Blog

You are currently viewing Credit card transfer bonuses (October): 30% bonus to British Airways Club, JAL, Virgin Flying Club and more

Credit card transfer bonuses (October): 30% bonus to British Airways Club, JAL, Virgin Flying Club and more

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Travel

Transfer bonuses can offer lucrative opportunities to maximize your points and miles and work your way toward fantastic award redemptions. You can sometimes get significantly more value from your rewards by transferring them to an airline or hotel partner during one of these bonus periods.

Remember, though, that these are limited-time offers, so you’ll need to act fast if you find one that suits your travel plans.

We’ve compiled transfer bonus updates for most major programs with transferable rewards to make tracking these offers easier. Just note that transfer bonuses are sometimes targeted, so some may not be available.

Active credit card transfer bonuses

We’re currently seeing transfer bonuses from:

Transfer from Transfer to Bonus details  End date Transfer ratio
American Express Membership Rewards Air France-KLM Flying Blue 20% Oct. 31 1000 points = 1,200 miles
American Express Membership Rewards Marriott Bonvoy 30% Nov. 30 1,000 points = 1,300 points
Capital One miles Japan Airlines Mileage Bank 30% Oct. 22 1000 miles = 975 miles
Capital One miles Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red 30% Oct. 1 1,000 miles = 1,300 points
Chase Ultimate Rewards British Airways Club 30% Oct. 31 1,000 points = 1,300 Avios
Chase Ultimate Rewards Iberia Club 30% Oct. 31 1,000 points = 1,300 Avios
Chase Ultimate Rewards Aer Lingus AerClub 30% Oct. 31 1,000 points = 1,300 Avios
Chase Ultimate Rewards IHG One Rewards 80% Oct. 22 1,000 points = 1,800 points
Citi ThankYou Rewards Avianca LifeMiles 25% Oct. 18 1,000 points = 1,250 points
Citi ThankYou Rewards Turkish Miles&Smiles 50% Oct. 18 1,000 points = 1,500 miles
Citi ThankYou Rewards Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red 30% Oct. 18 1,000 points = 1,300 points

American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonus

American Express Membership Rewards is currently offering two transfer bonuses. Through Oct. 31, you can transfer your Amex points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue with a 20% bonus, which means for every 1,000 points you transfer, you’ll receive 1,200 Flying Blue miles.

Alongside this transfer bonus, if you combine this Amex offer with Flying Blue’s monthly Promo Rewards, you can book a one-way economy award seat from select cities in the U.S. to Europe for just 16,000 Amex points. Plus, since Flying Blue lets you book a free stopover, you can book an additional flight at no extra cost.

Amex is also offering a 30% Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus, which means for every 1,000 points you transfer to the hotel program, you’ll get 1,300 Marriott points. Since TPG values Amex points at 2 cents apiece and Marriott points at 0.7 cents per point, per our September 2025 valuations, it’s not likely that you’d be maximizing your transferable reward points with this transfer bonus.

However, if you need to top off your Marriott account to book a free night or are sitting on a ton of Amex points, this could be a good transfer bonus option for you.

How to earn American Express Membership Rewards points

If you’re looking to earn more of these valuable points, the following American Express cards could prove useful additions to your wallet:

  • American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
  • The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.

Related: How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points for maximum value

Capital One transfer bonus

Capital One is offering a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Red until Oct. 1.

Virgin Red is a loyalty program that uses Virgin points as its currency. You can apply Virgin points to flights with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and limited-time offers on stays at Virgin Hotels and cruises with Virgin Voyages.

Capital one transfer bonus
CAPITAL ONE

This 30% bonus means that 1,000 Capital One miles equate to 1,300 Virgin points. With saver-level economy award fares from the U.S. to Europe starting at 6,000 Flying Club points one-way, you’d need to transfer just 5,000 Capital One miles to book this deal. Note that this transfer bonus ends on Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Last month, Capital One added Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a new transfer partner, with a transfer ratio of 2:1.5. However, cardholders can currently receive a 30% transfer bonus, which means for every 1,000 Capital One miles you transfer, you’ll receive 975 Mileage Bank miles. Though it’s not exactly 1:1, it’s close enough.

If Japan is on your bucket list, Mileage Bank still operates using an award chart, which means with the current 30% bonus, you can book one-way routes from select U.S. cities to Tokyo at the following rates:

  • Transfer 28,000 Capital One miles to Japan Airlines to book economy
  • Transfer 42,000 Capital One miles to Japan Airlines to book premium economy
  • Transfer 57,000 Capital One miles to Japan Airlines to book business class
  • Transfer 113,000-144,000 Capital One miles to Japan Airlines to book first class (depending on the date)

However, Capital One members who sign up for a Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account will have to wait seven days before their miles can be redeemed.

