Maximize rewards with these transfer bonuses

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Transfer bonuses are hands down one of the best ways to stretch your points further. These bonuses are periodically offered by banks when you transfer points to one of their loyalty partners. Examples of programs that offer transfer bonuses include American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points. A typical bonus ranges from 10 to 100 percent, which means you can book award flights and hotels for significantly less.

But staying on top of the latest transfer promotions is easier said than done. Luckily we’ve done the work for you. Here are all the current points transfer bonuses you should know about and everything you need to know to take advantage of them:

How to maximize transfer bonus offers

Used strategically, point transfers can help you travel the world at a deep discount.  Here are a few tips that can help you get the most out of transfer bonuses:

• Keep an eye on transfer bonuses. These are limited-time offers that can be easy to miss. When you’re planning a trip, check what bonuses, if any, your credit card issuer offers to see if there’s something you could use.
• Avoid transferring points speculatively, even during a great bonus points promotion. If you’re going to transfer points, it’s best practice to redeem them within a week to minimize the odds of a devaluation. Since point transfers are irreversible and loyalty points can devalue without notice, you don’t want to be left with thousands of devalued rewards before you have a chance to use them. 
• Determine whether the transfer bonus offers good value. To do that, check the card’s point values and compare them to the value you’d get from the transfer (with the bonus). If your points will go much further redeemed differently, the offer might not be worth it.

At the same time, remember: Perfect is the enemy of good. You might not always get first-class tickets to the Bahamas for pennies from every transfer bonus — but you might still save good money.

“We were able to take our first trip to Europe as a family of four thanks in part to a Chase transfer bonus,” shares Brooklyn Lowery, a senior credit cards editor at Bankrate. “I found one-way flights to Lisbon, Portugal for 15,000 Flying Blue miles, but it wasn’t an emergency to book right away, so I decided to wait and watch for a Chase transfer bonus. We try to travel as much as possible using points and miles so saving even a few thousand points with a transfer bonus could mean an additional night on vacation or an extra experience during our trip. My patience was rewarded soon with a 25-percent bonus on Flying Blue transfers, so I moved 48,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Flying Blue account, received my bonus 12,000 miles and booked our flights.”

American Express transfer bonuses

Amex is currently providing three transfer bonus offers.

Amex points currently transfer to over 20 different airline and hotel partners at varying ratios. For example, point transfers to partners like Delta and Air France/KLM can be made at a 1:1 ratio while Hilton Honors transfers are a little more favorable at 1:2. Another exception is AeroMexico, which provides 1,600 miles for every 1,000 points transferred.

Despite the favorable transfer ratios, you should consider how much points are worth before transferring them to another program. For example, Bankrate values Amex Membership Rewards at up to 2.0 cents each, depending on where you transfer your points.

Meanwhile, Hilton Honors points are worth just 0.6 points, while Marriott Bonvoy points are worth 0.7. It’s also worth noting that you can redeem Amex points for 0.7 cents each when you book prepaid hotels through the Amex travel portal. So you will break even by transferring them directly to Marriott, but you’ll actually lose some potential value by transferring them directly to a lower-value transfer partner like Hilton.

However, in certain situations, a transfer to Hilton can still make sense. If you need points for a specific award in either small quantities or for a high-end redemption, then you should take advantage of this transfer. At least the transfer ratio will be slightly better, and you’ll save on your hotel stay.

• Restrictions

  There are a few limitations worth noting. In most cases, the minimum transfer amount is 1,000 points, and points must be transferred in 1,000 point increments. Additionally, American Express sometimes charges taxes on point transfers. You can pay these outright with your Amex card or redeem points to offset them. Typically, this tax is about 0.06 cents per point.

  You should also know that transferring your Amex points to partner programs could negate certain benefits that your Amex cards may offer. For example, by transferring points directly to an airline and using frequent flyer miles to pay for a flight, you won’t earn rewards or elite status on your flight.

• How to transfer Amex points

  You can transfer Amex points to one of their hotel or airline partners by logging in to your Amex account. The rest of the process is pretty simple. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial:

  1. Go to the “Explore Rewards” tab.
  2. Under “Ready to redeem,” click “Transfer points.”
  3. Click “View all” to see the full list of transfer partners.
  4. Click on the transfer partner you want to move points to (for example, Delta, Hilton or Marriott).
  5. Link your frequent flyer accounts if you haven’t already.
  6. Enter the number of points you want to transfer, then click “Review transfer.”
  7. If everything looks good, click “Submit transfer.”

• Ways to earn Amex points

  You can earn Amex points by shopping online with Rakuten or when shopping in-store with personal and business cards. You can earn substantial welcome bonuses from these cards and continue earning points through purchases every month. Just be aware of Amex’s application rules before applying for a card:

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of card membership.
  • The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the card within the first 3 months.
  • American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 points after spending $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of card membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24.
  • American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of card membership.
  • American Express® Green Card*: Earn 40,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of card membership.
  • Amex EveryDay® Credit Card*: Earn 10,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of card membership.

Bilt Rewards transfer bonuses

Bilt is relatively new to the rewards space but is still a significant player, thanks to an exceptional rewards program. Bilt has a small but mighty selection of 16 transfer programs, including American Airlines AAdvantage, United Mileage Plus and World of Hyatt. On the first day of every month, dubbed “Rent Day,” Bilt offers special promotions including transfer bonuses. These promotions are valid day-of only, so you may want to set a reminder to check on these offers.

