Transfer Partner Optimizer

Given award flight prices (from seats.aero or manual input) and your transferable point balances, find the cheapest path to book.

No API key needed. Uses local JSON data files.

Data Files

File	Purpose
data/transfer-partners.json	Credit card → loyalty program transfer ratios
data/points-valuations.json	CPP valuations per program (floor/ceiling from TPG, UP, OMAAT, VFTW)
data/partner-awards.json	Which programs can book which airlines

When to Use

• User has award availability (from seats.aero cached search, live search, or manual input)
• User wants to know "which of my points should I use?"
• User wants to compare the effective cost across their transferable currencies
• User asks about transfer partners for a specific airline or program

Workflow

Step 0: Check Current Transfer Bonuses (Always)

Before recommending any transfer, load the transfer-bonuses skill and check data/transfer-bonuses.json for active bonuses on the relevant currency-to-program pair. A 30% bonus turns a 1:1 ratio into 1:1.3, which can flip the cheapest-currency calculation in Step 3 entirely. Bonuses also have expiration dates that affect timing decisions.

Step 1: Get Award Availability

Use seats.aero (API or web) to search for award flights. Each result includes:

• Source (the loyalty program: "united", "aeroplan", "flyingblue", etc.)
• Points cost per cabin (e.g., 55,000 business)

Step 2: Map Seats.aero Sources to Transfer Partners

Seats.aero source names map to transfer-partners.json keys:

Seats.aero Source	Transfer Partner Key	Programs That Transfer In
united	united	Chase UR (1:1), Bilt (1:1)
aeroplan	aeroplan	Chase UR (1:1), Amex MR (1:1), Bilt (1:1), Capital One (1:1)
flyingblue	flying_blue	Chase UR (1:1), Amex MR (1:1), Bilt (1:1), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1), Wells Fargo (1:1)
american	american	Citi TY (1:1)
alaska	alaska_hawaiian	Bilt (1:1)
virginatlantic	virgin_atlantic	Chase UR (1:1), Amex MR (1:1), Bilt (1:1), Citi TY (1:1), Wells Fargo (1:1 via Virgin Red)
delta	delta	Amex MR (1:1)
emirates	emirates	Bilt (1:1), Amex MR (5:4), Capital One (4:3), Citi TY (5:4)
etihad	etihad	Bilt (1:1), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1)
singapore	singapore	Chase UR (1:1), Amex MR (1:1), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1)
jetblue	jetblue	Chase UR (1:1), Citi TY (1:1), Wells Fargo (1:1), Amex MR (250:200), Capital One (5:3)
qatar	qatar	Amex MR (1:1), Bilt (1:1), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1)
turkish	turkish	Bilt (1:1), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1)
eurobonus	(no direct transfer)	N/A
aeromexico	aeromexico	Amex MR (1:1.6), Capital One (1:1), Citi TY (1:1)
smiles	(no direct transfer)	N/A
finnair	finnair	Capital One (1:1)
lufthansa	(no direct transfer)	N/A
ethiopian	(no direct transfer)	N/A
saudia	(no direct transfer)	N/A

Programs with "no direct transfer" can only be booked by earning miles directly or through alliance partner bookings.

Step 3: Calculate Effective Cost

For each award option, calculate the cost in each transferable currency:

effective_cost = award_miles / transfer_ratio

Example: Aeroplan business at 55,000 miles

• Chase UR: 55,000 / 1.0 = 55,000 UR points
• Amex MR: 55,000 / 1.0 = 55,000 MR points
• Capital One: 55,000 / 1.0 = 55,000 Cap One miles

Example: Emirates business at 72,500 miles

• Bilt: 72,500 / 1.0 = 72,500 Bilt points
• Amex MR: 72,500 / 0.8 = 90,625 MR points (worse ratio)
• Capital One: 72,500 / 0.75 = 96,667 Cap One miles (worst ratio)

Step 4: Calculate Opportunity Cost (CPP)

Use points-valuations.json to assess what each currency is "worth":

opportunity_cost = effective_cost × point_value_cpp / 100

This tells you the "cash equivalent" you're giving up. Lower is better.

Step 5: Present Results

Always use markdown tables.

Program	Miles Needed	Best Currency	Points Needed	CPP Value	Cash Equivalent
Aeroplan	55,000	Chase UR	55,000	1.7¢	$935
United	55,000	Chase UR	55,000	1.7¢	$935
Alaska	37,500	Bilt	37,500	1.7¢	$638
Flying Blue	57,000	Any 1:1	57,000	1.7¢	$969

After the table:

• Recommendation: "Book via Alaska using Bilt points. 37,500 Bilt = $638 opportunity cost vs next best United/Aeroplan at $935."
• Check balance: Verify the user has enough points in the recommended currency.
• Transfer bonus? Check if any current transfer bonuses apply (Roame.travel or TPG bonus tracker).

jq Recipes

Find all currencies that transfer to a program

jq -r '
  to_entries | .[] | select(.key != "_meta") |
  .key as $currency | .value.display_name as $name |
  (.value.airlines // {}) + (.value.hotels // {}) |
  to_entries[] | select(.key == "PROGRAM_KEY") |
  "\($name): \(.value.ratio):1 → \(.value.program)"
' data/transfer-partners.json

Replace PROGRAM_KEY with the key (e.g., united, aeroplan, flying_blue).

