Deal has ended, view more Avios deals by clicking here.
The Offer
- Chase Ultimate Rewards program is offering a 30% transfer bonus when you transfer to British Airways Avios. Normally you can transfer at a rate of 1:1 and under this promotion that increases to 1:1.3
The Fine Print
- Valid until September 22, 2023
Our Verdict
This is a frequent transfer bonus we’ve seen before:
- June 24 – July 31, 2022: 30%
- August 30th – September 26th, 2021: 30%
- November 9th – December 9th, 2020: 30%
- April 22nd – June 16th, 2019: 30%
You can see a full list of transfer bonuses by clicking here.
Isn’t the 1.3 worth less than the 1.5 you’d get by booking through Chase portal directly?
The best use of Avios is for short distance travel by transferring to BA Avios then on to Qatar Avios and redeeming from there:
Example: 6000 Avios (approx 4700 UR with this offer) from PHL to CLT one-way economy
11000 Avios (approx 8500 UR) from PHL – CUN one-way economy
I’m sure there are even greater sweet spots from other cities in Asia on the oneworld carriers
I have never used British Airways Avios before. Any good deals from the U.S to Rome?
The fuel surcharges are almost as much as cash ticket.
Only worth if you book Qatar but rare to find flights from SEA…
are avios ever a good idea?? they have such high fuel surcharges and fees. anyone have a different experience? insight
Its a good deal to book domestic AA flight. Worth 2-3cpp MR/UR/Cap1M with transfer bonus.
Seems that the promo is only on for a few weeks per year. Should I transfer some from either UR or MR in anticipation for trips before the promos come around next year but may not take place?
The conventional wisdom is to transfer only if you have fairly solid travel plans. Years ago, I transferred my wife’s Thank You points to my account, not realizing that they had to be used within 90 days. There was a bonus on Virgin Atlantic miles, so I transferred them there so they wouldn’t expire. I finally used a good portion of the VA miles this year for a Delta flight (flights on VA metal typically have high fees).
Avios the only miles worth less than Skymiles.
I only used avios to book domestic flights on AA but haven’t been able to do that for a couple of years now, haven’t looked lately. Am I doing something wrong or is this a dead strategy?
Not dead but heavily nerfed since the pandemic
how’s it not dead, I can never pull up any flights online anymore. how do I go by booking a flight?
I just booked 4 trips on Avios for domestic. Last one I just booked an hour ago, right now. No issues
I recently did SAC-ORD on AA. I had booked with 20.5k AA miles but rebooked via BA for 9.5k Avios the night before the flight. I don’t know when BA gets allocations.
RIP. Those were great.
In the past year I’ve found it very difficult to find any availability on flights when searching on the BA website. Its possible there’s some other way around that (search on AA/ALASKA then ring BA to book) but I haven’t tried.
Not dead but much less availability released to partners. I’ve still seen some flights you can use it with through ExpertFlyer, haven’t lined up with flights I want though.
I’ve been using it recently between Midwest and nyc. It’s certainly curtailed availability but sometimes it’s better rates than AA directly.
Just like the recent AMEX MR offer which expires on 8/31. Same deal this is.
I never used British Avios before.. are there any good deals to be had from Asia to U.S without having to go via U.K?
I’ve used Avios for great first class redemptions within Asia, but never from Asia to US.
May I ask what route and airline for that redemption?
Taipei to HK
Japan airlines
There used to be some decent values redeeming Avios with Cathay Pacific on U.S.-Hong Kong routes, but I haven’t checked in a few years.
I’m guessing you want to avoid the UK because of their high taxes.
BA Avios are transferable to Iberia, Aerlingus, Qatar, and soon FinnAir. So it’s worth looking there for the flights you’re interested in. I used a deal on Qatar Avios to get Iberia Avios and book a flight on Iberia.