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

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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:

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.

Related: Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points for maximum value

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.

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.

Related: How to maximize your Chase Ultimate Rewards points

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:

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.

Related: Tips and tricks to get maximum value from your Capital One miles

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:

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.

Related: Is Citi ThankYou Rewards the most underappreciated and misunderstood program?

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:

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.

Related: How to redeem points with the Marriott Bonvoy program

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.