How to earn Capital One miles

If you’re looking to earn more transferable miles, the following Capital One cards are solid options to consider:

TPG’s September 2025 valuations deem Capital One miles are worth 1.85 cents apiece, and most transfers from Capital One will process instantly. For more details, read our guides to the Capital One transfer partners and how to transfer Capital One miles.

Related: Should you transfer Capital One miles to partners or redeem directly for travel?

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus

Chase is currently offering not one but four transfer bonuses. From now through Oct. 31, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points with a 30% bonus to British Airways Club, Iberia Club and Aer Lingus AerClub. This means that for every 1,000 Chase points you transfer, you’ll get 1,300 Avios in your account.

Note that the three programs mentioned all use Avios as their loyalty program currency, and you can transfer Avios between accounts at a 1:1 rate. Therefore, even if you transfer your Chase points to your British Airways Club account, you can then transfer some or all of your Avios to your Iberia Club account or even Qatar Airways Privilege Club, which also uses Avios.

Since you can fly economy from select U.S. cities to Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) starting at 16,000 Avios (off-peak rate) when booking through Iberia Club, you could potentially book a round-trip European vacay to Spain by transferring just 25,000 Chase points. As for round-trip, business-class flights, rates start at 81,000 Avios or 63,000 Chase points if you capitalize on this transfer bonus.

As always, transfers are irreversible, so it’s imperative you find award availability before transferring your points.

Chase is also running an 80% transfer bonus to IHG One Rewards, which means for every 1,000 Chase points you transfer, you’ll receive 1,800 IHG points.

Related: When to transfer Chase points instead of booking a hotel through Chase Travel

How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points

If you want to earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the following Chase cards could make good additions to your wallet:

According to TPG’s September 2025 valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2.05 cents each when maximized with travel partners. Most Ultimate Rewards points transfers will process instantly.

The information for the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Chase Ultimate Rewards points: How to redeem for maximum value

Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer bonus

Citi ThankYou Rewards is currently offering three transfer bonuses, all expiring Oct. 18.

Citi transfer bonuses Sept 22
CITI

ThankYou Rewards points transfer to these airline loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio (with select cards), which means you’ll receive:

  • 1,250 LifeMiles for 1,000 ThankYou Rewards points
  • 1,500 Miles&Smiles miles for 1,000 ThankYou Rewards points
  • 1,300 Virgin points for 1,000 ThankYou Rewards points

It’s important to note that you’ll only unlock this bonus in its entirety if you hold the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees), the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) or the Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants). Other Citi cards do not unlock the full 1:1 transfer ratio, so the transfers aren’t as valuable.

The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

How to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points

To earn more ThankYou Rewards points, consider these Citi credit cards:

  • Citi Strata Elite Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
  • Citi Strata Premier Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

TPG values Citi ThankYou Rewards points at 1.9 cents each, per our September 2025 valuations, and most transfers happen instantly.

Related: Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partners: Redeem your points with airlines and hotels

Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus

Though you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to various airlines, the program is not currently offering any transfer bonuses.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn Marriott Bonvoy points, the following Marriott cards may be of interest:

According to TPG’s September 2025 valuations, Marriott Bonvoy points are worth 0.7 cents each. Some airlines take a few days (or even weeks) to receive the points.

Related: How to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for maximum value

Should you transfer points and miles?

We only recommend transferring points or miles if you have a short-term plan to use them. Many programs have implemented devaluations over the last few years, so speculative transfers could prove a losing proposition. Transfers are irreversible, and you don’t want to be stuck with thousands of points or miles in a program you have little use for.

If you don’t have a specific redemption in mind but still want to earn points or miles, you’re likely better off earning rewards through card welcome bonuses and everyday spending.

And we always recommend that you ensure award availability before transferring your rewards.

Bottom line

When a program with a transferable currency offers a transfer bonus, it’s important to run the numbers to determine whether it is worthwhile.

Generally, you won’t want to transfer your points or miles without a specific redemption in mind. After all, a large part of the value of transferable points and miles comes from their flexibility, which you’ll give up when you convert them to a partner’s currency. However, a transfer bonus can help you get more value from your points and miles if you use a partner program frequently or plan to redeem soon.

Related: The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.