Got a stash of transferable points but find yourself still shy of that dream getaway? Don't write it off just yet.
Banks like American Express, Chase, and Capital One routinely roll out bonuses when transferring points to a specific airline or hotel partner, meaning you don't have to transfer as many points as you normally need to book an award flight. Think of these transfer bonuses as a way to get free miles.
Just how good of a transfer bonus you'll get will vary from bank to bank and program to program, but you can generally expect to see bonuses in the range of 10% to 40% – sometimes even more. They're typically offered for a limited time, and it can be tough to keep track of them all – especially if you have transferrable points with multiple credit card companies.
Here are all the current transfer bonuses available as of publication, broken down by bank.
| Transfer from | Transfer to | Bonus | Expires | More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Exrpess | Virgin Atlantic | 30% | May 31, 2024 | Read our guide |
| Capital One | Virgin Red | 30% | April 30, 2024 | Read our guide |
| Chase | Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 25% | April 30, 2024 | Read our guide |
| Citi | Accor ALL | 50% | May 11, 2024 |
Wondering why you should transfer your points? Read up on how it can help you book flights for less!
Taking advantage of these transfer bonuses can be critical to getting even more value out of your points. But there are a few things you'll want to keep in mind before rushing to transfer your points.
Here's the most important one: 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 you want are actually available to book) before transferring your points.
Time and time again, we've seen loyalty programs devalue their points by raising award rates with little to no warning. The best way to safeguard against these sudden devaluations is to keep your points safe (and flexible) in your bank account until you're ready to use them.
Read next: When Does it Make Sense to Speculatively Transfer Your Points?
And keep in mind that you'll still have to pay taxes and fees on when booking an award ticket. For some airlines, those fees are negligible. But others charge much more when booking award flights with points and miles – especially if you're flying business or first class with your miles.
Let's take a closer look at each of the current transfer bonuses and how you might want (or not want) to use them.
See our master list of credit card transfer partners!
30% Bonus on Amex Transfers to Virgin Atlantic
American Express is currently running a great promotion with Virgin Atlantic, offering a 30% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to your Virgin account. This bonus is good until May 31, and is widely available so long as you've got a card that earns Membership Rewards like the *amex gold* or the *amex platinum*.
Even after a sudden devaluation to one of our favorite workarounds for bookings Delta flights for fewer points, there are still plenty of great ways to use Virgin points to get to Europe and elsewhere around the globe.
Here's an example of how you can use this transfer bonus to save on a trip to Europe next summer. We recently found wide-open availability from many U.S. cities on Delta nonstop flights booked through Virgin Atlantic. With this bonus, you'd only need to transfer 47,000 Amex points to book flights that would otherwise cost $1,200 or more! And best of all, these flights are Delta main cabin economy tickets, so you can bring a free carry-on and checked bag without paying extra.
Looking to stay closer to home? Delta flights under 500 miles in distance are still only 7,500 Virgin points one-way. Factoring in the current 30% transfer bonus, you can easily take a quick weekend getaway for fewer than 12,000 Amex points roundtrip.
If you're looking to take advantage of this bonus from American Express, it runs through the end of May!
Read more: Save Big on Short Delta Flights by Booking with Virgin Atlantic Instead!
30% Bonus on Capital One Transfers to Virgin Atlantic
Capital One is currently offering a 30% bonus when transferring Capital One miles to your Virgin Red account. If you've been contemplating a transfer, you've got nearly a month to capitalize on this bonus – it's set to expire on April 30!
While Virgin Red might not sound familiar, it's the new(ish) overarching loyalty program of Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels, and more. And while other transferrable points only transfer to Virgin Atlantic, Capital One miles transferred to Virgin Red can be used for Virgin cruises, unique activities, and even a stay on Richard Branson's own private island.
Again and again and again, we've been unearthing outstanding award availability to use points to book business class on carriers like Air New Zealand. We did it again just a few weeks back, with wide-open award space flying from Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) to Auckland (AKL) this spring, summer, and fall.
And Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the cheapest way to book these seats … by far.
The airline charges just 62,500 points each way for an Air New Zealand business class redemption between the U.S. and New Zealand. Factor in this 30% transfer bonus, and 48,100 Capital One miles are all you need to book!
Unfortunately, you also can't book these awards online at VirginAtlantic.com – you'll have to call the airline at 1-800-365-9500 and feed an agent the route and dates you want to book. Wait for the airline to confirm your flights are available before transferring your Capital One Venture miles to Virgin.
Read our full guide to this transfer bonus and all the great ways to use it!
25% Bonus on Chase Transfers to Flying Blue
Chase recently rolled out a new 25% 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 April 30, so you've still got some time to make use of this bonus if it fits your travel plans.
Whether you want to get to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), or connect almost anywhere flying business class to Europe, Flying Blue now charges just 50,000 miles each way. With this transfer bonus, you’d need as few as 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points to make it happen.
You can also book economy awards to Europe using Air France and KLM miles – including one-way trips from several U.S. cities for less than 20,000 miles.
Take this one-way flight from Chicago (ORD) to Prague (PRG) for example. Flying Blue is charging just 11,250 miles plus $100 in taxes and fees for this one-way flight on Air France, with a quick connection in Paris (CDG). By taking advantage of the current 25% transfer bonus from Chase, you'd only need to transfer 9,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to Flying Blue in order to make the hop across the pond. That's an absolute steal!
Just be warned: Flying Blue does pass on some hefty cash surcharges on award tickets that make it less appealing when booking economy tickets. While it can easily be worth paying $200 or so for a one-way business class ticket to Europe, that's not always the case with booking economy fares.
Finding flights at these low rates may require some flexibility, as you won't find them on every single date. Luckily, Air France and KLM allow you to easily scroll through up to a month's worth of flights to find the best deals.
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.
Hi! This is super helpful, thank you! Quick question – do you simply need to transfer the points from the card to the hotel or airline stated above by the deadline/deal expiration, or do you need to actually travel between the transfer bonus announcement and their expiration date? Thank you!
Hi Amy. You just need to transfer them. No requirement to use them by the expiration date for the transfer bonus.
Thanks for sharing! I didn’t realize my Citi card was ineligible for points transfer until I read “To take advantage of this bonus you’ll first need to have a card that earns transferable ThankYou points like the Citi Premier® Card.” So although I am disappointed to not have flexible use of those ThankYou points, now I know to spend instead on my more flexible cards!
Flying Blue charges as LITTLE as 50k for biz to Europe. Redemptions increase significantly from that amount.