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.
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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.
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.
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases annually
- 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
- $325
- Access to Amex Offers
- Redeem Amex Points Towards Airfare
- $375
- 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
- $895
- Earn 2x 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
- $895
- 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
- Access to Amex Offers
- No annual fee
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.
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.
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?
Yes will be transferring some Amex over to avios. The nz-aus awards on qantas via avios will be quite good with that discount via the bonus transfer. Award space is quite plentiful. The deal isn’t quite as good as Alaska with the free cancellation but Alaska points have to be bought because Amex aren’t a transfer partner.
This is tempting but some of the redemptions eg USA to aus are outrageous. I’d like to try the mixed redemption return one day.
What about AMEX Canada did they match?