Miles & Points for Beginners: Why Flexible Points Matter

In Part 2 of this series, we covered why setting a goal matters – it focuses your credit card strategy and points you toward the right loyalty programs.

Here in Part 3, we shift to the earning side. Specifically, we're looking at transferable points and loyalty program points, and what makes them so powerful.

Loyalty Programs

Nearly every airline and hotel chain runs a loyalty program.

In North America, some of the better-known airline programs include:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• WestJet Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Delta SkyMiles
• American Airlines AAdvantage

And the top hotel loyalty programs:

• Marriott Bonvoy
• Hilton Honors
• World of Hyatt
• IHG One Rewards

If you're newer to the game, the sheer number of programs can feel overwhelming. Every program has different pricing structures, different rules, and different sweet spots.

World of Hyatt, for example, uses a fixed redemption chart that fluctuates slightly between peak and off-peak seasons. Marriott Bonvoy, on the other hand, uses dynamic pricing – the cost for a night rises and falls with demand, and can change from one night to the next.

Aeroplan operates on a hybrid model – dynamic pricing for Air Canada flights, but fixed pricing for partner airlines.

With over 100 loyalty programs worldwide, it's not practical to master them all. The better approach is to focus on a handful of key programs that align with where you want to go.

Pick three or four airline programs, learn their sweet spots, and you'll be well-equipped to book the flights you want at the best price.

So the question becomes: which programs should you focus on?

How to Choose a Loyalty Program

Most airlines belong to one of three major alliances:

• Star Alliance (25 airlines)
• oneworld (15 airlines)
• SkyTeam (18 airlines)

The key benefit: if you have points in one airline's loyalty program, you can generally redeem them for flights on any airline in the same alliance.

Air Canada and United are both in Star Alliance, for example. That means you can redeem Aeroplan points for United flights, and United MileagePlus miles for Air Canada flights.

Award pricing differs between programs, and sometimes it's actually cheaper to book airline A's flight through airline B's loyalty program. This is one of the things that makes the hobby so rewarding once you learn the details.

Here are our top picks for loyalty programs within each alliance, balancing redemption value with how accessible they are from Canada:

• Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles
• oneworld: The British Airways Club, American Airlines AAdvantage, and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue and Delta SkyMiles

Earning points in any of these programs gives you access to premium flights at a steep discount. But no single program does it all – each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Aeroplan, for instance, is excellent for flights within Canada and for long-haul business class to Europe and Asia on partner airlines.

Avios (through The British Airways Club) are great for short-haul flights and for booking oneworld partner Qatar Airways in business class.

To earn points directly in these programs, you typically need to fly with the airline or hold a co-branded credit card. In Canada, earning opportunities are more limited for some programs than others.

Currently, you can get a Canadian co-branded credit card for four of our recommended programs: Aeroplan, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Air France KLM.

To learn more about each program's strengths, weaknesses, and sweet spots, click through to our dedicated guides above.

Now, if you could rack up points in every program, you'd be set. But for most people that's not realistic, especially given the limited earning opportunities in Canada for many of these programs.

There is, however, a way to earn points in Canada that can be transferred to programs across all three alliances. That's where transferable points come in.

Transferable Points Programs

Transferable points are the key to accessing hundreds of airlines across all three alliances – from a single earning source.

In Canada, there are two transferable points currencies: American Express Membership Rewards and RBC Avion.

Both are valuable, but Amex MR in particular stands out – it has significantly more transfer partners and redemption options.

You earn MR points through welcome bonuses and everyday spending on American Express credit cards.

There are many ways to redeem MR points, but the best use – by far – is transferring them to airline loyalty programs.

In Canada, you can transfer MR points to the following airline programs:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France KLM Flying Blue
• The British Airways Club (Avios)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Delta SkyMiles
• Etihad Guest

If you had to pick just three (one from each alliance), we'd go with Aeroplan (Star Alliance), Flying Blue (SkyTeam), and The British Airways Club (oneworld). Together, they give you access to award flights on dozens of airlines worldwide.

By earning MR points alone, you gain access to all three major alliances – and that's the whole point of transferable points.

There are also airlines outside the three alliances that you can still reach through partnerships. Etihad Airways, for example, isn't in any alliance, but you can book Etihad flights with Aeroplan points.

Here's another way to think about it: earning one MR point is functionally the same as earning one Aeroplan point, or one Avios, or one Flying Blue mile – because they all transfer at a 1:1 ratio.

But MR points are actually better than any single loyalty currency, because you get to choose where to send them after the fact. You're never locked in.

To illustrate: say you want to fly to Europe in business class this summer.

You compare availability across programs and find that Aeroplan has nothing – but Flying Blue just released discounted business class seats through their monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards.

If all your points were locked in Aeroplan, you'd be stuck. With MR points, you simply transfer what you need to Flying Blue and book the flight.

That flexibility is what makes transferable points the most valuable currency in the game.

Why Not Earn Both?

MR points may be the most powerful single currency, but you don't have to limit yourself to one bank or one program.

You can earn transferable points and co-branded loyalty program points at the same time. By doing this, you're building balances in multiple programs at once – instead of putting all your eggs in one basket.

The best credit card strategy is to build a small portfolio of cards over time. Stay tuned for the next instalment, where we'll walk through welcome bonuses, earning rates, and how to decide which cards to add to your collection.

Conclusion

Every loyalty program has its own strengths and sweet spots. The challenge for beginners is that earning directly in each one is difficult, especially in Canada.

That's where transferable points – particularly American Express Membership Rewards – change the equation. With a single earning source, you can access all three major airline alliances and dozens of airlines worldwide.

The flexibility to choose where your points go after you've earned them is what makes transferable points the most powerful tool in the game.