American Express launched a new transfer bonus for travelers with cards like the *amex gold* or *amex platinum*: You can get a 20% bonus when sending American Express Membership Rewards points to Qatar Avios.
You’ll have just over a month to take advantage of this bonus: It ends on March 31.
Not sure where to start? Read our guide on how to transfer Amex points!
If you want to fly the world’s best business class, Qatar Avios are practically essential now – and with this transfer bonus, you’ll need fewer points to make that a reality. But because you can combine Avios with a growing number of airlines like British Airways and even Finnair, there are even more ways to put this transfer bonus to use.
Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to put this newest Amex transfer bonus to use.
Fly Qsuites for 59K Points!
For years, using just 70,000 American AAdvantage miles – plus $5.60 in taxes and fees – was the best way to book Qatar Qsuites. These days, booking Qatar Qsuites with American AAdvantage miles has become borderline impossible, and there’s a simple reason why: Travelers using British Airways or Qatar Airways Avios probably already booked them.
Most U.S. airlines only allow you to book flights up to 11 months in advance. But using Qatar Avios, the booking window is almost a full year (361 days, actually) in advance. In the cutthroat, first-dibs world of booking Qsuites, those extra three-plus weeks have become absolutely critical – especially if you’re on the hunt for two or more seats.
Read More: The #1 Trick If You Want to Fly Qatar Qsuites
And with this new transfer bonus, doing so will cost you fewer points. Exactly how many points you’ll need depends on where you’re heading:
- Nonstop flights between the U.S. and Doha (DOH) will cost you 70,000 miles each way – 59,000 Amex points after factoring in the 20% bonus.
- Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Muscat (MCT) for 75,000 miles – just 63,000 Amex points after the transfer bonus!
- Other destinations like Amman (AMM) and Cairo (CAI) as well as major Indian cities go up to 80,000 miles each way, or 67,000 Amex points with this bonus.
- Getting to the Seychelles (SEZ) or Maldives (MLE) will run you 85,000 miles each way, which works out to 71,000 Amex points.
- Both Southeast Asia and South Africa typically cost 95,000 miles each way – 80,000 Amex points with the 20% bonus.
We send Thrifty Traveler Premium members award alerts when they can book the world’s best business class using their points, plus cheap cash fares too!
Qatar tacks on some decent cash surcharges: about $235 for nonstop flights and more than $300 if you’re making a connection. But that’s a price worth paying, given you can book these incredible flights for as low as just 59,000 Amex points.
Take our advice: Book a flight that connects onward to the Middle East so you can access Qatar’s incredible Al Safwa Lounge during your layover. There’s even a sneaky way to connect onward in Qatar Airways First Class all the way to the Maldives (MLE), Bangkok (BKK), Hong Kong (HKG), or Perth (PER) in Australia … for the same rate as flying business class the whole way.
No matter which route you take, you won’t regret it.
Read more: A Sneaky Loophole to Book Qatar First Class (& Visit the Al Safwa Lounge) for Less
Hawaii and Back for 34K Points (or Less)
Even after a recent devaluation, one of the best ways to book flights to Hawaii is using British Airways Avios. I know, it doesn’t make much sense … but it’s true.
You can book flights to Hawaii with miles from the massive U.K. carrier, using British Airways Avios to book flights on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines out to the islands. And while this current transfer bonus is only available when sending points to Qatar Airways, you can easily kick those Avios over to British Airways by combining miles between the carriers.
While American and Alaska frequently charge 50,000 miles or more for these flights, you can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii for just 40,000 Avios roundtrip. Factor in the 20% transfer bonus, and you need just 34,000 Amex points to make it happen.
The trick to getting these ultra-low rates is starting your search in Los Angeles (LAX) or Phoenix (PHX), both of which have nonstop service to the islands. You can also start from other cities like Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX) San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), or San Diego (SAN), as Alaska Airlines nonstops to Hawaii are also bookable at these rates.
Read more on the cheapest ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles!
Availability to book these American Airlines flights via British Airways is typically quite solid – especially if you’re looking at least a few months in advance. The same is true of Alaska Airlines.
Willing to put in some extra legwork? This deal can get even better.
Instead of redeeming straight through British Airways, kick those miles over to Finnair Avios … which charges just 13,500 Avios each way for flights between the mainland and Hawaii. And while you’ll pay that rate for nonstop flights from the West Coast, it even applies to one- and two-stop trips from the Midwest and beyond!
Factor in the 20% transfer bonus, and you could book roundtrip flights to Hawaii from all across the U.S. for just 23,000 Amex points!
