Our “Famous Card Explorer”

This still remains about the only award you would book with Iberia (you may find other instances where Iberia remains cheaper on its own metal) but keep in mind the biggest flaw of the Iberia program:

Award travel on partner airlines booked with Iberia Avios is non-refundable!!

That said, generally you want to move your points to British Airways first for the most flexibility – since you can move from there to Finnair, which has some great redemptions, or Qatar (note new restrictions on booking Qatar awards beyond yourself). I just booked an actual Iberia award and I’ll add that the website is full of glitches that can make booking even an Iberia award on Iberia quite painful.

See this post on the transfer bonus to British Airways Avios for more on the Finnair program.

Reminder: We now maintain an incredibly comprehensive Transfer Partner Matrix that tracks not just where every currency transfers but also notes any current transfer bonuses.

British Airways Avios used to be best for shorthaul flights on Oneworld carriers but recent changes have killed that. Where a flight from New York to Toronto (under 650 miles) used to be as little as 4,500 miles in years past, it’s now 12,000 miles. I mention this as some people may not realize this has all changed.

However, you can still transfer these miles over to Qatar Airways Avios where that same flight would be 6,000 miles as they price those like this: 0–650 miles: 6,000 Avios (Economy) / 12,500 Avios (Business). Note the new restrictions on booking Qatar awards beyond yourself.

And that’s the thing – you can transfer these Avios to any other Avios program airline.

Also – outside of the US, BA still prices flights under 650 miles (i.e. SYD-MEL on Qantas) at 6,000 miles in Economy and only 12,500 miles in Business – hello, sweet spot!

BA does have a very favorable lap infant policy – 10% of the miles paid for the adult fare.

Beware their draconian surcharges on long haul awards.

Advanced Mode: Transfer to Finnair’s Avios program which has sweet spots like 62,500 Avios and less than $200 from the US to Finland on Finnair and, (available only by phone or chat) amazing deals on AA transcons. If you can find JFK-LAX/SFO with an available Saver seat in 3-Cabin First (Z class), it’s yours for just 40,000 Finnair Avios. Traveling within the EU in business class (yes, the standard economy seat with the middle blocked, but premium services) is also a steal on Finnair. Note those AA three cabin transcontinental flights are being phased out.

This is a nearly 2 month long transfer bonus so you have time to decide…

Reminder: We now maintain an incredibly comprehensive Transfer Partner Matrix that tracks not just where every currency transfers but also notes any current transfer bonuses.

I suggest reviewing historical transfer bonuses from Chase and American Express to Air Canada Aeroplan as you might find that bonuses are more common than you think. 20% is the “standard” offer we see the most, though Chase did offer a flat 30% in late 2022.

Aeroplan sweet spots: No fuel surcharges; just a $39CAD booking fee. Lap infant just $25CAD. Can book Star Alliance flights as well as partners like Etihad and Emirates. Add a stopover for just 5,000 miles! Award pricing is not necessarily the best there is, but is consistently fair.

A business class award on a partner (not on Air Canada metal as that is dynamically priced) from the East Coast to Europe would be 70,000 points (as an example), which would be 56,000 Chase points with this promotion.

It’s worth noting that Blackstone is taking a minority stake in Aeroplan and private equity investments don’t tend to align with what’s best for the customer, so I’d be extra cautious about speculative transfers here.

There have been six transfer bonuses from Chase to IHG One Rewards in 2025 early 2026. One was 100%, two were 80%, and three were 70%.

We value IHG Rewards points at 0.4 cents and Chase Ultimate Rewards at 1.75 cents, so this is far from a slam dunk and we’d advise to only transfer if you’ve already found a great redemption. Even at 100%, you are only getting, on average, 0.8 cents for each Ultimate Rewards point!

You may be looking to “top up” an existing IHG Rewards balance for a reward stay and this would be an opportune time.

But as a general rule, we find that one Chase Ultimate Rewards point is at least 4 times more valuable than  IHG Rewards points, so, again, do your homework before transferring and make sure you have a deal lined up – ideally using the 4th night free benefit from a co-branded credit card.

Transfers take less than a day (most likely less than a few hours, but not instant), although note that IHG is adding the bonus on their side so there could be a delay.

This still remains about the only award you would book with Iberia (you may find other instances where Iberia remains cheaper on its own metal) but keep in mind the biggest flaw of the Iberia program:

Award travel on partner airlines booked with Iberia Avios is non-refundable!!

That said, generally you want to move your points to British Airways first for the most flexibility – since you can move from there to Finnair, which has some great redemptions, or Qatar (note new restrictions on booking Qatar awards beyond yourself). I just booked an actual Iberia award and I’ll add that the website is full of glitches that can make booking even an Iberia award on Iberia quite painful.

See this post on the transfer bonus to British Airways Avios for more on the Finnair program.

Reminder: We now maintain an incredibly comprehensive Transfer Partner Matrix that tracks not just where every currency transfers but also notes any current transfer bonuses.

British Airways Avios used to be best for shorthaul flights on Oneworld carriers but recent changes have killed that. Where a flight from New York to Toronto (under 650 miles) used to be as little as 4,500 miles in years past, it’s now 12,000 miles. I mention this as some people may not realize this has all changed.

However, you can still transfer these miles over to Qatar Airways Avios where that same flight would be 6,000 miles as they price those like this: 0–650 miles: 6,000 Avios (Economy) / 12,500 Avios (Business). Note the new restrictions on booking Qatar awards beyond yourself.

And that’s the thing – you can transfer these Avios to any other Avios program airline.

Also – outside of the US, BA still prices flights under 650 miles (i.e. SYD-MEL on Qantas) at 6,000 miles in Economy and only 12,500 miles in Business – hello, sweet spot!

