Qatar has only two co-branded credit cards, but you can transfer points from several major systems. Amex, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt all transfer to Qatar at 1:1 ratios. While Chase does not transfer directly, you can move Chase points to another Avios-earning partner, then shift those Avios to Qatar. The biggest drawback is the taxes on award flights, both on Qatar metal and partners. You can still get strong value on premium cabin redemptions, but the extra cash cost is worth noting if you prefer to keep out-of-pocket expenses low.

United offers solid options to Europe on both their own metal and partner airlines, in economy and premium cabins. You can also find competitive redemptions to Asia under the same parameters, with good coverage on United and through Star Alliance partners. For those seeking premium cabins, United’s Polaris business class is an excellent product for transatlantic and transpacific flights. South America is another strong region, with good availability on United metal and on partner Avianca. United has six co-branded cards to help you build miles, and Chase transfers to United for easy top-ups. You can also transfer points from Bilt.