Get A 35% Bonus When You Transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points Into British Airways Avios!

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Update: This promotion will end today.  We will likely see another BA transfer promotion before the end of the year which can range from 20%-50%.  If you will use the Avios within the next several months you should definitely transfer them now but otherwise it’s probably best to hold off.

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Originally posted on 04/22:

Related posts:
-Chase British Airways Visa-Get 50,000 bonus Avios for spending $1,000.
The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN-Get 50,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (plus 35% more Avios) for spending $5,000.

-Flying Round-Trip To Israel On Air Berlin For 45K American Express Membership Rewards Plus $81 Tax: A Tutorial
Getting AA Benefits On A Flight Booked Using BA Avios
-Getting To Israel On The Cheap With BA Avios And Air Berlin
-Save $400 On Fuel Surcharges To Israel By Booking Avios Rewards Via Iberia Instead Of British Airways!
-Booking With Avios? Check Those Surrounding Airports!
Breaking Down Which Miles To Use To Fly To Israel
-Using BA Miles To Fly In Business Class For An 80 Minute Flight Can Make Sense.
-Flying With An Infant With Miles In Business Or First Class? Start Collecting Air Canada Miles Or British Airways Avios
-Short-Haul Flights: BA Avios Versus LAN Lanpass.
-BA Miles Are Now Avios…For Better Or For Worse.

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BA/MR Promo Offer Linky

-Through 06/07/13 you will get 1,350 Avios for every 1,000 Membership Rewards (MR) Points transferred to BA.

-There are no fuel surcharges for travel on American Airlines within the Western Hemisphere,  There are also no fuel surcharges for flying on Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Alaska, or LAN worldwide.

-There are no expedite or close-in fees for last minute award ticket bookings with BA Avios.

-You can book one-way tickets for half of the miles listed below!

-You can cancel tickets and redeposit miles for the lessor of $40 or the taxes you paid.  That means you pay just $2.50 for cancel a one-way domestic itinerary (and it’s why I always book cheap domestic flights as one-ways)

-British Airways only charges 10% extra miles for a lap child flying internationally, even when traveling on AA. AA and other domestic carriers charge a whopping 10% of the full fare, which can add up to be a small fortune.

-You can transfer points from an American Express Membership Rewards account to anyone’s British Airways account, names don’t have to match.

-Points transfer instantly from MR to BA and there are no fees or taxes for transferring points to British Airways.

-You can borrow points by calling up Membership Rewards (800-AXP-EARN) and asking for a points advance. You then have up to 1 year to earn those points from signup bonuses or spending or else they will charge you 2.5 cents per point.

-British Airways charges double miles for business class and triple miles for first class. Beware that on AA’s domestic 2 class planes they charge first class rates for what is really just a poor excuse for business class.

-You can search AA and Alaska award availability on AA.com and looking for sAAver awards. BA can’t book AAnytime awards, but you should be able to find all AA sAAver awards on BA.com. BA.com does not display all available awards on all airlines, airlines like Alaska and Aer Lingus can only be booked over the phone.  Additionally you will have to call BA to make a booking if you see a sAAver award on AA.com that’s not showing on BA.com.

Sample uses:

-7,000 MR points will transfer into 9,450 Avios, more than enough for a 9K round-trip short-haul ticket between New York and places like Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Montreal, or Toronto or between Miami and the Bahamas, on OneWorld partner American.

-12,000 MR points becomes 16,200 Avios, more than enough for a 15K round-trip flight between New York and Chicago or Florida or from LA to Cabo.

-15,000 MR points becomes 20,250 Avios, more than enough for a 20K round-trip flight between Chicago and LA.

-19,000 MR points becomes 25,650 Avios, more than enough for a 25K round-trip flight between the west coast and any of the Hawaiian islands, New York and the west coast, or New York and Costa Rica. It’s even enough for a round-trip flight between Boston and Dublin or Shannon, Ireland with no fuel surcharges on Aer Lingus! You’ll have to call to book trips on airlines like Aer Lingus or Alaska.

