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Chase Initiates Transfer Bonuses, Starting with British Airways

It has finally happened! Chase has begun offering bonuses on point transfers to partners, and the first-ever promo awards extra miles on Ultimate Rewards transferred to British Airways.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card members will receive 30% more miles on transfers made to British Airways Executive Club through June 16. For every 1,000 Chase points converted, you will see 1,300 British Airways Avios in your account.

When you initiate the transfer, you won’t see the extra Avios reflected on the transfer confirmation page. Executive Club will award the bonus after the transfer completion.

Oneworld Partners

British Airways is a oneworld alliance partner, and award flights on many of its alliance members can be booked with these miles. Think Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, or Qatar Airways, to name a few.

British Airways utilizes a distance-based program, which means that short flights require fewer miles and long flights require more miles. It’s definitely something to keep in mind before booking long-haul itineraries. Still, the bonus can make some of these flights more attainable.

For example, Executive Club wants 105,000 Avios for a one-way flight in business class between New York City and Tokyo on JAL. The same flight will cost you 78,000 Chase points with the transfer bonus taken into account. Not bad for 14 hours in one of the most well-regarded premium cabins.

Cheap Flights to the Caribbean

The London-based airline is also a partner of American Airlines, and you can use British Airways Avios to book AA-operated flights.

Those who live in certain U.S. cities already can book inexpensive flights to the Caribbean, and with the promo, the deal has gotten even sweeter. For example, a one-way economy flight from either Charlotte or Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, requires just 7,500 Avios when booked via the Executive Club. The promo allows booking a round-trip flight using 12,000 Ultimate Rewards.

Don’t Forget Transfers Between British Airways and Iberia

Keep in mind that British Airways Avios can be transferred to Iberia Plus at a 1-to-1 ratio, and you have an opportunity to take advantage of some fantastic redemptions here.

Related: How to Transfer Avios Between British Airways, Iberia Plus Accounts

For example, off-peak business-class flights between Chicago and Madrid go for 34,000 Iberia Plus Avios each way. After transferring 53,000 Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways and then transferring them to Iberia, you’ll be able to book a round-trip flight in premium cabin for travel on off-season dates. At these rates, who cares if the weather in Spain is slightly chilly?

In Conclusion

American Express and Citibank both have offered a little extra on point transfers to various programs in the past, including to British Airways (as it’s an Amex partner) and it’s nice to see Chase finally joining the party. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of other bonuses will be available from Chase in the future, perhaps to loyalty programs exclusive to the bank, such as Southwest Airlines and Hyatt.

Please share your thoughts on the new transfer bonus from Chase in the comments section below.

 

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84fiero April 23, 2019

Let's hope there will be more to come!