5 Ways to Maximize British Airways Avios Credit Card Transfer Bonuses

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Search for Award Availability Course
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Iberia Peak and Off-Peak Calendar
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:57 Domestic American Airlines Flights
01:14 Searching for American Airlines flights on British Airways
03:05 [AD] Aura
04:10 Search for American Airlines flights on Qantas
05:45 Search for American Airlines flights on Expert Flyer
07:58 American Airlines Hawaii Flights
08:35 American Airlines Caribbean Flights
09:07 Iberia Business Class booked via British Airways
12:14 Qatar Business Class booked via British Airways
In this video, I review how you can stack credit card transfer bonuses and high-value redemptions to maximize your credit card points. I go through how to redeem points for domestic American Airlines flights, flights to Hawaii, Iberia business class flights, and Qatar business class flights.
💳 Credit Cards
Cards that earn points/miles that can be transferred to British Airways Avios
Chase Ink Business Preferred
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/...
Chase Sapphire Preferred
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/csp
Chase Sapphire Reserve
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/csr
Capital One Venture X
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/...
Capital One Venture
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/...
Bilt Mastercard
www.maxmilespoints.com/cards/...
🔗 Additional Resources
Transfer Bonus Basics
• Credit Card Points Tra...
Qatar Airways Videos
Maldives - • How I would book a fli...
How to book - • How to Maximize Your C...
How to book - • How To Book Qatar Qsui...
How to search - • Qatar Qsuite Suite: Ho...
Iberia Business Class
How to book - • Booking Cheap Business...
Booking American Airlines through Partner Airlines
• Booking American Airli...
Max Miles Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Max Miles Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entities.

[@kartikniyogi]

4 years back I was able to do a 40% transfer bonus from Amex to British airways and book a first class flight from London to US. Now granted British airways is not the best but hey it's still the first class and it was for my entire family of three. It was a great first experience 😀

[@MaxMilesPoints]

👏🏼 nice redemption! I’m sure the taxes and fees were lower 4 years ago too

[@kartikniyogi]

@MaxMilesPoints I don't exactly remember how much it cost but yeah it might not have been insanely high as it is now. To save further on British airways taxes and fees, I was trying to find an origin within Europe like Turkey or Germany. But unfortunately as I am an Indian passport holder I did not have schengen visa.

[@WatchTower71]

I like that you showed us a free and easy way to search for Award availability before showing the sponsored option. Respect. Great video as always

[@maxdo6039]

💯 there’s a free way to do everything, it just might take more work but you’ll learn a lot. It’s the way I learned how to run a lot of these searches. The paid ways with all the tools are super helpful but it’s always good to get an understanding of how to do basic searches before jumping into some of the paid tool. Thank you for watching my video!

[@Passportpavi]

I love the BA AA Caribbean hack. I’ve booked a few Caribbean flights for just 3000 Avios one way! Love that BA sometimes gives you the option to choose how many points you want to give up and pay a little bit more in cash (totally worth it to save my points IMO). I wonder why they don’t do it for all their award flights. Thanks for the video!

[@roddyhaynes1011]

Great video! ORD to MAD on Iberia for 34k points off peak (including later June dates) is possibly the best business class redemption in the game! Add great domestic AA redemption options w/ Avios = take adantage of the 30% AMEX Avios xfer bonus!

[@SilviaManentFinancialAdvisor]

I was totally looking into AA flights to Phoenix! So happy you made this!

[@dr1ft3r07]

Excellent vid Max. Redeeming Avios for short AA flights is definitely a sweet spot. I

[@malidabonita]

Just booked my flight to the Bahamas! Thank you Max!

[@MelissaC269]

I love Iberia business class. I've had a great experience.

[@paulfairchild8942]

Super helpful, thank U Max!

[@cjjunkee8602]

Great video Max!!! I was going to ask you if you could make a video about booking Avios ince there is a transfer bonus, I tried booking with IB and show more availability for AA when travelling to and from Spain, thanks Max!!!

[@meeheecho]

Thanks for sharing the information! 😊

[@reaabeer1040]

Thank you for doing this video just on time for my Vacation plans😊

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Glad to hear it hope you find the award availability for your vacation!

[@jimmyjames6492]

Awesome info + video!

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@De_Guatemala]

Detailed, informative vid. I'm flying Qatar to DOH and MCT in November, using Alaska Mileageplan miles. Yes, it's hard to find Q Suite reward availability.

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Nice job on the redemption!

[@RyansRoyalTravel]

Thank you for another great video with some great options! After you use British Airways to book an Award Ticket, how do you add your TSA PreCheck or KTA number on to that booking if you are from the USA, because it is not possible to do it yourself using the BA website? Thanks!

