When Was the Last Membership Rewards Transfer Bonus?

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American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Miles, three of the four major transferrable point currencies, periodically run transfer bonuses to airline mileage partners. Chase Ultimate Rewards offered their first transfer bonus ever in May of this year to British Airways Avios.

To be clear, sometimes the transfer bonus is offered by the bank, and sometimes the transfer bonus is offered by the mileage program. Both kinds are included in this list.

When Was the Last Transfer Bonus? Series Index

• When Was the Last Transfer Bonus? Membership Rewards (this post)
• When Was the Last Transfer Bonus?  ThankYou Points
• When Was the Last Transfer Bonus? SPG Points*
• When Was the Last Transfer Bonus? Capital One Miles 
• When Was the Last Transfer Bonus? Ultimate Rewards 

*Prior to the merger of Marriott and SPG, there were two separate reward currencies for each hotel chain. In August of 2018, all SPG points were converted to Marriott points. You can still transfer Marriott points to airline partners as you could before with SPG points, but Marriott has not offered any transfer bonuses on top of the consistently available 5k airline mile bonus you’ll receive for every 60k Marriott points transferred so I’ve left them out of this series.

Why Should You Care about Transfer Bonuses?

Strategy and planning. Want to redeem less points? Have the flexibility to wait to book your award? If you have an idea of when the next transfer bonus is, you could wait until then.

Transfer bonus histories are especially useful if you want to transfer points to a partner that doesn’t normally have a favorable transfer rate, and a bonus would make the transfer feasible.

For example, a couple years ago I found a British Airways Avios sweetspot between Brazil and Europe: It only costs 42,500 Avios + taxes to fly Iberia (flat bed) Business Class between São Paulo and Madrid. Unfortunately my only access to Avios was via Membership Rewards, and the transfer rate at the time between Membership Rewards and BA Avios was 250:200, which would make the redemption worse.

I researched when the last transfer bonuses were from Membership Rewards to BA Avios and learned that there had been one bonus offered per year for two out of the prior three years, and each had been in the second half of the year (August or later). That told me I wasn’t likely to see another bonus offered within the period of time I had to book my desired award.

Thankfully since then the transfer rate has improved to 250:250, but that’s beside the point. The point is the more historical info you have the better you can plan out redemptions.

Transfer Bonus History of Membership Rewards

Information below concerns transfer bonuses from the last five years. If a transfer partner isn’t mentioned, it’s because there have been no transfer bonuses offered in the last five years. For partners that don’t transfer 1:1, I’ve included a reminder of the standard rate.

Aer Lingus

• From August through October 2019 (CURRENT): 40% transfer bonus

It’s always good to see Amex offering more transfer bonuses. That being said, I don’t see a reason to transfer your points to Aer Lingus over British Airways Avios or Iberia Avios.

AeroMexico

• From mid January through mid February 2019: 25% transfer bonus
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 2,000 Aeromexico miles
• In November 2018: 25% transfer bonus
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 2,000 Aeromexico miles
• From February through early March 2015: 20% transfer bonus
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,200 Aeromexico miles, because the transfer rate used to be 1:1 before it was adjusted to make up for the fact that the program’s rewards were in kilometers instead of miles

For over three years there weren’t any Aeromexico transfer bonuses to speak of, and then two popped up in close succession. The bonus in November was offered by Aeromexico, and the one in January by Amex. Looks like they’re testing the waters to permanently change the ratio to 1:2.

Aeroplan

• In May 2019: 10 to 20% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• In November 2018: 20% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• From mid November through mid December 2017: 20% transfer bonus to a targeted market

It’s looks like there will be another ~20% transfer bonus in November 2019, but it will probably be targeted.

Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)

• From mid March through April 2019: 25% transfer bonus (not targeted)
• From May through mid June 2018: 25% transfer bonus (not targeted)
• From mid October through the end of November 2015: 30% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• From mid November through mid December 2014: 30% transfer bonus to a targeted market

Expect another transfer bonus in the second quarter of 2020.

Alitalia 

• In December 2016: 40% transfer bonus
• In October 2016: 25% transfer bonus

There hasn’t been an Alitalia bonus recently. I wouldn’t expect one.

Avianca LifeMiles

• In March of 2019: 15% transfer bonus

We saw the first Avianca transfer bonus offered this year so it’s too soon to discern a pattern.

British Airways 

• From August through October 2019 (CURRENT): 40% transfer bonus
• From mid September to mid November 2018: 40% transfer bonus
• From mid July through mid September 2017: 40% transfer bonus
• In early July of 2017 the transfer rate was restored to 250:250.
• From mid August to mid October of 2016: 50% transfer bonus
• In October of 2015, the transfer rate changed from 250:250 to 250:200
• From mid December 2014 through January of 2015: 40% transfer bonus

You have until October 1 to take advantage of the current 40% transfer bonus to BA Avios. It’s realistic to expect a British Airways transfer bonus during the second half of every year.

