Deal has now expired, view current & previous transfer bonuses by clicking here.
Update 11/15/18: Today is the last day for this deal.
The Offer
Direct link to offer (need to be logged in)
- You can currently receive a 40% transfer bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to British Airways or Iberia Plus Avios. Normally you can transfer 1,000 MR points and receive 1,000 Avios, during this promotion you’ll receive 1,400 Avios instead (1:1.4)
The Fine Print
- Transfer bonus valid until November 15th, 2018
- Allow up to 48 hours for the transfer to be made (although these are usually done immediately)
Our Verdict
American Express frequently offers transfer bonuses for British Airways, you can view the history here:
- July 17th – September 17th, 2017: 40%
- July 13th, 2017: Transfer rate restored to 1:1
- August 10th – October 10th, 2016: 50%
- December 15th, 2014 – January 31st, 2015: 40%
- October 1st, 2015: Transfer rate decreased from 1:1 to 250:200
- October 15th – December 31st, 2013: 20%
- April 22nd, 2013 – June 7th, 2013: 35%
- December 3, 2012 – January 14, 2013: 30%
- August 28th, 2012 – September 27th, 2012: 40%
- March 15, 2012 – May 31, 2012: 50%
- March 1, 2012 – March 31, 2012: 50%
- November 28, 2011 – January 31, 2012: 30%
- June 1, 2011 – July 31, 2011: 50%
- February 2, 2011 – March 31, 2011: 40%
- November 2, 2010 – December 31, 2010: 30%
- April 1 – June 30, 2010: 20% (only for Platinum & Centurion cardholders)
You can more or less rely on a big transfer bonus later in the year. This bonus is definitely worth considering if you can make use of the Avios and some people might want to transfer offer to Iberia to help use up points from the previous 90k promotion earlier in the year. They are also offering a 25% transfer bonus to JetBlue until October 1st. You can view a full list of all the transfer bonuses they have offered by clicking here.
Hat tip to MtM
200K of avios, why not. Will fly Alaska anyways.
I transferred 100k MR Sunday. Hopefully there will be availability in January. If not i should still be able to redeem for hotels and activities at 1c pet point.
omg. please dont.
Ended up speculatively transferring 25k MR points to 25k Avios.
I hope you mean for 35k.
haha i know right?
Avios are so hard to use. They had this too last year, and when it just started I could see plenty of JAL availability from Hawaii to Asia. But by the time I transferred, those suddenly disappeared after summer. I was only able to use 60k of those avios and still sitting on 120k avios, and still can’t find JAL availability for dates that make use of weekends so I don’t have to use additional vacation hours. I might just use them to book activities or hotels.
part of this game is being super flexible. otherwise, the points are really useless. thats why everyone books one year out and avoids weekends.
I am flexibility. You mention booking a year out but there aren’t any availability for my location more than three months out.
BA.com has or had some issue showing JAL availability about a year back. I posted as much on FT but never saw much about it. I don’t know if it was ever addressed but literally in a span of 15 mins I could see JAL availability come and go and come back again like wide open to 0 for weeks at a time. It was weird but I was able to get JAL from KIX to TPE this summer in J but it took some effort. Great use of Avios though.
bruh. u need to call. u also need to be a ninja with using different websites like expertflyer and Qantas. super key to understand OW alliance. and its takes a lot of time finding that shit then repeating it to a call center agent.
JAL NRT-KOA is an excellent use of avios, a true sweet spot on the award chart.
JAL service compared to United or American…whoah what a difference
Can no longer see this. I didn’t realize til I visited your page but there’s Terms stating through 15 of November.
I can’t see it either. Anyone have any information about this?
u need to be logged in dude…
OFFER – 1000 Membership Rewards points = 1,400 Avios
Special Offer: Get 40% more Avios when you transfer Membership Rewards points through 11/15/18.
Aer Lingus is a solid usage of BA Avios, as their fees are close to zero vs. flying on BA metal. Roundtrip econ LAX/SFO/SEA-DUB in peak summer is 50K + $115. Availability is pretty good in econ, less so in business.
How long does the AX-Iberia transfer take? I’ve heard 1 business day but I’m also looking for data points. Thanks.
Usually instant but ymmv
Any analysis on this: should we transfer as an “investment” or not
If you have something in mind in the next 24 months … YES. Otherwise you can wait.
+1
trying to decide whether this is worth doing speculatively.
IMO it’s only worth it if you never anticipate going to Japan because the ana rt first class redemption via virgin atlantic transfer bonus that’s offered at least once a year is the best redemption around
Any domestic destination that is serviced by AA can be a very good redemption via BA avios. As long as there is saver space and the BA website isn’t broken!
Depends on what your travel plans/goals are. I almost never recommend transferring across flexible points unless you have a clear idea on what you will redeem them for. As I said this comes back basically year and it’s usually valid for a few months so worst case scenario you’ll just need to wait another 10 months for the promotion to come back.
Do you live in/near an AA hub? Then I’d say yes. I plan on transferring enough MR to get 80 or 90k 80k Avios which is enough for 2 AA domestic or Mexico/C.A. tickets in F (40k per) from where I live (Phoenix) or 3 RT short haul in economy (15k per) twice.
I know I’ll fly AA in the next year or two multiple times, if you aren’t sure then don’t do it.