While I’d been hoping that we’d see a Citi ThankYou transfer bonus to Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles while AsiaMiles is running it’s own 10% transfer bonus, it hasn’t materialized. There is a potential, targeted 25% transfer bonus to AsiaMiles from Amex Membership Rewards, but I’m not targeted and I haven’t seen many people who are (though certainly check if you use AsiaMiles!).
In this article
Meanwhile, Citi just launched a new transfer bonus to Qantas.
Limited Time Offer: Transfer ThankYou Points to Qantas and receive 25% bonus Qantas Points.
Offer is valid for Point Transfers to Qantas completed by 11:59 PM ET February 22, 2020.
Promotion Terms and Conditions apply.
Will you want to transfer?
Qantas isn’t a great place to store points because their rates for awards aren’t very competitive and on top of that they levy high surcharges. Additionally, there’s a long expected transfer time to Qantas which also won’t hold awards. So that’s not a great combo. But there are some great redemptions to be had if these line up for you.
So Then, What’s Worth Considering?
1) Normally, you can book flights on El Al. Spencer Howard did a deep dive on this for one of his award alerts which you should sign up for. You can fly from NYC (or Toronto) to Israel in Business Class for 82,000 Qantas each and minimal fees. That’s a GREAT deal.(NOTE: El Al appears to be currently blocking their premium cabin awards to partners like Qantas – see this article by Dan’s Deals for more info)
2) If you are set on a Qantas First Class flight US <–> Australia, Qantas members get access 24 days before American’s AAdvantage members do, at 355 days before departure.
3) You can use Qantas points to book Emirates First Class. You’ll pay 142,300 points plus a massive surcharge to Dubai, but it’s another option, given that using Emirates Skywards you can only transfer Amex, Capital One (but 2:1 which isn’t great) or Marriott. JAL added big surcharges and it is hard to earn miles in their program and and Alaska miles are also hard to earn. Alaska remains the only way to avoid massive fuel surcharges on EK, though they now charge a lot more than before. Still, if you *have* enough Alaska miles, it’s just 85,000 miles in Business or 150,000 in First each way with no surcharges.
Still, it’s an option with Qantas.
4) You could use Qantas to reduce fuel surcharges on a British Airways premium cabin flight by mixing cabins. You can book, for example, Madrid to London in Economy and then London to NY in Business and reduce the taxes and fees. You can also read my unrelated article on How to Lower BA Business Class Surcharges by 42% or More.
Should you transfer speculatively?
No. And I’d say that for just about any transfer bonus. Sure, it stinks when 3 months later you want to make a booking that you could have had a bonus on, but it stinks more when you transfer speculatively to a program that changes its rewards structure or your points accidentally expire before you can use them.
Will you take advantage of this offer?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? The MilesTalk “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