Cathay Pacific

• In March 2019: 10-30% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• In September 2018: 10-30% transfer bonus to a targeted market

There are not enough data points to discern a pattern.

Etihad

• In October 2016: 20% transfer bonus (note this bonus was not Amex specific, it applied to transfers in from a variety of partners including SPG points and ThankYou Points)
• From May through mid June 2016: 30% transfer bonus
• From May through mid June 2015: 30% transfer bonus (this was when Etihad was introduced as a Membership Rewards transfer partner)

I wouldn’t count on any more Etihad transfer bonuses.

Emirates 

• For the second and third week of November 2018: 25% transfer bonus

Again, too soon to discern a pattern as there’s only been one transfer bonus.

Hawaiian Airlines

• For the second and third week of June 2017: 25% transfer bonus
• For the second and third week of June 2016: 25% transfer bonus
• For the second and third week of December 2015: 25% transfer bonus
• For two weeks in June of 2014: 20% transfer bonus

Hawaiian bonuses were creating a clear pattern but we haven’t seen once since 2017.

Iberia 

• From August through October 2019 (CURRENT): 40% transfer bonus
• From mid September through mid November 2018: 40% transfer bonus
• From mid July through mid September 2017: 40% transfer bonus
• In early July 2017, along with British Airways Avios, the transfer rate was restored to 250:250.
• From mid November through mid December 2016: 50% transfer bonus
• In December 2015: 25% transfer bonus
• In October 2015, the transfer rate changed from 1000:1000 to 1000:800

You have until October 1 to take advantage of the current 40% transfer bonus. A general Avios transfer bonus during the second half of the year for two months is now the norm.

JetBlue 

• In June 2019: 40% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• In August and September of 2018: 25% transfer bonus (not targeted)
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,000 JetBlue points
• End of February 2018: targeted 10%, 20%, and 30% transfer bonuses
• In November 2017: 25% transfer bonus (not targeted)
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,000 JetBlue points
• In May 2017: 25% transfer bonus (not targeted)
  • That meant 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,000 JetBlue points
• In November 2015: 30% transfer bonus but only to a targeted market
• In November 2014: 40% transfer bonus but only to a targeted market
• In mid August through mid September of 2014: 25% transfer bonus

JetBlue transfer bonuses are sporadic, with a mixture of targeted and public offers. I think there’s a good chance we’ll see a public 25% transfer bonus that brings the ratio up to 1:1 before the end of the year.

Qantas

• In June of 2019: 20% transfer bonus

No pattern yet. But I love that Amex has upped their game with four first time transfer bonuses recently: Aer Lingus, Avianca, Emirates, and Qantas.

Virgin Atlantic 

• May 1 – July 1, 2019: 30% transfer bonus
• In November 2018: 10-30% transfer bonus to a targeted market
• From August through mid September, 2018: 30% transfer bonus
• From mid October through November 2017: 30% transfer bonus
• From mid April through mid May of 2017: 30% transfer bonus
• In May 2016: 30% transfer bonus
• In October 2015: 30% transfer bonus but only to a targeted market
• In April 2015: 25% transfer bonus
• From mid October through November 2014: 35% transfer bonus
• In May 2014: 30% transfer bonus

Virgin Atlantic transfer bonuses are without fail an annual occurrence, but the time of year varies.

Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina and Brazil, is a great side trip to add when visiting Buenos Aires. Transfer Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic during a 30% transfer bonus and you can book Delta One (Business class) from Atlanta or New York City for only 70,000 points and just taxes roundtrip (35k one way!). That’s not much more than the standard economy roundtrip price on the legacy carriers.

Top Membership Reward Earning Cards Right Now

There are more Membership Rewards to airline partner transfer bonuses than any other transferrable point currency. To take advantage, open one of these cards for a big boost of bonus points and/or to earn lots of points with lucrative spending category bonuses.

• The Platinum Card from American Express offers a 60k Membership Rewards sign up bonus for spending $5,000 within three months. It comes with TONS of perks that help make up for the hefty annual fee, like 5x Membership Rewards on airfare. Read How to Get the Most out of Your American Express Platinum Card to learn about how to take advantage of all the benefits the card already comes with.
  • Always check the CardMatch tool to see if you’re targeted for American Express’ periodic 100k sign up bonus on the Platinum card. No hard credit pull is performed.
• American Express Gold Card is #7 on our Top 10 travel cards list. The public sign-up offer is 35k Membership Rewards for spending $2,000 within three months, but like the Platinum the CardMatch tool sometimes offers a better 50k bonus. This card has great category bonuses to boot.
• Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is simple and powerful. Earn 2 Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 in business purchases per year.

Bottom Line

If you’re planning an award and have some flexibility, see if you can wait until the next roughly expected transfer bonus to save points. It looks like the next couple we can expect to see are JetBlue and Aeroplan. And right now until October 1 you can take advantage of the transfer bonus available to all three Avios programs.

Bookmark this page for future reference! And let me know below if there was a past transfer bonus I missed.