BA does have a very favorable lap infant policy – 10% of the miles paid for the adult fare.

Beware their draconian surcharges on long haul awards.

Advanced Mode: Transfer to Finnair’s Avios program which has sweet spots like 62,500 Avios and less than $200 from the US to Finland on Finnair and, (available only by phone or chat) amazing deals on AA transcons. If you can find JFK-LAX/SFO with an available Saver seat in 3-Cabin First (Z class), it’s yours for just 40,000 Finnair Avios. Traveling within the EU in business class (yes, the standard economy seat with the middle blocked, but premium services) is also a steal on Finnair. Note those AA three cabin transcontinental flights are being phased out.

This is a nearly 2 month long transfer bonus so you have time to decide…

Reminder: We now maintain an incredibly comprehensive Transfer Partner Matrix that tracks not just where every currency transfers but also notes any current transfer bonuses.

I suggest reviewing historical transfer bonuses from Chase and American Express to Air Canada Aeroplan as you might find that bonuses are more common than you think. 20% is the “standard” offer we see the most, though Chase did offer a flat 30% in late 2022.

Aeroplan sweet spots: No fuel surcharges; just a $39CAD booking fee. Lap infant just $25CAD. Can book Star Alliance flights as well as partners like Etihad and Emirates. Add a stopover for just 5,000 miles! Award pricing is not necessarily the best there is, but is consistently fair.

A business class award on a partner (not on Air Canada metal as that is dynamically priced) from the East Coast to Europe would be 70,000 points (as an example), which would be 56,000 Chase points with this promotion.

It’s worth noting that Blackstone is taking a minority stake in Aeroplan and private equity investments don’t tend to align with what’s best for the customer, so I’d be extra cautious about speculative transfers here.

There have been six transfer bonuses from Chase to IHG One Rewards in 2025 early 2026. One was 100%, two were 80%, and three were 70%.

We value IHG Rewards points at 0.4 cents and Chase Ultimate Rewards at 1.75 cents, so this is far from a slam dunk and we’d advise to only transfer if you’ve already found a great redemption. Even at 100%, you are only getting, on average, 0.8 cents for each Ultimate Rewards point!

You may be looking to “top up” an existing IHG Rewards balance for a reward stay and this would be an opportune time.

But as a general rule, we find that one Chase Ultimate Rewards point is at least 4 times more valuable than  IHG Rewards points, so, again, do your homework before transferring and make sure you have a deal lined up – ideally using the 4th night free benefit from a co-branded credit card.

Transfers take less than a day (most likely less than a few hours, but not instant), although note that IHG is adding the bonus on their side so there could be a delay.

Avianca has really been messing with its program lately. They’ve devalued twice in the last 9 months, although in the most recent devaluation all sorts of quirks emerged with pricing. For instance a business class ticket from the US to/from Europe could be 69,000 miles or it could be 80,000 miles.

All of the same issues I’ve always had around Lifemiles customer service remain. I don’t want to ever have to deal with a schedule change than needs a ticket reissued with them again, and sometimes the website shows phantom availability and phone agents are often unable to help after incredibly long hold times.

It’s worth knowing that miles transferred do count towards elite status with Avianca, however it’s not as easy as you’d think. At 20 miles per elite qualifying mile, to get to the Star Alliance Gold equivalent level, you’d need to transfer 480,000 miles and earn 12,000 qualifying miles on Avianca metal flights. So, it’s not easy at all. I guess this would cut.the first part by 15%…

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• Your AsiaMiles account must be in the United States and you must register first (link above)
• MAXIMUM BONUS = 10,000 miles: Eligible members will receive bonus miles equal to 10% of the Regular Miles earned from Eligible Transactions completed with Eligible Partners during the Promotional Period, up to a maximum of 10,000 bonus miles per eligible member. The maximum bonus applies across all participating partners combined.
• Bonus miles will be credited to the eligible member’s Cathay Membership Programme account within approximately 12 weeks after the applicable Regular Miles have first been credited, verified, and processed by the relevant Eligible Partner.
• While Cathay is great for booking its own premium seats (as well as JAL and other oneworld), note they just increased fuel surcharges. Price your award out before booking.

Avianca has really been messing with its program lately. They’ve devalued twice in the last 9 months, although in the most recent devaluation all sorts of quirks emerged with pricing. For instance a business class ticket from the US to/from Europe could be 69,000 miles or it could be 80,000 miles.

All of the same issues I’ve always had around Lifemiles customer service remain. I don’t want to ever have to deal with a schedule change than needs a ticket reissued with them again, and sometimes the website shows phantom availability and phone agents are often unable to help after incredibly long hold times.

It’s worth knowing that miles transferred do count towards elite status with Avianca, however it’s not as easy as you’d think. At 20 miles per elite qualifying mile, to get to the Star Alliance Gold equivalent level, you’d need to transfer 480,000 miles and earn 12,000 qualifying miles on Avianca metal flights. So, it’s not easy at all. I guess this would cut.the first part by 15%…

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• Your AsiaMiles account must be in the United States and you must register first (link above)
• MAXIMUM BONUS = 10,000 miles: Eligible members will receive bonus miles equal to 10% of the Regular Miles earned from Eligible Transactions completed with Eligible Partners during the Promotional Period, up to a maximum of 10,000 bonus miles per eligible member. The maximum bonus applies across all participating partners combined.
• Bonus miles will be credited to the eligible member’s Cathay Membership Programme account within approximately 12 weeks after the applicable Regular Miles have first been credited, verified, and processed by the relevant Eligible Partner.
• While Cathay is great for booking its own premium seats (as well as JAL and other oneworld), note they just increased fuel surcharges. Price your award out before booking.