Amex Membership Rewards UK transfer partnersWhich one to use for which trip

Enlarge

For most UK travellers the choice comes down to three questions. Which airline actually flies your route? How much will you pay in taxes and charges? And how fast do the points need to arrive?

What we'd do first: decide on the trip, then find the reward seat or room on the partner's own website before moving a single point. Amex says that "once your points have been transferred, they cannot be transferred back". If the seat disappears, the points stay with that partner.

The full UK partner list, with ratios and timings

Below is everything on Amex's UK transfer page as it appeared on 13 November 2026, in the logged-out view. The ratio is Membership Rewards points to partner currency: 1:1 means 1,000 Amex points become 1,000 Avios, and 3:2 means 900 Amex points become 600 KrisFlyer miles. Timings are Amex's own wording.

Two partners you may have seen elsewhere aren't on the UK list. Aer Lingus AerClub appears on Amex's US transfer page but not the UK one, and there is no IHG or World of Hyatt option. If you read a US guide, check that the partner is on your own UK transfer page before you plan around it.

Enlarge

Three rules that apply to every transfer

1. Transfers are one-way. Amex's wording, repeated for each partner: "once your points have been transferred, they cannot be transferred back."
2. Names must match. On the transfer form you pick a Cardmember on your account, and "the name selected must match the name on the {partner} account statement". Amex's UK Membership Rewards FAQ is blunter: "Membership Rewards points can only be transferred into an account in your name" (Amex UK Membership Rewards, checked 13 Nov 2026). Any household pooling happens on the partner's side, under the partner's rules.
3. Some partners lock the link. Emirates "only permits one Membership Rewards account to be linked to your Emirates Skywards profile". If you hold two Amex cards that earn points, decide which one to link.

Which partner for which trip

The ratio table tells you what you'll receive, not what it buys. The same 30,000 points become 60,000 Hilton points or 15,000 Emirates miles. Neither number tells you whether a night or a flight is good value until you price the actual reward.

Enlarge

Short-haul Europe from London: British Airways Avios first

BA's own example prices Reward Flights to "Europe, the UK and Ireland from 10,000 Avios + £2.50 each-way", with a fixed cash amount that covers taxes, fees and carrier charges on BA flights. Those are BA's examples, "correct as of May 2026" (BA Reward Flights, checked 13 Nov 2026). Transfers to BA are stated as instant, so you can check the seat and book within minutes.

Iberia and Qatar Airways also use Avios, also at 1:1, but on their own websites, with their own prices and charges. Iberia's transfers take up to 4 working days, and Qatar asks you to allow 48 hours. Our guide to lower fees on Avios redemptions through Iberia or Qatar covers when those programmes work out cheaper.

Long-haul for two with a BA 2-4-1 voucher: still Avios

If you hold a British Airways American Express card and have earned a Companion Voucher, it only works on Reward Flights booked with Avios through BA. BA says the member pays "the Avios for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for both". That makes Amex points to BA the natural pairing for a long-haul trip for two. See how the BA Companion Voucher really works for the rules, and whether the BA Amex Premium Plus card is worth the fee.

Upper Class and Virgin's partners: Virgin Points

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is 1:1 and stated as instant. It is the obvious choice if you want to fly Virgin from Heathrow or Manchester, or use Virgin Points on a Virgin partner. We cover prices and seat release in Virgin Points for Upper Class. If you are still deciding which scheme to build up, see Avios vs Virgin Points.

Air France and KLM: Flying Blue, but plan for the wait

Flying Blue is 1:1 with a 500-point minimum and 250-point steps, which makes it easy to move exactly what you need. The catch is timing: "within 4 working days". If you're chasing a short-lived Flying Blue offer, transfer early enough. Our Flying Blue guide for UK travellers covers its pricing and surcharges.

Asia and the Gulf: watch the ratios

• Cathay (Asia Miles) is 1:1 but takes up to 3 working days.
• Singapore KrisFlyer is 3:2. A reward costing 60,000 KrisFlyer miles needs 90,000 Amex points, and Amex allows up to 15 working days.
• Emirates Skywards is 2:1. A reward costing 40,000 Skywards miles needs 80,000 Amex points.

