The Amex transfer bonus I've waited a year for is back: Get 30% more Avios
Transfer bonuses are one of the best ways to get outsize value from your credit card points and miles. In fact, they're often how the people you see frequently posting photos from lie-flat business-class seats booked those flights ... without having millions of points and miles at their disposal.
But they're notoriously hard to predict, which can make using them tricky if you have a set timeline for booking your next trip.
One transfer bonus, in particular, hasn't been available for the past year, much to my disappointment. Fortunately, it's now finally back.
From now through Sept. 27, you can get a 30% bonus when you transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points from cards like the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express Platinum Card® to British Airways Club, Iberia Club or Aer Lingus AerClub.
During this bonus, you can once again book flights from the East Coast to Dublin in business class for 39,000 transferred Amex points (plus $144 in taxes and fees) and ones from the West Coast to Hawaii for 17,000 transferred Amex points (plus $5.60 in taxes and fees) via British Airways, among other options.
Here are six tips for making the most of this relatively rare transfer bonus, plus some solid Avios redemptions currently available.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points and miles
Consider using Avios to book Oneworld airlines and partners
Don't ignore this transfer bonus just because you aren't planning to fly on British Airways in the near future. You can also use Avios to book flights with other Oneworld alliance airlines such as American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
That means Avios aren't just for international trips. You can even redeem them for short domestic flights, such as Dallas to Houston, on American Airlines.
Those short-haul flights in the U.S. normally start at 13,500 Avios if booking via British Airways, which comes out to just 11,000 Amex points you would need to transfer during this bonus.
Just remember that you may pay even less for some domestic awards if you book through another Avios program, Finnair Plus, though that does require making a phone call to do.
Related: Why you can pay different award prices for the exact same flight
Remember that Avios are generally distance-based awards
Most Avios programs use distance-based award pricing. Generally, the farther you fly — and the more connections you have — the more Avios you'll need.
That's one reason why East Coast departures to Europe can offer some of the best value when using Avios.
For example, if you want to fly to London via British Airways, you can expect to find awards starting around 88,000 Avios (plus taxes and fees) from New York but closer to 99,000 Avios (plus taxes and fees) from places such as Houston. (These amounts do not factor in the current transfer bonus.)
Because of this, you may find it best to use your Avios for flights from the East Coast and another currency (or cash) to book a positioning flight the rest of the way.
Related: British Airways hikes fees on award tickets
Know that each Avios program has its own sweet spots
Don't assume every Avios program charges the same number of Avios for the same flight, as each approaches award pricing a bit differently.
The easiest way to compare them all at once is to use a broad airline award search tool like Seats.aero, my tool of choice. You can use it to filter down to the Avios programs so you only see flights bookable with Avios.
But remember, each program isn't exactly the same in how it prices awards. For example, British Airways Club will charge at least 22,000 Avios (plus taxes and fees) without the transfer bonus factored in to fly on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines to Hawaii from West Coast cities. However, booking via Finnair Plus will cost you just 17,500 Avios (plus taxes and fees) without the transfer bonus (though again, you would need to call Finnair to book this way).
Related: 7 of the best airline sweet spots to redeem your points and miles
Try transferring Avios between Avios programs
One reason why this bonus is especially valuable is that Avios is one of the few airline currencies that can be freely moved among several airline loyalty programs, giving you multiple ways to book the same trip.
You can transfer Avios online between the various Avios programs, including British Airways Club, Iberia Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Loganair Loyalty, Vueling Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus. For some, you have to first transfer to British Airways to get to your final preferred Avios program of choice, but it is possible to move Avios between them.
Use long booking windows to your advantage
Some Avios programs, including British Airways Club, have extra-long booking windows.
In British Airways' case, award space is released up to 355 days before departure, compared to 331 days in advance if booking via American Airlines.
This may sound trivial, but those extra few weeks of access to awards before the U.S. airline programs offer access can make it much easier to book four to six (or even more) business-class awards to Europe or beyond.
In fact, it's a vital piece of my strategy for finding and booking business-class awards to Europe for my whole family, which is why I've been anxiously awaiting the return of this transfer bonus for next summer's travel.
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Quickly earn more Amex points
I like to have some of each major loyalty currency available to me for moments like this. Even if you won't be able to earn enough Amex points to do anything with for this transfer bonus, you can be ready for future ones if you start earning valuable Membership Rewards points now.
A few cards that can help you on that journey include:
- American Express Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- American Express Platinum Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- American Express® Business Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 200,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
A few Avios redemptions I'm eyeing
To give you an example of what you can book with Avios, here are a few sample awards I'm currently seeing:
- Boston to Dublin on Aer Lingus in business class from 39,000 transferred Amex points to British Airways Club (50,000 Avios after the bonus) plus $144.90 in taxes and fees
- New York or Miami to Madrid on Iberia in business class from 46,000 or 57,000 transferred Amex points, respectively, to British Airways Club (59,000 or 74,000 Avios, respectively, after the bonus) plus $125.40 in taxes and fees
- Houston to Doha on Qatar Airways in Qsuite (business class) from 54,000 transferred Amex points to British Airways Club (70,000 Avios after the bonus) plus taxes and fees
Bottom line
This is one of my favorite transfer bonuses because it unlocks excellent sweet spots across multiple airline programs. I'm thrilled it is back since roughly a full year has passed since we last saw it.
Even though the taxes and fees can be high on some routes and airlines — some can exceed $500 each way, though if you have the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (see rates and fees), you can save up to $600 annually on British Airways award taxes and fees thanks to the $100 to $200 statement credit you'll receive up to three times a year (the exact amount depends on which cabin class you book) — that isn't always the case for all routes. Each Avios program has some undeniably great sweet spots that become even better when you don't need to transfer as many Amex points to Avios to lock them in.
Remember, you only need to complete the transfer by Sept. 27. Your travel can happen later, though keep in mind that award pricing can change, so I wouldn't recommend transferring points if you don't have a specific redemption in mind.