Current Transfer Bonuses

All Bilt members will receive a 50% transfer bonus on September 1, 2024 when they transfer their Bilt points to Avianca LifeMiles. Bilt points can be converted in increments of 1,000.

Avianca is a Star Alliance partner that does not pass along fuel surcharges, however:

Keep in mind that Avianca just devalued their program.

Also see: Downsides of LifeMiles program.

Bilt members will receive up to a 100% transfer bonus on September 1st when they transfer their Bilt points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Virgin Red.

Bilt points can be converted in increments of 1,000.* A member’s transfer bonus will be based upon your Bilt Membership Status as of the time you elect to transfer your Bilt points on September 1, 2024, as follows:

*Blue members must transfer a minimum of 2,000 Bilt points.

Two great uses are domestically on Delta within the US or US-Mexico/Canada and for economy flights to/from Europe that are as few as 12,000 miles each way on partners such as KLM or Delta.

Another great use is on ITA Airways to/from Italy for 75,000 miles in Business Class. Surcharges are low; even FCO to JFK has only $55 in fees. And if you could actually find a Delta One award FROM Europe to the US, it would be just 50,000 points. Availability is a unicorn. Unfortunately, awards TO Europe on Delta now cost more and have $1,000 + surcharges)

The other, well known, “best use” is to book ANA First and Business class awards.

• First Class to/from Japan from West Coast: 145,000 points Round Trip
• First Class to/from Japan from East Coast: 170,000 points Round Trip
• Business Class to/from Japan from West Coast: 105,000 points Round Trip
• Business Class to/from Japan from East Coast: 120,000 points Round Trip

The only way to book nonstop flights from the US to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines. Prices are variable.

You can also redeem with ANA, Korean Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Technically JetBlue as well, but it’s a very poor value option.

Don’t forget you’ll pay Amex an excise tax of 60 cents per 1,000 miles transferred up to a max of $99 per transfer. This is done on transfers to US based airlines, only with Amex.

You *might* consider this is a speculative move to parlay Amex points into Alaska MileagePlan miles due to the impending merger however note that the DOJ has extended its review period to even decide if it it will contest the merger and there is plenty after that before it’s a done deal so be aware of the risk that your miles get stuck as HawaiianMiles if the merger fails.

The Qantas frequent flyer program tends to have very expensive rates, however, there are often times that they make First and Business Class seats from the US to Australia available with Qantas Frequent Flyer and not with partners. Still, a 20% bonus is probably not enough to move the needle unless you see an award to book today.

You can also book Emirates First and Business class flights with Qantas. Compare against the Emirates Skywards program before transferring.

Flying Blue rates are variable, so run a search before transferring. When you get lucky, business class from the US to Europe can run as low as just 50,000 Flying Blue miles. That would be just 40,000 Citi ThankYou points during this promotion!

Flying Blue is the best way to book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class from the US to Europe and beyond, due to the lowest taxes of any way to book Virgin Atlantic. It can also book Delta, KLM, and other SkyTeam members.

Transfers should be instant.

Citi Strata Premier and Citi Prestige cardholders (the only cards in the ThankYou program that enable transferable points) can get a 20% bonus when transferring their ThankYou points to Wyndham Rewards.

Wyndham isn’t a super popular program on its own, but there is value to be found.

This is a two week old transfer bonus and higher than most bonuses to Marriott Bonvoy which have typically been 40-50%.

That said, it doesn’t make it a great deal.

This is almost never a good transfer unless you are topping off for an award you are ready to book. Keep in mind that we value a Chase point at roughly 3X the value of a Marriott Bonvoy point.

However, there are always exceptions and you might find a 5 night stay (5th night free) where the transfer makes sense so do the math – but you likely do not want to transfer speculatively unless you are a Bonvoy pro and believe you will exceed value you can get via other Ultimate Rewards partners.

Get 1,800 IHG Rewards Points for every 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you transfer by July 31st, 2024.

Do some sample searches before considering this bonus as we value an IHG point around 0.4 cents and a Chase point around 1.75 cents making the math here hard to justify. it’s a bit better if you have an IHG Premier or IHG Business Premier credit card which gives the 4th night free on awards.

No fuel surcharges; just a $39CAD booking fee. Lap infant just $25CAD. Can book Etihad and Emirates as well as Star Alliance flights. Add a stopover for just 5,000 miles!

Best for booking Cathay Pacific metal long haul premium flights which may only be made available to its own members. Also great for booking long haul in a premium cabin with a short connection in a lower class of service which prices the entire trip lower than just the primary premium long haul segment.

For other oneworld flights, other programs (like the new Finnair Avios award chart) may be better, especially when there are transfer bonuses to other Avios programs.

Cathay Pacific also FINALLY added the ability to book American Airlines flights online, which can also be a good option depending on the route.

Note that Cathay Pacific Asia Miles expire after 18 months without activity but simply transferring 500 or 1,000 miles before 18 months will reset the clock.