ALL THESE AIRLINES SHARE THE SAME MILES CURRENCY – “AVIOS”
Avios is the rewards (miles) currency of several airlines’ loyalty programs, including Aer Lingus Aer Club, British Airways Executive Club, Finnair Plus, Iberia Plus, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
Each of these airlines has its own loyalty program with its unique award pricing chart. However, since they all share Avios as a currency, you can transfer/combine all your Avios across these airlines at a 1:1 ratio! So your British Airways Executive Club Avios can instantly turn into Iberia Plus Avios, or your Finnair Plus Avios can turn into British Airways Avios, etc.
So for example, you could transfer 9,000 Capital One Venture points to British Airways. Afterwards, you can instantly transfer your 9,000 British Airways Avios to Qatar Airways.
That way, you’ve effectively transferred points from Capital One to Qatar Airways, even though: (1) Capital One doesn’t transfer to Qatar Airways directly, and (2) officially Amex and Citi are the only major banks that transfer to Qatar Airways!
You can then use those 9,000 Qatar Airways Avios to book a domestic American Airlines itinerary like this one, which would cost 16,000 British Airways Avios if you opted to book through British Airways instead. Just compare these booking options:
Needless to say, Qatar Airways is one of the new “sweet spots” for booking domestic American Airlines itineraries, which is why it’s important to learn how to easily combine your Avios!
By knowing how to leverage the ability to transfer your Avios across five different airlines, you’re able to access a much wider availability of bank transfer partners and award flights!
COMBINING YOUR AVIOS
There are no limits to how many Avios you can transfer, and you can transfer them back and forth between accounts immediately. So everything you do can be undone! Just note:
- All the accounts need to have matching names (including middle name)
- The accounts all have to be in your name
- To move your points to Iberia, you need an Iberia account that’s been open for at least 90 days and has some qualifying activity in the past 36 months
Here’s a summary:
AN IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE
British Airways is the only one of these programs directly linked the Qatar Airways. So while you can move your Qatar Airways Avios to/from British Airways directly, if you want to move them to Aer Lingus or Iberia, you’ll need to follow an extra step:
Transfer from Qatar Airways to to British Airways first, then transfer from British Airways to Aer Lingus.
All transfers between Avios accounts are instant.
AVIOS TRANSFER PARTNERS
- American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Iberia Plus (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Bilt Rewards points transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Capital One miles transfer to: British Airways Executive Club and Finnair Plus (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Citi ThankYou points transfer to: Qatar Airways Privilege Club (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Wells Fargo points transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus (all transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio)
- Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus (all transfers occur at a 3:1 ratio)
Note: Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
