One Mile at a Time

Great Deal: Transfer Amex Points To British Airways Avios With 30% Bonus

2026-08-03 · 08:12 UTC ·Ben Schlappig ·3 min read

Brief

Amex Membership Rewards has launched a limited-time 30% transfer bonus for U.S. accounts from August 3 through September 27, 2026, increasing the normal 1:1 Avios transfer rate to 1:1.3; transfers are generally instant and repeatable. The promotion applies to British Airways, Iberia Plus, and Aer Lingus AerClub, and because Avios balances can be moved between Avios programs at no cost it also benefits Finnair Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club redemptions. The author highlights concrete value examples — for instance a 78,000‑Avios JetBlue Mint transatlantic award would cost roughly 60,000 Amex points under the bonus — and argues the bonus is worth speculative transfers given multiple strong Avios redemption paths. This is the first similar Amex→Avios bonus in about a year, and additional Avios can be earned via partner transferable currencies and three U.S. Avios credit cards.

Why it matters

From August 3 to September 27, 2026, U.S. Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways (Avios), Iberia Plus, and Aer Lingus AerClub — effectively changing the usual 1:1 transfer ratio to 1:1.3; transfers are generally instant and can be repeated.

Key details

  • The bonus materially reduces award-cost in Avios bookings — e.g., a JetBlue Mint transatlantic award listed at 78,000 Avios would require ~60,000 Amex points with the 30% bonus (78,000 / 1.3 ≈ 60,000).
  • Avios are fungible across multiple ‘flavors’ at no cost (unlocking Finnair Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club opportunities), and other Avios sources include transfers from Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and three U.S. co‑brand cards: Aer Lingus Visa Signature, British Airways Visa Signature, and Iberia Visa Signature.
Source evidence

The Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States has just launched a lucrative new transfer bonus. Specifically, you can get 30% more Avios when you move points to any partner Avios currency, and that unlocks a lot of potential value. Let’s go over the details, as I imagine that many people will be interested in taking advantage of this. Receive a 30% transfer bonus from Amex to Avios Between August 3 and September 27, 2026, the Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer points to British Airways Club . The same transfer bonus is also being offered to Aer Lingus AerClub and Iberia Plus . Keep in mind that you can transfer Avios between the various “flavors” online at no cost, so this is also a way to acquire Avios with Finnair Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club . Transfer Amex points to Avios with a 30% bonus 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 . Earn Amex Membership Rewards points with these cards: For what it’s worth, we haven’t seen such a transfer bonus in roughly a year, so it’s nice to see it return. Redeem Avios for travel in British Airways first class Is acquiring Avios with a 30% bonus worth it? I think there’s huge value to be had in taking advantage of a 30% bonus on points transfers from Membership Rewards to Avios. That’s not because of any one particular redemption opportunity, but rather because of the collective value of the Avios ecosystem. Back in the day, the best uses of British Airways Avios were for short haul travel on partner airlines, including on Alaska and American. Unfortunately those redemption opportunities have been devalued horribly . However, lots of great new options using Avios have emerged. For example, I love how Qatar Airways Privilege Club is an Avios airline, as this opens up some great opportunities: Qatar Airways has one of the world’s best business class products, and the airline makes a vast majority of business class award space available only to those redeeming Avios Qatar Airways Privilege Club has some unique partner redemption opportunities, like being able to fly JetBlue Mint across the Atlantic for 78,000 Avios (so with a 30% bonus, that would be just 60,000 Amex points) Anyway, there’s a ton of potential value here, so see my guides to maximizing Avios with British Airways Club , Iberia Plus , Aer Lingus Aer Club , Qatar Airways Privilege Club , and Finnair Plus . Redeem Avios for travel in Qatar Airways first class There are lots of ways to earn 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 Club partners with multiple transferable points currencies , including Amex Membership Rewards , Bilt Rewards , Capital One , and Chase Ultimate Rewards . On top of that, there are three credit cards issued in the US that earn Avios: Aer Lingus Visa Signature ® Card ( learn more ) British Airways Visa Signature® Card ( learn more ) Iberia Visa Signature ® Card ( learn more ) Lastly, British Airways Club sometimes sells Avios with a bonus . Bottom line Through September 27, 2026, the US Amex Membership Rewards program is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to British Airways Club, Iberia Plus, and Aer Lingus AerClub. This is the first time in roughly a year that we’ve seen such a transfer bonus. While British Airways Club isn’t as useful for partner redemptions as it used to be, I still think this could be worth a speculative transfer . There are five different Avios currencies that are all valuable in their own way, so this opens up a lot of redemption opportunities, including on Qatar Airways. Do you plan on converting Amex points into Avios with this bonus?