-30,000 MR points becomes 40,500 Avios, more than enough for a 40K round-trip flight between Dallas and Hawaii or New York and London (though you’ll be hit with fuel surcharges for crossing the Atlantic on most airlines). It’s also enough for a round-trip flight between NYC or Chicago and Dublin or Shannon, Ireland with no fuel surcharges on Aer Lingus.

-38,000 MR points becomes 51,300 Avios, more than enough for a 50K round-trip flight between New York and Brazil or Argentina with no fuel surcharges.  It’s also more than enough for a round-trip in a lie-flat business class seat between JFK and Vancouver on Cathay Pacific.

-45,000 MR points becomes 60,750 Avios, more than enough for a 60K round-trip flight between New York and Tel Aviv on Air Berlin with no fuel surcharges.
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Need some Membership Rewards points? You can always call American Express to borrow some if you have a charge card

-The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN has a limited time offer for 50,000 points for spending $5,000 and the first year is free.  That will net you some 74,000 Avios.

-The American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card comes with 25,000 points for spending $2,000 and the first year is free.  That will net you some 36,000 Avios.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN earns 25K points as well you can get $200 of airline fee credits (or airline gift cards in $100 increments) in 2013 and another $200 in 2014. It also comes with a $100 global entry expedited customs (5 year membership) refund, platinum card airline club access (American, Delta, and USAirways) for you and your entire family for at least 4 years, priority pass worldwide unlimited lounge membership, Starwood gold elite status, car rental perks at Avis, Hertz, and National, lost item (up to $10,000/item) refund protection, checked baggage protection, Regus Office Club Membership with worldwide locations on the business card, 3 additional Platinum users (with 4 years of free platinum card lounge access, priority pass membership, and global entry refund) for just $58 each on the consumer card, no foreign exchange fees, and many more free benefits.  There is a $450 annual fee.  As with all annual fees they are refundable if cancelled within 60 days, they are pro-rated if cancelled after 60 days and have another American Express card (i.e. if you have the card for 3 months and then cancel you would get a $337.50 refund), and they are pro-rated if you downgrade the card even if you have no other American Express card.

HT: MEIR613, via DDF

Leave a Reply

77 Comments On "Get A 35% Bonus When You Transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points Into British Airways Avios!"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Yehuda

“BA can’t book AAnytime awards, but you should be able to find all AA sAAver awards on BA.com”

Including business tickets?

Thanks Dan!

chaim

Is it worth transfering amex points to ba if I’m only flying to europe?

Dan

@Yehuda:
Yes, but BA considers most US domestic business class to be first class.

@chaim:
Depends on where in Europe and the class of service.

Joseph

Can I sell these BA points? If yes, how much can I get for it?

J

Hey Dan-

I know sometimes they have richer transfer bonuses like 40 or even 50%. Should I hold out for those?

Thanks

zadikim

@dan should i wait out for a bigger bonus?

Shlomo

Sounds Great. Just a couple questions:
1- Do B.A. Avios miles expire?
2- How many Avios miles are needed to fly from NY to Hong Kong business class on cathay?
3- Can I book a flight through avios for someone else using my points?

Thanks Dan!

Daniel

once you transfer MR to BA do they expire?
Thanks!

jordan

is it worth it to exchange amex points for ba if i wud use them for round trip economic flights from ny to Toronto and vice versa. or shud I just cash out amex @ a rate of 1.45

Chaim

Dan, I want to travel from the east coast to EY for 33 of the Omer. I have enough MR points but I don’t see how to book on air Berlin on the BA Site. Thanks so much

Dan

@Joseph:
The value of AMEX MR points will have gone up today due to this bonus and you are probably better off selling them as AMEX points.

@J:
That would depend if you plan on flying anywhere in the next 5 months or so when the next bonus will probably come along.

Of course the next bonus can be less or more, impossible to know.

