3 Avios Bonuses End Sunday - And the Chase-Marriott 70% Window Is Closing Fast

✈️ Miles & Points Daily

There's a window open right now that I think closes faster than most people expect - and it hits three different Avios programs at once.

Sunday at midnight, Amex's 30% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios, Iberia Avios, and Aer Lingus Avios all expire simultaneously. That's a rare triple-overlap on one of the most versatile point currencies in travel. If you've been sitting on a pile of Membership Rewards and have been meaning to move some over, this weekend is your window.

We've also got a 70% Chase-to-Marriott bonus quietly ticking down, a brand new points-bookable safari camp in the Serengeti, and two buy-points offers that end tonight. Let's get into it.

Which of the following is NOT one of the three Avios programs currently running a 30% Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonus ending this Sunday?

The answer is waiting near the bottom of today's newsletter... keep scrolling. 👇

British Airways Avios are genuinely one of the best points currencies in the game - and not just for flying British Airways. You can use them to book American Airlines flights, Iberia, Finnair, Qatar, and more, all through the same account. The 30% bonus from Amex Membership Rewards means every 10,000 MR points becomes 13,000 Avios instead of 10,000. That gap matters a lot when you're trying to hit a specific award threshold.

Here's where it gets interesting. Iberia Avios and BA Avios are separate balances but can be combined for certain redemptions. Iberia's award chart is also cheaper than BA's for some long-haul routes, particularly to South America and Spain. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus AerClub is the quieter option that sometimes has better availability on transatlantic routes between North America and Ireland. All three are running the same 30% bonus from Amex right now.

If you're unsure which program to top up, our British Airways Reward Avios Flight Finder lets you see live availability and pricing so you can target the exact redemption before you transfer.

This triple Avios bonus ends Sunday, September 27. If you have Amex Membership Rewards and any Avios redemption in mind - even a future one - this is the time to move points. Don't wait until Saturday night.

A 70% transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy is genuinely unusual. The standard ratio is 1:1, so every 10,000 Chase points normally becomes 10,000 Bonvoy points. With this bonus running through October 15, that same transfer produces 17,000 Bonvoy points instead. That's a meaningful jump if you're targeting a specific Bonvoy property and just need to top off your balance.

Marriott Bonvoy points are less flexible than Chase Ultimate Rewards in general, so the math has to work in your favor before you pull the trigger. The sweet spots are still Category 1-4 properties where you can get strong cents-per-point value, and free night certificates earned via card spend that can cover properties up to 50,000 points per night.

This isn't a transfer you make speculatively - have a specific redemption in mind first. But if you've been eyeing a Marriott property and your Bonvoy balance is short, the 70% bonus through October 15 makes topping up from Chase unusually efficient. Use our Marriott Points Calculator to check whether the math pencils out for your trip.

Marriott Bonvoy just added the Mapito Safari Camp in the Serengeti to its portfolio, and The Points Guy's first-look review is genuinely interesting for points travelers. Tanzania has been quietly building out its inventory of points-bookable safari lodges, and this property is another data point in that trend. The Serengeti Great Migration is one of those bucket-list experiences that people assume requires massive cash outlay - but with the right Bonvoy balance and the right dates, it's more reachable than most people think.

With the 70% Chase-to-Marriott bonus still running through October 15, now is actually a reasonable moment to model out whether a Serengeti trip could work on points. Award Travel Finder can show you hotel point costs alongside flight options so you can see the full picture before committing to a transfer.

This is more of a 'put it on the radar' story than an act-now one, but the combination of a new points-bookable Serengeti property and an elevated Chase-Marriott transfer ratio makes this week a good time to run the numbers if Africa is on your list.

View from the Wing made a point this week that's worth amplifying: most people are asking the wrong question when they search for the 'best rewards credit card.' The real answer is almost always a pairing - one card that earns the most in your top spending categories, and one that covers everything else at better than 1x. A Chase Ink Business Preferred paired with a no-annual-fee Chase card, or a Citi Strata Premier alongside a Double Cash, are the kinds of combinations that consistently outperform any single card strategy.

The signup bonus gets most of the attention, but ongoing spending is where the long-term points math actually lives. If you're spending $5,000 a month and half of it earns 1x because your single premium card doesn't cover those categories, you're leaving a significant amount on the table every year.

If you haven't audited your card setup recently, today's a good day to do it. Our Credit Card Points Calculator lets you compare earning rates across different card combinations against your actual spend mix - it takes about five minutes and often surfaces a gap worth fixing.

