American Airlines just announced a great way to fatten up your transfer bonuses from SPG’s points program to their miles. SPG Starpoints are among the most valuable of travel points for many reasons, not the least of which is their incredible 1:1 transfer ration for many airline programs around the world.
Transfer 20,000 Starpoints Into 30,000 AA Miles
From AA promo website
To make the normal transfer of 1:1 even sweeter, SPG always has a bonus of 5,000 mile on transfers in blocks of 20,000 Starpoints. So, if you transfer 60,000 Starpoints, you will receive a nice chunk of 75,000 airline miles in any of the many programs you choose.
American Airlines is doing their own thing for a limited time by giving you a 20% bonus on transfers as well. So, if you transfer 20,000 Starpoints, you will end up with 30,000 American Airline miles! That is a great transfer bonus for sure, especially if you value American Airlines and their many award partners.
My current favorite redemption partner is Etihad for travel aboard their new A380. I have another trip coming up in the Etihad A380 First Apartment soon and being able to get more AA miles for redemptions like this is awesome! Of course, redeeming for any of AA’s partners (like JAL, Cathay Pacific, Qatar) are great redemptions as well.
Details:
Here are the details for the transfer bonus:
- Valid for transfers between July 1 – August 7
- To receive the extra 5,000 miles, you must transfer your Starpoints in blocks of 20,000 Starpoints
- The 20% AA bonus applies to any transfers of Starpoints – they do not have to be in blocks of 20,000 Starpoints
- The transfer is not reversible or refundable so make sure you transfer what you need
- Can only transfer 79,999 Starpoints per 24 hour period (so, do not transfer more than 60,000 Starpoints to make sure you get the 5,000 mile bonus per 20,000 point block)
- Transfers can take a few days to convert and the bonus miles from AA will post within 7 business days following the miles showing up in the account
Analysis
If you have any planned travel coming up on American Airlines or their partners, this is a great way to convert a lot of miles and earn a significant bonus. At the same time, there very well may be some devaluation coming to their award program at some point. Nothing has been said but it would not be surprising to anyone. I say all that to say, do not use this transfer promo just to leave the miles in your AA account. Make sure have a use for them.