@Shlomo:
@Daniel:
1. BA Avios do not expire as long as you either earn or use 1 Avios every 3 years.

2. 70K each way.

3. Yes, but use the account holders credit card. Also if you do it too often they will assume you are selling the points and may shut don your account unless you can prove otherwise.

@jordan:
Definitely worth using Avios for that route unless tickets are very cheap.

@Chaim:
Be sure you click to “redeem Avios” when making a flight search and read this: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/27665

Jay

Can I transfer points from ultimate rewards from chase and still get this bonus?

Dan

@Jay:
No.
But Ultimate Rewards have a much higher market value due to other valuable transfer partners like Hyatt, United, and Korean. BA is not a very good use of those points.

Jay

Dan can you repost the link how to transfer UR to united or any other carrier for flights to Florida?

Chaim

How difficult is it in general to book Award flight with Air Berlin to Israel, in terms of availability? In other words, is that a real practical use?
Also, specifically for July, how likely one can find availability?
Thank you.

azhoopsfan

Figures this would happen…

I just transferred 128,000 MR to BA last Thursday (needed to book a trip in hurry). I am going to send and SM and ask (since it can’t hurt), but anyone have any idea whether Amex would credit me the 38k BA miles as a courtesy?

kapooyah

If i dont have any specific plan for my 50,000 amex points which i need to transfer before the end of the year (or else pay the yearly gold card fee) is worth it to transfer all them to Avios and just keep them there till needed?

stephen

what are the current transfer rates from MR/UR to avios?
link?

also Dan how did you become so good at this? it seems like you have 5 personal assistants constantly looking for the best deals. I just find it overwhelming…advice?

chaim

Economy 2 uk, belgium or germany. & btw is there any card or other way that can get me acces 2 a BA lounnge in london when flying economy class ?

Ilan

Sounds like a great deal.
Does it work on Canadian AMEX?

mike

Wow thanks. QUick question about Avios- is there an cancellation fees when use to book on partners ie Air Berlin?

yossi

Dan I got this Chase BA card 2 years ago, got the 50k, and closed it soon after. Am I eligible again for the 50K?

Shafele

Dan
I have 200,000 amex points. can you tell me HOW to transfer to BA?
Thanks

Isaac

Are there every bonus offers like this for Chase UR points to BA Avios?

Manhattan

how do I create a BA Avios account?

Avi R.

I remember in the past there was an additional bonus for every 10k miles transferred, is this still on? please correct me if I’m wrong

adam

Dan,

What is the best way to go about BA Avios?

Is it better to sign up for their Credit Card or just register with the website? What are the advantages/disadvantages to either of those options?

Sam

Dan,

Do I need an Avios account for this or a BA account? I went to avios’s website and it says I need to be a resident of the UK. Is this a problem?

Dan

@Jay:
BA charges 15K round-trip between NYC and Florida.
United will be 25K.

@Chaim:
It has good availability, but check for yourself.
See the tutorial in the related posts.

@azhoopsfan:
Dunno but let us know.
You should also tweet to them.

@kapooyah:
I’d transfer them all and cancel the card so that you’ll be eligible for another bonus in a year.

@stephen:
MR is 1:1.35
UR is 1:1.

Join DDF, maybe you’ll be able to make sense of it all.

@chaim:
Fly Aer Lingus to Ireland for cheap with no fuel surcharges. Or Air Berlin.

The AMEX Plat gives unlimited free Priority Pass which has lounges worldwide.
The Chase Ink cards give lounge club which gives you 2 free lounge visits worldwide as well.

@Ilan:
They just had a 50% bonus for Canada last month!
Not sure what the current Canada offer is, sorry.

@mike:
The lower of $40 or the taxes paid.

@yossi:
Recent reports are that people have been successful with the BA card.
Try opening a new BA account though to be safe.

@Shafele:
Just use the link in the post.

@Isaac:
No.
UR points are better utilized with other more valuable partners.

