‘Tis the season for getting bonus miles when you transfer your credit card points to specific airlines – and trust us, that's a good thing.
On Wednesday, Chase rolled out a brand new 30% transfer bonus when sending Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus that's available through Oct. 31. The three carriers are all owned by the same massive airline conglomerate, and all three use Avios as their mileage currency. And considering you can combine Avios between a growing number of airlines – including kicking them over to Qatar Airways or Finnair – there are even more ways to put this transfer bonus to use.
Read up on Chase transfer partners and how to transfer your points to airlines like British Airways.
There's also a new 80% transfer bonus to IHG hotels available through Oct. 22. But that big percentage is deceiving – it'll rarely be a good deal to send your Chase points to IHG. This Avios bonus, however, is a different story.
It can unlock one of the cheapest ways to fly to Hawaii using points and miles (still), in addition to some other cheap domestic award tickets. You can use it to fly to Europe and back for just 29,000 points – or do it in business class for 57,000 points. And thanks to some changes with British Airways' Avios, it's the best and cheapest way you'll find to score a ride in Qatar Airways Qsuites right now.
Just keep in mind: Even with a hefty bonus, you should (almost) never transfer points without a good use in mind. These transfers are a one-way street – you can't get those points back to your Chase account once you've sent them to an airline partner.
Hawaii and Back for 33K Points (or Less)
Even after a devaluation last year, one of the best ways to book flights to Hawaii is by using British Airways Avios. I know, it doesn't make much sense … but it's true.
You can book flights to Hawaii with miles from the massive U.K. carrier, using British Airways Avios to book flights on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines out to the islands.
While American and Alaska frequently charge 60,000 miles or more for these flights, you can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii for just 40,000 Avios roundtrip. Factor in the 20% transfer bonus, and you need just 33,000 Chase points to make it happen.
The trick to getting these ultra-low rates is starting your search in Los Angeles (LAX) or Phoenix (PHX), both of which have nonstop service to the islands. You can also start from other cities like Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX) San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), or San Diego (SAN), as Alaska Airlines nonstops to Hawaii are also bookable at these rates.
Read more on the cheapest ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles!
Availability to book these American Airlines flights via British Airways is typically quite solid – especially if you’re looking at least a few months in advance. The same is true of Alaska Airlines.
It's an easy redemption and solid way to make use of this new transfer bonus. Willing to put in some extra legwork? This deal can get even better.While this transfer bonus only works to British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, you can transfer Avios between British Airways and Finnair as well as Qatar Airways, too. That means you could send your Chase points to British Airways, get a 20% bonus, then kick them over to Finnair.
And you might want to: Finnair charges just 15,000 Avios each way for American Airlines flights between the mainland and Hawaii … or 13,500 miles on Alaska! And while you'll pay that rate for nonstop flights from the West Coast, it even applies to one- and two-stop trips from the Midwest and beyond!
Factor in the 20% transfer bonus, and you could book roundtrip flights to Hawaii from all across the U.S. for as low as just 23,000 Chase points!
The problem is that you won't find these flights online at Finnair.com, so you'll need to call the airline at +1 929 474 6049 or +1 323 694 7646 in order to book. Search through British Airways' website first to find flights that are available. And even then, it may require some trial and error: Not every Finnair agent knows how to book these American or Alaska flights.
Roundtrip to Spain for 25K Points (Economy) or 63K (Business)
Iberia economy flights between East Coast cities like Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) and Madrid now start at just 16,000 Avios each way — or 32,000 Avios roundtrip in basic economy. With the 30% Chase transfer bonus, that’s only 25,000 Chase points roundtrip, plus about $250 in taxes and fees.
If you’d rather fly up front, off-peak business class awards on those same routes now price at 40,500 Avios each way, equal to just 32,000 Chase points after the 30% bonus. Peak season business redemptions are 59,000 Avios each way – 46,000 Avios after this transfer bonus.
From other U.S. gateways like Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), or Los Angeles (LAX), off-peak business fares run 50,500 Avios each way – 39,000 Chase points with the bonus, while peak season climbs to 74,000 Avios each way – 57,000 with the current transfer bonus.