[@infavorofdemocracy5770]

Hi Max. If I see American Airlines business class from SFO >> MAD, should I also see this on British Airways?

[@daviddriscoll1922]

Question? Booking Charlotte to Montego Bay. Only options are economy. I don't mind economy but bag fees and all that are not included. Is there a way to add a checked bag or is that gonna have to be done at the airport?

[@theresabendell7486]

Was hoping this was followed by a Chase transfer announcement.😆Still waiting to book JAL!

[@DHGUnshodMarrow]

Hello! Have you ever seen a transfer bonus for Chase Ultimate Points to Hyatt? We are planning a trip to the Dominican Republic for next year and want to make sure we book at peak value.

[@xaviergomez4574]

I want to book a trip to Barcelona can you please tell me with rewards is best to use? Thanks

[@thaisoulsj]

I am trying to combine my Air Lingus with my BA but when I go to the "combine avios" page it does not show Air Lingus as an option... Only Iberia and Qatar. is there something I need to do to allow this.

[@MusicandTravel-2024]

Max do you see any sweet spots between SFO and Spain ?

[@atltennis5131]

Booked RT from ATL to JRO for two with the transfer bonus on Qatar. I'd recommend transferring to BA, then to Qatar for best availability.

[@atltennis5131]

In Q suites to Doha, then Qatar business class on their 787-8 I should add.

[@TienTran-bi1jv]

One question. I see that you specifically pick certain airport for the tutorial but if I live in a different city. Should I choose my city as starting point and search from there? Or should I pick the big airport and search for good deal then book a flight from my city to that big city?

[@sarahh6043]

You could try your city, but you’ll likely find better deals for business class-especially to europe from JFK or newark or even miami. So you would book a cheaper ticket-like economy-to reposition to get to the bigger airport so you get the best deal to fly to Europe business or first class

[@richardshack8246]

I am planning trip to Maldives winter 2025. I can't find any Qatar availability on Qatar website. I am worried I won't be able to find availability when needing to book this winter. Would you transfer points now to get the bonus or wait to see what the availability is?

[@binghamtonstudentrentals3017]

so im trying to book the business class to madrid from nyc but i cant find anything operated by iberia only by american airlines. It offers me 78k rewards on american airlines for one way business class but when i search it on BA to book with avios it says 124k avios points + almost 2k out of pocket. Something im doing wrong? or is just what they are offering right now

[@redan87]

Im new in the game. Why do I see from RDU to SJU for only 11k points in AA but If I search the same flight on BA its 22K? Im seeing a repeating pattern of this with other flights. Am i doing something wrong?

[@ericqpan]

My big question is can you see award availability on their website without having any points in your BA account

[@sambohay3580]

Can you do Korean air from North America to Asia please

[@Re3iRtH]

Do you recommend using American Airlines and British Avios to find Iberia business class availability? I have to fly in August (NYC to Madrid) so looks like peak time, but there is a 30% transfer bonus now, do you know how much it would cost with that?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Yes! I mention that in the video Use BA or AA to find Iberia award availability I’d you find peak dates it would say 50k from ORD,BOS, IAD, JFK and 62.5k from LAX, SFO, DFW and MIA. With the transfer bonus it would be 39k or 49k

[@UlisesYaniz]

Is there a spreadsheet you offer or can find that shows what airlines are connected?

[@CBW0314]

look up the "Oneworld Alliance" these airlines accept avios

[@jeffreyvalera1742]

I’m looking to fly from JFK to Madrid either January 29th or in July for the best redemption but I’m confused. Do I transfer Amex points to British airways avíos and book through them? Or do I transfer to Iberia and book through them? What would be the best bang for my buck. Thanks for the videos Max!

[@Legionnaire1992]

British Airways and Iberia are both in the One World Alliance and owned by IAG group. The BA Executive Club will automatically offer you Iberia flight options when you search for BA redemption flights

[@winpham128]

Thank you Max for your informative and knowledgeable videos as always. I am amassing Chase UR points (from SUBs) for aspirational (Emirates business class) travel to Dubai (from LAX) in Fall 2024. From your videos, I understand that the pathway consists of searching for award availability and then take advantage of transfer bonus (when offered) to book from airline partners (for less points). For Emirates, does booking via Aeroplan (Air Canada) typically yield the best rates (least amount of points)? Same website for Award Availability search (1 year out) ? What if that award seat is gone while points are being transferred? The points are stuck at transfer partner until one redeems it? Thank you for your help Max.