@Manhattan:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/execenrol/public/en_us?source=about_the_club

@Avi R.:
Never heard of that.

@adam:
I don’t understand the question.

You register here:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/execenrol/public/en_us?source=about_the_club

If you want the accumulate Avios you open up an AMEX MR or Starwood or Chase card.

@Sam:
You are on the wrong site then.
Use this form: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/execenrol/public/en_us?source=about_the_club

stephen

@Dan

I am part of DDF…just starting out so maybe once I start accumulating I can move on to the next step which would be searching for the best deals.

Jay

Can any rewards like UR or American Express transfer to flights on JetBlue?

Dan

@Jay:
Amex transfers to Jetblue but it’s not a good usage of AMEX points.

dansdeals fan

If I sign up for the Chase BA Visa
spend the money and close the account
will they refund the AF?
how long does it take for the Avios to post?

ss

Does this work for all american express points…I have points from a blue sky card. can I also do this exchange.

yehudis

I found milesaaver awards available on AA’s website, but 2 different BA agents told me I can’t book an avios award unless it shows specifically on BA’s site.
Please help! Thanks

Dan

@ss:
No.

@yehudis:
There’s a DDF thread where I help people if they post the full flight details:
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=14911.new#new

chayim

Do the Mr points have to be in your account for a certain amount of time for the transfer bonus ?

Dan

@chayim:
No.

chayim

Thanx Dan and is it hard coded into the transfer or do you need a special code?

Dan

Hard coded.

oompaloompa

Dan, do you have to transfer to your own BA account or can person A transfer MR points and convert into person B’s BA Account with the bonus?

Dan

@oompaloompa:
You can transfer the points to anyone’s BA account and still get the bonus.

que

Dan,
Can I make two BA accounts and transfer half each as I wan’t to split My ba points. Could I get in trouble for having 2 accounts?

Mendy

Dan,
You wrote no fees for the transfer but when i try to transfer it tells me there’s a $0.0006 fee per mile with a max of $99.

Dan

@que:
Why do you want to?

@Mendy:
Then you’ll just have to take my word for it. There are no fees for BA (or any foreign carrier).

Mendy

@Dan:
Thanks! Will do.

Daniel

Are Star Alliance miles more valuable than BA? Lets say I don’t want to use them for Israel or US Domestic, does it make more sense to transfer into ANA, AirCanada, or Singaore?

yehudis

Dan,
I finally figured out how to post to ddf. I appreciate your offer to help me figure this out, as I’m sure the other campers’ parents will as well.
yehudis

que

@Dan:

In case I want to sell it, hard to sell a big account

esther12

if i want to book a flight from chicago to NY using BA in general is it tough to find availability? i tried now for the summer months and can’t find anything. i looked on BA website, is there another better way to look?

Dan

@Daniel:
Depends where you want to go.

@que:
Better to leave it as AMEX if you want to sell.

@esther12:
There’s plenty of availability. It’s the same as saver award availability on AA.com where you can see availability for the whole month.

Just login to BA.com and click to search for Avios flights.

esther12

i can’t find anything for the dates i need on ba.com , do you think it’s too early now to search for July? better chances if i wait until gets closer to the date?

Dan

@esther12:
As I told you already, search AA.com for saver awards and you’ll see the whole month-long calendar view.

Availability changes daily.

Chaim

Thanks, but I need a lounge in heathrow airport terminal 5, neither priority pass or lounge club (which I received thru chase ink buss) have lounges in terminal 5. Pz advise how to be able to acces the BA lunge
Thanks

yehudis

Dan,
I can’t seeem to find an answer to my request for the flight info I put in onto the forum. Please help! I know that you usually answer on the comments so I imagine you did on the forum as well – can you send me a link bec I must be doing something wrong.
You wrote “As I told you already, search AA.com for saver awards and you’ll see the whole month-long calendar view – to Esther12”, but 2 BA agents told me that its not available for avios eventhough its available as a mileage saaver award on AA’s site.
thanks!!!
yehudis

ab

dan there is a good way to get around booking a lap child with avios for a international flight flying with AA just don’t book for the child then call AA to add they will only charge u the tax (from Canada 17.50$) what ba would also charge-plus the 10% but with aa it will be only the tax tried it severel times. dan ever tred it?

