Got a stash of transferable points but find yourself still shy of that dream getaway? Don't write it off just yet.
We often see banks like American Express and Chase roll out transfer bonuses when transferring points to an airline or hotel partner, meaning you won't have to transfer as many points as you normally need to book an award flight. Just how good of a bonus you'll get will vary from bank to bank and program to program, but you can generally expect to see bonuses in the range of 10% to 40%.
In rare instances, some transferable currencies will go rogue and even offer 100% transfer bonuses , netting you double the points or miles!
These bonuses are all offered for a limited time, and it can be tough to keep track of them all, especially if you have transferrable points with multiple banks. But taking advantage of a transfer bonus is a great way to stretch your points even further.
Read more: Save Points When Booking Flights by Transferring Them to an Airline Partner
As tempting as these bonuses may be, though, there are some things to keep in mind before you send your hard-earned points to an airline or hotel partner. Here's the most important one: These transfers are a one-way street. Once you send the points to an airline partner, you cannot get them back to your Capital One, Chase, or other credit card program account. Time and time again we've seen loyalty programs make moves to devalue their points , with little to no warning. The best way to safeguard against these sudden devaluations is to keep your points flexible until you're ready to use them.
These bonuses are all offered for a limited time, and it can be tough to keep track of them all, especially if you have transferrable points with multiple banks. But taking advantage of a transfer bonus is a great way to stretch your points even further.
Also, keep in mind that you'll still have to pay taxes and fees on these flights. For some airlines, those fees are negligible, but others charge much more when booking award flights with points and miles – especially if you're flying business or first class with your miles.
Transferring points to airline partners can get you outsized value for them, but it doesn't make sense in every case. You need to do the math to decide whether it's best to pay directly with points or utilize a transfer partner.
These are all the transfer bonuses available as of publication:
Transfer from Transfer to Bonus Expires More info
Amex Virgin Atlantic 30% June 14, 2023 Click to read
Citi Qatar Airways 30% June 30, 2023 This bonus is on Qatar's side and will not show in your Citi account. Bonus Avios may take up to 45 days to post.
Citi Air France/KLM 25% June 17, 2023 Click to read
Chase Virgin Atlantic 30% June 15, 2023 Click to read
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30% Bonus on Amex Transfers to Virgin Atlantic
American Express is currently running a great promotion with Virgin Atlantic, offering a 30% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to your Virgin account . This bonus is widely available so long as you've got a card that earns Membership Rewards like the American Express® Gold Card or the American Express® Green Card .
There are lots of great ways to use Virgin points , but here's an example of how you can use this transfer bonus to save on a trip to Europe this summer. We recently found wide-open availability from many U.S. cities on Delta nonstop flights booked through Virgin Atlantic. With this bonus, you'd only need to transfer 47,000 Amex points to book flights that would otherwise cost $1,800 or more!
30% Bonus on Chase Transfers to Virgin Atlantic
Similar to American Express, Chase is currently offering a 30% bonus when transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your Virgin Atlantic account. This bonus is widely available so long as you've got a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® .
Looking to stay closer to home this summer? Delta flights under 500 miles in distance are only 7,500 Virgin points one-way . Even if you're going a little further, it’s only 8,500 points each way for flights between 501-1,000 miles. Factoring in the current 30% transfer bonus, you can easily have a quick weekend getaway for fewer than 12,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards roundtrip.
25% Bonus on Citi Transfers to Flying Blue
Citi recently rolled out a new 25% bonus on transfers to Air France/KLM Flying Blue , a great mileage program to get from the U.S. to Europe using fewer points. It runs through June 17, so you've got a couple more weeks to make use of this bonus.
Combining this bonus with one of the current Flying Blue monthly promo awards means you can get to Europe this summer and fall for just 18,000 Citi ThankYou points. These lower rates are good for a trip all the way through November 2023. And while you've technically got until the end of June to book, you may want to act fast before the best deals disappear.
30% More Avios on Citi Transfers to Qatar
You can also transfer Citi points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club through the end of June and receive a 30% bonus. You won't see this bonus when you log into your Citi account: It's processed after the fact on Qatar's end.
For example, if you send over 50,000 ThankYou points from your Citi account, Qatar's Privilege Club will separately kick in 15,000 more Avios – bringing your grand total to 65,000 Avios.
There's one problem with this transfer bonus though: Qatar says that it may take up to 45 days for the bonus Avios to hit your Privilege Club account, meaning that whatever award you're eyeing may be gone by the time you're able to book. So proceed with caution if you're taking advantage of this transfer bonus.
Bottom Line
Transfer bonuses can be a great way to get more value out of your points and help you realize your dream vacation even sooner. These bonuses are constantly coming and going, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the current promotions before moving your points to ensure you're not leaving any free points on the table.
But its always best to keep your points flexible until you're ready to book. Due to constant loyalty program devaluations, transferring points without an immediate plan to use them will rarely be a good option.
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