[@paulfairchild8942]

Aeroplan Emirates points rates are very high, they use a non-standard Emirates only award chart Most platforms transfer points pretty quickly... a quick google can find out the usual timelines

[@MaxMilesPoints]

What Paul said below. Aeroplan dynamically prices Emirates flights so it can get very expensive. To be honest there's no cheap way to fly from LAX to DXB on Emirates. It'll cost over 100k no matter where you book. Compare how many points Emirates is charging vs what Aeroplan is charging and decide whichever one requires the fewest points. Emirates rarely have transfer bonuses, sometimes Aeroplan has transfer bonuses. Points typically transfer instantly for most airlines but not all airlines. If your award availability disappears before your points are transferred then you're out of luck.

[@winpham128]

@@MaxMilesPoints Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.

[@winpham128]

@@paulfairchild8942 Thanks for your reply

[@MsJolmstead]

What do you mean "stack bonus transfers and it will be less". Newbie 😊

[@axebro112]

Hi, Do you know how often Amex has the transfer bonus?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

2-3 times a year depending on what airline

[@axebro112]

Hi, Do you know how often Amex has the transfer bonus with British airway?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

1-3 times a year

[@Budget.Boujee]

Do you think it’s realistic to find more than 2 seats on Qatar Business, using BA?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

More than two seats is very unlikely 🥲🫠 Qatar typically only releases two and once their gone they are gone

[@wanderrhea]

Max, if I have Avios and P2 has Amex points, How can I transfer P2 Amex points to mine (P1) Avios points? Thanks so much

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Create a household Avios account! www.britishairways.com/executive-club/household-accounts

[@wanderrhea]

@@MaxMilesPoints Oh wow, thanks so much.

[@bigkills2]

Why does no one book AA with Qantas? When I search flights I routinely find better deals with them then with BA for AA.

[@MaxMilesPoints]

It’s not a bad option if you can find the award availability on Qantas! Qantas doesn’t have transfer bonuses so that might be why

[@Luri720]

I always get an error message when I find award availability and can’t finish the booking

[@MaxMilesPoints]

The BA website is not great but I haven't had any issues not finishing the booking before.

[@antfo9226]

Its seems like getting JAL business class through Avios from the west coast (specifically Vancouver/Seattle) is much easier than getting ANA business class through Aeroplam (In canada we dont have the ANA avenues that the US has). When i search through the BA Avios portal, I can routinely find 2 seats in J with JAL, but the taxes are like 350 each. Whereas taxes with aeroplan are around 100. Why is there such a discrepancy in tax amount? If it is because of BA avios, what are some other methods to get the same seat but with less taxes?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

The taxes and fees may vary depending on airlines, loyalty programs your booking through, and airports you're flying in and out of. When it comes to award flights, British Airways typically charges more taxes and fees compared to Aeroplan. Aeroplan, on the other hand, absorbs some of those taxes and fees, resulting in lower charges for passengers. It'll vary. Same route on different airlines and different loyalty programs may change different in taxes and fees and different amount of miles/points

[@antfo9226]

@@MaxMilesPoints Appreciate the reply

[@BabyVilch]

the last one for quatar is that quatar Q suites?!

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Most flights from the US to Doha is Qatar qsuites but you have to make sure before booking the flight

[@brianperez726]

Did Qatar award availability change recently? Seems like there’s wayyyy less now

[@MaxMilesPoints]

As of recently, it's been pretty sparse. If you're able to search on Qatar's website you might have better luck searching 350+ days in advance.

[@fwizel]

Can't you simply transfer your points to British Airways and then transfer your Avios directly to Qatar?

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Yup you can! That’s an option and pretty useful if you’re looking to book Qatar itineraries that are Qatar operated flights that have connections beyond Doha

[@SiDPT15]

That's what I did for my upcoming IAH-NRT flight. Spent around 75k to fly business class after the bonus. Super long flight but it don't matter since I'm gonna flying in style😎

[@Th3120ck]

​@@SiDPT15you have more time than common sense.

[@SiDPT15]

@@Th3120ck k

[@busybeinglazy]

Qantas availability might not match with BA, but it’s a good idea to Call BA and check. I found a flight that worked for us on Qantas, but it didn’t show up on BA. I called and they were able to book it for us.

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Glad that worked out for you! BA’s online system is not the best

[@sayanghosh8261]

Sadly, American Express doesn't offer transfer bonus in Canada.

[@MaxMilesPoints]

I’m sorry 😕

[@Knappconstruction]

Finding flights is feeling like near impossible

[@MaxMilesPoints]

aura.com/maxpoints Try Aura for two weeks using the link above This video is sponsored by Aura

[@cjjunkee8602]

First!!!

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Congrats! 🥳

[@Youtube207user]

Hey Max could I stack your promo code with Amex offer for Aura? Spend 60$ and get 60$

[@MaxMilesPoints]

Yes! As long as the Aura Amex offer does not require you to use a specific link provided by Amex. Add the offer and use your Amex card to pay and it should trigger that offer.