Rube

I’m trying to transfer and getting the following message
“The ability to transfer points to a frequent flier or frequent guest program is not available in the Membership Rewards Express(R) program.

To book travel online with the American Express Travel site and pay with points, click here.”

are there different levels of Amex points??

Yaakov

Dan,
You mentioned “British Airways only charges 10% extra miles for a lap child flying internationally, even when traveling on AA”. Is that true for business class too? Do they charge just 10% of the miles require for business class for a lap child?
I have been plotzing to know about that.
Thanks!

Dan

@yehudis:
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=14911

@Rube:
Yes.
You need a green, gold, or plat card to transfer points.
If you signup to one then all your MR points should become transferable.

@Yaakov:
Yes, same for business and first.
Was awesome when we took Rafi to Argentina in First.

chaim

need a lounge in heathrow airport terminal 5, neither priority pass or lounge club (which I received thru chase ink buss) have lounges in terminal 5. Pz advise how to be able to acces the BA lunge
Thanks

mitch

Dan, I had a ba chase card like 3 yrs ago and then canceled. can i apply now again and get bonus? would a new avious account number make a dif?
tks

malky

@dan, I purchased 7 tickets from BA.COM. (Not award tickets). Gave them my amex card, got confirmation #, the charge was pending on my cc for almost 10 days, but now its gone, wasnt billed. I checked online & my booking is still there & confirmed, was even able 2 change the prefered meal. Is there any chance of loosing my tickets once they realized it wasn’t paid 4???

Josh

I’m trying to figure out if it makes sense to sell my Amex MR now or to just transfer to Avios. Do I get more value in avios then the cash?
The only places I’d travel would be Israel or domestically.

Moish

I know this thread is a little old… but i’m hoping you’ll still see thsi and reply.

Do you knwo if it it an instant transfer or if it takes a few days? (if i transfer today, friday, when will i actually be able to book a ticket)

Thank you!

kapooyah

Dont do it!! Avios are terrible, and its almost impossible to book anything with points. I called them up and they said unless you reserve like a year ahead of time its not gonna happen.

Dan

@Moish:
Instant.

@kapooyah:
Lol… You’re first mistake is calling!

rj98

I need to travel to Hong Kong this fall and then to Thailand in Jan. It seems that tfr my MR to Avios would be worth while to obtain a tkt for Cathy. What would you suggest for Thailand? Thanks!

CHAIM999

I have already 50k @ Avios. And 80K om MR which i could advance, and transfer to Avios is there still a way where i could get by Avios NYC-TLV-NYC 7/21-7/31 2 tickets one stop the most (wedding in tlv on 7/23 night)

itche

if i need 6 tickets from nyc to buffalo and have 100,000 amex points should i transfer them into avios points ??

geekay

I transferred 38000 MR points to Avios on May 23. the transfer showed within two days but now being June 3rd I still didn’t see the 35% bonus credited. how long does it take for the bonus to show up?

Yanni

does anyone have the contact number to achieve this transfer?

azhoopsfan

Does this end at a particular time today? I.e., midnight eastern or pacific?

bathinginherring

Their availability has gotten horrible….so whats the point….

Gary

***The “points advance” option that Dan speaks about above is being phased out July 1st as told to me by various Amex reps when I did it a week ago. Max advance on gold card is 15K. On a plat card it’s 60K. They may not allow a point advance at all if you never had a membership rewards account in the past and your account is brand new.

Eli

FYI – An american express rep told me the ability to borrow membership rewards will end after this month.

Gary

@Gary: Meaning the last day to advance it may be 6/30/13. (payback is 12 months later…)

sendy

i will be in cleveland mon-wed what would you advise to do there and where should i eat

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