Can You Transfer Chase Points to American Airlines?

Last Updated on July 26, 2026 by Daniel Globe

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the most flexible travel rewards currencies available, offering cardholders high-value redemptions for flights, hotel stays, and travel experiences. However, if you are a frequent flyer with American Airlines, you might wonder whether you can transfer your Chase points directly into your AAdvantage loyalty account. While Chase does not offer a direct transfer partnership with American Airlines, there are several highly effective indirect methods and workarounds to book American Airlines flights using your Chase points.

Understanding the Chase Ultimate Rewards Program

The Chase Ultimate Rewards program allows cardholders to earn valuable points on everyday purchases across several popular credit cards. Points can be earned rapidly through primary cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, as well as no-annual-fee cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases, plus 2x points on travel. When paired with cash-back cards in the Freedom family, cardholders can pool their rewards into a premium Sapphire account to unlock 1:1 transfer capabilities to various airline and hotel partners.

Overview of the American Airlines AAdvantage Program

The AAdvantage program is the loyalty framework for American Airlines, one of the world’s largest carriers. Founded in 1981, it allows members to earn miles for flights, credit card spending, hotel stays, and retail purchases, which can be redeemed for flights, cabin upgrades, and partner awards.

American Airlines is a key member of the Oneworld alliance, which includes global carriers such as British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Qantas. Because alliance members share award availability and reciprocal loyalty privileges, you can use miles from one Oneworld partner to book award seats on another partner airline, including American Airlines.

Can You Transfer Chase Points to American Airlines?

Direct transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to American Airlines AAdvantage are not possible. Chase does not list American Airlines among its direct airline transfer partners. However, you can easily circumvent this limitation by utilizing partner transfer routes or redeeming points through Chase’s booking portal.

How to Book American Airlines Flights Using Chase Points

Method 1: The Oneworld Avios Transfer Strategy (Recommended)

The most lucrative way to book American Airlines flights with Chase points is by transferring points at a 1:1 ratio to a Oneworld partner that shares the Avios loyalty currency—most notably British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus.

1. Find Award Availability: Log into your British Airways Executive Club account and search for your desired American Airlines flight route. Make sure an award seat (Saver level) is available for partner booking.
2. Transfer Chase Points: Log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, navigate to “Transfer to Travel Partners,” select British Airways or Iberia, enter your frequent flyer number, and transfer the required points in increments of 1,000. Transfers are typically instant.
3. Book the Flight: Return to the British Airways or Iberia portal and complete your award ticket booking on the American Airlines flight using your newly transferred Avios.

Method 2: Booking via the Chase Travel Portal

If there is no partner award availability, you can use your Chase points directly like cash to book American Airlines flights through the Chase Travel Portal:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® & Ink Business Preferred®: Points are worth 1.25 cents each toward flights. (e.g., a $500 AA ticket costs 40,000 points).
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Points are worth 1.50 cents each toward flights. (e.g., a $500 AA ticket costs 33,333 points).

Booking through the portal means you earn AAdvantage miles and elite status credit on the flight, as it counts as a standard revenue cash ticket paid for with points.

Method 3: The Marriott Bonvoy Bridge

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio, and then transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio. While this results in a loss of point value (30,000 Chase points convert to 10,000 AAdvantage miles), Marriott provides a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred to an airline partner, making it a viable option if you only need a small boost to top off your AAdvantage balance.

Benefits and Limitations of British Airways Avios Redemptions

Using British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights offers distinct advantages and specific limitations depending on the flight distance and route structure.

Key Advantages

• Short-Haul Value: Non-stop flights between major domestic hubs (e.g., Miami to the Caribbean, or Charlotte to New York) are often sweet spots in the distance-based chart.
• No Cancelation Penalty for Taxes: On domestic AA award bookings, taxes are typically just $5.60 each way. If you cancel, you only forfeit the $5.60 in taxes while receiving all your Avios back.

Key Limitations

• Per-Segment Pricing: Connecting flights cost more because British Airways prices every leg individually. A connecting flight with two segments will require two separate award charges.
• Saver Space Required: American Airlines only makes “MileSAAver” or lowest-level award space accessible to Oneworld partner programs. If AA only offers peak Web Special awards on its own site, those seats will not show up on British Airways.

By using Oneworld transfer partners strategically, smart travelers can effectively use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to fly on American Airlines while saving thousands of points on short-haul routes.

Alternatives to Chase Points for American Airlines Miles

If your primary travel goal is accumulating American Airlines AAdvantage miles directly, consider credit card rewards programs that feature direct 1:1 transfers to American Airlines:

• Citi ThankYou® Rewards: Select Citi cards allow direct transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage.
• Bilt Rewards: Bilt Points transfer 1:1 directly to American Airlines AAdvantage.
• Co-branded AA Credit Cards: Citi and Barclays issue dedicated AAdvantage credit cards that earn AA miles directly on everyday purchases.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Transferring Chase Points to American Airlines

Although you cannot transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly into an American Airlines AAdvantage account, you are far from out of options. By leveraging Oneworld alliance partners like British Airways and Iberia, or by booking tickets directly through the Chase Travel Portal, Chase cardholders can easily use their points to secure seats on American Airlines flights.

Before moving any rewards, compare award space across partner sites and evaluate total ticket costs in the Chase portal to ensure you get the absolute highest value from your hard-earned Chase points.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Chase Ultimate Rewards Official Portal — Partner transfer directory and redemption terms.
2. American Airlines AAdvantage Program — Alliance rules and partner award guidelines.
3. British Airways Executive Club — Avios redemption tables for Oneworld flights.
4. Marriott Bonvoy Points Transfer — Hotel-to-airline partner conversion ratios.