Maximize Your Points with Transfer Bonus Alerts

Most people would do better utilizing transfer bonuses to British Airways or Iberia which are also available for the same time frame, as the specific utility for Aer Lingus Avios is limited.

However, there ARE some sweet spots in the Aer Lingus program such as awards from the East Coast to Ireland for just 13,000 off peak in economy and 50,000 points in business.

Not East Coast? Off peak economy is just 16,250 Avios or 62,500 in Business.

On the same day as transfer bonuses to BA and Aer Lingus, keep in mind that all Avios can be moved between programs – including Qatar and Finnair.

Iberia’s chart is similar to BA’s however, note that I recommend only using for travel on Iberia. That is not only because fees will be lowest (you can fly from the East Coast of the US to Madrid in Business Class off peak for 34,000 Avios) but because award travel on partner airlines booked with Iberia Avios is non-refundable!!

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 Ultimate Rewards 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.

Personally, I value a Chase point at well more than even 1.2 British Airways Avios, but if you have plenty of Chase points and a planned redemption it’s something to consider. Also consider, however, that Chase offered a 30% bonus in October of 2024 and Capital One offered a 20% bonus in November of 2024.

Two weeks only – Ends Feb 17, 2025

While they had a transfer bonus for 40% that ended at the end of November, you may still find 30% worthwhile if you have a trip to book now…

KEEP IN MIND: Virgin Flying Club has moved to a dynamic pricing for awards. In some cases we are seeing extreme value like 29,000 point Business Class awards from the US to London. In other cases, the prices have risen dramatically.  Run some searches before transferring.

It’s also worth Virgin Atlantic transfer bonuses are fairly frequent between various programs. See historical transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic here. This is the 8th transfer bonus in the last year from a bank program to Virgin Atlantic.

Best Uses of Virgin Flying Club points:

Get 70% Bonus IHG One Rewards points when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points between 12:00 AM ET on December 4, 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on January 15, 2025.

This is the 3rd transfer bonus from Chase to IHG One Rewards this year. One was 60% and one was 80%. This is right in between at 70%.

My same thinking applies whether 60%, 70% or 80%.

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.

Get 20% Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you transfer Ultimate Rewards® points between 12:00 AM ET on December 4, 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on January 15, 2025.

This is the 5th transfer bonus from a credit card rewards program to Flying Blue this year, all ranging from 20% – 25%.

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 42,000 credit card points during this promotion!

Flying Blue is often 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, however with Virgin’s new dynamic pricing you really have to compare the pricing on both programs as it can now be cheaper with Virgin in some cases. Flying Blue can also book Delta, KLM, and other SkyTeam members when Saver award space is available.

Get 20% Bonus Aeroplan® points when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points between 12:00 AM ET on December 4, 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on January 15, 2025.

Chase Aeroplan Cardmembers can get up to 30% bonus Aeroplan points (20% from the limited time offer and 10% for being a Cardmember). To get the additional 10% bonus, Chase Aeroplan Cardmembers need to transfer a minimum of 50,000 points or more from Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Aeroplan, up to a maximum of 25,000 bonus points per calendar year.

This is the 3rd transfer bonus this year of 20% from Chase to Aeroplan.

Aeroplan sweet spots: 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!

Get 40% Bonus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points between 12:00 AM ET on October 15, 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on November 30, 2024. Most point transfers process by the next business day, but may take up to 7 business days.

CAVEAT: Beginning October 30th, 2024, Virgin Flying Club will move to a dynamic pricing for awards. Historically this has never been good news as higher priced times that you would get higher value from awards become more expensive with points. If you are transferring during the first two weeks of this bonus, you have time before the switch. We aren’t 100% sure if the dynamic pricing will apply only to Virgin metal awards or a wider swath of awards.

Virgin Atlantic transfer bonuses are fairly frequent between various programs. See historical transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic here. Excluding Bilt’s one-day 100% bonus on Sept 1st, other bonuses this year have been 30%.

Best Uses of Virgin Flying Club points:

Chase JUST finished a 70% transfer bonus August 15th. So be aware of that.

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.