Good morning everyone. A few days ago, I got an email from Radisson Rewards about transferring Radisson Rewards Points into airline miles. I figured it would be a bad deal in terms of the value you get from Radisson Rewards Points, but thought it might be useful if you have airline frequent flyer miles expiring soon and need some activity to reset the expiration date. I went through the transfer process to convert 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points into 200 American Airlines miles. Trust me, I know this is a terrible exchange, but it is a very efficient way to keep airline miles from expiring (and I don’t put much value on 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points). I then went even further down the rabbit hole and looked at other hotel programs (Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Wyndham) to see if they offered better value in terms of resetting airline mile expiration dates than Radisson Rewards. Here are my results…
To get started with the conversion of Radisson Rewards Points into airline miles, I started here. As you can see, 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points = 200 airline miles. The transfer ratio is the same regardless of how many Radisson Rewards Points you want to transfer. 10 Radisson Rewards Points = 1 airline mile. According to Frequent Miler’s Reasonable Redemption Values (RRV), 1 Radisson Reward Point is equal to 0.38 cents per point (CPP), which would make 1 airline mile worth 3.8 CPP (which is unrealistically high). But look at it a different way. 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points would be worth $7.60 (2,000 x $0.0038 = $7.60). In reality, I get 40,000 Radisson Rewards Points every year when I pay the $60 annual fee on my US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card, so that comes out to a 0.15 CPP value ($60 / 40,000 = $0.0015). The new calculation would make 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points worth only $3.00 (2,000 x $0.0015 = $3.00). So would you redeem $3.00 in Radisson Rewards Points to reset your frequent flyer miles expiration date?
Here are the 37 airlines that you can convert Radisson Rewards Points into airline miles. I tried to figure out a major airline program that was not accessible to Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, or Citi Thank You and the program that came to mind was American Airlines. I decided to convert 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points into 200 American Airlines miles and document the process.
| Airline | Program Name |
| Aeroméxico | Club Premier |
| Air Astana | Nomad Club |
| Air Baltic | airBaltic Club |
| Air Canada | Aeroplan |
| Air China | PhoenixMiles |
| Air France / KLM | Flying Blue |
| American Airlines | AAdvantage |
| Asiana Airlines | Asiana Club |
| Avianca | LifeMiles |
| British Airways | Executive Club |
| Cathay Pacific | Asia Miles |
| Czech Airlines | OK Plus |
| Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles |
| Emirates | Skywards |
| Ethiopian Airways | Sheba Miles |
| Etihad Airways | Etihad Guest |
| Finnair | Finnair Plus |
| Frontier Airlines | Frontier Miles |
| Gulf Air | Falconflyer |
| Hainan Airlines | Fortune Wings Club |
| Japan Airlines | Mileage Bank |
| Jet Airways | JetPrivilege |
| Kuwait Airways | Oasis Club |
| LATAM | LANPASS |
| Lufthansa | Miles & More |
| Malaysia Airlines | Enrich |
| Oman Air | Sindbad |
| Philippine Airlines | Mabuhay Miles |
| Qantas Airways | Frequent Flyer |
| Qatar Airways | Privilege Club |
| SAS Airlines | EuroBonus |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | Alfursan |
| Singapore Airlines | KrisFlyer |
| South African Airways | Voyager |
| Southwest Airlines | Rapid Rewards |
| Turkish Airways | Miles&Smiles |
| United Airlines | MileagePlus |
To get started, I clicked here and selected American Airlines from the drop down menu.
Here are the terms and conditions of the conversion:
- If you elect to redeem points to airline miles/points with participating airline partners you will be required to verify your airline program membership information. The name on your
- Radisson Rewards account must be identical to the name on your airline program account.
- The points will be subtracted from your account at the time of request and it may take 4-6 weeks for the miles to post to your airline account.
- You must have sufficient points in your account at the time of request.
- When you select Airlines Miles/Points as your earning preference in your profile your entire balance of points and all future points earned will automatically be redeemed in 10,000 point increments for airline miles with the airline you have selected. All airline miles with this auto redemption option will be redeemed at a 10:1 ratio.
- Any requests for changes, reissuance or re-credit of points after submitting the request are not allowed. Airline miles are non-refundable.
- Members may only redeem up to a maximum of 1,000,000 points per calendar year for airline miles.
- The redemption for miles is subject to all Radisson Rewards program terms and conditions and the terms and conditions of the applicable airline program.
I then entered my American Airlines frequent flyer account number, clicked the plus button next to the 200 mile option, and clicked the Continue button.
I reviewed the order, checked the box, and clicked the Submit button.
My conversion order was submitted. I was told that conversion would take 5-7 days, but may take up to 4-6 weeks.
I then checked my Radisson Rewards account activity.
I received an email shortly after the order was placed.
