Last year, SBI launched a three miles card. The miles on these cards can also be transferred to Airlines and hotels. They have also added a few new transfer partners since launch. The good thing is that the transfer ratio is the same. Apart from SBI Miles, you can also transfer SBI Aurum Points to some partners; however, the transfer ratio is different.
SBI Miles Airline Transfer Partner
There are eighteen airline transfer partners, of which two have been added in the last three months.
| Airlines | Frequent Flyer Program | Airline Alliance | Conversion Ratio [Miles] | Conversion Ratio [Aurum] |
| Air Arabia | AA Rewards | None | 2:1 | NA |
| Air Canada | Aeroplan | Star Alliance | 1:1 | NA |
| Air Asia | AirAsia rewards | None | 1:1 | 4:1 |
| Air France-KLM | Flying Blue | SkyTeam | 1:1 | NA |
| Air India | Maharaja Club | Star Alliance | 1:1 | 5:1 |
| British Airways (New) | Executive Club | OneWorld | 1:1 | NA |
| Cathay Pacific (New) | Cathay | OneWorld | 1:1 | NA |
| Etihad Airways | Etihad Guest | None | 1:1 | NA |
| Emirates | SkyWards | None | 2:1 | NA |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Sheba Miles | Star Alliance | 2:1 | NA |
| Japan Airlines | JAL Mileage Bank | OneWorld | 2:1 | NA |
| Saudia | AlFursan | SkyTeam | 2:1 | NA |
| Spice Jet | SpiceClub | None | 1:1 | NA |
| Thai Airways | Royal Orchid Plus | Star Alliance | 1:1 | NA |
| Turkish Airlines | Miles&Smiles | Star Alliance | 2:1 | NA |
| United Airlines | United MileagePlus | Star Alliance | 2:1 | NA |
| Qantas Airways | Qantas Frequent Flyer | OneWorld | 1:1 | NA |
| Qatar Airways | Privilege Club | OneWorld | 2:1 | 5:1 |
- You should not transfer points to Air Asia, as the value of 100 Air Asia points is 1 MYR, which would approximately make one Air Asia point worth INR 0.2.
- Also, it is better to transfer miles to British Airways to earn Avios instead of Qatar Airways as the transfer ratio of British Airways is 1:1 and Qatar Airways is 2:1
- Air Arabia’s fixed value is one USD for every 100 points, making one SBI Mile worth INR 0.43.
- Both Air Canada and Air France-KLM have many airline partners, which makes them worthy options for transferring miles at a 1:1 transfer ratio.
- Cathay Pacific is a decent partner. After Amex, we can also transfer SBI Miles to Cathay, which is good.
SBI Miles Hotel Transfer Partner
You can also transfer SBI Miles to many hotel transfer partners, some of which are unique to SBI Miles.
| Airlines | Loyalty Program | Conversion Ratio [Miles] | Conversion Ratio [Aurum] |
| Accor | Accor – ALL | 2:1 | NA |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | IHG One Rewards | 1:1 | NA |
| ITC Hotels | Club ITC | 2:1 | 5:1 |
| Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts | Jumeirah One | 2:1 | NA |
| Orchid Hotels | Orchid Rewards | 1:1 | NA |
| Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 | NA |
| Shangri-La Group | Shangri-La Circle | 6:1 | NA |
- Accor has a fixed point value; 2000 Accor points are worth € 40.
- Shangri-La Circle points also have a fixed value of 15 points to 1 USD. That means 1 SBI Mile would have a value of INR 0.95 if redeemed on Shangri-La. You can also transfer Shangri-La points to Krisflyer; however, it is not recommended to do so with SBI Miles.
- ITC Green points are worth a minimum of INR 1. However, I found them to give slightly more value than this. So, SBI Miles gives a value of INR 0.50.
Other Transfer Partner
If you have SBI AURUM Reward Points, you can also transfer these reward points and get Adani One points. The transfer ratio of 4:1 applies.
Unique Airline & Hotel Partners
These are SBI unique partners to which you can transfer only from SBI or some with Amex.
- Air Arabia: Fixed Value $ per 100 AA rewards.
- Cathay Pacific (Amex at 2:1): Access to Cathay Pacific Premium Cabin
- Emirates (Amex at 2:1): Top up Emirates Skywards Miles
- Saudia: Decent Mileage requirement for own metal
- Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts:
- Shangri-La Group: Fixed value of $ per 15 Shangri-La Circle Points
- Orchid Hotels: There are multiple redemption options (Vouchers, Merchandise, and more) with an approximate value of INR 0.5 per Orchid reward. The value for hotel stays may be different.
Transfer Time
I don’t have actual transfer time; however, as per SBI, processing transfer requests can take up to 21 days. So, if you are looking for instant transfers, then SBI probably isn’t for you. However, I would still not write off SBI.
Bottomline
Several SBI Miles transfer partners exist. The transfer ratio is decent, especially for some airline partners. Even though SBI Miles’ earnings are low, the transfer ratio can make up for lost opportunities.
