Amex Launches an Incredible 12 Airline and Hotel Transfer Bonuses For September Amex Launches an Incredible 12 Airline and Hotel Transfer Bonuses For September

Amex Launches an Incredible 12 Airline and Hotel Transfer Bonuses For September

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It's back! In September 2021, American Express Membership Rewards offered an unprecedented 12 transfer bonuses simultaneously. And it seems that promotion was so popular that Amex decided to offer it again this year!

For the month of September — and October for a couple of hotel partners — Amex cardmembers will get up to a 30% transfer bonus when converting Membership Rewards to 12 different airline and hotel programs.

Important Things to Know

  • 9 airline transfer bonuses and 1 hotel transfer bonus expire on September 30, 2022.
  • 2 hotel transfer bonuses run through October 31, 2022.
  • Membership Rewards must be transferred in increments of 1,000. The only exception is Qantas — which transfers in increments of 500 points.
  • Make sure to check out AwardWallet's TransferStat Tool to see the amount of time it takes for transfers to post.

American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Bonuses

9 airline programs currently have Membership Rewards transfer bonuses available through September 30, 2022:

Three hotel programs have Membership Rewards transfer bonuses available through either September 30 or October 31, 2022:

Amex transfer bonuses Sept 2022

A Note on Speculatively Transferring Points

As fun and as tempting as this offer is, speculatively transferring your Membership Rewards is never a great idea. With the way airlines devalue their currencies and the ever-changing nature of loyalty programs, speculatively transferring can be a big gamble.

That being said, if you have a trip in mind and are ready to book, then this could be the jackpot.

Redemption Ideas

Pretty much every partner participating in this promotion has its own sweet spots and options for great redemptions. A few that stand out include:

25% transfer to British Airways Avios

After a recent improvement, you can now book business class flights on Iberia from Chicago to Madrid for 34,000 British Airways Avios and reasonable taxes and fees. With the Amex transfer promotion, that same flight will require you to transfer just 28k Membership Rewards. That is a ridiculously good redemption.

And don't ignore economy redemptions. With a 25% bonus, a one-way award from the U.S. East Coast (or Chicago) to Madrid in economy will run you just 14k Membership Rewards points on off-peak dates.

15% transfer to Avianca LifeMiles

Snag a flight in a premium cabin with Lufthansa. Lifemiles already offers fantastic redemptions for flying Star Alliance partners. Not only is the mileage completely reasonable, but Avianca does not tack on carrier-imposed fees. Add in a 15% transfer bonus and you have a downright awesome deal.

For example, with this transfer bonus, a flight in business class with Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt would require a transfer of just 55k Membership Rewards.

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After factoring in the transfer bonus, first-class redemptions (which cost 87,000 LifeMiles) can be booked for as low as 76k Membership Rewards. For more LifeMiles sweet spots, see our dedicated LifeMiles sweet spots post.

Other Transfer Partners

We can't go into full detail on all 12 transfer bonuses in this post. Instead, check out our dedicated posts that dive deep into how you can maximize these bonuses:

Best Cards for Earning Membership Rewards

Membership Rewards have always been relatively easy to earn. But lately, Amex has been handing them out like candy, and it's amazing! Some of the best welcome offers currently available are:

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
  • American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
  • The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Limited Time Travel Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel® with your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.
  • 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.*

Final Thoughts

In September 2021, Amex launched a truly unprecedented promotion offering 12 transfer bonuses. It seems that Transfer Bonus Mania 2021 was so popular that Amex decided to bring it back for 2022. Unfortunately, some transfer bonus rates aren't as high as last year. And this year's cluster of promotions doesn't include Iberia Plus — swapping in Choice Privileges instead.

If you have any trips in mind, check these transfer bonuses to see which makes sense for you. Odds are, one or more probably will.

Which of these transfer bonuses are you most excited about?

Article was originally written by Toni Perkins-Southam on September 1, 2021.

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