I’m not exactly sure when the conversion was completed, but sometime between March 5 and March 10. I think American Airlines backdated the date the miles posted based on when the transaction occurred. Either way, I didn’t need the miles to post right away (I wasn’t planning on making an award ticket redemption), I just wanted the miles to post to reset the expiration date. If I value 2,000 Radisson Rewards Points at $3.00, Frequent Miler values 200 American Airlines as $2.80 (200 x $0.014 = $2.80), so the conversion is not as bad as originally thought. Let’s compare the Radisson Rewards conversion with similar conversions from Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Wyndham.
Up first, I could convert 10,000 Hilton Honors Points into 1,500 American Airlines Miles. According to Frequent Miler’s values, 10,000 Hilton Honors Points is worth $45.00 (10,000 x $0.0045 = $45.00) and 1,500 American Airlines miles is worth $21.00 (1,500 x $0.014 = $21.00). Spending $45 in Hilton Honors Points to keep airline miles from expiring is a bit on the pricey side.
Here are the 46 airlines (and Amtrak) that you can convert Hilton Honors Points into miles/points. Some of these conversions might be better or worse, depending on the airline program.
| Airline | Hilton Honors Points | Airline Miles/Points |
| Aeroflot | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Aeroméxico | 25,000 | 6,500 |
| Air Asia | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Air Canada | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Air France / KLM | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Air New Zealand | 5,000 | 10 |
| Alaska Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| American Airlines | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Amtrak | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| All Nippon Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Asiana Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Austrian Airlines | 5,000 | 625 |
| Avianca | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| British Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Cathay Pacific | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Delta Air Lines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Emirates | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Ethiopian Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Etihad Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Eurowings | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| EVA Air | 1,000 | 100 |
| Finnair | 5,000 | 1,000 |
| Frontier Airlines | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Garuda Indonesia | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Hainan Airlines | 25,000 | 10,000 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| IcelandAir | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Japan Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Jet Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| LAN | 25,000 | 6,500 |
| Lufthansa | 5,000 | 625 |
| Malaysia Airlines | 10,000 | 1,200 |
| Philippine Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Qantas Airways | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Qatar Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| SAS Airlines | 8,000 | 1,000 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Singapore Airlines | 4,000 | 500 |
| South African Airways | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Swiss | 5,000 | 625 |
| Turkish Airways | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| United Airlines | 10,000 | 1,000 |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Virgin Australia | 10,000 | 1,500 |
Up next, I could convert 5,000 World of Hyatt Points into 2,000 American Airlines Miles. According to Frequent Miler’s values, 5,000 World of Hyatt Points is worth $87.00 (5,000 x $0.0174 = $87.00) and 2,000 American Airlines miles is worth $28.00 (2,000 x $0.014 = $28.00). Not a very good conversion.
Here are the 27 airlines that you can convert World of Hyatt Points into miles/points. Some of these conversions might be better or worse, depending on the airline program.
| Airline | World of Hyatt Points | Airline Miles/Points |
| Aeromexico | 5,000 | 4,000 |
| Air China | 5,000 | 3,200 |
| Air France | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| All Nippon Airways | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| American Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Asiana Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| British Airways | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Cathay Pacific | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| China Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 5,000 | 3,200 |
| Delta Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Emirates Skywards | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Etihad Airways | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Japan Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Jet Airways | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Korean Air | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| LAN Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Lufthansa | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Qantas Airways | 5,000 | 2,400 |
| Qatar Airways | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Royal Brunei Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Singapore Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Southwest Airlines | 5,000 | 2,400 |
| Thai Airways International | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| United Airlines | 5,000 | 2,000 |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | 5,000 | 3,000 |
Up next, I could convert 10,000 IHG Rewards Club Points into 2,000 American Airlines Miles. According to Frequent Miler’s values, 10,000 IHG Rewards Club Points is worth $57.00 (10,000 x $0.0057 = $57.00) and 2,000 American Airlines miles is worth $28.00 (2,000 x $0.014 = $28.00). Not a very good return either.
Here are the 38 airlines that you can convert IHG Rewards Club Points into miles/points. Some of these conversions might be better or worse, depending on the airline program.
| Airline | IHG Rewards Club Points | Airline Miles/Points |
| Aeroméxico | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Air Canada | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Air China | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Air France / KLM | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Air New Zealand | 10,000 | 25 |
| Alaska Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Alitalia | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| All Nippon Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| American Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Asiana Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Avianca | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| British Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Cathay Pacific | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| China Southern Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Delta Air Lines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| El Al Israel Airlines | 10,000 | 40 |
| Emirates | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Etihad Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Gulf Air | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Hainan Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Iberia Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Japan Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Jet Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| JetBlue | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| LAN | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Lufthansa | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Malaysia Airlines | 10,000 | 1,500 |
| Qantas Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Singapore Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| South African Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| TAP Air Portugal | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Thai Airways | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| United Airlines | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Virgin Australia | 10,000 | 2,000 |
Up next, I could convert 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points into 1,000 American Airlines Miles. According to Frequent Miler’s values, 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points is worth $21.60 (3,000 x $0.0072 = $21.60) and 1,000 American Airlines miles is worth $14.00 (1,000 x $0.014 = $28.00). The values are much closer than other conversions.