For instance, in February 2024, Bilt offered an unprecedented 150 percent transfer bonus for Bilt Platinum members to Air Canada Aeroplan. Gold members received a lower 125 percent bonus, while Silver members qualified for 100 percent and Blue members got 75 percent. These bonuses offered exceptional value, creating a rare case where transferring points speculatively made sense.

• How to transfer Bilt points

  Transferring Bilt points to airline and hotel loyalty programs is simple. Open up the Bilt app and follow these steps:

  1. Click on the “Book travel with Bilt” tile.
  2. Click on the “transfer” tab near the top of the page.
  3. Select the program you want to transfer Bilt points to.
  4. You’ll be directed to a page listing the transfer ratio and prompting you to link your accounts, if you haven’t done so already. Click “transfer points” at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Enter the number of points you want to transfer to the specific program, then hit “next.”
  6. Review your transfer information, check off the “terms and conditions” box and hit “confirm transfer.”

• Ways to earn Bilt points

  Bilt currently offers a single credit card issued through Wells Fargo that you can use to earn Bilt points. The Bilt Mastercard® doesn’t offer a welcome bonus, but it does allow cardholders to earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent payments, without incurring fees. The card also has no annual fee and earns 3X points on dining, 2X on travel and 1X on everything else. These rewards are double on Rent Day, with the exception of rent payments.

  You don’t need a Bilt card to earn points. You can simply join Bilt Rewards and earn 250 points every month you pay rent with a checking account. Bilt also offers bonus points on Lyft purchases and when you link your loyalty accounts to Bilt Rewards. Through Bilt Dining, members can earn 5 points per dollar spent at select restaurants.

  The Bilt Travel portal offers members 1 point per dollar spent for booking hotels, flights, rental cars and other travel expenses. Additionally, members can earn up to 10 Bilt points per dollar by booking Soul Cycle classes through the Bilt app.

Capital One miles transfer bonuses

Capital One has 17 airline and hotel partners, and they are offering one transfer bonus at this time.

Some of Capital One’s transfer partner programs include:

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Executive Club
• Choice Privileges
• Virgin Atlantic Virgin Red

How to transfer Capital One miles

To transfer Capital One miles to their transfer partners, log into your Capital One account and follow these steps:

1. Scroll down and select “Convert Rewards.”
2. Scroll to the program you want to transfer miles to (for example, British Airways Executive Club) and select “Transfer Miles” on the right side.
3. Enter your loyalty number and agree to the terms and conditions.
4. Submit your request.

Ways to earn Capital One miles

You can earn additional Capital One miles with a co-branded business or personal card. Currently, you can earn miles with the following cards:

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Earn 20,000 miles after spending $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
• Capital One Venture X Business Card: Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
• Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select for Business*: Earn 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonuses

Chase doesn’t run transfer bonuses as often as American Express does. However, the issuer is currently running at least two transfer bonuses, so it could be a great time to check your redemptions page to see which offers are available to you. 

• Restrictions

  Chase doesn’t charge a tax on point transfers. However, the minimum transfer amount to Virgin Atlantic and Aeroplan is 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

  Not all Chase credit cards allow points transfers, so be sure that your Chase card earns transferable Ultimate Rewards points if you want to be eligible for any bonuses.

• How to transfer Ultimate Rewards points

  While multiple Chase cards allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Reward points, the only cards that allow you to transfer your points to travel partners are the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.To transfer Ultimate Rewards points to airline miles, log in to your Chase account and follow these steps:

  1. Select the card that has Chase points.
  2. Under “Travel” in the navigation menu, select  “Transfer to travel partners.”
  3. Select the travel partner you want to use (for example, Aeroplan or Virgin Atlantic).
  4. Click “Transfer Points” to submit your request.

• Ways to earn Ultimate Rewards

  You can earn Ultimate Rewards points through certain Chase credit cards. If you have both a Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card and a cash back card, you can convert your cash back rewards to points. This works out great for high-end redemptions and during lucrative transfer promotions.

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
  • Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Chase Freedom Flex®*: Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn an extra 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases within the first year of card ownership (with a spending cap of $20,000). That’s up to $300 in cash back.
  • Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Earn a $750 bonus after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
  • Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Citi ThankYou point transfer bonuses

The Citi ThankYou points program is not currently offering any transfer bonuses.

• How to transfer Citi ThankYou points

  The only cards that allow you to transfer your Citi ThankYou points to travel partners are the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card or the Citi Prestige® Card* (which is no longer accepting new applicants).

  To transfer ThankYou points to an airline or hotel, go to the Citi ThankYou website and log in. Follow these steps:

  1. Click on the “More Ways to Redeem” tab.
  2. Select “Points transfer” under “Transfer and Share.”
  3. Scroll down and select the program you want to transfer points to and select “Continue.”
  4. Enter the number of points you want to transfer.
  5. Enter your frequent flyer number.
  6. Review the transfer and submit.

• Ways to earn ThankYou points

  You can earn ThankYou points by applying for a Citi credit card that earns points. At the moment, four credit cards earn these rewards:

  •  Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: Earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
  • Citi Rewards+® Card: Earn 20,000 points after spending $1,500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
  • Citi Custom Cash® Card: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases within 6 months of account opening.
  • Citi Double Cash® Card: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases within 6 months of account opening.

The bottom line

You’ve worked hard for your points and should get as much out of them as possible. Transfer bonuses are one of the easiest ways to do that. If you can take advantage of these promotions from a top travel credit card when they come around, your points will go much further. You can check this guide periodically for the latest bonuses.

Issuer-required disclosure statement

*The information about the American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles 1.5X Select for Business, Citi Prestige® Card and the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.