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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:
- Aer Lingus AerClub: 25% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,250 Aer Lingus Avios)
- AeroMexico Club Premier: 20% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,920 Premier points. AeroMexico's normal transfer rate is 1,600 because it is calculated in Kilometers).
- Air Canada Aeroplan: 15% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,150 Aeroplan points)
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 25% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,250 Flying Blue miles)
- Avianca LifeMiles: 15% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,150 LifeMiles)
- British Airways Executive Club: 25% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,250 British Avios)
- Hawaiian Airlines: 20% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,200 HawaiianMiles)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer: 20% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,200 Qantas points)
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 30% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,300 Virgin points)
Three hotel programs have Membership Rewards transfer bonuses available through either September 30 or October 31, 2022:
- Choice Privileges: 25% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,250 Choice Privileges points)
- Hilton Honors: 30% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 2,600 Hilton Honors points)
- Marriott: 20% transfer bonus (1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,200 Bonvoy points)
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.
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:
- Aer Lingus & British Airways: 25% Transfer Bonus From Membership Rewards to British Airways, Aer Lingus Avios
- AeroMexico: Transfer Amex Membership Rewards to Aeromexico With a 20% Bonus
- Avianca: Get a 15% Transfer Bonus When Transferring Amex Membership Rewards to LifeMiles
- Flying Blue: Get 25% Bonus Flying Blue Miles When You Transfer Amex Membership Rewards
- Hawaiian Airlines: American Express Membership Rewards: 20% Transfer Bonus to Hawaiian Airlines
- Hilton: Get 30% Bonus Hilton Points When Transferring From American Express Membership Rewards
- Marriott: 20% Transfer Bonus From Membership Rewards To Marriott Bonvoy
- Qantas: Transfer Membership Rewards Points to Qantas With a 20% Bonus
- Virgin Atlantic: Transfer Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic With a 30% Bonus
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 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 $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 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.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
These transfer bonuses are great; I took advantage of the Flying Blue 30% transfer back in July for a transatlantic flight in biz for only 41,000 MR + $270. My first points transfer ever, and I got 9.6 CPP for my trouble. I didn’t have a specific trip in mind beforehand, but I quickly pulled from my bucket list destinations, found award availability, and pulled the trigger. Might as well jump on these while the gettin’s good, before the hurricane of devaluations arrives.
Congrats, on the top-notch first transfer & redemption! Enjoy that flight 🙂
Your phrase “before the hurricane of devaluations arrives” produced an actual physical cringe over here with the very thought. I certainly believe you’re right, and I really, really would like to get in a couple quality redemptions beforehand. Nice job on yours. Let’s hope you lite a fire here.
That’s just my Florida showing; hurricanes are such an intimate rhetorical device. I burned down my AA miles in biz on the return for that same trip, as I’m surely going to get more value from them in 2021 than 2022/23. If I’m wrong (I hope I am), then I’ve had a good time, and played a strong hand at the right time. Live to earn (more) miles another day. ✈️ 😀
I’m loving all the Amex bonuses and offers we’ve been seeing, but also worried about an upcoming devaluation or the like.
Well, with the pandemic, the travel industry is very likely to do that already. Just remember to never transfer speculatively and you’ll be fine.
This is certainly AmEx on-a-roll. They have been offering crazy sign up bonus offers and now they are offering great transfer offers. I’m almost inclined to guess that AmEx probably purchased a whole bunch of points from these airlines when they were cash strapped and are now offering these bonuses to have their MR points liability be “expended”. If users exchange the MR for case, its probably not as beneficial for AmEx as they likely got these points at a fairly substantial discounts.
Definitely nice to transfer when there’s a bonus. I prefer to keep my points in a flexible currency but there are times that making a transfer makes a lot of sense. I just hope I’m lucky enough to have a transfer bonus when I need to transfer points next time.
I guess that a lot of people will travel in the summer of 2022 regardless of what anyway.
I wish your Amex Brothers and Sister cardholders over in Europe saw similar promotions
It seems that Avianca participates in every program.
Meh. I work for the government. No AMEX for me.
Nice to hear that!
But it’s time to include AMEX cards issued by banks
Thank you!