Key Points

• Bilt and Rove are emerging as top-tier transferable points programs with expanding partner networks and aggressive transfer bonuses.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards faces pressure from Hyatt's May 2026 devaluation, reducing value from its historically best transfer partner.
• American Express Membership Rewards is losing ground due to weak airline partners (especially Delta) and fewer transfer bonuses than competitors.

Introduction

The transferable points playbook that worked in 2024 and 2025 is already outdated. In May 2026, the points and miles landscape is experiencing a strategic shift that demands your attention. Programs that seemed unshakeable are showing cracks, while newer players are delivering surprising value. If you're still operating under the assumption that Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards are the only games in town, you're missing opportunities and holding depreciating assets.

The old strategy was simple: accumulate flexible currency, transfer only when you see award space, hedge against airline and hotel devaluations. That strategy still works, but the currencies themselves are now moving in different directions. Some programs are adding partners and value, while others are losing their edge or introducing new risks. Here's what's changing and what you need to do about it.

The Declining Giants: Chase and Amex Face Headwinds

Let's address the elephant in the room. American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards have dominated the transferable points conversation for years, and they're still valuable. But their trajectories are concerning.

American Express is trending down because their partner network includes too many low-value options. Their biggest transfer partner is Delta SkyMiles, which remains one of the least valuable frequent flyer programs worldwide. Delta's dynamic pricing often requires absurd point totals for premium cabin redemptions, and they tax non-cardholders with higher award prices. Yes, Amex has Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and various Avios programs, which keeps it relevant. But ANA Mileage Club (once a unique high-value partner) has been significantly devalued, and Amex isn't running the generous transfer bonuses they used to offer.

The American Express Platinum Card deserves its reputation for excellent statement credits and benefits, but you shouldn't be spending significant amounts on it for points earning unless you're buying airfare or hitting specific credit categories.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is vulnerable because it's been too dependent on World of Hyatt as its premium transfer partner. Hyatt's May 20, 2026 devaluation is cutting the value of Chase's best redemption option. The changes to United MileagePlus (requiring a United credit card to get the best value) represent a strategic failure—Chase hasn't negotiated equivalent treatment for their own premium cardmembers. If you're holding a Chase Sapphire Reserve at a $795 annual fee and spending $75,000 per year to earn status with IHG, Southwest, and Hyatt, you should be getting United's best award pricing too.

Chase will defend their currency (they've proven this by paying United more mid-contract in 2020), but the current situation exposes strategic weakness. Understanding how to transfer Chase points to maximize value has become more complex as partner dynamics shift.

Capital One and Citi: Holding Steady with Caveats

Capital One Venture continues to be reliable but unexciting. They haven't done much to improve the value proposition, but they also haven't lost ground. The challenge with Capital One is that many of their better transfer partners require less than 1:1 ratios, which diminishes the psychological appeal even when transfer bonuses bring the effective value back close to par. Understanding Capital One miles and their transfer options helps you evaluate whether the program fits your strategy.

The Capital One Venture X remains an excellent card to hold for lounge access (the Capital One Landings in New York and DC are legitimately great), and the card pays for itself after the first year with travel portal credits and anniversary points. Capital One has EVA Air, Japan Airlines, and solid point-sharing capabilities, plus repeated JAL transfer bonuses. It's stable, which in today's environment counts for something. Read our full analysis on whether the Venture X is worth it for your situation.

Citi ThankYou Points rocketed up in value with the addition of American Airlines AAdvantage transfers, but momentum has stalled. They've cut back transfers to Preferred Hotels and Choice Privileges (admittedly niche, but still losses). The excitement around Strata Premier and AAdvantage needs to be maintained with additional partner additions to sustain interest. Our guide on understanding Citi ThankYou Points covers the current partner landscape and optimization strategies.

Wells Fargo: Rising from a Low Base

Wells Fargo Autograph deserves more attention than it gets. They've added valuable partners including Wyndham (1:2 ratio), Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and already had Choice (1:2). Yes, they still lack unique high-value airline partners and don't run the aggressive transfer bonuses you see elsewhere. But for someone building a diversified points portfolio, Wells Fargo is moving in the right direction from a low base.

The New Power Players: Bilt and Rove

Here's where things get interesting. Two programs are demonstrating aggressive growth and delivering outsized value in 2026.

Bilt Rewards has the most valuable points in the market—and it's not even close. The Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee, earns 1x points on rent payments (without transaction fees), and 3x on dining. The Bilt Palladium Card offers the strongest points-earning rate for actual spend of any premium card, with the ability to earn up to 3.3 points per dollar on most spending when you optimize rent payments and category bonuses.

Bilt runs Rent Day transfer bonuses up to 125%, which effectively multiplies your earning rate. Their transfer partner list reads like a greatest hits album: Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles & Smiles, United MileagePlus, Avianca LifeMiles, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Emirates Skywards, World of Hyatt, and more. They've got the best Star Alliance, oneworld, and hotel options. You can also redeem through their portal at 1.25 cents per point.

