Get Up to 50% More Points with These Current Transfer Bonuses!

Got a stash of transferable points from banks like American Express, Capital One, or Chase? Take advantage of these current transfer bonuses to get even more out of them.

Think of transfer bonuses as a way to get free miles. The big banks routinely roll out bonuses of 10% to as much as 40% – and sometimes even more! – when transferring points to a specific airline or hotel partner. With a 25% transfer bonus, for example, you'd only need to transfer 40,000 points to get the 50,000 miles you may need to book an award flight.

Here are all the current transfer bonuses available as of publication, broken down by bank.

Wondering why you should transfer your points? Read up on how it can help you book flights for less!

But before you rush to send your points somewhere with a bonus, remember: These transfers are a one-way street. Once you send the points to an airline partner, you cannot get them back to your Capital One, Chase, or other credit card account. That means you'll generally want to have a redemption in mind (and make sure the flights or hotels you want are actually available to book) before transferring your points.

Let's take a closer look at each of the current transfer bonuses and how you may (or may not) want to use them.

25% Bonus on Amex Transfers to Hilton

If you've got a stash of Membership Rewards points from cards like *amex platinum* or *amex gold*, we've got good news: Amex just rolled out a new 25% bonus when transferring to Hilton Honors!

Since Amex points ordinarily transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio, this new bonus means every 1,000 Amex points you transfer will get you 2,500 Hilton points. If you're thinking of taking advantage of this new bonus, you have nearly a month: It ends March 14.

On the surface that, 1:2.5 transfer ratio might seem like a steal. But keep in mind that it typically takes a whole lot of Hilton points to book a free night. Even with this transfer bonus, it may not be the slam dunk you think it is.

That said, this transfer bonus could be great if you need to top off your Hilton account to get enough points for a free night. Same goes if you have a particularly high-value redemption in mind. 

If high-end boutique hotels are your jam, Hilton's partnership with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) is just the thing. This new partnership has been a massive win for travelers with Hilton Honors points, as it opens the door to book some truly impressive properties around the globe – and get you some serious bang for your buck in the process. 

Take the little slice of Caribbean heaven known as the Hermitage Bay Resort in Antigua, for example. After a devaluation late last year, this property goes for a whopping 150,000 Hilton Honors points per night. At first glance, that might not seem like a great deal. But considering that this all-inclusive, adults-only resort in the Caribbean ordinarily costs $3,000 (or more) per night, you can quickly see just how valuable Hilton points can be.  

With this transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 60,000 Amex points to book a free night. 

If you've got any level of Hilton status – including the complimentary Hilton Gold status that comes with the Amex Platinum Card – you get the fifth night free on award bookings. That means you could book a five-night stay at this island paradise … that might normally cost $15,000 or more … for just 240,000 Amex points. Yes, please!

And if you've got a free night award from one of the Hilton Honors American Express credit cards, you could even tack that on for an additional night in paradise.

Read our full story on this transfer bonus for even more inspiration! 

15% Bonus on Amex Transfers to Avianca LifeMiles

Amex cardholders can also currently get a 15% boost when moving Membership Rewards points to Avianca LifeMiles. But unlike traditional transfer bonuses, you won't see this one when logged into your Amex account. Instead, it's being offered by LifeMiles – the bonus will be credited after the fact.

This bonus runs through the end of the month, Feb. 28.

If you're unfamiliar, LifeMiles is the quirky mileage program of South American carrier Avianca. While customer service is shoddy and its IT is hit or miss, travelers have long put up with LifeMiles for cheap Star Alliance mileage redemptions – and low cash surcharges, too. 

But for the second time in less than a year, some of those sweet spots just went a bit more sour after LifeMiles once again raised award rates on many (but not all) popular routes and airlines around the globe.

Travelers hoping to redeem LifeMiles to fly United Airlines to Europe, South America, and even Asia will bear the brunt of these changes with some painful award rate hikes – especially as a sweet spot to fly lie-flat United Polaris business class to London gets the axe. Many other transatlantic business class redemptions jumped from 70,000 miles each way up to 80,000 miles each way. 

And yet there are still some outliers that remained untouched, like flying New York (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) in SWISS business class from New York (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) for just 55,000 miles. At 27,500 miles each way, economy is drastically cheaper on that same route, too.

By taking advantage of this 15% transfer bonus, the price drops to just 48,000 miles for that same one-way award!

Other Star Alliance business class flights to Europe that typically cost 80,000 miles each way – which works out to 70,000 Amex points with this transfer bonus.

20% More Avios on Citi Transfers to Qatar

Right now, you can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club and receive a 20% bonus. That means if you've got points from a card like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, you can take advantage of this transfer onus. It's available through March 15!

Qatar Avios have rapidly become the best way to book the airline's outstanding Qsuites business class seats due to practically non-existent availability booking through partner programs like American AAdvantage miles. By utilizing this transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 59,000 Citi ThankYou points to Qatar to book a one-way ticket from the U.S. all the way to Doha. And trust us: It's worth every single point. 

Since you can combine Avios across all the airlines that earn and use them – including Qatar, British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair – this bonus can also be useful for those looking to book awards with British Airways or even help you snag cheap Iberia business class seats to Europe. 

50% Bonus on Chase Transfers to Marriott Bonvoy

Chase is currently offering a 50% transfer bonus when moving Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy. This transfer bonus runs through March 31, so you've got over a month to take advantage.

It's easy to see a 50% bonus and get excited … but be warned that not all points are created equal – especially with hotel points like Marriott. Still, if you have a particular hotel in mind and need to top off your account with a few extra points in order to make it a reality, transferring Ultimate Rewards to Marriott with a 50% bonus is certainly better than the usual 1:1 ratio.

The key to ending up on the right side of this transfer bonus is to do the math before booking. Since you can redeem points through the Chase Travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point with the *chase sapphire preferred* or 1.5 cents per point with the *chase sapphire reserve*, that should be your baseline for determining the value that you're getting with this transfer bonus.

Looking at a one-night stay in downtown Minneapolis, I can book the Minneapolis Marriott City Center for 30,000 Bonvoy points per night. If I didn't already have any Bonvoy points in my account, I'd need to transfer 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards with the current transfer bonus in order to have enough points to book this stay.

Since I have the *chase sapphire preferred*, I could also book this hotel through the Chase Travel Portal and get 1.25 cents per point towards the cost of my stay. In this situation, that would cost me nearly 23,000 Ultimate Rewards for the one-night stay. By instead using the current 50% transfer bonus to Marriott, I could use fewer points than I would booking through the travel portal.

But the math changes if I had the *chase sapphire reserve* and got 1.5 cents per point for booking through the Chase Travel portal instead. In that case, I'd be able to book this room for just 19,000 Ultimate Rewards per night, making it a slightly cheaper option.

Another thing to consider when deciding how to book is your elite status level – or lack thereof. If you book through the Chase Travel Portal, you won't receive any elite benefits, earn points, or get elite-night credits for your stay. To some travelers, this won't matter at all … but to others, it could be a total dealbreaker.

Bottom Line

Transfer bonuses can be a great way to get more value from your points and help you realize your dream vacation even sooner. These bonuses are constantly coming and going, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the current promotions before moving your points to ensure you're not leaving any free points on the table.

But it's always best to keep your points flexible until you're ready to book. Due to constant loyalty program devaluations, transferring points without an immediate plan to use them will rarely be a good option.