Amex Brings Back the 30% Avios Bonus — and It's the Best Transfer Deal on the Board

For the first time in nearly a year, American Express is running a 30% transfer bonus to the Avios family — British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. From now through September 27, 2026, every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you move converts to 1,300 Avios, turning the usual 1:1 rate into 1:1.3. Transfer 50,000 points and you land 65,000 Avios; move 100,000 and you're sitting on 130,000.

What makes this one worth paying attention to isn't just the percentage — it's the currency. Avios is one of the most flexible points in the game. Once your Membership Rewards land in any Avios account, eligible members can move them freely between British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Qatar Airways. That means a single transfer bonus effectively feeds five programs, each with its own sweet spots: Iberia is known for cheap off-peak flights to Madrid, Qatar opens up Qsuite business class, and British Airways releases more award space on its own flights than it hands to partners.

Where it gets tricky. Avios redemptions on British Airways metal can carry hefty fuel surcharges — sometimes hundreds of dollars on a transatlantic ticket. That doesn't make the bonus bad; it makes it a tool you use deliberately. The math only works when you've already found an award worth booking.

What to do. Don't transfer speculatively. Points that leave Membership Rewards can't come back, and a bonus is only a discount if you were going to make the redemption anyway. Search for and confirm your award first — check the taxes and surcharges — then transfer exactly what the booking requires and not a point more. If a European trip or a premium-cabin redemption is on your radar, this is the strongest transfer opportunity available right now. It ends September 27.

Verified September 9, 2026.