Amex Membership Rewards 20% British Airways Transfer Bonus to Dec 31, 2013

American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 20% transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club Avios. Normally, Membership Rewards points usually transfer at a 1:1 ratio, but until December 31, 2013, you receive an extra 20% bonus. That is, for every 5,000 Amex Membership Rewards points you transfer, you will receive 6,000 British Airways miles. For a full guide on how to complete the transfers to airline miles, read my guide on How to Transfer American Express Membership Rewards To Airline Miles. 

Certain American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points have the ability to transfer these points to airline miles. This applies to the personal cards Amer­i­can Express Pre­mier Rewards Gold Card,  Amer­i­can Express Plat­inum Card, American Express Mercedes Benz Platinum Card as well as the business cards Amer­i­can Express Busi­ness Gold Rewards Card and Amer­i­can Express Busi­ness Plat­inum Card.

Among the multiple airlines that Amex Membership Rewards can be transferred to, British Airways is among my favorites. It has a distance based award chart (explained in detail below) and allows me to buy expensive

For some of my posts on using British Airways miles, check out:

• British Air­ways Miles to the Caribbean: As Few As 4,500 Miles Each Way!
• Search Amer­i­can Air­lines Caribbean Award Space To Every Island At Once.
• West Coast to Hawaii for 12,500 British Air­ways Avios Each Way!
• How to Redeem British Air­ways Miles on Amer­i­can Air­lines Flights.
• Redeem­ing British Air­ways Miles on Alaska Air­lines Flights.

Using British Airways Executive Club Avios 

British Airways’ award chart is distance-based. You pay for each segment you fly individually. For example, flight from LAX to London with a stop in NYC costs the same as the sum of the individual flights from LAX to NYC and then from NYC to London. You can use the British Airways Avios Calculator to determine the number of miles needed for your segment.

This transfer bonus is perfect for domestic short weekend trips and, with the transfer, there’s honestly no better deal for flights under 650 miles. My favorite trip with British Airways miles is a round-trip from New York to Montreal or Toronto. While these pricey routes to Canada often go for $500 in summer, British Airways Avios only charges 4,500 each way + taxes. For a round trip, that’s 9,000 British Airways Avios + $60 (or 7,500 Membership Rewards points + $60).

Pros: 

• Non-stop short flights within North America (US, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii) offer very low cost great deals
• Ability to redeem on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and a full network of oneworld partners
• No fuel surcharges on North American flights
• No close-in booking fees so you can book completely last minute flights

 

Cons: Fuel surcharges on many international flights (e.g. British Airways/American Airlines flights to Europe).

Within North America, British Airways can be used to fly on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines, both with no fuel surcharges whatsoever. A few more good deals in economy include:

• Miami to Grand Cayman for 4,500 British Airways miles each way on American Airlines
• New York to Miami for 7,500 British Airways miles each way on American Airlines
• New York to Antigua for 10,000 British Airways miles each way on American Airlines
• Los Angeles to Vancouver for 7,500 British Airways miles each way on Alaska Airlines
• Portland to Vancouver for 4,500 British Airways miles each way on Alaska Airlines
• California to Maui/Honolulu/Kona for 12,500 British Airways miles each way on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines

Should you go for the bonus?

As always, do your research first. While British Airways miles are awesome value for shorter routes and flying within North American without fuel surcharges, they are not ideal to use for trips to Asia, Australia or even Europe. You will pay hundreds of dollars in fuel surcharges, for example, if you use your Avios miles to fly to Europe on American Airlines or British Airways.

Remember, transfers are irreversible. Once you transfer your Membership Rewards points to British Airways, there’s no going back. On the bright side, the points do transfer instantly so there is no need to transfer ahead of time. Make sure your award seats are available and you know exactly what the fuel surcharges and taxes are before transferring. You don’t want to find that perfect seat to Europe and then be surprised with $400 in fuel surcharges.

Finally, British Airways is not the only airline transfer partner that Membership Rewards has and the list is extensive so be sure to consider the other options:

• AeroMexico
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Alitalia MileMiglia Club
• ANA Mileage Club
• Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles
• Delta SkyMiles
• EL AL Matmid Club
• HawaiianMiles
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Virgin America Elevate
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Good luck with your decision!

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More posts you may like:

• How to Transfer American Express Membership Rewards To Airline Miles.
• British Air­ways Miles to the Caribbean: As Few As 4,500 Miles Each Way!
• Search Amer­i­can Air­lines Caribbean Award Space To Every Island At Once.
• West Coast to Hawaii for 12,500 British Air­ways Avios Each Way!
• How to Redeem British Air­ways Miles on Amer­i­can Air­lines Flights.
• Redeem­ing British Air­ways Miles on Alaska Air­lines Flights.

(In the inter­est of full dis­clo­sure, I do earn a refer­ral if you apply for some credit cards men­tioned on my web­site through my links. I always include the best offer whether I earn a com­mis­sion or not and would never rec­om­mend a credit card that I would not be inter­ested in myself. If you decide to use my links, as always, I’m grate­ful for your support!)