How a transfer bonus is calculated
A transfer bonus is extra miles on top of what the normal ratio gives you. The calculator does it in two steps: base miles = points × ratio, then bonus miles = base miles × bonus %. Both are rounded down to whole miles, and the total is what lands in the airline or hotel account.
- 1:1 ratio, 30% bonus. 100,000 points become 100,000 base miles plus 30,000 bonus miles, 130,000 in total (effective ratio 1:1.3). Illustrative numbers, not a live offer.
- 5:4 ratio, 25% bonus. Where five points normally become four miles, 100,000 points give 80,000 base miles plus 20,000 bonus miles, 100,000 in total (effective ratio 1:1). The bonus is calculated on the reduced miles, so it brings you back to 1:1 rather than beyond it. Illustrative numbers, not a live offer.
Is the bonus worth it?
A bonus of b% means each point buys (1 + b/100) miles, which is the same as getting 1 − 1/(1 + b/100) off the points an award costs. A 30% bonus is about 23% off; a 50% bonus is a third off.
To decide whether it beats buying miles outright, enter your value per point and the program's price per 1,000 miles. The calculator works out what the transferred points are worth, what the same miles would cost to buy, and the break-even bonus: the percentage at which the two are equal. Remember that transferring is generally a one-way move, so only transfer for a booking you actually intend to make; the bonus does not change what the award costs, only how many points it takes.
Planning the transfer itself? Check award space first with Award Travel Finder's award search, and use the points path finder to see every route between two programs, with live bonuses applied.
Issuer bonus pages and transfer partners
- Amex Membership Rewards: Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonus history · transfer partners and ratios
- Bilt Rewards: Bilt Rewards transfer bonus history · transfer partners and ratios
- Capital One Miles: Capital One Miles transfer bonus history · transfer partners and ratios
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus history · transfer partners and ratios
- Citi ThankYou Points: Citi ThankYou Points transfer bonus history · transfer partners and ratios
- Rove Miles: Rove Miles transfer bonus history
- US Bank Altitude Rewards: transfer partners and ratios
- Wells Fargo Rewards: transfer partners and ratios
Partners with a live bonus right now: Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios.
Related tools
- Transfer bonus tracker — every active bonus, history and predictions
- Transfer partner matrix — ratios for every issuer and partner
- Buy points and miles offers — compare against buying directly
- Points value calculator — what your points are worth in dollars
- Hotel buy points calculator — the same break-even idea for hotel points
Frequently asked questions
How is a transfer bonus calculated?
Multiply your points by the base transfer ratio, then add the bonus percentage on top of the miles that produces. Miles received = points x ratio x (1 + bonus / 100). For example, 100,000 points at 1:1 with a 30% bonus is 100,000 base miles plus 30,000 bonus miles, 130,000 in total. Where the base ratio is not 1:1 (for example 5:4), the bonus applies to the reduced miles.
Is a 30% transfer bonus worth it?
A 30% bonus means each point becomes 1.3 miles, which is the same as paying about 23% fewer points for the same award. It is worth using when you were already going to transfer to that program for a specific booking. It is not a reason to move points you have no plan to spend, because transfers are generally one-way. Enter your value per point and what the program charges to buy miles to see the break-even bonus for your numbers.
Do transfer bonuses stack, and do they expire?
Each bonus applies to one issuer and one partner and runs between a start and an end date, after which it drops out of our active list. Our tracker keeps one entry per route, the strongest current offer, and this calculator applies a single bonus percentage. Whether a targeted or card-specific offer can combine with a general one is set by the issuer, so read its terms before transferring. Our tracker currently lists 9 active transfer bonus; the table above loads any of them into the calculator.
Does the calculator round to the issuer's transfer increments?
No. Some issuer and partner pairs have minimums or set increments, and issuers may round the final miles differently. This calculator rounds the base miles and the bonus miles down to whole miles, so treat the result as an estimate and confirm on the issuer's transfer screen.
Where can I see every current transfer bonus?
The table on this page lists each active bonus we track, with its bonus percentage and end date, and the transfer bonus tracker adds the full history for each route.