The skepticism about Bilt's long-term viability is understandable (how sustainable is their business model?), but right now they're delivering more value per point than any competitor. Compare this to traditional programs in our analysis of whether travel credit cards are worth it.

Rove Miles is the dark horse showing serious momentum. They've rapidly added Japan Airlines (1:1), SAS (1:1), Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada Aeroplan, Lufthansa Miles & More, Air India, and Air France-KLM. Their transfer bonuses have been unusually aggressive, including a 50% Japan Airlines bonus.

Rove's challenge is they don't have a credit card, which limits their reach. Their value proposition comes from an unusually strong shopping portal and generous points-earning on hotel bookings (including prepaid bookings that earn loyalty points in hotel programs). They even release points immediately on prepaid hotel bookings, letting you book flights with points you earned from booking the hotel for the same trip.

Rove has to deliver more value than established programs because they're new and don't have a captive customer base. That competitive pressure works in your favor. Their shopping portal often beats competitors, making it worth checking even if Rove isn't your primary points currency.

Strategic Implications: What This Means for Your Points Portfolio

The analysis above leads to some uncomfortable questions about conventional wisdom. Do you still need to focus primarily on Chase and Amex? Can you build a complete points strategy around just Bilt and Rove?

The answer is yes—with caveats. Between Bilt and Rove, you have access to excellent Star Alliance partners (United, Aeroplan, Turkish, Lufthansa, SAS), strong oneworld options (Alaska, JAL, Cathay Pacific), good SkyTeam coverage (Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic), and top hotel partners (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG). The main gap is EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, which offers award space to its own members that isn't available to Star Alliance partners. That's a niche loss.

For most travelers, a Bilt-plus-Rove strategy covers 90% of your redemption needs. You'd supplement with specific airline or hotel cards for loyalty benefits and bonus categories, but you wouldn't necessarily need to accumulate large Chase or Amex balances.

Action Steps: How to Adjust Your Strategy

Immediate priorities:

If you're sitting on Chase Ultimate Rewards and planning any Hyatt redemptions, book them before the May 20 devaluation. Globalist members can use Points Advance to lock in current pricing even if you don't have enough points yet (you need points at least 7 days before check-in). The trick: make a dummy Hyatt booking to drain your points balance, then call to make the Points Advance reservation you actually want.

If you don't have a Bilt Mastercard, get one. There's no annual fee, so there's zero downside. Even if you don't maximize the rent payment feature, the 3x dining earn and elite transfer partners make it valuable.

Open a Rove Miles account now. Use their shopping portal for purchases you're making anyway. The points earn quickly, and their transfer bonuses can multiply value significantly.

Medium-term adjustments:

Evaluate whether you're overweighted in Chase or Amex points. If you're holding six-figure balances in either program, consider diversifying. That doesn't mean close your cards or stop earning entirely, but you might shift your primary spend to Bilt Palladium or use targeted category bonuses rather than accumulating more speculative value. If you're considering a new Chase card, compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred versus Reserve to determine which annual fee structure works best for your earning and redemption patterns.

For Chase specifically, watch how they respond to the Hyatt devaluation. If they negotiate better United redemption rates for Ultimate Rewards cardmembers or add compelling new transfer partners, that changes the calculus. Chase has historically defended their currency value, so don't write them off entirely.

For American Express, the value proposition increasingly rests on the Amex Platinum Card benefits (lounge access, credits, travel protections) rather than the earning and transferring of Membership Rewards points. If you're holding Platinum for the credits and using it strategically for airfare purchases, that's fine. Just don't convince yourself that accumulating massive MR balances is optimal strategy in 2026.

Long-term perspective:

The transferable points landscape will continue evolving. New programs will emerge, existing programs will adjust, and the relative value will keep shifting. The hedge against devaluation isn't just holding flexible currency—it's holding multiple flexible currencies across different ecosystems.

Build your strategy around these principles: diversify across multiple programs, take advantage of aggressive transfer bonuses when they appear, transfer only when you've identified specific award space, and stay informed about program changes. The specific programs in your portfolio matter less than your ability to adapt when the landscape shifts.

Conclusion

The transferable points playbook is changing faster than many enthusiasts realize. Bilt and Rove are delivering exceptional value right now, while Chase and Amex face strategic challenges that could diminish their traditional advantages. Capital One and Citi remain solid middle-of-the-pack options, and Wells Fargo is improving from a low base.

You don't need to abandon Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards entirely, but you should stop treating them as the automatic default choice. Diversify your points portfolio, take advantage of the aggressive value propositions from newer programs, and stay flexible. Whether you're transferring Chase points to United or exploring new transfer partners, the goal isn't to hold the "best" points—it's to hold the points that will get you on the flights and into the hotels you actually want to book.

This article contains affiliate links. If you apply through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which helps us continue sharing points and miles strategies with the community.