Bilt Rewards Adds Transfers To Preferred Hotels: Useful, But Needs A Bonus To Shine

Bilt Rewards has added Preferred Hotels & Resorts Prefer Hotel Rewards as a 1:2 transfer partner. Currently,

• Capital One and Citibank transfer to Preferred Hotels I Prefer at 1:2.
  
• Alaska Airlines Atmos Summit cardholders can transfer at 1:2 as well.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts covers a pretty cool set of independent properties around the world. As with other Bilt transfer partners, points can be transferred in 1,000-point increments, with a 1,000-point minimum for elite members and 2,000-point minimum for base Bilt members.

Citibank used to transfer 1:4 into I Prefer points. They cut this to 1:2 back on April 19th. I assume this made it a little easier for Bilt to add them – Bilt isn’t going to want to offer a transfer ratio inferior to what others are doing, but 1:4 would obviously have been more expensive.

Of course, Preferred Hotels offered real value at the old 1:4 ratio, giving you 2-3 cents per Citibank point. I don’t expect nearly as many good opportunities transferring points at 1:2.

Put another way, it may be about break even with just booking the Preferred Hotels property that you want using Bilt’s own portant for a revenue stay, if the hotel is available there, albeit that’s in many cases a third party Expedia booking.

It is possible (but a bit of an outlier case) to get more than 2 cents per Bilt point redeeming with Preferred Hotels at 1:2 when you redeem at expensive properties when they’re especially expensive.

Note, though, that some Preferred Hotels properties are bookable through Choice Privileges and Choice often requires fewer points. You’ll find this partner useful for travel across Italy, Spain, Greece, boutique Japan stays and at some high-end independent U.S. hotels.

Overall, more options are better. And as a new partner it wouldn’t surprise me to see a Rent Day transfer bonus. With a 100% transfer bonus there will be real value here! And it adds to the overall stable of transfer partners, where Bilt has both the most and best partners overall.

• Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles & Smiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
  
• oneworld: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Iberia Plus, British Airways Club, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Qatar Airways Privilege Club
  
• SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  
• Non-alliance: Emirates Skywards, Southwest Airlines, Aer Lingus Aer Club
  
• Hotels: World Of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Accor ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewardsm, Preferred Hotels I Prefer

I value Bilt points too highly that it’s unlikely I’ll take advantage of the new transfer partner often, but it’s still in the nice to have category.