Finnair Biz Class from 53K Chase Points
One of the newest business class seats in the sky is from Finnair … which is also a new entrant into the world of Avios. It takes some trickery to book it – more on that shortly – but it's one of the most affordable. And this transfer bonus makes it even cheaper.
Here's the deal: The airline charges just 62,500 of its own Avios to book a one-way in Finnair business class from the U.S. to its Helsinki (HEL) hub, plus a reasonable amount of taxes and fees. Unlike many other airlines, Finnair business class is relatively easy to book using miles.
I know what you're thinking: “But Finnair isn't a Chase transfer partner.” You're right … but British Airways is.
That means you can take advantage of that 20% bonus and transfer just 53,000 Chase points to British Airways. Once those hit your BA account, kick them over to Finnair using our handy guide, and you're ready to book one of the coziest and coolest lie-flat seats crossing the Atlantic today.
Flying solo, it's a cinch to find the award availability to book these seats – especially booking 10-plus months in advance. But if you're traveling with a companion, you might need to use a trick to find award availability for two.
International airlines have been throttling business class award space for U.S.-based travelers, and Finnair might be one of the worst offenders. You can only book one seat in Finnair business class from the States ……unless you set your location to “Finland” or another European country on Finnair's website.
Voila: Two business class seats are suddenly available. And thanks to this transfer bonus, you can book the pair of them for just 105,000 Chase points.
You can even connect onward throughout much of Northern Europe for the same rates!
Book Qsuites for Cheap
We saved the best for last.
Thanks to Qatar Airways' adoption of Avios, the floodgates are open to book Qatar's world-leading Qsuite business class seats using Chase points. Factor in this 20% transfer bonus, and you can do it for fewer points.
Check out our full review of Qatar Qsuites!
Here's the easiest route: You could book a simple nonstop from many cities in the U.S. over to Doha (DOH) for just 70,000 British Airways Avios. Find the award availability you want, transfer 59,000 Chase points to your BA account, and book it. Done. It doesn't get much cheaper or easier than that.
Sadly, both Qatar and British Airways recently raised taxes and fees on these business class redemptions. What was once a $100-or-so charge has increased to roughly $235. That's a small price to pay to fly the world's best business class, if you ask us.
We send Thrifty Traveler Premium members award alerts when they can book the world's best business class using their points, plus cheap cash fares too!
If you want to take it to the next level and connect elsewhere – Dubai (DXB) or Muscat (MCT) in the Middle East, Cairo (CAI), or maybe even the Maldives (MLE) or down to Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa – you'll want to turn to Qatar Airways Avios. And even though you can't directly transfer Chase points to Qatar to Qatar, you can easily combine your Avios balances between British Airways and Qatar.
And these multi-segment awards wind up being much cheaper by booking through Qatar itself than British Airways. Booking through Qatar, you could fly in Qsuites to …
- Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Muscat (MCT) for 75,000 miles – just 63,000 Chase points after the transfer bonus!
- Other destinations like Amman (AMM) and Cairo (CAI) as well as major Indian cities go up to 80,000 miles each way, or 67,000 Chase points with this bonus.
- Getting to the Seychelles (SEZ) or Maldives (MLE) will run you 85,000 miles each way, which works out to 71,000 Chase points.
- Both Southeast Asia and South Africa typically cost 95,000 miles each way – 80,000 Chase points with the 20% bonus.
These flights with connections raise your final cash costs even higher, typically to around $300 or more.
Take our advice: Book a flight that connects onward to the Middle East so you can access Qatar's incredible Al Safwa Lounge during your layover. There's even a sneaky way to connect onward in Qatar Airways First Class all the way to the Maldives (MLE), Bangkok (BKK), Hong Kong (HKG), or Perth (PER) in Australia … for the same rate as flying business class the whole way.
No matter which route you take, you won't regret it.
Read our full guide on the best ways to book Qsuites!
Bottom Line
A 30% transfer bonus to any airline is great. But these transfer bonuses to British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia opens up ways to book some of our favorite deals in the world of points and miles for even less.
Just be sure to take advantage before it's gone: This new Chase transfer bonus ends at the end of the month, on Oct. 31.
