Transfer Bonus Tracker 2026: How to track promotions and time your transfers

Transfer bonuses are the single highest-leverage way to increase the value of your points stack. A 25-30% bonus on a 100,000-point transfer means you receive 125,000-130,000 airline miles for the same flexible-points investment — often pushing a marginal redemption into clearly-cheaper territory. Here is the 2026 picture across the major flexible-points programs and how to time transfers to active promotions.

Which programs run transfer bonuses most often

Bilt Rent Day: the predictable monthly bonus

Bilt's "Rent Day" runs on the 1st of every month. From midnight to midnight Eastern, points earning is doubled and Bilt occasionally offers transfer bonuses to specific partners. The key tactic: hold off on transferring Bilt points until the 1st of the month if you can — you may catch a 100% bonus on the transfer itself, doubling the redemption value.

Citi Double Cash — 2% on everything

No annual fee. Pair with a Premier for full ThankYou transfer access.

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Bilt Mastercard — earn points on rent

No annual fee. Transfers 1:1 to United, Hyatt, Alaska Atmos, more.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred — 60,000-point welcome bonus

Spend $4k/3mo. Transfer 1:1 to United, Hyatt, Virgin Atlantic.

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Amex Membership Rewards bonus patterns

Amex runs the most transfer bonuses of any major flexible-points program. Common patterns:

• British Airways Avios: 25-40% bonus, runs ~3-4 times per year, often January, April, August
• Iberia Plus Avios: 25-40% bonus, often coinciding with BA promotions
• Air Canada Aeroplan: 20-35% bonus, runs ~2-3 times per year
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 25-30% bonus, runs ~2 times per year
• ANA Mileage Club: 20-25% bonus, runs ~1-2 times per year
• Delta SkyMiles: 20-30% bonus, runs ~3-4 times per year

Citi ThankYou Points bonus patterns

• Turkish Miles & Smiles: 25-40% bonus, often coincides with Turkish Airlines promotional months
• Avianca LifeMiles: 20-30% bonus, runs ~2-3 times per year
• Singapore KrisFlyer: 25% bonus, occasional
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 25-30% bonus, occasional
• JAL Mileage Bank: Rare bonuses; the standard 3:1 rate already builds a deduction

The transfer-bonus arbitrage strategy

The classic move: identify a redemption you want to make, then wait for the most-relevant transfer bonus before transferring. Example:

1. Plan a US-Tokyo ANA First Class redemption (165,000 ANA miles round-trip on the legacy chart).
2. Wait for an Amex MR → ANA transfer bonus (typically 25%, runs every 6-12 months).
3. Transfer 132,000 Amex points → 165,000 ANA miles during the bonus window.
4. Effective rate: 132,000 Amex points for the 165,000-mile redemption. Saves 33,000 Amex points compared to a non-bonus transfer.

For high-value redemptions where the underlying mile cost is already efficient, a 25-30% transfer bonus can shift the entire economics — turning a marginal redemption into a clearly-better-than-cash booking.

How to track active bonuses

• Pointify dashboard: The transfer-bonus tracker pings when a new promotion goes live and shows historical patterns by program. Set alerts on specific airline+bank combinations you care about.
• Direct issuer pages: Amex transfer page shows active bonuses; Citi shows active promotions on the ThankYou Rewards transfer page.
• Email signups: Each issuer has a transfer-bonus email list. Sign up — but expect a 1-2 day lag from go-live to email.

The pitfalls of timing

• Don't transfer in advance of award space. Transfer bonuses are time-limited; if you transfer before confirming award space, you may be stuck with miles you can't use efficiently.
• Don't transfer "just in case." Each transfer commits the underlying flexible points. Once moved to airline miles, they're locked into that program — and most airline miles are subject to expiration policies and devaluation risk.
• Watch for partner-specific outage windows. Some programs (Singapore KrisFlyer especially) have offered bonuses while making program rule changes. Read the fine print before transferring during a "bonus + change" window.

Bottom line

Transfer bonuses are the highest-leverage tactic in flexible-points travel. Amex runs the most; Citi runs them on Turkish and LifeMiles regularly; Capital One and Chase are rarer. Bilt's Rent Day on the 1st of every month is the most predictable opportunity. The best practice: identify your target redemption first, then wait for the relevant bonus rather than transferring opportunistically. Pointify's transfer-bonus tracker monitors all major programs and alerts when promotions go live.

When are transfer bonuses most active?

Amex Membership Rewards runs the most transfer bonuses (2-3 active per month typical, 20-40% bonus size). Citi ThankYou Points runs 1-2 active per month, often favoring Turkish + LifeMiles + Singapore KrisFlyer. Chase Ultimate Rewards runs rare bonuses (1-3 per year, typically targeting Hyatt). Capital One Miles runs 1-2 per quarter at 10-25%. Bilt Rewards Rent Day (1st of each month) periodically features 100% bonuses on specific partners. The strategic move: identify your target redemption first, then wait for the relevant bonus before transferring.

Track active transfer bonuses on Pointify →

Last verified by the Pointify research team on May 1, 2026, against historical transfer bonus patterns from Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt. Bonus frequencies and patterns reflect 2024-2026 trends and may shift; verify active bonuses before initiating a transfer.

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