The problem is that you won’t find these flights online at Finnair.com, so you’ll need to call the airline at +1 929 474 6049 or +1 323 694 7646 in order to book. Search through British Airways’ website first to find flights that are available. And even then, it may require some trial and error: Not every Finnair agent knows how to book these American or Alaska flights.
Roundtrip to Spain for 29K Points
Most airlines charge about 60,000 to 70,000 miles to fly from the U.S. to Europe and back. One airline can get you there and back for half that price.
It’s Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier. Depart from the right cities and at the right time, and you can score round-trip flights straight to Madrid (MAD) for just 34,000 miles plus about $200 in taxes and fees – or just 29,000 Amex points with this transfer bonus.
The trick? Iberia’s distance-based award pricing system means you have to start your journey from the East Coast hubs of Boston (BOS), Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) or New York City (JFK). Luckily for Midwesterners, Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) still works at this price, too. Departing from other Iberia outposts like Miami (MIA), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), San Francisco (SFO), or Los Angeles (LAX) will cost you more miles.
You also need to time it right. Iberia uses peak and off-peak pricing, which means getting these cheap flights at 34,000 miles requires traveling during the off-peak season. Luckily, Iberia’s definition of “off-peak” is typically quite generous: It means you can fly at the lowest rates for nearly 2/3 of the year. Mid-June through mid-September are generally considered peak summer season, with some scattered weekends and holidays blocked off, too. Check out Iberia’s full calendar to scope out the dates.
Again, you’ll want to first transfer your Amex points to Qatar to take advantage of this 20% bonus, then send them to either British Airways or Iberia and book.
One possible hitch: You must have had an Iberia Plus account open for at least 90 days to be eligible to combine Avios from another carrier. In that case, just send your points over to British Airways and book – the two carriers have identical award rates and fees.
… Or Do it in Business Class for 57K
Flying business class to Europe doesn’t get any cheaper than this. In fact, we consider it one of the best deals in points and miles. And with a 20% transfer bonus to British Airways or Iberia, the best somehow gets even better.
After transferring to Qatar (and again over to British Airways), it brings your final tally to just 29,000 points for a one-way Iberia business class flight to Madrid – or 57,000 points roundtrip! That’s a roundtrip flight in business class for less than what almost every other airline would charge you to fly in economy.
Why not fly like this rather than back in economy when you can do it using fewer points?
Read our full review of Iberia business class!
Booking Iberia business class flights follows the same script as the economy example above. Focus on flights from New York City, Boston, Washington DC, and Chicago to Madrid to get the lowest rates. Off-peak travel times are key. And you can book for these ultra-low rates through both British Airways and Iberia itself.
Oh, and a word of advice if you’re looking to take advantage of this deal? It pays to plan far, far ahead: Often, your best bet for snagging these business class seats is by booking 10-plus months in advance.
Need more info? Read our guide to booking Iberia business class!
Finnair Biz Class from 49K Amex Points
One of the newest business class seats in the sky is from Finnair … which is also a new entrant into the world of Avios. It takes some trickery to book it – more on that shortly – but it’s one of the most affordable. And this transfer bonus makes it even cheaper.
Here’s the deal: The airline charges just 62,500 of its own Avios to book a one-way in Finnair business class from the U.S. to its Helsinki (HEL) hub, plus a reasonable amount of taxes and fees. Unlike many other airlines, Finnair business class is relatively easy to book using miles.
I know what you’re thinking: “But Finnair isn’t an Amex transfer partner.” You’re right … but Qatar Airways is.
That means you can take advantage of that 20% bonus and transfer just 53,000 Amex points to Qatar Airways. Once those hit your Qatar account, kick them over to British Airways, then one more time to Finnair using our handy guide, and you’re ready to book one of the coziest and coolest lie-flat seats crossing the Atlantic today.
Flying solo, it’s a cinch to find the award availability to book these seats – especially booking 10-plus months in advance. But if you’re traveling with a companion, you might need to use a trick to find award availability for two.
International airlines have been throttling business class award space for U.S.-based travelers, and Finnair might be one of the worst offenders. You can only book one seat in Finnair business class from the States ……unless you set your location to “Finland” or another European country on Finnair’s website.
Voila: Two business class seats are suddenly available. And thanks to this transfer bonus, you can book the pair of them for just 105,000 Amex points.
You can even connect onward throughout much of Northern Europe for the same rates!
Bottom Line
American Express has launched a new 20% transfer bonus when sending Membership Rewards points to the Qatar Avios program.
If flying Qatar’s Qsuites business class is on your shortlist, this is a great opportunity to do so for fewer points. While that might be the best redemption on this list, there are plenty of other great ways to put this bonus to use with a tiny bit of extra legwork.
But you’ll need to act before March 31, when this transfer bonus expires.