Two of the best buy-points promotions running right now end today - as in, tonight. Aeroplan is offering a 100% bonus when you purchase Air Canada points, which effectively cuts the per-point cost in half. And Avianca LifeMiles is running a 145% bonus, which is one of the highest buy-points promotions we track all year.

LifeMiles are bookable on United, Lufthansa, Turkish, and other Star Alliance partners, sometimes at lower surcharge levels than booking direct. If you have a specific redemption in mind and need to top up, tonight is the deadline. You can track all live buy-points promotions - including the ones that survive past today - on our buy-points tracker.

We shipped several updates to Award Travel Finder this week worth knowing about. Virgin Australia is now live - you can search Velocity Points award seats and prices across its Australian, trans-Tasman, and Pacific network a full month at a time. Virgin Atlantic award search is also back, with a month of Economy, Premium, and Upper Class reward seats at once, seat counts included, and saver fares clearly flagged.

We also added Flying Blue Promo Rewards - the page now shows this month's live discounted Air France and KLM routes with the promo mile price, the standard price for comparison, and the booking deadline for each. If you hold Flying Blue miles, this is probably the most useful thing we've built for that program. Head to Award Travel Finder to check what's available this month.

The answer is Qatar Airways Privilege Club. The three programs with an active 30% Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonus - all ending this Sunday, September 27 - are British Airways Executive Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Iberia Plus. Qatar Airways Privilege Club is not part of this promotion.

The Avios ecosystem is one of the most versatile in the world - but BA, Iberia, and Aer Lingus all have different strengths. Which of the three do you find most useful for your own redemptions? Hit reply and let me know - I read every single response and genuinely use your answers to shape what I cover.

Have a great weekend - and if you've been procrastinating on that Avios transfer, Sunday is your last call.

- Jack

A real US flight runs today. Pin the airport on the map, then guess the route in 5 tries. Wordle for plane geeks.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 200,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on t... ($5.5/yr)

2. Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and a Free Night Reward after you spend ... ($1.95/yr)

3. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card: Earn 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points Plus A $250 Statement Credit after yo... ($6.5/yr)

Here's what we're seeing in award availability right now (via Award Travel Finder):

Hotels:

• JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa - Aventura, FL, US | 5.3cpp value | 65,000 pts/night

• W Osaka - Osaka, JP | 2.0cpp value | 58,000 pts/night

• Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi - Male, MV | 4.4cpp value | 150,000 pts/night

• ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts - Kyoto, 26, JP | 1.7cpp value | 120,000 pts/night

• InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace - Rome, IT | 1.9cpp value | 120,000 pts/night

Status Matches & Challenges:

• Flying Blue Status Match - Air France / KLM | SkyTeam

• Flying Blue (New Markets) - Air France / KLM | SkyTeam

• Flying Blue UK (BA Status Holders) - Air France / KLM | SkyTeam

Live Transfer Bonuses:

• Amex Membership Rewards → Aer Lingus Avios: +30% bonus - ends this Sunday (September 27, in 2 days)

• Amex Membership Rewards → British Airways Avios: +30% bonus - ends this Sunday (September 27, in 2 days)

• Amex Membership Rewards → Hilton: +30% bonus - ends October 14 (in 19 days)

• Amex Membership Rewards → Iberia Avios: +30% bonus - ends this Sunday (September 27, in 2 days)

• Capital One Miles → JAL (Japan Airlines) Mileage Bank: +30% bonus - ends this Wednesday (September 30, in 5 days)

• Chase Ultimate Rewards → Air Canada Aeroplan: +20% bonus - ends this Wednesday (September 30, in 5 days)

Buy Points & Miles Deals:

• Air Canada (Aeroplan): 100% bonus at - ENDS TODAY - the send date (September 25)

• American Airlines (AAdvantage): 40% discount at - no published end date, could disappear anytime

• Avianca (LifeMiles): 145% bonus at - ENDS TODAY - the send date (September 25)

• Copa Airlines (ConnectMiles): 80% bonus at - ends Friday October 2 (in 7 days)

• Delta Air Lines (SkyMiles): 50% bonus at - ends September 30 (in 5 days)

• Etihad Airways (Etihad Guest): 25% bonus at - no published end date, could disappear anytime

Full live tracker → milesandpointsdaily.com/buy-points-promotions

Browse every award deal we track at AwardTravelFinder.com →

Friday Flight Deals finds the best flight deals when paying cash beats using points.

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