Get A 40% Bonus When You Transfer AMEX Points Into Avios

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Josh Hallett [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Update: Today is the final day for this transfer bonus


Originally posted on 7/17:
Get A 40% Bonus When You Transfer AMEX Points Into BA Avios

Get A 40% Bonus When You Transfer AMEX Points Into Iberia Avios

What a difference a week makes!

Last Monday you needed 250 AMEX points to transfer into 200 Avios.

On Thursday that ratio was restored to parity. 

With this bonus 250 AMEX points transfers into 350 Avios. This promotion runs through 9/17.

 

This is only valid for US cardholders.

Previous MR->Avios bonus offers:
11/27/11=30%
03/15/12=50%
08/28/12=40%
12/03/12=30%
04/22/13=35%
10/15/13=20%
12/15/14=40%
12/02/15=25% (Effective 0% bonus due to decreased transfer ratio)
08/10/16=50% (Effective 20% bonus due to decreased transfer ratio)
11/15/16=50% (Effective 20% bonus due to decreased transfer ratio)
7/17/17=40%

About British Airways Avios:

In 2011 BA launched the Avios program and it provides a great value for short-haul flights.

Unfortunately their domestic OneWorld partner, American, has been stingy with award availability of late. You’ll want to search for saver awards on AA.com to check the availability on your desired routes before transferring miles.

-There are no expedite or close-in fees for last minute award ticket bookings with BA Avios.  That saves you $75 compared to other programs.

-Earning or redeeming any amount of Avios extends your entire account validity for another 36 months.

-You can cancel tickets and redeposit miles for the lesser of $55 or the taxes you paid.  That means you pay just $5.60 to cancel a one-way domestic itinerary (and you always should book domestic flights as one-ways)That saves you up to $200 compared to other programs when you need to cancel.

-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.

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

-You can save Avios on some routes by transferring points from BA Avios into Iberia Avios. Iberia’s awards start at just 11K Avios round-trip.

-You can search American and Alaska award availability on AA.com by 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, Aer Lingus, and LATAM have to 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.

I’ve booked dozens of short-haul tickets using Avios for travel on American.  A Cleveland-NYC ticket can cost $1,200 round-trip if you don’t stay for at least 3 days or if you book last-minute.  But BA allows me to use just 15,000 Avios for that same flight, a whopping value of 8 cents per mile.

-Avoiding fuel surcharges:
-There are no fuel surcharges for travel on American within the Western Hemisphere. Flights start at 7,500 Avios plus $5.60.
-Air Berlin flights still have no fuel surcharges systemwide and remain the cheapest way to get to Israel. They have flights to Israel from Berlin for 10K Avios. Flights to several US cities cost just 20K Avios.

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  • Aer Lingus flights have no fuel surcharges systemwide, these flights can only be booked over the phone.
  • Alaska flights have no fuel surcharges systemwide, these flights can only be booked over the phone.
  • LATAM flights have no fuel surcharges systemwide. Some of their flights can only be booked over the phone.
  • Flights within Australia, Europe, Japan, and many other countries and regions have little to no fuel surcharges.
  • There are also no fuel surcharges for flying on Qantas within or from Australia.
  • Fuel surcharges on award-winning carrier Cathay Pacific are also very low or non-existent and you don’t even need to fly all the way to Hong Kong (though you should-great city with awesome kosher food, airport lounges with kosher food, and a business or first class flight you’ll never forget!) to get a taste of their awesome bed, seat, pajamas, and amenities. They fly a daily 777 nonstop between JFK and Vancouver which I reviewed in this trip report.
  • You can significantly cut the fuel surcharges when flying on Iberia by transferring your BA Avios into Iberia Avios
  • British Airways 5th Freedom Flights (flights that don’t depart from or arrive to the UK) have significantly lower fees. For example even though Singapore-Sydney is a longer flight than NYC-London the fees in first class on Singapore-Sydney are less than half of those from NYC-London.
  • As long as you have earned a single Avios within the past 12 months then fuel surcharges for intra-Europe and intra-Africa flights will be very low. You can transfer points from AMEX, Chase, or Starwood to activate that benefit.

Here is the BA Avios award chart for flying on a single partner airline. Rates are for each segment flown.

ZoneFlight DistanceCoachBusinessFirst
1 (Flights that don't touch the USA)1-6504.5K9K18K
1 (Flights to, from, or within the USA)1-6507.5K15K30K
2651-1,1517.5K15K30K
31,152-2,00010K20K40K
42,001-3,00012.5K37.5K50K
53,001-4,00020K60K80K
64,001-5,50025K75K100K
75,501-6,50030K90K120K
86,501-7,00035K105K140K
97,001+50K150K200K

Sample uses:

