You might also like:
One of the reasons transferable currencies are so valuable is the flexibility they provide. Also, programs will periodically add extra incentives for leveraging partnerships via transfer bonuses. Now through October 15, get a 20-30% bonus when transferring Starpoints to AAdvantage miles. After all bonuses are applied, you can get up to 1.625 AAdvantage miles per 1 Starpoint transferred.
This 20-30% bonus stacks on top of Starwood’s standard offer of 5,000 bonus miles for each 20,000 Starpoints transferred. Factoring both of those bonuses in, here are some sweet spots to consider:
- 20,000 Starpoints => 30,000 AAdvantage miles (1.5x)
- 40,000 Starpoints => 60,000 AAdvantage miles (1.5x)
- 60,000 Starpoints => 90,000 AAdvantage miles (1.5x)
- 80,000 Starpoints* => 130,000 AAdvantage miles (1.625x)
*Note that Starwood limits transfers to 79,999 Starpoints and only allows one transfer per day. In order to transfer 80,000 Starpoints, you’ll need to make separate transfers over multiple days.
62.5% bonus miles sounds like a great deal, but it’s important to keep in mind the values of each program. Based on the latest TPG valuations, Starpoints are valued at 2.7 cents each while AAdvantage miles are worth about half of that at 1.4 cents each; we wouldn’t recommend transferring points in this case.
That said, the reason our valuation for AAdvantage miles is so low is the lack of AAward AAvailability. You can get some incredible value out of AAdvantage miles if you find MileSAAver availability. AAdvantage allows you to hold awards for up to five days, so keep a look out over the next few weeks for award availability. If you find something that works well, give AAdvantage a call, put the award on hold and transfer Starpoints using this promotion.
If you’re interested in transferring Starpoints to AAdvantage, there’s another option to keep in mind. Starpoints transfer to Marriott points at a 1:3 ratio and you can redeem Marriott points for American Airlines miles via Marriott’s Hotel + Air Packages. You can transfer 90,000 Starpoints to 270,000 Marriott points and redeem this for 120,000 AAdvantage miles, plus a seven-night stay at a Marriott category 1-5 hotel.
With this current promotion, transferring 80,000 Starpoints (over multiple days to maximize the bonuses) would net you 130,000 AAdvantage miles. That means the Hotel + Air route requires 10,000 more Starpoints and earns you 10,000 less AAdvantage miles — but you’d get a seven-night hotel stay. Choose wisely based on your needs.
Another way of scoring AAdvantage miles is the increased bonus on the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard. You’ll earn a 60,000-mile bonus after using the card just once and after paying the $95 annual fee. That’s a pretty easy way of getting enough miles for a one-way business class flight to Europe.
Source: thepointsguy.com