My DL Amex is always sending me balance transfer checks, which usually stipulate "no points earned"; but one time, I got some that said "up to 5000 points maximum may be earned'.

I over-paid my Amex account so I had a $5K credit balance, then wrote the transfer check to my Visa. That way, even though the checks usually start accruing interest immediately, since I never had a negative balance, no interest ever accrued.