U.S. Bank Finally Adds Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners to Altitude Reserve

U.S. Bank has finally done something Altitude Reserve cardholders have been waiting a long time for: Altitude points can now be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs.

The initial group of partners includes:

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue — 1:1
• Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles — 1:1
• Qantas Frequent Flyer — 1:1
• ALL – Accor Live Limitless — 2:1

That's a relatively small list compared with Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, or Capital One Miles, but it dramatically changes what Altitude Reserve points can potentially be worth.

There is, however, already a little drama surrounding the launch.

Current Status: Flying Blue Is Back, Qantas Is Still Missing

U.S. Bank initially launched all four transfer partners, but Flying Blue and Qantas temporarily disappeared from the transfer portal shortly afterward.

As of August 17, 2026, Flying Blue has returned, while Qantas Frequent Flyer has not yet reappeared. The disappearance appears to have been related to the rollout rather than a permanent decision to eliminate the programs, but until Qantas is visible again in the U.S. Bank transfer portal, I would consider it an announced partner rather than a reliably usable one.

The currently announced lineup looks like this:

This Is Primarily an Altitude Reserve Benefit

The important distinction here is that these loyalty-program transfers are being offered to U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve cardholders.

U.S. Bank's official Altitude Reserve program rules now specifically allow points to be transferred to participating partner programs. U.S. Bank states that most partner transfers should process by the next business day, although transfers can take up to 72 hours. Transfers are final and cannot be reversed.

Don't confuse this with the existing ability to move points between certain U.S. Bank Altitude accounts. For example, Altitude Connect and Altitude Go allow limited transfers of points between qualifying U.S. Bank accounts, but that is different from transferring rewards directly to airline and hotel programs.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue — 1:1

Flying Blue is easily the most immediately useful addition for many U.S.-based travelers.

Every 1,000 U.S. Bank Altitude points becomes 1,000 Flying Blue miles.

Flying Blue is the loyalty program for Air France and KLM and provides access to SkyTeam award inventory. It is already a transfer partner of several major transferable-points programs, which can also be useful because you can potentially combine points from multiple ecosystems when you need to top off an account.

Flying Blue is particularly interesting for travelers looking for award flights to Europe. Its pricing is dynamic, so not every redemption will be attractive, but Flying Blue periodically offers discounted Promo Rewards that can provide very good value.

For most Altitude Reserve cardholders, Flying Blue is probably the star of this first group of partners.

Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles — 1:1

The most unusual partner is Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles.

U.S. Bank points transfer at:

1,000 Altitude points → 1,000 ShebaMiles

Ethiopian Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, so ShebaMiles potentially provides access to award travel beyond Ethiopian itself.

That means the initial U.S. Bank lineup effectively provides access to all three major airline alliances:

• Flying Blue — SkyTeam
• Qantas — Oneworld
• Ethiopian — Star Alliance

That is a clever way for U.S. Bank to create a relatively versatile program with only three airline partners.

ShebaMiles is much less familiar to most U.S. travelers than programs such as United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, or Avianca LifeMiles, so I would not transfer points speculatively.

Instead, find a specific award first, verify the mileage requirement and availability, and only then transfer the points.

Qantas Frequent Flyer — 1:1

Qantas Frequent Flyer was also introduced as a 1:1 transfer partner.

That means:

1,000 Altitude points → 1,000 Qantas Points

Qantas is a member of Oneworld, giving members potential access to flights on airlines such as American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific, subject to Qantas award availability and pricing.

The problem at the moment is availability of the transfer itself.

Qantas appeared when the new U.S. Bank transfer program launched but was subsequently removed from the transfer portal. Flying Blue has since returned, but Qantas was still absent as of August 17.

I would therefore not make any plans that depend on transferring Altitude points to Qantas until the option actually reappears in your U.S. Bank account.

ALL Accor — 2:1

U.S. Bank's lone hotel partner is ALL – Accor Live Limitless.

The transfer ratio is:

2,000 Altitude points → 1,000 ALL Reward points

At first glance, losing half your points sounds terrible.

But Accor works differently from Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt because ALL points have a relatively fixed redemption value when used toward hotel charges. That makes evaluating the transfer considerably easier than with most hotel programs.

Still, I wouldn't automatically transfer Altitude points to Accor simply because the option exists. Compare the value of the Accor redemption against whatever other redemption you could make with your U.S. Bank points first.

The 2:1 transfer ratio makes Accor a much more situational transfer partner than Flying Blue, Ethiopian or Qantas.

Why This Makes the Altitude Reserve More Interesting

The Altitude Reserve historically stood apart from Chase, Amex, Citi and Capital One because it did not have airline and hotel transfer partners.

That distinction is now disappearing.

The card has long been attractive because of its earning structure, particularly for cardholders who can make extensive use of mobile-wallet payments. Adding airline transfers creates the possibility of getting considerably more value from points when an airline award offers favorable pricing.

For example, earning 3 Altitude points per dollar and later transferring those points 1:1 to Flying Blue effectively means earning as many as 3 Flying Blue miles per dollar on qualifying 3X purchases.

That's a very different proposition from simply treating Altitude points as a fixed-value currency.

Don't Transfer Points Until You Need Them

Transferable points are generally most valuable while they remain transferable.

Once you send Altitude points to Flying Blue, Ethiopian, Qantas or Accor, you can't move them back to U.S. Bank. U.S. Bank specifically states that partner transfers are final and cannot be canceled or refunded.

My approach would be:

1. Find the airline or hotel redemption you want.
2. Confirm award availability.
3. Determine exactly how many points are required.
4. Transfer only the number of points needed.
5. Complete the booking as soon as the transfer arrives.

There's little reason to move 100,000 Altitude points to Flying Blue simply because you might use them someday.

Keeping them with U.S. Bank preserves your options.

The Bottom Line

This is a major improvement to the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve rewards program.

Four partners won't compete with the huge transfer ecosystems offered by Chase, American Express, Citi or Capital One, but U.S. Bank has made some surprisingly useful choices.

Flying Blue at 1:1 is the standout.

Ethiopian ShebaMiles adds an unusual Star Alliance option, while Qantas provides access to the Oneworld ecosystem once its transfer option returns. Accor isn't as compelling because of the 2:1 ratio, but it can still make sense for specific hotel redemptions.

More importantly, U.S. Bank has crossed an important line: Altitude Reserve points are now transferable points.

If this is only the first round of partners, the Altitude Reserve could become substantially more interesting.

And considering how long U.S. Bank cardholders waited for transfer partners to arrive, I'm certainly hoping four is only the beginning.