Here are the 44 airlines that you can convert Marriott Bonvoy Points into miles/points. Some of these conversions might be better or worse, depending on the airline program.
| Airline | Marriott Bonvoy Points | Airline Miles/Points |
| Aegean Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Aeroflot | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Aeroméxico | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Air Canada | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Air China | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Air France / KLM | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Air New Zealand | 3,000 | 15 |
| Alaska Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Alitalia | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| All Nippon Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| American Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Asiana Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Avianca | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| British Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Cathay Pacific | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| China Southern Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Copa Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Delta Air Lines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Emirates | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Etihad Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Frontier Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Hainan Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Iberia Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Japan Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Jet Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| JetBlue | 3,000 | 500 |
| Korean Air | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| LAN | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| LATAM | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Lufthansa | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Qantas Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Qatar | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Saudia Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Singapore Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| South African Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Southwest Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| TAP Portugal | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Thai Airways | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Turkish Airlines | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| United Airlines | 3,000 | 1,100 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 3,000 | 1,000 |
| Virgin Australia | 3,000 | 1,000 |
Last but not least, I could convert 6,000 Wyndham Rewards Points into 1,200 American Airlines Miles. According to Frequent Miler’s values, 6,000 Wyndham Rewards Points is worth $42.00 (6,000 x $0.0070 = $42.00) and 1,200 American Airlines miles is worth $16.80 (1,200 x $0.014 = $16.80). That is not a very good conversion rate.
Here are the 12 airlines that you can convert Wyndham Rewards Points into miles/points. Some of these conversions might be better or worse, depending on the airline program.
| Airline | Wyndham Rewards Points | Airline Miles/Points |
| Aeroméxico | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Air Canada | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Air China | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| American Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Amtrak | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Avianca | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Frontier Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Hainan Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| Jet Airways | 6,000 | 1,200 |
| United Airlines | 6,000 | 1,200 |
Based on these calculations, here is the order I would use hotel points to convert to airline miles:
- Radisson Rewards ($3.00 in points -> $2.80 in miles -> 93.33% efficient)
- Marriott Bonvoy ($21.60 in points -> $14.00 in miles -> 64.81% efficient)
- IHG Rewards Club ($57.00 in points -> $28.00 in miles -> 49.12% efficient)
- Hilton Honors ($45.00 in points -> $21.00 in miles -> 46.67% efficient)
- Wyndham Rewards ($42.00 in points -> $16.80 in miles -> 40.00% efficient)
- World of Hyatt ($87.00 in points -> $28.00 in miles -> 32.18% efficient)
I’m not sure how strict Radisson Rewards is regarding converting Radisson Rewards Points into an airline account that does not belong to you, but since you can transfer Radisson Rewards Points to other Radisson Rewards members for free, it might make sense to transfer your Radisson Rewards Points to your friend’s Radisson Rewards account and then convert the Radisson Rewards Points into airline miles from their account.
Hopefully I did not lose you along this deep rabbit hole dive. If you have any questions about converting hotel points into airline miles, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Imforma article on something useful to some people that hasn’t been covered to death. Good show!
Thank you, I hope you learned something new :)
Hi Grant,
I usually bought the magazine and it is very cheap ~1000 miles or sometime 500 miles.
Magazines are a pretty good option too.
Great post!
Not long ago I inadvertently let 11,000 Alaska miles expire. I’ve been traveling so much that even though I knew the deadline was approaching, it slipped my mind. I was considering my options to keep those points alive, but converting a few hotel points for even fewer Alaska miles didn’t occur to me. It would have been a good trade off for 10,000 of my many Hilton or IHG points. Oh well, next time I’ll remember.
Thanks Grant!
I hope you learned something new. Did you ever call Alaska and see if they could reinstate your expired miles? I get alerts from Award Wallet when my miles or points are expiring soon. Usually after the second reminder (1 month before expiring), I figure out how to reset the expiration date.
Hi grant. I hope you’re doing well. I actually think this would be the most useful with airlines like Air France who has the most restrictive rules. Have you researched this?
What do you mean “most restrictive rules”? You can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi Thank You Points to reset the expiration date.
That item in their terms that they convert your entire account then doesn’t apply? “When you select Airlines Miles/Points as your earning preference in your profile your entire balance of points and all future points earned will automatically be redeemed in 10,000 point increments for airline miles with the airline you have selected. All airline miles with this auto redemption option will be redeemed at a 10:1 ratio.”
Nope, doesn’t seem like the terms are correct.
A while back I ready a FT report where, to the surprise of a person who did not read them and ended up with a zero account, they were all too correct then!
Yikes, that would be really scary!
That only applies if the member actually changes their earning preference to auto-redeem. If they just perform a manual conversion as per the above article – no issue.
Is there any way to transfer airline miles into hotel points. and how inefficient is that process? e.g., let’s say I want Marriott points – is it less efficient to transfer airline miles (say, AA) than UR into Marriott?
I’m not familiar with converting airline miles into hotel points. I know it’s possible to convert hotel points into airline miles.