  • 3,250 MR points will transfer into 4,550 Avios, more than enough for a one-way short-haul ticket from London-Milan, Iguazu Falls-Sao Paulo, Johannesburg-Victoria Falls, Hong Kong to Taiwan, Melbourne to Sydney, and between most cities within Europe.
  • 5,500 MR points will transfer into 7,700 Avios, more than enough for a one-way short-haul ticket between New York and places like Bermuda, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Orlando, Montreal, Pittsburgh, or Toronto, or between Miami and the Bahamas or Cancun, or between LA and Cabo on OneWorld partner American.
  • 7,250 MR points becomes 10,150 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight between Germany or Austria and Tel Aviv, Chicago and LA, Hong Kong to Singapore, or JFK to Cancun, S. Maarten, or S. Juan,
  • 9,250 MR points becomes 12,600 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight between the west coast and any of the Hawaiian islands or between 00New York and the west coast
  • 10,750 MR points becomes 15,050 Avios, more than enough for a one-way business class flight between NYC and Toronto or Bermuda or between Miami and most destinations in the Caribbean.
  • 14,500 MR points becomes 20,300 Avios, more than enough for a one-way 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 one-way flight nonstop flight between NYC or Chicago and Dublin or Shannon, Ireland with no fuel surcharges on Aer Lingus.
  • 18,000 MR points becomes 25,200 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight between New York and Brazil or Argentina.
  • 21,500 MR points becomes 30,100 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight between New York and Tel Aviv on Air Berlin with no fuel surcharges.
  • 25,000 MR points becomes 35,000 Avios, enough for a one-way flight between the US and Hong Kong in coach.
  • 27,000 MR points becomes 37,800 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight in lie-flat business class on Cathay Pacific from JFK to Vancouver with no fuel surcharges. It’s also enough to fly from Boston to Ireland in lie-flat business class on Aer Lingus with no fuel surcharges, though you’ll need to call to book.
  • 37,750 MR points becomes 50,050 Avios, more than enough for a one-way flight in lie-flat first class on Cathay Pacific from JFK to Vancouver with no fuel surcharges.

 

American Express is a DansDeals.com advertiser.

Need some Membership Rewards points?

You can view credit card offers by hovering over the “Credit Cards” tab. You can then click on “Credit Cards From All Banks“ to find card offers via the logo of the bank you’re looking for.

-American Express Membership Rewards points transfer instantly to BA and can be earned from consumer cards including AMEX Everyday, Everyday Preferred, Premier Gold, and Platinum.

They can also be earned on business cards including AMEX Business Gold, Platinum, and Blue for Business.

The Blue for Business card earns a whopping 2 AMEX MR points per dollar everywhere on up to $50K in spending per calendar year! With a 40% transfer bonus, that’s an effective 2.8 Avios per dollar spent!

Will you transfer points to BA Avios with this bonus?

Leave a Reply

48 Comments On "Get A 40% Bonus When You Transfer AMEX Points Into Avios"

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

Jay

Dan if i transfered 6 weeks ago, is it too late to call and get this offer?

Izz

BOS-SNN/DUB seems to be 13k now from JFK/BOS/WAS etc.. 12.5k award has been devalued, and business is no longer 37.5k as they moved the band to 3k-4k award.

JD

What would be the best routes to Israel using this Avios offer?

Gershon

exactly what I was wondering too

noson

Join the discussion

jess

I’m also wondering this exact question

Jeff

If I have a bunch of membership rewards (around 60,000). Should I use it all on this transfer. I plan to go to the West coast in summer 2018. And will use chase/Hyatt points for hotels. Thanks!

jack6941

Whats the difference in the last 2 redemption amounts, they both seem to be enough for a one way ticket in first class to Vancouver?

Sasha

I need some points in Ba Avios for a west coast to Hawaii 25k miles award ticket. Can it be done through Iberia?

ThX!

EWR TO ORD

Chicago redemption to new York used to be really good, now it is terrible! what happened?

Dave

Can I transfer my brothers mr to my avios account? Same address.

Al

It’s not surprising they did this. Avios have been rendered useless since the gutting of the AAdvantage program.

Eli

Can I transfer Amex Hilton honor points?

Iz

Will transferring MR to Avios reset the expiration date on my existing Avios?

Ben

Dan,
any indication AA will begin making more flights available again, or do you think this is their new normal?
thx

Joe1234

If I plan to sell, is it worth it to transfer to MR to ba?

Avi

Is it just me or every time I look for a flight on BA.com they have no flights available?

Points

Air Canada now offering 35% bonus for transferring hotel points (great for Spg/marriott)

Ron

Trying to determine how many of my AMEX MR points to convert now to Avios? When will this bonus likely expire? Can points go out of Avios back into AMEX MR if needed?

El-Ad Eliovson

Hi Dan! How does one use Avios to book Airberlin NYC-TLV? That route never appears when using ba.com.

El-Ad Eliovson

Same question for West Coast to Hawaii

sara

IS it to late to get this offer?

Israel

BA conveniently is not showing or offering any AA flights whatsoever right now

Dovid

i just called BA to book a 7.5K award on AA and i verified that the 7.5K award was indeed available on aa.com. The British agent explained that BA can no longer see the same availability in T class as AA can and therefore they can’t book it for me at all (both online or over the phone). I tried a bunch of dates and they all showed open on AA and sold out on BA. is this a new trend of this not working anymore? or is this a temporary glitch at BA and should be solved in a day or so?

Bas number

What’s ba till free number to call and book American airline flights? Using avios I can’t find it

Moe

Hi Dan,

I searched on AA for flights, and see lots of availability for award/redemption flights. However, I have not been able to find any corresponding flights on BA’s website. Have they stopped partnering with AA??

points

I booked a ticket and cancelled a few days later, but it was more than 24 hrs before the flight when I cancelled it. They did not credit me back my Avios, just the 5.50 fee that I paid. Do you know where it says in their documentation.website that I can cancel for a refund of the Avios?

Josh

will transferring in to BA points extend my BA account, currently my BA points are expiring in 1 year

Ben

Little late to post, but I think the rate on Air Linguis from Boston to Dublin is 50k/60k now (offpeak/peak) instead of the 37.5k you list in the article. I just want to point this out if others, like myself, use older articles to make Travel decisions.

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