American Express Membership Reward points have a couple of good things over Chase Ultimate Reward points – more partners to transfer to and transfer bonuses that come up on occasion. There are 2 new transfer bonuses up so this could be a time to transfer some of your points over, if you have some trip in mind.
2 New Amex Transfer Bonuses to Partners
JetBlue Transfer Bonus
This transfer bonus evens out Membership Reward points to JetBlue points since you are normally at a disadvantage when transferring them over. Here are the details of this transfer bonus:
- Get a 25% bonus when transferring points
- Transfer 250:250 in 250 point increments
- Transfer bonus valid through 5/31/2017
- For each conversion of points into the Frequent Flyer program of a U.S. airline, a fee of $0.0006 per point, with a maximum fee of $99, will be charged to your Card account
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Transfer Bonus
This transfer bonus is a better one by the numbers. With this special offer, you get a 30% bonus on transfers. Here are the details:
- Get a 30% bonus when transferring points
- Transfer 1000:1300 in 1,000 point increments
- Transfer bonus valid through 5/22/2017
Analysis
As with all point transfers, you should make sure you have a trip idea in mind when you spring for the transfer. The reason is that award devaluations do occur, sometimes without warning. Also, miles can expire in various programs if there is no activity for a certain amount of time.
That being said, these transfer bonuses are a nice chance to get more bang for your points when you take advantage of them. With the JetBlue transfer, you are essentially getting a 1.5 – 2.3 cent value on your Membership Reward points, depending on the flights you book. There are better options out there but if you fly JetBlue a lot, this could be helpful.
