Maximizing an Amex Transfer Bonus — Reader Success Story
Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Ashley, who used an American Express and Virgin Atlantic promotion to save on premium international awards. Here's what she had to say:
Since it's the season of thankfulness, I wanted to take the time to thank you and your staff for the article about maximizing the Amex transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic. After a week of searching across ANA, United Airlines and ExpertFlyer, we were able to find a combination of flights that fit our needs. Now we're excited to be heading to Japan in April!
As our travel was around Golden Week, finding more than one seat in first class proved to be next to impossible. Instead we redeemed 160,000 Membership Rewards points to book two business class tickets on an open-jaw IAH-NRT-SJC itinerary for me and little man. Papa will be enjoying the comforts of first on a IAH-NRT round-trip for 93,000 points. The two J tickets would have cost over $7,600 each on the day of booking, while the F ticket cost nearly $22,000. All in, we redeemed 253,000 points (plus the 30% Virgin Atlantic bonus) for over $36,000 of airfare.
By sheer luck, Hilton's 50% off flash sale in Asia was running when we booked our flights, and we nabbed quite a few nights of our stay for $100 to $150 per night. We're looking forward to this amazing, comfortable journey, and to celebrating our son's sixth birthday (and thirtieth country) in Japan!
Transfer bonuses create an easy opportunity to get extra value from your points. You can typically swap transferable points 1:1 for airline or hotel rewards, but a bonus can give you an additional 30% or sometimes more. The improved transfer ratio acts as a discount on awards, and it's especially useful when you're booking expensive premium flights like Ashley was. When you don't have immediate plans to redeem, however, I think it's best not to transfer speculatively to programs you don't use regularly even when the bonus is huge.
Amex Membership Rewards offered a variety of transfer bonuses in 2017, including a recent one to JetBlue. Citi ThankYou Rewards has done the same with Cathay Pacific and other partners, and even Starwood Preferred Guest has offered bonuses on top of the standard 5,000 extra miles for transfers of 20,000 points or more. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the Ultimate Rewards program, and while I value those points highly, the lack of transfer bonuses stands out as one area where Chase falls short of the competition.
I love this story and I want to hear more like it! To thank Ashley for sharing her experience (and for allowing me to post it online), I'm sending her a $200 airline gift card to enjoy on future travels, and I'd like to do the same for you. Please email your own award travel success stories to info@thepointsguy.com; be sure to include details about how you earned and redeemed your rewards, and put "Reader Success Story" in the subject line. Feel free to also submit your most woeful travel mistakes. If your story is published in either case, I'll send you a gift to jump-start your next adventure!
Safe and happy travels to all, and I look forward to hearing from you!
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month