Get Up to 50% More Points with These Current Transfer Bonuses!

Got a stash of transferable points from banks like American Express, Capital One, or Chase? Take advantage of these current transfer bonuses to get even more out of them.

Think of transfer bonuses as a way to get free miles. The big banks routinely roll out bonuses of 10% to as much as 40% – and sometimes even more! – when transferring points to a specific airline or hotel partner. With a 25% transfer bonus, for example, you'd only need to transfer 40,000 points to get the 50,000 miles you may need to book an award ticket.

Here are all the current transfer bonuses available as of publication, broken down bank by bank.

Wondering why you should transfer your points? Read up on how it can help you book flights for less!

But before you rush to send your points somewhere with a bonus, remember: These transfers are a one-way street. Once you send the points to an airline partner, you cannot get them back to your Capital One, Chase, or other credit card account. That means you'll generally want to have a redemption in mind (and make sure the flights or hotels you want are actually available to book) before transferring your points.

Let's take a closer look at each of the current transfer bonuses and how you may (or may not) want to use them.

15% Bonus on Amex Transfers to Avianca LifeMiles

You can currently get a 15% bonus when moving American Express Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles – giving cardholders a way to save even more on Star Alliance award flights. This transfer bonus runs through July 31. 

Importantly, you won't see this 15% bonus when you log into your Amex account: LifeMiles is handling it on the backend when you transfer points from cards like the *amex gold* or *amex platinum*, kicking in a 15% bonus afterward.

If you're unfamiliar, LifeMiles is the quirky yet underrated mileage program of South American carrier Avianca. While customer service can be spotty at best and even its website is hit or miss, you put up with it because few airline programs offer cheaper ways to book flights using miles around the globe – with low cash taxes and fees, too.

Sadly, LifeMiles don't go quite as far as they used to after a couple of nasty devaluations over the last year – the program raised many award rates to Europe, Asia, and beyond by as much as 70%! Thankfully, Avianca rolled back some of these devaluations and there are still deals to be had – including business class to Europe for as low as just 55,000 miles each way.

So long as you avoid United, you'll now generally pay 69,000 miles one-way for a business class award to Europe with Avianca LifeMiles. That's true whether you're hopping on a short overseas flight from the East Coast … or making a longer journey, like this TAP Air Portugal business class fight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Lisbon (LIS). 

With a 15% bonus, you'd only need to transfer 60,000 Amex points to make it a reality. 

But LifeMiles is full of oddities … in a good way: There are a handful of routes that price out even cheaper. For example, you can head to Switzerland on this SWISS business class route from New York City (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) for just 55,000 miles. Factor in that transfer bonus, and you need just 48,000 Amex points to book!

Check out this story for full details on this transfer bonus!

50% Bonus on Chase Transfers to Marriott Bonvoy

Chase is currently offering a 50% transfer bonus when moving Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy. This transfer bonus runs through Aug. 15, so you've got a couple of weeks remaining to take advantage.

It's easy to see a 50% bonus and get excited. But be warned that not all points are created equal … especially with hotel points like Marriott. Still, if you have a particular hotel in mind and need to top off your account with a few extra points in order to make it a reality, transferring Ultimate Rewards to Marriott with a 50% bonus is certainly better than the usual 1:1 ratio.

Looking at a one-night stay in downtown Minneapolis, I can book the Minneapolis Marriott City Center for 30,000 Bonvoy points per night. If I didn't already have any Bonvoy points in my account, I'd need to transfer 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards with the current transfer bonus in order to have enough points to book this stay.

20% Bonus on Citi Transfers to Flying Blue

Citi recently rolled out a new 20% bonus on transfers to Air France/KLM Flying Blue, a great mileage program to get from the U.S. to Europe using fewer points. It runs through July 19, so you've still got some time to make use of this bonus if it fits your travel plans.

Even after Flying Blue raised award rates earlier this year, you can still find business class flights to Europe for as low as 60,000 miles each way – a relatively mild increase from the previous, 50,000-mile price point. You'll find this price whether you want to get to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), or connect almost anywhere in Europe.

Factor in this transfer bonus, you’d need just 50,000 Citi ThankYou points to make it happen. 

The big kicker here is that it's gotten tough to find the availability to book at these ultra-low rates. With Flying Blue's dynamic award pricing, you're more likely to see rates of 200,000 miles or more – especially in business class. But if you're flexible, you can find a deal like this and it remains one of the best ways to book business class with miles. Luckily, Air France and KLM allow you to easily scroll through up to a month's worth of flights to find the best deals.

You can also book economy awards to Europe using Air France and KLM miles – including one-way trips from most U.S. cities for 25,000 miles.

Take this one-way flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Paris (CDG) for example. Flying Blue is charging 25,000 miles plus $95 in taxes and fees for this one-way flight on Air France. By taking advantage of the current 25% transfer bonus from Chase, you'd only need to transfer 21,000 Citi ThankYou points in order to make the hop across the pond.

Just know, the cash surcharges Flying Blue passes on, even on economy award tickets, can add up in a hurry. While it can easily be worth paying $200 or so for a one-way business class ticket to Europe, that's less competitive when it comes to economy class pricing.

But there are plenty of other great ways to redeem Flying Blue miles, like: 

• It's easily the best workaround to book virtually any Delta-operated flight for less, whether you're flying domestically, heading over to Hawaii or down to the Caribbean, or even scoring a typically hard-to-find Delta One business class seat abroad.
• You can book SAS business class between the U.S. and Copenhagen (CPH) for as low as 36,000 miles each way – transferring just 29,000 Citi points with this 25% bonus to make it happen! 
• While most airlines have raised award rates, Air France/KLM actually slashed rates to book China Airlines business class between North America and Taipei (TPE)!

Read our guide to finding & booking award flights using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles!

Bottom Line

Transfer bonuses can be a great way to get more value from your points and help you realize your dream vacation even sooner. These bonuses are constantly coming and going, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the current promotions before moving your points to ensure you're not leaving any free points on the table.

But it's always best to keep your points flexible until you're ready to book. Due to constant loyalty program devaluations, transferring points without an immediate plan to use them will rarely be a good option.