U.S. Bank's Altitude Reserve can now transfer points to outside travel loyalty programs, and we read all three Altitude program-rules documents to confirm the Connect and Go cards do not get it. Chase's Aeroplan transfer bonus pays 10%, but only to Chase Aeroplan cardmembers moving 50,000 or more points in a single transaction, capped at 25,000 bonus points a year. Rakuten is paying 17% back at Groupon against a usual 2%. All verified against first-party pages on August 12, 2026. The reported partner lineup (Flying Blue, Qantas and ShebaMiles at 1:1, Accor at 2:1) is included with an explicit unverified label, because U.S. Bank publishes none of it publicly.
The short version: U.S. Bank's Altitude Reserve can now move points to outside travel loyalty programs. We read the official program rules for all three Altitude cards, and only the Reserve has that section. Separately, Chase's transfer bonus to Air Canada Aeroplan pays 10%, but only to people holding the Chase Aeroplan card, and only on transfers of 50,000 points or more in a single go. And Rakuten is paying 17% back at Groupon, against a usual 2%. Every figure below was read off the company's own page on August 12, 2026.
The math that decides it: the U.S. Bank change matters if you hold one specific card, the Aeroplan bonus matters only above a 50,000-point threshold, and the Groupon rate matters today. Three different reasons to act, and two of them have a condition most coverage leaves out.
| What changed | Who it actually applies to | The condition worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank points can transfer to travel programs | Altitude Reserve holders only | Connect and Go program rules have no transfer section at all |
| Chase to Aeroplan pays a 10% bonus | Chase Aeroplan cardmembers | 50,000+ points must move in ONE transaction |
| Rakuten pays 17% at Groupon | Anyone with a Rakuten account | Pays on the Groupon price, posts weeks later |
The Altitude Reserve's program rules now carry a section titled Points Transfer with Participating Travel Loyalty Programs. The operative sentence, verbatim:
"You may have the opportunity to transfer, through the Rewards Center, Points to participating travel loyalty programs that are not affiliated with U.S. Bank."
That is a meaningful change for a bank whose points have never moved to outside airline or hotel programs before. It puts U.S. Bank in the same category as the transferable currencies people plan trips around.
Here is the part that took actual checking. We pulled the official program rules for all three Altitude cards on August 12, 2026. The Altitude Connect and Altitude Go documents also have a "Transferring Points" heading, and it is easy to assume that means the same thing. It does not. Those sections cover moving points between U.S. Bank accounts, and neither document contains the travel loyalty program section at all. As of today the feature reads as Reserve-only.
Three mechanics from the same document, worth knowing before your first transfer:
The partner list, reported but not verified by us. U.S. Bank does not publish the partner list or the transfer ratios on any public page we could reach, and the list renders only inside the logged-in Rewards Center. The lineup below is what is circulating. We have not been able to confirm it on a first-party page, so we are labelling it rather than presenting it as checked:
| Program (reported, unverified) | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles | 1:1 |
| Accor Live Limitless | 2:1 |
Treat that as a preview rather than a promise, and note the shape of it. Three airlines are reported at 1:1, and one hotel program at 2:1. A 2:1 ratio halves your balance on the way in, which changes the math completely. Your own transfer screen is the only place that tells you the real number, and it is worth looking before you move anything. We will replace this table with confirmed figures the moment U.S. Bank publishes them or we can read them directly.
Chase and Air Canada publish the same terms in nearly identical language. From Chase's own Aeroplan card page:
"If you, as the primary cardmember, also have an eligible Chase credit card with Ultimate Rewards, you will be eligible to receive a 10% bonus after you transfer 50,000 or more Ultimate Rewards points in a single transaction to Aeroplan. Maximum of 25,000 bonus points per calendar year."
Air Canada's own FAQ page for the benefit says the same thing. Three conditions ride on that one sentence, and each of them is a way to get nothing:
Chase says the bonus points are awarded by Aeroplan and post within seven days of the transfer completing.
One more piece of practical advice. Banks periodically run limited-time transfer multipliers on top of standing benefits like this, and those promotions typically appear inside the logged-in transfer portal rather than on a public page. Before you move a large balance, open your own transfer screen and look at the rate it quotes you. Our own tracker follows the promotional bonuses that get published, and you can see the current crop in our live transfer bonus roundup.
Points transfers are also one-way and final. If you are transferring speculatively rather than for a specific booking, read our note on why that usually costs money before it earns any.
Rakuten's Groupon store page shows 17% cash back as of August 12, 2026. The usual rate on that store is 2%, so this is roughly 8.5 times the normal rate on a site where the prices are already discount prices.
The math on a $100 order: $17 back from the portal, plus whatever your card earns on the purchase. A flat 2% card adds another $2, which brings a $100 order to an effective $81.
Two things to know before you buy. The cash back pays on the Groupon price you actually pay, not on the pre-discount value Groupon displays. And portal cash back posts to your Rakuten account weeks after the merchant confirms the purchase, not instantly, so you are floating the money in between.
The order of operations decides whether you get paid at all: open Rakuten first, then click through to Groupon from there. That click is what records who gets credited for the sale. Going straight to Groupon and remembering the portal afterwards earns nothing. We walked through the same pattern in more detail in yesterday's deal roundup.
Every figure above was read off the company's own page on August 12, 2026: U.S. Bank's published Altitude program rules, Chase's Aeroplan card page, Air Canada's Chase bonus FAQ, and Rakuten's Groupon store page. Portal rates and partner lists change without notice, so confirm before you buy or transfer.