Calculate effective costs for an award

# Given: 55000 miles via aeroplan
PROGRAM="aeroplan"
MILES=55000
jq -r --arg prog "$PROGRAM" --argjson miles $MILES '
  to_entries | .[] | select(.key != "_meta") |
  .key as $currency | .value.display_name as $name |
  ((.value.airlines // {}) + (.value.hotels // {}))[$prog] // null |
  select(. != null) |
  "\($name): \(($miles / .ratio) | floor) points (ratio \(.ratio):1)"
' data/transfer-partners.json

Find cheapest path for multiple award options

# Given: united at 55000, aeroplan at 55000, alaska at 37500
echo '[
  {"program": "united", "miles": 55000},
  {"program": "aeroplan", "miles": 55000},
  {"program": "alaska_hawaiian", "miles": 37500}
]' | jq -r --slurpfile tp data/transfer-partners.json '
  .[] | .program as $prog | .miles as $miles |
  ($tp[0] | to_entries | .[] | select(.key != "_meta") |
    .value.display_name as $name |
    ((.value.airlines // {}) + (.value.hotels // {}))[$prog] // null |
    select(. != null) |
    {currency: $name, program: $prog, miles: $miles, points_needed: (($miles / .ratio) | floor), ratio: .ratio}
  )
' | jq -s 'sort_by(.points_needed)'

Cross-Alliance Optimization

Sometimes the cheapest path involves booking through a different program than the obvious one. Check data/partner-awards.json for cross-alliance highlights:

• Virgin Atlantic → ANA: 52.5K business from West Coast. Cheaper than any Star Alliance program.
• Etihad → American Airlines: Fixed chart often beats AA's dynamic pricing.
• Flying Blue → Delta: Often cheaper than SkyMiles, plus free stopovers.
• Alaska → Starlux: Only points booking option for Starlux.

Transfer Timing Risks

Points transfers are irreversible. Timing is the most common cause of lost awards. Transfer only after you've confirmed the exact award, and only when you're ready to ticket immediately.

Most transfers are instant, 24/7 — a handful are not

Instant transfers post within minutes, any day of the week including weekends and holidays (they run over an API, not a business-day batch). Only the slow programs below are exposed to weekend/holiday delay. Do not assume a transfer will land in time for a same-day booking unless it is on the instant list.

Per-program transfer speeds

Program	Speed	Notes
Aeroplan	Instant	Any day, via API.
Flying Blue	Instant	Amex and Chase both post instantly.
United MileagePlus	Instant	Chase, Bilt.
Hyatt	Instant	Chase, Bilt.
Virgin Atlantic	Instant	Amex/Chase; rarely up to 48h.
BA / Iberia / Aer Lingus Avios	Instant	Pools instantly across the Avios ecosystem. Lowest-risk transfer.
Qatar Avios	Instant	Balance display can lag — re-login to see it.
Emirates Skywards	Instant	Occasionally 24h from Amex.
JetBlue TrueBlue	Instant	Poor ratios (Cap One 5:3, Amex/Citi 5:4).
Cathay Asia Miles	Instant from Amex; 24h from Capital One
Etihad Guest	Instant from Capital One	Amex path ended June 30, 2026.
Avianca LifeMiles	Instant from Cap One/Citi	Amex posts instantly but the miles lock until the next day (Colombia time) — do not use the Amex path for a same-day booking.
ANA Mileage Club	~48 hours (up to 3 days)	Amex is the only path. Never same-day.
Singapore KrisFlyer	Amex instant; Cap One up to 48h; Chase 1-2 days; Citi up to 5 business days	Transfer only after space is confirmed.
Turkish Miles & Smiles	Bilt near-instant; Cap One ~24h; Citi up to 5 business days	No Amex or Chase path.
Marriott Bonvoy	~36 hours (up to a week)	Slowest mainstream target. Never transfer speculatively.
Atmos Rewards (was Alaska Mileage Plan)	Bilt instant; Marriott 3:1 ~2 days	No Amex, Chase, or Capital One path.

Weekend and holiday delay applies only to the slow programs

The instant programs above are unaffected by weekends. For the slow ones — ANA, Singapore (via Chase/Citi), Turkish (via Citi), Marriott, and Atmos (via Marriott) — a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday submission can add days. If you must use one and seats are at risk, transfer before 5pm ET on the last business day before the weekend or holiday, not the night before.

New loyalty accounts

A brand-new loyalty account can have its first transfer delayed or fraud-flagged, and some programs enforce a hard waiting period: JAL blocks transfers for ~60 days after linking some partners, and Iberia Plus requires the account to be 90 days old. Open any new account well in advance — weeks, not days — and confirm the account number and name match your card profile exactly before transferring.

Hold the seat first when the program allows it

Many programs let you place an award on hold before paying, which removes the transfer-timing risk entirely. Load the award-holds skill for current per-program rules before assuming you have to transfer speculatively.

• Holds available (hold first, then transfer): American AAdvantage (24h, free, online self-serve), Lufthansa Miles & More (5 days, phone), Flying Blue (3 days, phone), Cathay Asia Miles (up to 3 days, phone), Turkish Miles & Smiles (2 days), Virgin Atlantic (1-2 days), ANA (2 days, phone), Emirates (1 day, phone), Singapore KrisFlyer (agent discretion). AA's free online hold also works for most partner awards.
• No holds — transfer is speculative: United, Delta, Aeroplan, Atmos (Alaska), British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, Korean, Etihad.

When no hold is available, only transfer once:

1. You've confirmed the exact award on the airline's own booking site (not just seats.aero)
2. You're ready to ticket immediately after the miles land
3. ComputedLastSeen on seats.aero is fresh — a stale cache means the seat may already be gone

Notes

• Transfer ratios rarely change, but verify against issuer websites before large transfers.
• Transfers are irreversible. See Transfer Timing Risks above before committing.
• Some programs run transfer bonuses (10-30% extra). Use the transfer-bonuses skill (live data, weekly auto-refresh) instead of guessing.
• The "best" currency depends on what you have the most of AND what you value it at. A 1:1 transfer from a currency you value at 2.0 cpp costs more in opportunity than a 1:1 from one you value at 1.5 cpp.