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American Express is offering a limited-time 40% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios (and thus to Aer Lingus, Iberia and Qatar). With the bonus, the transfer rate is 1 MR – 1.4 Avios.
We don’t know many details about this, as the American Express site is super wonky today. Nick was able to find the offer in incognito mode, but none of us can actually get into our accounts to see the details.
Amex appears to be getting back up and running now. There were some initial problems with folks not seeing the bonus listed on actual transfer portal, but I believe that was a site glitch. It’s on the main transfer page and and on the portal for my wife’s account and mine.
With the recent addition of Qatar, however, this could be a nifty win. BA recently lowered their pricing on Qsuites to/from Doha to 70,000 Avios, meaning 50,000 MR points will get you there. Some Qatar awards are still cheaper through Qatar directly, see Stephen’s post on transferring here. Keep an eye out for Aer Lingus (both their site and via BA). We found a bunch of availability last week on Alaska and United from July through the Summer…worth seeing if something pops up in the near future that’s bookable with Avios.
The Deal
- Transfer American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios and get a 40% bonus (1 MR – 1.4 Avios).
Key Terms
- Minimum transfer is 1,000 Membership Rewards points.
- 1000 Membership Rewards points =
10001400 Avios - Membership Rewards point transfers that result in more than 999,000 Avios will not be accepted.
- Redeem for this exclusive offer from 12:00 a.m. MT on 4/1/2022 to 11:59 p.m. MT on 5/15/2022 to receive 40% additional Avios. Additional Avios will be awarded at the time of transfer.
h/t: (reader jeph36 and Jingxuan)
Best Uses British Airways Avios
- Business class to Europe from 34K one-way via Iberia. This is probably my favorite Avios redemption and have one booked this year already. Iberia charges as few as 34K miles off-peak for one-way in business class on its own flights from New York, Boston, Chicago, or DC to Madrid during off-peak season. The fuel surcharges are quite reasonable and they also run seasonal promotions (usually during the Winter) where the prices drop down even further.
- Business class South America from 22K one-way via British Airways. I've used this once and availability can be tricky to find. But when you can find it, BA has excellent pricing for shorter distance non-stop American Airlines award flights.
- Long Haul Business Class on Qatar Airways. After Qatar's addition to Avios, BA lowered many of their award prices on Qatar. It's now possible to travel between the United States and Doha in business for only 70,000 Avios with minimal surcharges.
Things to Know British Airways Avios
- Avios Purchases are processed by Points.com and DO NOT count as airfare.
- Avios can be easily transferred between Aer Lingus, Iberia and British Airways
- Avios expire after 36 months of no activity
- British Airways has near-extortionate fuel surcharges when flying on BA metal. It's best to keep Avios for use with partners or the Iberia Plus
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