Step-by-Step: How (and Why!) to Transfer Starwood Points to British Airways for Big Travel

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Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. Folks like using British Airways Avios points to book award flights on British Airways and their partner airlines, because their distance based award chart is great for short-haul flights.  And for inexpensive award flights from the West Coast to Hawaii.   Or from certain US cities to Europe!

Because of the increased up to 100,000-point sign-up bonus on the Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card, now is a great time to consider applying for it!

And if you’re looking for other ways to earn British Airways Avios points, you can transfer flexible points from Starwood, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and AMEX Membership Rewards points to British Airways, too.

In this part of the series, I’ll show how to transfer Starwood points to British Airways Avios points.

How to Transfer Flexible Points to British Airways Series Index:

• Step-by-Step: How to Transfer Chase Points to British Airways
• Step-by-Step: How (and Why!) to Transfer AMEX Points to British Airways for Big Travel
• Step-by-Step: How (and Why!) to Transfer Starwood Points to British Airways for Big Travel

How to Transfer Starwood Points to British Airways

Step 1.   Know the Rules

You can transfer Starwood points to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to earn Starwood points, which is one of the reasons why they are valuable.

The best ways to earn Starwood points are through spending at Starwood (or Marriott) hotels and with credit cards, including the:

• Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
• Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

And because you can transfer Marriott points to Starwood at a 3:1 ratio, you can earn Starwood points with these Marriott credit cards, too:

• Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card
• Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

You’ll also get a 5,000 British Airways Avios point bonus for every 20,000 Starwood points you transfer.  And although transfers can take up to 2 to 4 weeks, in my experience, it generally takes 2 to 10 days.

Only transfer the points you need.  Because once transferred, you can NOT put the points back into your Starwood account.  And there are a minimum number of points you’ll need to transfer depending on your elite status with Starwood.

If you have Starwood Platinum status there’s no minimum point transfer requirement.  Starwood Gold members must transfer at least 1,500 Starwood points.  And everyone else must transfer a minimum of 2,500 Starwood points.

Step 2.   Log-In to Your Starwood Preferred Guest Account

From Starwood’s homepage, enter your log-in information, including your username or Starwood loyalty number and password.  Then click the “Sign In” button.

Step 3.   Navigate to the Points Transfer Page

After logging-in, click “About SPG” at the top of the page and select “Flights & Travel” from the drop-down menu.

Scroll down the page and click “Transfer Air Miles.”

Then select “Transfer Starpoints to Air Miles.”

Step 4.   Enter Your British Airways Account Information

From there, select British Airways as the transfer partner and enter your British Airways frequent flyer number.

Step 5.   Transfer Your Starwood Points

Then enter the number of Starwood points you want to transfer and click the “Go” button!

The terms say transfers can take up to 4 weeks.  But in my experience it only takes between 2 and 10 days.

Just remember, once you transfer Starwood points (to any airline!), you will NOT be able to get them back.  So be sure to transfer only the points you need.

And don’t forget to check out my series on booking British Airways award flights like a pro.

Other Flexible Points British Airways Transfer Options

You can transfer these other flexible points to British Airways:

1.   Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

You can instantly transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000-point increments to British Airways, and you can transfer points into the account of a household member at the same address.  The following cards earn transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
• Ink Bold (no longer available)
• Ink Plus (no longer available)

If you have the Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, or Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card, you can combine points with one of the cards listed above to transfer to British Airways.

For more details, check out my post on how to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways.

2.   American Express Membership Rewards

Link:  American Express® Gold Card

Link:   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Link:   The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Transfer ratio: 1:1
• Transfer time is typically instant

For more details, check out my post on how to transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to British Airways.

Bottom Line

The Chase British Airways card is a great option for folks looking to earn more British Airways Avios points.  But you can also transfer Starwood points to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio.  And get a 5,000-point bonus for every 20,000 Starwood points you transfer!

The best way to earn Starwood points is through spending at Starwood (or Marriott!) hotels.  And with credit cards like the personal or small business AMEX Starwood cards.

Then, it’s easy to move Starwood points to British Airways after signing-in to your Starwood account.  Although transfers can take up to 4 weeks, they usually post within 2 to 10 days.

Do you have a favorite way to use British Airways Avios points?