Transfer Amex Points To British Airways Avios With 30% Bonus

Transfer Amex Points To British Airways Avios With 30% Bonus

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The Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States has just introduced a lucrative new transfer bonus, which I imagine many people will be interested in taking advantage of.

30% transfer bonus from Amex to Avios

Through Thursday, August 31, 2023, the US Amex Membership Rewards program is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer points to British Airways Executive Club. Make sure you actually see this bonus when you log into your Amex account before making a transfer, as it’s possible that not all members are eligible for this.

Transfer Amex points to Avios with a 30% bonus

For what it’s worth, the same transfer bonus is being offered to Iberia Plus, but not to Aer Lingus AerClub. Keep in mind that you can transfer Avios between the various “flavors” online at no cost (this includes Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways, etc.).

Points ordinarily transfer at a 1:1 ratio, so during this promotion they transfer at a 1:1.3 ratio. Since the bonus is hardcoded into the transfer ratio, you can take advantage of this promotion multiple times. Transfers between the programs are generally instant.

American Express® Gold Card
  • 4x points at restaurants
  • 4x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases annually
  • 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com
  • $250
American Express® Business Gold Card
  • Access to Amex Offers
  • Redeem Amex Points Towards Airfare
  • $375
The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Earn 5x points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500k/year)
  • $200 Annual Uber Credit
  • Amex Centurion Lounge Access
  • $695
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Earn 1.5x on purchases of $5,000 or more in a single transaction on up to $2MM per calendar year
  • Redeem Points For Over 1.5 Cents Each Towards Airfare
  • Amex Centurion Lounge Access
  • $695
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
  • 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
  • Access to Amex Offers
  • No annual fee

For what it’s worth, we last saw transfer bonuses from Amex to British Airways twice in 2022 — there was a 40% bonus in April 2022, and then a 25% bonus in September 2022.

Redeem Avios for travel in British Airways 787 first class

Is acquiring British Airways Avios worth it?

British Airways Executive Club can be a polarizing frequent flyer program, given its unconventional distance based award chart. There’s a lot to love about British Airways Avios, including the ability to redeem them for great value on short haul flights with oneworld carriers, like Alaska and American. That being said, there are hefty fuel surcharges when redeeming Avios for travel on British Airways, which many members find to be frustrating.

Personally I consider British Airways Executive Club to be one of the most useful frequent flyer programs, given on just how many carriers you can redeem, plus the unique award pricing. I think there’s always value in having a reserve of Avios, as they seem to often come in handy. Transferring Amex points to British Airways with a bonus is one of my favorite uses of Membership Rewards points.

See this post for some of the best uses of British Airways Avios.

Redeem Avios for travel in Qatar Airways Qsuites

There are lots of ways to earn British Airways Avios

While a 30% bonus on transfers from Amex to British Airways is a good deal, I just want to point out the other ways to earn British Airways Avios. British Airways Executive Club partners with multiple transferable points currencies, including Amex Membership RewardsCapital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

On top of that, there are three credit cards issued in the US that earn Avios:

Lastly, British Airways Executive Club often sells Avios with a bonus.

Bottom line

At the moment the US Amex Membership Rewards program is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus. We’ve seen transfer bonuses from Amex to British Airways and Iberia several times before, and it has the potential to be a great deal. There are lots of great uses of British Airways Avios, whether you’re looking to travel short haul on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines, or long haul on Qatar Airways.

I think there are situations where it could be worth making a speculative transfer, assuming you have redemption plans in the coming weeks and months in mind.

Do you plan on transferring Amex points to British Airways Avios with this bonus?

Conversations (6)
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  1. Lulu Guest

    I don't know why anyone would want any BA Avios, I have never been able to book a FF flight ever on BA and I have tried! I have only ever been able to use points to buy down the cost of my ticket. I consider the BA program one of the worst FF programs out there

    1. Adele Guest

      Some FF programs just seem designed to be appealing only for partner redemptions, and BA Avios is it. I used them on Qatar (transferred Avios), AerLingus (transferred Avios), Alaska (excellent value for Hawaii and intra-Alaska flights), never for actual BA metal.

  2. Max Guest

    Anybody know if this is for Amex US only or applies to UK also? Seems not from what I can see

  3. V Mazzanti Guest

    Just transfer 100k Amex points over :-)

  4. Sophia Guest

    Thank you so much for the alert! I need to make an Avios redemption for some Qsuites and was hoping the transfer bonus would come back before I book these tickets next month - Just saved 113k MR points!

  5. Robin Guest

    HECK YES! LET'S GO!

    Transferred 250k MR, that gets me a free biz flight for two to Madrid with this bonus.

    What a beautiful thing.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Robin Guest

HECK YES! LET'S GO! Transferred 250k MR, that gets me a free biz flight for two to Madrid with this bonus. What a beautiful thing.

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Adele Guest

Some FF programs just seem designed to be appealing only for partner redemptions, and BA Avios is it. I used them on Qatar (transferred Avios), AerLingus (transferred Avios), Alaska (excellent value for Hawaii and intra-Alaska flights), never for actual BA metal.

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Lulu Guest

I don't know why anyone would want any BA Avios, I have never been able to book a FF flight ever on BA and I have tried! I have only ever been able to use points to buy down the cost of my ticket. I consider the BA program one of the worst FF programs out there

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