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tl;dr – Chase is back with another transfer bonus, this time with the British Airways. You’ll receive a 20% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards into Avios. This may be a helpful offer if you need a handful more miles to complete a redemption with any carrier that uses Avios as its loyalty program currency.
Ok – before we start, I need to get something off my chest. Every time I hear/read/see ‘Avios’, I can’t help but envision a physical ancient minted currency. It’s the only loyalty program currency that makes me think that way. Just me? I can’t be the only one.
What do you think an Avios would look like if it were a physical currency?
More of a we-got-a-new-Roman-emperor-lemme-guess-it’s-gonna-be-another-guy-with-wreath-on type of coin?
Rough around the edges with that ‘just-melted-down’ look, like a Persian Daric?
My vote is a hybrid. An Avios looks to me is part doubloon, part something you’d find in a Spanish Galleon shipwreck, part whatever Scrooge McDuck was always diving into.
Ok back to it.
Through March 31, 2025, you’ll receive a 20% bonus on Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to British Airways. Avios is the loyalty currency of British Airways Executive Club and four other airlines/loyalty programs – Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Finnair Plus, and Iberia Plus. As you can transfer Avios between these programs freely, this essentially is a transfer bonus from Chase to all of the aforementioned airlines, not just British Airways.
Transfer bonuses, if you’re unfamiliar with them, are promotions that incentivize you to exchange one point of currency for another. As one of the most versatile ‘bank points,’ Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to 14 travel partners. This current transfer bonus with British Airways might be a good deal if you’re seeking to top up your Avios balance for an immediate redemption. Note, the bonus is being assessed on the British Airways side so you won’t see it advertised in your Ultimate Rewards portal, as is the case with the current Chase-Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus. Instead, you’ll receive 20% more points to your British Airways Executive Club account, than the amount you transfer from Chase.
It’s worth mentioning that all the airlines that use Avios as their currency, usually sell Avios (at least once annually), usually with a bonus of between 25-70%, so depending on your situation, it may make sense to purchase Avios directly through one of these airlines’ websites (via points.com) if you only need a handful. As Chase Ultimate Rewards can be deployed in many different ways, there’s a real opportunity cost to transfer them out when there are relatively frictionless alternatives. Over the last few years, transfer bonuses between Chase and British Airways, have been offered at 30%, so this offer is a bit lower than the norm. Chase and British Airways team up on these transfer bonuses once annually usually, though they didn’t offer one in 2024 or 2022. There’s a similar cadence with Chase and Iberia, and Chase and Aer Lingus.
How Do You Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways Executive Club?
Transferring your Ultimate Rewards is simple:
- Start by logging into your Chase account at chase.com, then navigate to the Ultimate Rewards portal and select ‘Travel’ from the top menu, then ‘Transfer points to partners’ from the dropdown.
- Select British Airways Executive Club from the list.
- Click ‘Transfer Points’ and follow the prompts to complete the process.
Again, you’ll see the bonus reflected in your Executive Club account post-transfer.
What are Some Good Uses of Avios?
Since Avios are used by five airlines there are a lot of options to redeem them for good value. Here are a couple:
For as little as 70,000 Avios, you can fly to Doha in Qatar Airways business class.
Recent Qatar partnerships with JetBlue mean that JetBlue’s Mint business class is available on transatlantic routes for as little as 78,000 Avios.
Conclusion
If you plan to take advantage of this 20% transfer bonus between Chase and British Airways you have until the March 31, 2025 to do so. And remember Avios are freely transferrable amongst all airlines that use it as a currency.
Feel free to share your favorite Avios redemption ideas in the comments!