These can still be the right choice when no 1:1 partner flies the route you want. Just price the trip in Amex points, not in partner miles, before comparing.

Hotels: price the night, not the ratio

Hilton (1:2), Radisson (1:3) and Marriott (2:3) all give you more hotel points than the Amex points you transfer. ALL Accor gives you fewer (3:1). None of those numbers says whether the transfer is good value; that depends on the hotel's points price for your dates. Look up the points price for the exact nights first, then work backwards. Our European city break on hotel points compares the four schemes.

Nectar and Eurostar

Nectar is 1:1 and Club Eurostar is 15:1 (1,500 Amex points become 100 Eurostar points). We don't have an official Amex or partner value for these on the pages we checked, so we haven't put a pence value on them here. Compare them against the gift-card figure in the next section before you move points.

The baseline: what Amex says points are worth without transferring

Amex's own Gold card page puts a number on points: "25,000 points is worth up to £125 in gift cards" (Amex UK Gold card, checked 13 Nov 2026). That is 0.5p a point. Use it as your floor. If a transfer gets you less than 0.5p a point in real savings, gift cards would have done better.

To work out pence per point for a flight: take the cash fare you would otherwise pay, subtract the taxes and charges you still pay on the reward, then divide by the points used. Our guide to when paying cash beats spending Avios goes deeper.

Worked examples

These use Amex's ratios and hypothetical reward prices and cash fares, invented for the maths; they aren't BA prices or quotes. (BA's own published examples are dated, "correct as of May 2026", so we don't use them as current prices.) Real reward prices depend on date, route and cabin, and seats may not be available.

Example A: a European return for two (hypothetical prices). Suppose a European return costs 24,000 Avios + £20 per person. Two people need 2 × 24,000 = 48,000 Avios + £40. That is 48,000 Amex points transferred to BA at 1:1.

• If the same flights would cost £200 in cash for both (hypothetical): (£200 − £40) ÷ 48,000 = 0.33p a point. That is below the 0.5p gift-card floor, so gift cards would do better.
• If they would cost £400 (hypothetical): (£400 − £40) ÷ 48,000 = 0.75p a point, one and a half times the floor.

Enlarge

Example B: long-haul business for two with a BA Premium Plus Companion Voucher. Suppose a business (Club World) return costs 170,000 Avios + £500 per person (a hypothetical figure, not a BA price). With a voucher, you pay the Avios for one person and the charges for both: 170,000 Avios + £1,000. Without a voucher, two seats would be 340,000 Avios + £1,000. Either way, the Avios come from Amex points at 1:1, plus whatever you've collected on the BA card. The voucher's value depends on finding two reward seats on the same flight; BA guarantees at least four business reward seats on each of its Heathrow and Gatwick flights, but that doesn't mean four for every date.

Example C: the same 80,000 points, two ways. Suppose a reward costs 40,000 miles in two different programmes. In a 1:1 programme that is 40,000 Amex points. With Emirates (2:1) it is 80,000. Paying double in points can still make sense if Emirates is the only airline with the seat, but you should know you're doing it.

How to transfer, step by step, and what to do if it goes wrong

1. Find the reward first. Search the partner's own site for your exact dates, cabin and passengers. Note the points price and the cash charges.
2. Check the timing. If the partner takes days (Iberia, Flying Blue, Cathay, KrisFlyer, Hilton), ask whether the seat is likely to still be there. Some partners let you hold a booking; Amex doesn't hold anything for you.

Enlarge

1. Link and match names, early. Add your partner membership number on the Amex transfer page. The account name must match the Cardmember you select. Amex says to "allow up to 14 days for us to verify your account" when you link a new partner, so link before you need it.
2. Transfer only what you need, respecting the minimum and the steps (for example, BA's are 1,000 then 500s; KrisFlyer's are 900 then 300s).
3. Book straight away once the points land.

If it fails:

• The points haven't arrived within Amex's stated time: see what to do if an Amex points transfer is delayed.
• The seat has gone: the points can't come back. Search nearby dates on the same partner, a different cabin, or the partner's other airlines, before you give up.
• The name doesn't match: the transfer won't be accepted. Correct the name on the partner account first. Don't open a second account in the right name and spread your points across both.

UK transfer partner FAQs