Credit card transfer bonuses (May): 25% bonus to Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue and more

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Transfer bonuses can offer lucrative opportunities to maximize your points and miles and work your way toward fantastic award redemptions. You can sometimes get significantly more value from your rewards by transferring them to an airline or hotel partner during one …

May 1, 2025 - 20:07

Credit card transfer bonuses (May): 25% bonus to Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue and more

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Transfer bonuses can offer lucrative opportunities to maximize your points and miles and work your way toward fantastic award redemptions. You can sometimes get significantly more value from your rewards by transferring them to an airline or hotel partner during one of these bonus periods.

Remember, though, that these are limited-time offers, so you’ll need to act fast if you find one that suits your travel plans.

Offer ending soon: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

We’ve compiled transfer bonus updates for most major programs with transferable rewards to make tracking these offers easier. Just note that transfer bonuses are sometimes targeted, so some may not be available.

American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonus

Aeromexico plane being loaded — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

There are currently no active transfer bonuses for American Express Membership Rewards.

How to earn American Express Membership Rewards points

If you’re looking to earn more of these valuable points, the following American Express cards could prove useful additions to your wallet:

The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after spending $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel in the first three months of card membership. You can earn one or both of these offers, which end June 30.

Check the CardMatch tool to see if you’re targeted for an even higher welcome offer (subject to change at any time).

You can also earn extra Membership Rewards points when you enroll in Amex Offers and shop with Rakuten.

Based on TPG’s April 2025 valuations, Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each, and our tests indicate that they transfer instantly to most of American Express’ transfer partners.

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus

Costa Irminia Retreat & Spa, Vignette Collection. IHG HOTELS & RESORTS

Chase is currently offering a 25% bonus when transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club through June 15. This means that for every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points you transfer, you’ll get 1,250 Flying Club points.

Though Virgin Atlantic has shifted to dynamic pricing, the airline’s saver award seats start at just 6,000 points in economy one-way. So, if you find a saver fare award ticket from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) and use Chase’s bonus, you’ll only need to transfer 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

If you find a saver lie-flat business-class seat on the same route, instead of paying 29,000 Flying Club points, with the 25% bonus, you’ll need to transfer 24,000 Chase points.

Though this isn’t the biggest transfer bonus we’ve seen between Chase and Virgin Atlantic — a 40% transfer bonus was offered in October 2024 — it’s still a great deal to help you save your hard-earned Ultimate Rewards points.

Aside from Flying Club, Chase is also offering a 25% transfer bonus to Air France-KLM Flying Blue through May 31. For every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points you transfer, you’ll receive 1,250 Flying Blue miles. While Flying Blue uses a dynamic pricing model, the loyalty program has standardized saver-level pricing on one-way flights between the U.S. and Europe.

A saver-level ticket costs 25,000 miles in economy, 40,000 miles in premium economy and 60,000 miles in business class. If you use this Chase transfer bonus and find saver award availability, you’ll only need to transfer 20,000 Chase points for economy, 32,000 points for premium economy or 48,000 points for business class.

Plus, each month, Flying Blue offers discounted award tickets on select routes. For the month of May, the loyalty program is offering 25% off long-haul economy routes between the following U.S. cities and Europe: Atlanta, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. So, you can find one-way economy flights starting at 18,750 Flying Blue miles.

If you combine Flying Blue’s Promo Rewards and the Chase transfer bonus, you can book a one-way economy flight to Europe by transferring just 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

As always, before transferring any points, make sure you find award availability since point transfers are irreversible.

How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points

If you want to earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the following Chase cards could make good additions to your wallet:

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. (This offer is ending soon.)
Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

According to TPG’s April 2025 valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2.05 cents each when maximized with travel partners. Most Ultimate Rewards transfers will process instantly.

Capital One transfer bonus

EMILY THOMPSON/THE POINTS GUY

There are currently no active transfer bonuses for Capital One miles.

How to earn Capital One miles

If you’re looking to earn more transferable miles, the following Capital One cards are solid options to consider:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, plus receive a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

TPG’s April 2025 valuations peg Capital One miles at 1.85 cents apiece, and most transfers from Capital One will process instantly. For more details, check out our guides to the Capital One transfer partners and how to transfer Capital One miles.

Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer bonus

empty rows of seats inside Avianca plane — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Citi ThankYou Rewards is offering a 30% bonus when you transfer your ThankYou points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club by May 17. Since Citi points normally transfer to Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio, you’ll get 1,300 Virgin points for every 1,000 ThankYou points you transfer.

Combining this transfer bonus with Flying Club’s new saver fares, you could fly to London for just 5,000 Citi points and minimal fees and taxes — a terrific offer.

How to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points

These Citi credit cards could make useful additions to your wallet for earning Citi ThankYou Rewards points:

Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.
Citi Rewards+® Card (no longer available): Earn 5 bonus ThankYou Rewards points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions via the Citi travel portal through Dec. 31. (Note: You must pair this card with a premium Citi ThankYou card to access full-fledged, transferable ThankYou points.)

The information for the Citi Rewards+ Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

TPG values Citi ThankYou Rewards points at 1.8 cents each in our April 2025 valuations, and most transfers happen instantly.

Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus

woman and girl at Marriott pool — FAIRFIELD ANAHEIM RESORT/FACEBOOK

Though you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to various airlines, the program is not currently offering any transfer bonuses.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points, the following Marriott Bonvoy cards may be of interest:

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn three free nights (each night valued at up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees. Plus, earn 50,000 points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn three free night awards after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. Each free night award has a redemption level of up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

According to TPG’s April 2025 valuations, Marriott Bonvoy points are worth 0.7 cents each. Review our tests of Marriott transfer times before transferring points since some airlines take a few days (or even weeks) to receive the points.

Should you transfer points and miles?

We only recommend transferring points or miles if you have a short-term plan to use them. Many programs have implemented devaluations over the last few years, so speculative transfers could prove a losing proposition. Transfers are irreversible, and you don’t want to be stuck with thousands of points or miles in a program you have little use for.

If you don’t have a specific redemption in mind but still want to earn points or miles, you’re likely better off earning rewards through card welcome bonuses and everyday spending.

And we always recommend you ensure award availability before transferring your rewards.

Bottom line

When a program with a transferable currency offers a transfer bonus, it’s important to run the numbers to determine whether it is worthwhile.

Generally, you won’t want to transfer your points or miles without a specific redemption in mind. After all, a large part of the value of transferable points and miles comes from their flexibility, which you’ll give up when you convert them to a partner’s currency. However, a transfer bonus can help you get more value from your points and miles if you use a partner program frequently or plan to redeem soon.

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