Key Points

  • February 2026 ran three notable transfer bonuses: Chase to Marriott (50%), Amex to Avianca LifeMiles (15%), and Chase to Japan Airlines (30%).
  • Only the Avianca and JAL bonuses were worth chasing for most readers; Marriott was a value-trap unless you were topping off a specific stay.
  • March and April typically bring Amex to Virgin Atlantic, Capital One to JAL or Avianca, and Citi to JetBlue. Track them on FrequentMiler.

TL;DR

Three transfer bonuses ran in February 2026. Two were worth the math, one was filler. Here is the recap and what to expect next.

Recap: February 2026's Transfer Bonus Slate

February is usually a slow month for transfer bonuses, and this one mostly tracked. The three notable promos touched two of the big four flexible currencies (Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards) and finished as a mixed bag: one genuine sweet spot, one solid Star Alliance play, and one I would not have transferred into without a very specific reason. If you are reading this in April looking back to see if you missed something, the short answer is probably not, unless you skipped Avianca.

Chase to Marriott Bonvoy: 50% (ended February 28)

This one looked exciting on the surface and unraveled quickly under the math. A 50% bonus turned 1,000 Ultimate Rewards into 1,500 Bonvoy points. Sounds great. The problem is the underlying value: Chase points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt, where I value them at roughly 1.7 to 2 cents each. Marriott Bonvoy points, even with a 50% bump, sit closer to 0.7 cpp.

Run the math on 50,000 Chase points. Transferred to Hyatt, you are looking at $850 to $1,000 of value at typical category 4 to 7 redemptions. Transferred to Marriott during this bonus, 75,000 Bonvoy points get you about $525, enough for a free night at a low-mid category property, but you torched $300 in flexibility to get there.

The narrow case where this made sense: you were a few thousand Bonvoy points short of a specific award you had already priced out, and you did not want to pay cash for the gap. Otherwise, this was the textbook example of a transfer bonus that looks juicy and is not.

Amex to Avianca LifeMiles: 15% (ended February 11)

This was the one to chase. Avianca LifeMiles is the Star Alliance program with the most accessible award sweet spots if you know where to look, and a 15% bonus on Amex points pushed already-good redemptions into great territory.

The greatest hits, with the bonus baked in:

  • United business class to Europe. 63,000 LifeMiles one-way meant about 55,000 Amex points after the 15% bump. The same award booked through United burns 70,000 to 99,000 miles depending on the route, and good luck transferring Amex to United (you cannot, since Amex does not partner with United).
  • ANA, EVA, or Singapore in business. Same mechanic. LifeMiles books Star Alliance partners at fixed prices, and Amex transfers in at 1:1 with the bonus juicing the rate.
  • Short-haul intra-South America. 7,500 to 12,500 LifeMiles for one-way regional flights. With the 15% bump, you were paying 6,500 to 10,900 Amex points for a flight that costs $200 to $400 in cash.

The asterisk: LifeMiles passes carrier surcharges on Lufthansa and Swiss, and their site has been known to glitch on partner availability. Transfer in batches and confirm award space before you move points. February 11 was a tight window and a lot of readers missed it because the promo only ran nine days.

Chase to Japan Airlines: 30% (ended February 28)

The third one was a quiet winner. JAL Mileage Bank is one of the best Oneworld programs you can transfer into, and a 30% Chase bonus made the math interesting on a couple of specific redemptions.

What it was actually good for:

  • JAL's own metal in business or first to Asia. 60,000 to 85,000 JAL miles one-way for business, or about 46,000 to 65,000 Chase points after the bonus. JAL hard product is one of the best in the sky and the cash fares are consistently $4,000 and up.
  • Domestic American Airlines short-haul. JAL prices AA flights on a distance-based chart that occasionally undercuts AAdvantage's own rates. 5,000 JAL miles for a sub-700-mile one-way meant about 3,850 Chase points, which is hard to beat.
  • Oneworld partner awards. Cathay, Qantas, British Airways, Iberia. Same logic as the Avianca play, just with a different alliance.

JAL miles expire on a 36-month rolling basis with any activity, so unlike some programs, you do not need a redemption locked in the moment you transfer. That made this bonus easier to act on speculatively.

March and April 2026 Outlook

Citi ThankYou, Capital One, and Bilt were all quiet in February. Three bonuses across the big four is light by historical standards (last February ran five), so the spring window has room. Based on the rolling pattern of the last few years, here is what tends to show up. Nothing is announced yet — transfer bonuses are notoriously last-minute, with most getting a 24 to 48 hour heads-up.

Amex to Virgin Atlantic is the one I am watching most closely. Virgin runs a 25% to 30% bonus from Amex every six to nine months, and it is worth waiting for if you want to book ANA business class for 47,500 points one-way. That is the single best Star Alliance sweet spot in the game.

Capital One to JAL or Avianca is the next likely promo. Capital One runs partner bonuses less often than the others, but when they do, JAL and Avianca are the usual targets.

Citi ThankYou to JetBlue runs roughly twice a year. JetBlue Mosaic redemptions in particular get interesting at a bonused rate, and Citi tends to time these around Q2.

Chase to Air Canada Aeroplan is the dark horse. Aeroplan does not always need a bonus to be worth using, but a 25% or higher promo opens up the Star Alliance partner stopover trick at a bargain rate.

Where to Track the Next One

I check FrequentMiler's transfer-bonus tracker every Monday morning. They keep a live grid of every active bonus across every flexible currency, and historical data on which programs run promos most often. AwardWallet's news feed is the other one worth bookmarking. They catch promos within hours of the email going out. Between those two, you will not miss a bonus that is actually worth chasing.

The instinct to transfer points just because there is a bonus is the single most expensive mistake in this hobby. Bonuses are a tailwind. They make a redemption you were already going to do cheaper. They are not a redemption strategy by themselves. If you sit on Chase points without a plan, that is fine. If you transfer them to Marriott without a plan, that is a $300 mistake.

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