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Maximize rewards with these transfer bonuses

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Published on November 25, 2024 | 5 min read

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Key takeaways

  • The top credit card programs partner with select airlines and hotels, allowing you to transfer points and miles from your card directly to your favorite loyalty programs.
  • Occasionally, you can earn bonuses for transferring points and miles from your credit card to a partner loyalty program.
  • Credit card transfer bonuses can earn 10 to 100 percent more points or miles than a regular transfer.
  • A transfer bonus can be used to maximize your rewards but may be subject to minimum transfer amounts or other terms and conditions.

Citi is an advertising partner.

Transfer bonuses are hands down one of the best ways to stretch your points further. These bonuses are periodically offered by banks when you transfer points to one of their loyalty partners. Examples of programs that offer transfer bonuses include American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points. A typical bonus ranges from 10 to 100 percent, which means you can book award flights and hotels for significantly less.

But staying on top of the latest transfer promotions is easier said than done. Luckily we’ve done the work for you. Here are all the current points transfer bonuses you should know about and everything you need to know to take advantage of them:

How to maximize transfer bonus offers

Used strategically, point transfers can help you travel the world at a deep discount.  Here are a few tips that can help you get the most out of transfer bonuses:

  • Keep an eye on transfer bonuses. These are limited-time offers that can be easy to miss. When you’re planning a trip, check what bonuses, if any, your credit card issuer offers to see if there’s something you could use.
  • Avoid transferring points speculatively, even during a great bonus points promotion. If you’re going to transfer points, it’s best practice to redeem them within a week to minimize the odds of a devaluation. Since point transfers are irreversible and loyalty points can devalue without notice, you don’t want to be left with thousands of devalued rewards before you have a chance to use them. 
  • Determine whether the transfer bonus offers good value. To do that, check the card’s point values and compare them to the value you’d get from the transfer (with the bonus). If your points will go much further redeemed differently, the offer might not be worth it.

At the same time, remember: Perfect is the enemy of good. You might not always get first-class tickets to the Bahamas for pennies from every transfer bonus — but you might still save good money.

“We were able to take our first trip to Europe as a family of four thanks in part to a Chase transfer bonus,” shares Brooklyn Lowery, a senior credit cards editor at Bankrate. “I found one-way flights to Lisbon, Portugal for 15,000 Flying Blue miles, but it wasn’t an emergency to book right away, so I decided to wait and watch for a Chase transfer bonus. We try to travel as much as possible using points and miles so saving even a few thousand points with a transfer bonus could mean an additional night on vacation or an extra experience during our trip. My patience was rewarded soon with a 25-percent bonus on Flying Blue transfers, so I moved 48,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Flying Blue account, received my bonus 12,000 miles and booked our flights.”

American Express transfer bonuses

Amex is currently providing three transfer bonus offers.

Program Transfer bonus End date
Marriott Bonvoy 35% Nov. 30, 2024
Cathay Pacific Asia 15% Nov. 30, 2024
Avianca LifeMiles 15% Dec. 31, 2024

Amex points currently transfer to over 20 different airline and hotel partners at varying ratios. For example, point transfers to partners like Delta and Air France/KLM can be made at a 1:1 ratio while Hilton Honors transfers are a little more favorable at 1:2. Another exception is AeroMexico, which provides 1,600 miles for every 1,000 points transferred.

Despite the favorable transfer ratios, you should consider how much points are worth before transferring them to another program. For example, Bankrate values Amex Membership Rewards at up to 2.0 cents each, depending on where you transfer your points.

Meanwhile, Hilton Honors points are worth just 0.6 points, while Marriott Bonvoy points are worth 0.7. It’s also worth noting that you can redeem Amex points for 0.7 cents each when you book prepaid hotels through the Amex travel portal. So you will break even by transferring them directly to Marriott, but you’ll actually lose some potential value by transferring them directly to a lower-value transfer partner like Hilton.

However, in certain situations, a transfer to Hilton can still make sense. If you need points for a specific award in either small quantities or for a high-end redemption, then you should take advantage of this transfer. At least the transfer ratio will be slightly better, and you’ll save on your hotel stay.

Bilt Rewards transfer bonuses

Bilt is relatively new to the rewards space but is still a significant player, thanks to an exceptional rewards program. Bilt has a small but mighty selection of 16 transfer programs, including American Airlines AAdvantage, United Mileage Plus and World of Hyatt. On the first day of every month, dubbed “Rent Day,” Bilt offers special promotions including transfer bonuses. These promotions are valid day-of only, so you may want to set a reminder to check on these offers.

For instance, in February 2024, Bilt offered an unprecedented 150 percent transfer bonus for Bilt Platinum members to Air Canada Aeroplan. Gold members received a lower 125 percent bonus, while Silver members qualified for 100 percent and Blue members got 75 percent. These bonuses offered exceptional value, creating a rare case where transferring points speculatively made sense.

Capital One miles transfer bonuses

Capital One has 17 airline and hotel partners, and they are offering one transfer bonus at this time.

Program Transfer bonus End date
British Airways Avios 20% Dec. 1, 2024

Some of Capital One’s transfer partner programs include:

  • Air France/KLM Flying Blue
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Choice Privileges
  • Virgin Atlantic Virgin Red

How to transfer Capital One miles

To transfer Capital One miles to their transfer partners, log into your Capital One account and follow these steps:

  1. Scroll down and select “Convert Rewards.”
  2. Scroll to the program you want to transfer miles to (for example, British Airways Executive Club) and select “Transfer Miles” on the right side.
  3. Enter your loyalty number and agree to the terms and conditions.
  4. Submit your request.

Ways to earn Capital One miles

You can earn additional Capital One miles with a co-branded business or personal card. Currently, you can earn miles with the following cards:

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonuses

Chase doesn’t run transfer bonuses as often as American Express does. However, the issuer is currently running at least two transfer bonuses, so it could be a great time to check your redemptions page to see which offers are available to you. 

Program Transfer bonus End date
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club 40% Nov. 30, 2024

Citi ThankYou point transfer bonuses

The Citi ThankYou points program is not currently offering any transfer bonuses.

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Keep in mind

Even though all of these cards allow you to earn ThankYou points, only the Citi Strata Premier Card allows you to transfer those points to a travel partner.

The bottom line

You’ve worked hard for your points and should get as much out of them as possible. Transfer bonuses are one of the easiest ways to do that. If you can take advantage of these promotions from a top travel credit card when they come around, your points will go much further. You can check this guide periodically for the latest bonuses.

Issuer-required disclosure statement

*The information about the American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles 1.5X Select for Business, Citi Prestige® Card and the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.