Get up to 50% more value from your rewards with these transfer bonuses — including a new offer from Citi

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information.

If you truly want to maximize your miles, periodic transfer bonuses can offer lucrative opportunities for fantastic points redemptions. You can sometimes get significantly more value from your points by transferring them to a specific airline or hotel partner during one of these bonuses.

However, these are limited-time offers.

We’ve compiled the transfer bonuses for the major transferable rewards programs to make tracking these offers easier. Just note that transfer bonuses are sometimes targeted, so some may not be available.

American Express Membership Rewards

Partner program	Transfer bonus	Effective transfer ratio	Dates	Notes
Air France-KLM Flying Blue	25%	1:1.25	Until Sept. 22	Especially advantageous when you combine with a promo reward

How to earn American Express Membership Rewards points

You’ll need Membership Rewards points to maximize Amex transfer bonuses. If you’re looking to earn Membership Rewards points, the following Amex cards could be useful additions to your wallet:

The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Terms apply.
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in your first six months of card membership. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card in the first three months of card membership. Terms apply.

Be sure to check the CardMatch Tool as well to see if you’re targeted for an even higher welcome offer (subject to change at any time).

You can also earn extra Membership Rewards when enrolling in Amex Offers and shopping with Rakuten.

Based on TPG valuations, Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each, and our tests indicate that they transfer instantly to most programs.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Partner program	Transfer bonus	Effective transfer ratio	Dates	Notes
Aer Lingus Aerclub/British Airways Executive Club/Iberia Plus	30%	1:1.3	Until Sept. 22	Compare which Avios program to use for the lowest award rates
Marriott Bonvoy	50%	1:1.5	Until Sept. 30	Generally not the best use of Chase points but could be worth combining with a fifth night free or transferring to lesser-known airline programs

How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points

If you want to earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the following cards could make good additions to your wallet.

Chase Sapphire Reserve: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

If you have one (or more) of the above cards, you can combine your Ultimate Rewards points into a single account. Then, you can effectively convert the cash-back earnings on the following cards into fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points:

Chase Freedom Flex: Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Chase Freedom Unlimited: Earn an additional 1.5% on all purchases on up to $20,000 spent in the first year. That’s a value of up to $300 cash back.
Ink Business Cash Credit Card: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.
Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.

According to TPG valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2.05 cents each when maximized with travel partners. Most Ultimate Rewards transfers will process instantly.

Capital One Miles

Partner program	Transfer bonus	Effective transfer ratio	Dates	Notes
Avianca LifeMiles	15%	1:1.15	Until Sept. 30	You won’t see the transfer bonus on Capital One’s website, but when you transfer miles, LifeMiles will post the 15% within 24 hours.

How to earn Capital One miles

If you want to earn more Capital One miles, the following Capital One cards could make good additions to your wallet:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Venture X Business: Earn 150,000 bonus miles when you spend $30,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

TPG’s valuations peg the value of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each, and most transfers from Capital One will process instantly.

For more details, check out our guides to the Capital One transfer partners and how to transfer Capital One miles to airline partners.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Partner program	Transfer bonus	Effective transfer ratio	Dates	Notes
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	30%	1:1.3	Until Oct. 14	Effectively allows you to book ANA flights from the West Coast to Japan for 70,000 ThankYou points round-trip in business class

How to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points

These Citi credit cards could make useful additions to your wallet for earning Citi ThankYou points:

Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 ThankYou bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Citi Rewards+® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within three months of account opening. Plus, earn a total of 5 ThankYou points on hotels, car rentals and attractions, excluding air travel, on the Citi Travel portal now through June 30, 2024. (Note: you must pair this card with a premium Citi ThankYou card to access a full-fledged, transferable ThankYou points account.)

Based on TPG’s valuations, Citi ThankYou points are worth about 1.8 cents each. However, note that some Citi transfers will not process instantly. So, factor in the transfer time if you’re trying to book an award with scarce availability.

Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott Bonvoy is not running any transfer bonuses at this time.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points, the following Marriott Bonvoy cards may be of interest:

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 95,000 bonus points after you use your new card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership.
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card: Earn 85,000 bonus points after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: Earn three free night awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first three months of card membership.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn 125,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new card to make $8,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership. Offer ends Nov. 1, 2023.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card: Earn 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using their card to spend $1,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months.

TPG’s valuations peg the value of Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.84 cents each. However, before transferring, review our tests of Marriott transfer times since some airlines take a few days (or even weeks) to receive the points.

Should you transfer points?

We only recommend transferring points if you have a short-term plan to use them. After all, many programs have implemented devaluations over the last few years, so any speculative transfers could be a losing proposition.

Transfers are irreversible, so you don’t want to be stuck with thousands of points in a program you have little use for.

If you don’t have a specific redemption in mind but still want to earn miles, you’re likely better off earning rewards through credit card welcome bonuses and everyday spending.

Bottom line

When a transferable currency program offers a transfer bonus, running the numbers is important to see whether it is worthwhile.

Generally, you won’t want to transfer your points without a specific redemption. After all, a large part of the value of transferable points comes from their flexibility — which you’ll give up the moment you convert them to a partner’s currency.

However, if you use the program frequently or plan to redeem soon, a transfer bonus can help you get more value from your points.

Did we miss any? Feel free to let us know by emailing tips@thepointsguy.com.