New Hilton, Iberia / British Airways Transfer Bonuses – Are They Worth It?

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Do you have a Hilton award stay coming up or like booking cheap award flights with British Airways Avios points?

If so, there are 2 new transfer bonuses using Citi ThankYou points and AMEX Membership Rewards points you might consider.

Through February 8, 2017, when you transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Hilton you’ll get a 33% bonus.

And via One Mile at a Time, when you transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Iberia, you’ll get a 50% bonus through December 15, 2016!  This can be useful for converting AMEX Membership Rewards points into British Airways Avios points at a more favorable rate.  I’ll explain!

I’ll help you decide if these deals are worth your time.

Transfer Bonuses From Citi and AMEX

Link:   Citi ThankYou Points Transfer Bonus to Hilton

Link:   AMEX Membership Rewards Points Transfer Bonus to Iberia 

Citi ThankYou points and AMEX Membership Rewards points are flexible points you can transfer to lots of airline and hotel partners.

You can also redeem them to buy travel through the Citi ThankYou and AMEX Travel online portal.  But you’ll usually get the best value from transferring points to partners, like Etihad, Flying Blue, and Singapore Airlines.

And right now, you’ll earn a transfer bonus when transferring your points to certain travel partners!

1.   Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Hilton for 33% Bonus

Citi ThankYou points normally transfer to Hilton at a ratio of 2:3.  But until February 8, 2017, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, you’ll receive a 33% transfer bonus.

So for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points you transfer, you’ll get 2,000 Hilton points, or a 1:2 ratio.

This can be a good deal for folks who need to top-off their Hilton account for an award stay they’ve been saving for.

But even with this bonus, you’ll usually still get more value by transferring your points to other partners, like Flying Blue and Singapore Airlines.  So always do the math to make sure you’re getting the best value for your points.

Remember, to transfer Citi ThankYou points to airline and hotel partners, you must have the Citi Prestige Card, Citi ThankYou Premier Card, or Citi Chairman (no longer available) card.

If you have the Citi ThankYou Premier, you can use your points to book Hilton hotels at 1.25 cents per point.  So if you aren’t getting a value of at least 1.25 cents per point by transferring, it’s better to just buy your hotel with points.

Check out all the ways you can earn Hilton points!

2.   Transfer AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Iberia for 50% Bonus

Link:   Transfer Points Between Iberia and British Airways

You can normally transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Iberia at a ratio of 5:4.  But through December 15, 2016, the transfer ratio will increase to 5:6!  This is an interesting transfer opportunity, because you can transfer Iberia Avios points to British Airways.

AMEX Membership Rewards points transfer to British Airways at a ratio of 5:4.  But if you transfer your AMEX Membership Rewards points to Iberia first, then transfer your Iberia Avios points to British Airways, it’s the same as getting a 50% transfer bonus from AMEX to British Airways!

British Airways Avios points can be very valuable for folks who like booking short 1-segment hops on airline partners like Cathay Pacific and Air Berlin around international locations.

That’s because British Airways prices their award flights by distance flown.  International award flights start at just 4,500 British Airways Avios points one-way for each non-stop flight under 650 miles!

British Airways eliminated this deal in the US.  Award flights now start at 7,500 British Airways Avios points one-way.  But you can still get a solid value from them by using them on partners like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

For example, you can book a one-way award flight from the West Coast to Hawaii in coach for 12,500 British Airways Avios points.

Here’s how to book British Airways flights like a pro!  And here’s a handy tool by Wandering Aramean for calculating how many British Airways Avios points you’ll need for your trip.

Note:   You will not be able to transfer points between British Airways and Iberia unless both accounts have been open for at least 90 days.  And each account must have had previous activity (like earning or transferring points).  So if you don’t have an Iberia account, you’ll need to wait 90 days before you can transfer to British Airways.

Bottom Line

Through February 8, 2017, you’ll receive a 33% bonus when you transfer Citi ThankYou points to Hilton.  This can be a good deal for folks who are near the amount of points they need to redeem for an award.

But unless you have an award stay in mind, it’s better to save your Citi ThankYou points for other things.  Like transferring them to airlines!

You’ll also get a 50% bonus when you transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Iberia through December 15, 2016.  And because you can transfer points between Iberia and British Airways, this is a good way to convert your AMEX Membership Rewards points to British Airways at a more favorable ratio.