We are huge advocators of collecting flexible credit card points, like American Express Membership Rewards Points-versus just earning miles from a specific airline credit card. That’s because your points stay safe from airlines changing the rules, or amount of points you need, and on top of that- you can occasionally get an incredible bonus. American Express and British Airways have just launched a 40% transfer bonus, if you transfer your points from Amex to British Airways. Here’s how to do it- and why you should think about it…

In This Deal You’ll Get 1.4 British Airways Miles For Every Amex Point…

That’s awesome. If you transferred 10,000 Amex points, you’d have 14,000 British Airways miles. The standard rate is 1:1, so this is a significant bonus. Now, you’re probably thinking…but what if I don’t fly British Airways. Erase that thought, because you can use British Airways miles all over the place, on other airlines. The bonus deal is on until September 17th, then returns to just 1:1….

British Airways Miles (Avios) Are One Of The Best Tricks For Last Minute Flights In The US, On American Airlines, And Abroad-Worldwide…

We have the tell all post on the subject here, but essentially, starting at just 7,500 points one way, you can cover any ticket for a flight of 1,152 miles or less. Think entire east coast, or entire west coast, central, etc, even things like New York to Florida. You can also do this worldwide. For example, we redeemed 40,000 points for FIRST CLASS on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Tokyo. Magic. In that example, you’d only need 29,000 Amex points, thanks to the 1.4X bonus.

And Despite The Surcharges, British Airways Miles Are Still Fun For British Airways First Class, Etc…

No, it may not be maximal value (for all you uber nerds out there), but flying First Class is fun, and doing so for just 68,000 points one way between New York and London, or other US cities and London (this does work anywhere BA flies, just at slightly different rates) is great fun. Sure, you’ll pay $500 or so, in addition to the points- but it’s first class. You can make it up in $130 a bottle champagne, not to mention the bed…

Now How Do We Transfer The Points?!

Easy. Login to your Amex account, follow these steps and transfer. The bonus is built it, and you should see it mentioned on the British Airways transfer page. If that’s all too complex for you, simply phone in- using the number on the back of your card, and you’re good to go…

 

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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8 Comments

  1. Gilbert – This also works on Iberia, which has only around $200 in taxes RT. After the conversion, you can fly to Spain in J class for 49K points and $200. 26″ seats, sounds like a deal to me!!!

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