In the world of miles and points, it’s all about maximizing earning opportunities. Once you earn enough, it’s then about flying as far as possible for the fewest miles and points spent. In addition to traveling a lot, the fastest way to earn a lot of miles and points is by signing up for miles and points credit cards. American Express is currently offering a 40% transfer bonus when you transfer your Membership Rewards points to British Airways Avios. I made great use of this bonus in order to book my flight to Colombia.
Transferring Amex Points
Points Transferred Instantly
British Avios is a transfer partner of most of major points transfer program. You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy Points to British Airways Avios. Amex and Chase points usually transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a ratio of 3:1.
Currently, when you transfer Amex points to British Airways Avios, you’ll get a 40% bonus. When you transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards Points, you’ll get 1,400 Avios. This transfer bonus ends on October 1, 2019.
Earning Membership Rewards Points
You can kickstart your points earning by signing up for a card the cards in this list. A couple of cards stand out for me in this list. The Amex Gold Card, which gives me 4x points per dollar spent on dining and groceries. I can pair it with the Blue Business Plus Card, which is a no-annual fee card, gives me flat 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent. These cards give me a fantastic return on everyday spend. If you’re looking for travel benefits instead, then the Platinum Card would be a better bet for you.
Currently, you can earn a total of 100,000 Membership Rewards points if you sign-up for the Business Platinum Card. If you’re a big spender, then you can really go for the sign-up bonus. You’ll need to spend a total of $25,000 in the first 3 months of card membership in order to earn the 100,000 point bonus.
Transfer Times
I’ve transferred my Membership Rewards points in the past to British Airways. This time as well, the points transferred instantly without any delay.
Flight Redemption
With the transfer bonus, I only needed to have 34,285 points in order to book two one-way tickets
It was now time to book the actual ticket. Since I had a few points in my Avios account, I transferred a total of 34,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. With the 40% bonus, Amex deposited 47,600 Avios into my British Airways account.
The Pundit’s Mantra
I’d also considered using my Avianca LifeMiles in order to fly United initially. However, there was no transfer bonus from Membership Rewards to Aviana LifeMiles. At its current pricing, it would’ve cost me 20,000 points if I were to use LifeMiles.
With this transfer bonus from American Express, I was able to book a one way ticket from San Diego, CA to Bogota, Colombia for just 17,000 Membership Rewards points and $20.60. By using my British Airways Avios, I booked flights on American Airlines in order to fly from San Diego to Bogota, with a connection at Dallas, Fort Worth. This further underscores the value of miles and points in helping fuel your travel around the world.
Parts of Colombia were simply a treat to the eyes
Which is your favorite partner award redemption? Let us know in the comments section.
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What airline did you book this on? What BA partner flies this route?
Hi KP, I flew American Airlines to fly SAN-DFW-BOG. You can book AA flights from the mainland US and the LATAM for domestic flights, since both airlines are OneWorld partners.