Seven bank transfer bonuses are running this month, from Amex, Chase, Citi and Capital One. A bonus gives you extra miles or points when you move them out of your card's program. It only helps if a point ends up worth more than it was. So for each one we worked out three numbers: a point kept, a point moved there normally, and a point moved with the bonus. All three use our Balanced values.
| Bonus | Ends | Kept | Moved normally | Moved with bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amex to Hilton, 30% | Oct 14 | 2.5¢ | 0.8¢ | 1.0¢ |
| Chase to Marriott, 70% | Oct 15 | 2.2¢ | 0.7¢ | 1.2¢ |
| Citi to Japan Airlines, 30% | Oct 24 | 2.3¢ | 2.6¢ | 3.4¢ |
| Citi to Avianca LifeMiles, 25% | Oct 24 | 2.3¢ | 2.9¢ | 3.6¢ |
| Amex to Aeromexico, 20% | Oct 30 | 2.5¢ | 2.2¢ | 2.7¢ |
| Amex to Flying Blue, 25% | Oct 31 | 2.5¢ | 2.5¢ | 3.1¢ |
| Capital One to British Airways, 20% | Oct 31 | 2.2¢ | 2.0¢ | 2.4¢ |
The Citi figures are for the Strata Premier, Strata Elite and Prestige. Citi's other ThankYou cards, like the Double Cash and Custom Cash, transfer at 70% of those rates, so every Citi figure is about 30% lower on them. The Chase figure is for the Sapphire Reserve. A Sapphire Preferred point is worth 2.1¢ to us, because Chase now moves Preferred points to Hyatt at a lower rate. Each figure is rounded on its own, so they won't always multiply out exactly.
Where your points gain the most
Citi's two bonuses lead. On Citi's premium cards a point worth 2.3¢ kept becomes 3.6¢ at Avianca LifeMiles or 3.4¢ at Japan Airlines, which Citi added as a partner in September. For Amex, Flying Blue is the strong one this month: 3.1¢ moved against 2.5¢ kept.
One more for Citi: Qatar
Qatar Airways is also running its own bonus on Citi transfers this month, and it scales up with the size of the transfer: 15% more Avios when one transfer brings in under 50,000, 25% from 50,000, and 35% from 100,000. Each transfer counts on its own, so bigger single transfers get the higher rate. It's Qatar's promotion, not Citi's, it ends at 4:59 PM Eastern on October 31, and the bonus Avios arrive by November 30.
A small edge
Aeromexico and British Airways come out slightly ahead with the bonus, at 2.7¢ and 2.4¢, and slightly behind without it. They're a good move when you already have a trip in mind for those miles, not for parking points.
The hotel bonuses lose value
They look biggest and still leave you with less. Seventy percent more Marriott points turns a Chase point worth over 2¢ into about 1.2¢ of hotel stays. An Amex point worth 2.5¢ becomes about 1.0¢ once it goes to Hilton, even with the 30%. They make sense for topping off a stay you've already found.
Watch the cutoff
Amex ends its bonuses at 11:59 PM Mountain time, while Chase, Citi and Capital One use 11:59 PM Eastern. Some sites list the Aeromexico bonus through October 31, but Amex's own transfer page says October 30. Transfers can't be undone, so find your award seat before you move anything.
Every running bonus is on our transfer bonuses page, which updates as bonuses start and end.
