Last month I wrote a post asking: Should I transfer my Amex points to BA?

After waiting and waiting for what seemed like way too long for a solid transfer bonus to be offered by American Express, it seemed that now was the time to make a move. Getting a 40% bonus for transferring Membership Rewards points to British Airways Avios seemed enticing enough to me.

Membership Rewards points usually transfer 1:1 to Avios but with this offer you’re getting 1:1.4, definitely a huge bump!

With the amount of points I was looking to move, the bonus comes to the amount of a solid credit card sign up bonus, but without the credit pull!

How much did I transfer?

I transferred 128,000 Membership Rewards points to British Airways which became 179,200 Avios. The 40% bonus gave me an additional 51,200 Avios.

Bonus points already spent…

Last month when I was thinking of transferring my points, it wasn’t with any redemption in mind. However, this changed.

We were initially looking for a way to burn my $300 United travel certificate that I had to fight for after being stuck in Oslo last January. We found a flight that cost a little over $200 per person, meaning we’d still have to spend $300 out-of-pocket which wasn’t a great option.

I then searched Avios and found no availability. Checking back a couple of weeks later showed flights to our destination for 15,000 Avios per person!

So we’re basically using most of our bonus from the Amex transfer for an upcoming flight at the end of this month. (More on that trip another time.)

If you’re planning to transfer Amex Membership Rewards point to British Airways Avios, there isn’t much time left. The 40% transfer bonus offer is good until January 31, 2015.

Have any of you transferred Membership Rewards points to BA Avios? If so, do you have any plans as to how your planning to spend your bonus?