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American Express is currently on a bit of a roll with multiple transfer bonuses to Membership Rewards partners running right now. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, JetBlue True Blue and Qantas all currently have Amex transfer bonuses available and now, if you’re fortunate, you can add British Airways to that list.
I have to admit that my Membership Rewards account isn’t showing a 40% transfer bonus to the British Airways Executive Club (BAEC) but Loyalty Lobby has had more luck – the offer is definitely there for some Amex cardholders.
Just like with the JetBlue transfer bonus I wrote about yesterday there’s no end date given for this bonus offer so it could get pulled at any time and, if you’re unlucky, it may even disappear after you’ve viewed it once and logged out.
If you think you’d like to transfer Membership Rewards points over to the BAEC and make the most of the 40% transfer bonus I suggest you enact a transfer as soon as you see the promotion in your account.
Is It Worth It?
Possibly.
I value Membership Rewards points at a conservative 1.5 cents each while I value British Airways Avios at just 1 cent each so, on the face of things, a 40% bonus isn’t worth considering and a 50% bonus is, at best, a 50:50 proposition…but that’s not necessarily true.
There will be circumstances where you can get significantly more value out of Avios than the 1 cent at which I value them (I got over 1.8 cents of value out of each Avios I used for a recent redemption) so, if you have a solid plan for the Avios you’ll generate by converting Membership Rewards points, there’s every chance this could be a bonus worth considering.
Some of the more popular and very short routes within the US (like New York to Washington D.C.) cost just 7,500 Avios + $5.60 in taxes and fees, while the cash rates can be over $260 one way:
Using 7,500 Avios to book a route such as this one would see a traveler getting over 3.4 cents of value out of each Avios used so, if this is the sort of route you need to book, transferring Membership rewards points over to the BAEC can be a no-brainer with this promotion (assuming awards are available to book).
Bottom Line
There’s definitely value to be had in transferring Membership Rewards points over to the British Airways Executive Club while there’s a 40% bonus running but you should only be doing this when you have a plan for Avios you’ll be generating.
There have been rumors of an Avios devaluation doing the rounds for quite some time and, at some point, those rumors will come to fruition. When they do it will be disappointing if you’re left holding a large number of Avios in your BAEC account because you chose to stockpile for no good reason at all.
One last thing: It’s worth remembering that Chase is also currently offering a transfer bonus when you move Ultimate Rewards points over to British Airways (although it’s only offering a 30% bonus) so, if you’re rich in Ultimate Rewards points and poor in Membership Rewards points, you may be better off taking the lower bonus that Chase is offering.
Have you been targeted for a 40% or 50% bonus on transfers between American Express and British Airways?
My account shows 50% bonus to avios
Thanks for letting me know – I’ve added an update to the post.
Where can you see you have been targeted with an offer?
Login to your Amex homepage. Click on rewards in the top menu bar. Click on the ‘transfer points’ tab which you should see part way down the ‘rewards’ page. Then click ‘view all’.
If you’ve been targeted you’ll see the improved transfer ratio under the logo of the relevant airline.
My offer is 50% as well
I got the 50% as well. I’m considering it, even with no immediate use in mind.
I got the 50% as well. I use my Avios a lot to fly on AA Metal. It’s saved me thousands of dollars ever since I learned how to do it. I just transferred 50K MR to Avios….nice to see my account getting another 75K Avios.
Any offer for Amex Canada Gold Rewards card ? I see no bonus at all.
[…] American Express has targeted some of its cardholders for bonuses of between 40% and 50% when they move Membership Rewards Points over to the British Airways Executive Club so, if you’re in the targeted population, that may be a better option for you. […]
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